Research Publications (Food Safety)

Q fever is a worldwide zoonosis caused by Coxiella burnetii. Domestic ruminants are considered to be the main reservoir. Sheep, in particular, may frequently cause outbreaks in humans. Because within-flock circulation data are essential to implementing optimal management strategies, we performed a follow-up study of a naturally infected flock of dairy sheep. We aimed to (i) describe C.

Refrigerated food processing facilities are specific man-made niches likely to harbor cold-tolerant bacteria. To characterize this type of microbiota and study the link between processing plant and product microbiomes, we followed and compared microbiota associated with the raw materials and processing stages of a vacuum-packaged, cooked sausage product affected by a prolonged quality fluctuation with occasional spoilage manifestations during shelf life.

Staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) produced by Staphylococcus aureus have superantigenic and emetic activities, which cause toxic shock syndrome and staphylococcal food poisoning, respectively. Our previous study demonstrated that the sequence of SET has a low level of similarity to the sequences of other SEs and exhibits atypical bioactivities. Hence, we further explored whether there is an additional SET-related gene in S. aureus strains. One SET-like gene was found in the genome of S.

Lantibiotics are antimicrobial peptides with potential applications as the next generation of antimicrobials in the food industry and/or the pharmaceutical industry. Nisin has successfully been used as a food preservative for over 40 years, but its major drawback is its limited stability under neutral and alkaline pH conditions. To identify alternatives with better biochemical properties, we screened more than 100 strains of the Bacillus cereus group.

Dana Ziuzina, Daniela Boehm, Sonal Patil, P. J. Cullen, Paula Bourke

The sialyl-T antigen, sialylα2-3Galβ1-3GalNAc-, is a common O-glycan structure in human glycoproteins and is synthesized by sialyltransferase ST3Gal1. The enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli serotype O104 has the rare ability to synthesize a sialyl-T antigen mimic. We showed here that the wbwA gene of the E. coli O104 antigen synthesis gene cluster encodes an α2,3-sialyltransferase WbwA that transfers sialic acid from CMP-sialic acid to Galβ1-3GalNAcα-diphosphate-lipid acceptor.

Publication date: 4 January 2016
, Volume 216
Author(s): Carolyn A. Meaney, Stephen T. Cartman, Peter J. McClure, Nigel P. Minton

Publication date: February 2016
, Volume 53, Part B
Author(s): Florence Baron, Françoise Nau, Catherine Guérin-Dubiard, Sylvie Bonnassie, Michel Gautier, Simon C. Andrews, Sophie Jan

Publication date: Available online 16 September 2015

Author(s): Gabriel Cabrera, Romina J. Fernández-Brando, María Pilar Mejías, María Victoria Ramos, María Jimena Abrey-Recalde, Silvia Vanzulli, Mónica Vermeulen, Marina S. Palermo

The objective of this study was to compare the acid resistanceAR) of non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains belonging to serogroups O26, O45, O103, O104, O111, O121, and O145 with O157:H7 STEC isolated from various sources in 400 mM acetic acid solutions (AAS) at pH 3.2 and 30 °C for 25 min with or without glutamic acid.

Publication date: 4 January 2016
, Volume 216
Author(s): Angela Guidone, Teresa Zotta, Attilio Matera, Annamaria Ricciardi, Francesca De Filippis, Danilo Ercolini, Eugenio Parente

Three multiplex PCR assays were developed to identify the 11 most common Listeria monocytogenes clones in clinical and food samples; 270 (95.7%) of 282 strains of serogroups IVb, IIb, IIa, and IIc were identified accurately. This novel tool is a rapid and efficient alternative to multilocus sequence typing for identification of L. monocytogenes clones.

Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis is a significant cause of gastrointestinal illness in the United States; however, current molecular subtyping methods lack resolution for this highly clonal serovar. Advances in next-generation sequencing technologies have made it possible to examine whole-genome sequencing (WGS) as a potential molecular subtyping tool for outbreak detection and source trace back. Here, we conducted a retrospective analysis of S.

Multicellular biofilms are an ancient bacterial adaptation that offers a protective environment for survival in hostile habitats. In microaerophilic organisms like Campylobacter, biofilms play a key role in transmission to humans as the bacteria are exposed to atmospheric oxygen concentrations when leaving the reservoir host gut.

Publication date: October 2015
, Volume 98, Issue 10
Author(s): P. Cremonesi, F. Pozzi, M. Raschetti, G. Bignoli, E. Capra, H.U. Graber, F. Vezzoli, R. Piccinini, B. Bertasi, S. Biffani, B. Castiglioni, M. Luini

e-First Articles.

Publication date: February 2016
, Volume 53, Part B
Author(s): Cécile Callon, Céline Arliguie, Marie-Christine Montel

Publication date: February 2016
, Volume 53, Part B
Author(s): Dafni Dimakopoulou-Papazoglou, Alexandra Lianou, Konstantinos P. Koutsoumanis

Xiaojuan Yang, Qingping Wu, Jumei Zhang, Jiahui Huang, Weipeng Guo, Shuzhen Cai

The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of Zataria multiflora Boiss essential oilZEO) and grape seed extract (GSE) on microbial and chemical changes in raw buffalo patty at a temperature of 8C. First, chemical composition and minimum inhibitory concentration of oil against Listeria monocytogenes were identified.

Publication date: 23 December 2015
, Volume 215
Author(s): Sofia Boqvist, Lise-Lotte Fernström, Beatrix W. Alsanius, Roland Lindqvist

Swapnil P. Doijad, Sukhadeo B. Barbuddhe, Sandeep Garg, Krupali V. Poharkar, Dewanand R. Kalorey, Nitin V. Kurkure, Deepak B. Rawool, Trinad Chakraborty

Publication date: Available online 9 September 2015

Author(s): Maged El-Ashker, Mayada Gwida, Herbert Tomaso, Stefan Monecke, Ralf Ehricht, Fatma El-Gohary, Helmut Hotzel

Modification of pH and combined use of novel processing methods may be a good strategy to improve the quality of canned vegetablesIn this study, selected thermal (TP) and high pressure-assisted thermal (HP-T) processing methods were validated for citric acid-infused carrots (pH ≤ 4.5) using Bacillus licheniformis spores. Previously established thermal inactivation kinetics data were used to setup the target process times (to achieve 7-log kill of B. licheniformis).

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease , Vol. 0, No. 0.