Research Publications (Food Safety)

Aims
To isolate bacteria from soil for the purpose of microbial pre-treatment of brown crab (Cancer pagurus) shell waste and the production of chitin.

Publication date: 1 July 2015
, Volume 178
Author(s): Nina Bilandžić , Đurđica Božić , Božica Solomun Kolanović , Ivana Varenina , Luka Cvetnić , Željko Cvetnić

Chitosan beads were prepared by the method of inverse suspension cross-linking characterized and applied to remove patulin from aqueous solution. Batch adsorption experiments were performed to evaluate the optimum adsorption conditions and reusability. The results showed that chitosan beads were effective in removing patulin from aqueous solution. The maximum adsorption capacity of chitosan beads for patulin was 626.4 μg/g at pH 7.0, 40C for 24 h.

A novel procedure on vancomycin, α-glucosidase activity, cephalothin and sucrose for isolation of Cronobacter spp. from powdered infant formula (PIF) was developed. Meanwhile, a comparison between the new procedure, Druggan-Forsythe-Iversen (DFI) and modified lauryl sulfate tryptose (mLST) procedure was also carried out. The recovery rate is higher by the new procedure than those by DFI and mLST procedures.

The time-to-detection (TTD) method is a rapid and high throughput approach for the estimation of microbial growth parameters (maximum specific growth rate μmax and lag phase duration λ), which relies on optical density (OD) measurements. The performance of this method depends on several factors that are often selected in an arbitrary way.

The study involved 75 autochthonous lactic acid bacteria (LAB) obtained from Valtellina Casera Protected Designation of Origin cheese and provides data on their antibiotic resistance (AR), antimicrobial activity and safety aspects. High biodiversity was revealed, assigning the isolates to 16 species. In the curd Streptococcus thermophilus was predominant, while Enterococcus and the Lactobacillus casei group prevailed in ripened cheese.

In this study, adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and genetic algorithm–artificial neural network (GA-ANN) models were used to predict inactivation of Salmonella enteritidis by ultrasound. The effect of amplitude levels, duty cycles and irradiation time of ultrasound on inactivation of S. enteritidis was investigated.

Publication date: Available online 23 January 2015

Author(s): A. Bousquet , S. Henquet , F. Compain , N. Genel , G. Arlet , D. Decré

The feasibility of using a visible/near-infrared hyperspectral imaging system with a wavelength range between 400 and 1000 nm to detect and differentiate different levels of aflatoxin B1AFB1) artificially titrated on maize kernel surface was examined. To reduce the color effects of maize kernels, image analysis was limited to a subset of original spectra (600 to 1000 nm). Residual staining from the AFB1 on the kernels surface was selected as regions of interest for analysis.

The alteration of the profile of volatiles of canned coconut milk was monitored during storage at ambient temperatureCanned coconut milk was thermally processed (121 °C for 5 min), and then stored at ambient temperature (32 to 35 °C) for 6 mo. Volatile compounds were assessed monthly using direct solvent extraction (diethyl ether), followed by high-vacuum distillation and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis.

Publication date: May 2015
, Volume 103
Author(s): M. Mataragas , A. Bellio , F. Rovetto , S. Astegiano , L. Decastelli , L. Cocolin

Vibrio vulnificus is a Gram-negative pathogen found in coastal and estuarine waters worldwide that can cause life threatening diseases. Characterization of the vcg (virulence correlated gene) or 16S rRNA alleles is used to distinguish virulent (clinical (C)-type) from presumably avirulent (environmental (E)-type) strains. However, some studies reported significant numbers of clinical strains belonging to the E-type.

Publication date: March 2015
, Volume 110
Author(s): Dorien Van den Bossche , Lieselotte Cnops , Jacob Verschueren , Marjan Van Esbroeck

Polymeric nanocomposites embedded with nontoxic antimicrobial agents have recently gained potential industrial significancemainly for their applicability to preserve food quality and ensure safety. In this study, a poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT)/organoclay (CMMT) based nanocomposite film doped with sodium benzoate (SB) as antimicrobial agent was prepared by a solution mixing process.

Background

Norovirus (NoV) is the predominant cause of foodborne disease outbreaks. Virus contamination may occur during all steps of food processing, from production to preparation and serving. The relative importance of these different routes of contamination is unknown.

Methods

There is an increasing interest in recent years in using novel nanomaterials as cost-effectivesensitive, and reproducible substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) applications. In this study, a novel SERS substrate was developed by assembling gold nanorods into standing arrays on a gold-coated silicon slide. The standing nanorod arrays were closely packed on the gold film, generating strong electromagnetic field and uniformly distributed SERS “hot-spots” on the array surface.

January Online CoverMaize kernels, with inset of hyperspectral image showing regions of interest, from “Feasibility of Detecting Aflatoxin B1 on Inoculated Maize Kernels Surface using Vis/NIR Hyperspectral Imaging” by Wei Wang, Gerald W. Heitschmidt, William R. Windham, Peggy Feldner, Xinzhi Ni, and Xuan Chu; p. M117.

Vibrio vulnificus contains two coproporphyrinogen III oxidases (CPOs): O2-dependent HemF and O2-independent HemN. The growth of the hemF mutant HF1 was similar to wild-type cells at pH 7.5 under 2% O2 conditions where HemN was active and had a half-life of 64 min. However, HF1 did not grow when the medium pH decreased to pH 5.0, where oxidative stress affects endogenous S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) levels.

Publication date: Available online 21 January 2015
Food and Chemical Toxicology
Author(s): Fouzia Amamou , Saïd Nemmiche , Radjaa kaouthar Meziane , Amal Didi , Sidi Mouhamed Yazit , Daoudi Chabane-Sari

Preservative agents determining the shelf life of cosmetic products must have effective antimicrobial activity while meeting safety requirements for topical use. In this study, we determined the antimicrobial activity of 1,2-hexanediol against several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests have shown that 1,2-hexanediol exhibits broad-spectrum activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria with MICs of 0.5 – 2% (v v−1).

Publication date: July 2015
, Volume 53
Author(s): Tomoaki Hagiwara , Saki Hagihara , Akihiro Handa , Nobuyuki Sasagawa , Risa Kawashima , Takaharu Sakiyama

Natalia M. Grindler, Jenifer E. Allsworth, George A. Macones, Kurunthachalam Kannan, Kimberly A. Roehl, Amber R. Cooper

Objective

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) adversely affect human health. Our objective was to determine the association of EDC exposure with earlier age of menopause.

Methods

Mohammad Mokhtari, Mazlan Abd Ghaffar, Gires Usup, Zaidi Che Cob

Massimo Maddaloni, Irina Kochetkova, SangMu Jun, Gayle Callis, Theresa Thornburg, David W. Pascual

Matthew Darby, Corinna Schnoeller, Alykhan Vira, Fiona Culley, Saeeda Bobat, Erin Logan, Frank Kirstein, Jürgen Wess, Adam F. Cunningham, Frank Brombacher, Murray E. Selkirk, William G. C. Horsnell