Research Publications (Food Safety)

Edible films can be designed to serve as carriers of antimicrobial agents and be used to control pathogenic foodborne viruses and bacteria. This research tested this concept by dissolving green tea extract (GTE) in chitosan film-forming solutions (FFS) and using it to prepare dried chitosan edible films. As a control, the GTE was also dissolved in deionized water (DW).

The Florida Complaint and Outbreak Reporting System (FL-CORS) database is used by the Florida Department of Health’s Food and Waterborne Disease Program (FWDP) as one of the tools to detect foodborne disease outbreaks. We present a descriptive and spatial network analysis of the FL-CORS data collected during 2015-2018.

Hospital-acquired infections caused by extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli are a global problem. Healthy people can carry ESBL-producing E. coli in their intestines; thus, E. coli from healthy people can potentially cause hospital-acquired infections. Therefore, the transmission routes of ESBL-producing E. coli from healthy persons should be determined.A foodborne outbreak of human norovirus GII (HuNoV) occurred at a restaurant in Shizuoka, Japan, in 2018. E.

by Ruth Cabrera Orrego, Leonardo Alberto Ríos-Osorio, Yoav Keynan, Zulma Vanessa Rueda, Lina Andrea Gutiérrez

Noroviruses (NoV) are responsible for many shellfish outbreaks. Purification processes may be applied to oysters before marketing to decrease potential fecal pollution. This step is rapidly highly effective in reducing Escherichia coli; nevertheless, the elimination of virus genomes has been described to be much slower. It is therefore important to identify (i) the purification conditions that optimize virus removal and (ii) the mechanism involved.

Author(s): Juan E. Ortúzar, Onay B. Dogan, Gustavo Sotomayor, Constanza Jiménez, Jennifer Clarke, Rolando A. Flores, George M. Gray, John H. Rupnow, Bing Wang

Author(s): Graham A.J. Redweik, Zachary R. Stromberg, Angelica Van Goor, Melha Mellata

Author(s): Nguyen Thi Bich Van, Nguyen Thi Phuong Yen, Nguyen Thi Nhung, Nguyen Van Cuong, Bach Tuan Kiet, Nguyen Van Hoang, Vo Be Hien, Niwat Chansiripornchai, Marc Choisy, Alexis Ribas, James Campbell, Guy Thwaites, Juan Carrique-Mas

Seaweed is a source of protein that can help overcome the anticipated challenges of a growing world population and the current challenges for finding alternatives for animal proteins in the Western diet. Thus far, data on the safety of seaweed for feed and food purposes in the Western world are scattered.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) has emerged as a global health concern during the last decade. In spite of a high mortality rate in pregnant women with fulminant hepatitis, no antiviral drugs or licensed vaccine is available in India. HEV-protease is a pivotal enzyme responsible for ORF1 polyprotein processing leading to cleavage of the non-structural enzymes involved in virus replication.

Author(s): Xi Bai, Matteo Campagnoli, Sophie Butot, Thierry Putallaz, Lise Michot, Sophie Zuber

Author(s): E. Lewis, J.A. Hudson, N. Cook, J.D. Barnes, E. Haynes

Aims: It is unclear how economic factors impact on the epidemiology of infectious disease. We evaluated the relationship between incidence of selected infectious diseases and economic factors, including economic downturn, in 13 European countries between 1970 and 2010. Methods: Data were obtained from national communicable disease surveillance centres.

Author(s): Nânci Santos-Ferreira, João Rodrigo Mesquita, Enrique Rivadulla, Ângela S. Inácio, Maria São José Nascimento, Jesus Romalde, Paulo Martins da Costa

Aim Infiltration experiments aimed to show the effectivity of coral sand to remove microorganisms in septic tank wastewater treatment system, in South Tarawa, Kiribati. Methods and Results Laboratory experiments evaluated effective microbial removal properties of a packed bed of coral beach sand conditioned with domestic effluent.

Author(s): J. Ortiz-Solà, I. Viñas, P. Colás-Medà, M. Anguera, M. Abadias

Promotion of healthier lifestyles has led to an increase in consumption of fresh produce. Such foodstuffs may expose consumers to increased risk of foodborne disease, as often they are not subjected to processing steps to ensure effective removal or inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms before consumption.

Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile infection (CDI) is the most common causative pathogen of health care-associated gastrointestinal infections; however, due to the overlap of clinical symptoms with those of other causes of acute gastroenteritis, the selection of the most appropriate laboratory test is difficult. From April to October 2018, 640 stool samples requested for CDI testing were examined using the mariPOC CDI and Gastro test (ArcDia), which allows the detection of C.

A 36-year-old man from Russia was admitted with disseminated extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis. He had clinical, radiological, and microbiological evidence of pulmonary tuberculosis and tuberculosis meningitis. Culture of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis from his cerebrospinal fluid revealed it to be XDR.

We investigated the prevalence of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV), Leptospira and Ascaris suum (A. suum) seropositivity, and of nasal methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization among Austrian practising veterinarians, and assessed the association with occupational swine livestock exposure. The 261 participants completed a questionnaire on demographics, intensity of occupational swine livestock contact and glove use during handling animals and their secretions.

Human noroviruses (hNoV) are the primary cause of foodborne disease in the USA. Most studies on inactivation kinetics of hNoV and its surrogates are performed in monoculture, while the microbial ecosystem effect on virus inactivation remains limited.

Author(s): Ningbo Liao, Liming Gong, Lili Chen, Liang Sun, Jiang Chen, Xiuyu Lou, Haiyan Mao, Yanjun Zhang, Ronghua Zhang

Author(s): Erfaneh Amoueyan, Sajjad Ahmad, Joseph N.S. Eisenberg, Daniel Gerrity

Available online 26 August 2019

Author(s): Valeria A. Torok, Kate R. Hodgson, Jessica Jolley, Alison Turnbull, Catherine McLeod

Publication date: Available online 23 July 2019

Source: Microbial Risk Analysis

Author(s): Ursula Gonzales-Barron, Anne Thébault, Pauline Kooh, Laurence Watier, Moez Sanaa, Vasco Cadavez