Research Publications (Food Safety)

Author(s): Yiying Huang, Steve H. Flint, Jon S. Palmer

Author(s): Xuyang Wang, Lu Tian, Jiapeng Fu, Sichen Liao, Siqi Yang, Xinyi Jia, Guoli Gong

Screening for producers of potent antimicrobial peptides, resulted in the isolation of Bacillus cereus BGNM1 with strong antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes. Genome sequence analysis revealed that BGNM1 contains the gene cluster associated with the production of the lantibiotic, thusin, previously identified in B. thuringiensis. Purification of the antimicrobial activity confirmed that strain BGMN1 produces thusin.

Bacillus cereus is frequently associated with food-borne intoxications, and its emetic toxin cereulide causes emesis and nausea after consumption of contaminated foods. The major source for contamination is found within contaminated raw materials containing the highly chemically resistant cereulide, independent of vegetative bacteria cells. Up to date, non-existing removal strategies for cereulide evoke the question of how the toxin is distributed within a food sample, especially cow milk.

The aim of the present study was to isolate and identify lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from fermented juice of tropical crops such as Napier grass, Ruzi grass, Purple guinea grass, Stylo legume, and Leucaena and their application to improve the quality of tropical crop silage. Fifteen strains of LAB were isolated.

Mastitis is the economically most important disease of dairy cows. This study used PacBio single-molecule real-time sequencing technology to sequence the full-length 16S rRNAs from 27 milk samples (18 from mastitis and nine from healthy cows; the cows were at different stages of lactation). We observed that healthy or late stage milk microbiota had significantly higher microbial diversity and richness. The community composition of the microbiota of different groups also varied greatly.

Author(s): Erica Tirloni, Cristian Bernardi, Francesco Celandroni, Emilia Ghelardi, Simone Stella

Fatty acids of two mesophilic and one psychrotrophic strains of the foodborne pathogen Bacillus cereus were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry during growth at cold (10 and 12°C) vs. optimal (30°C) temperatures and during the whole growth process (6–7 sampling times) from lag to stationary phase. In all these strains, a sequential change of fatty acids during cold growth was observed.

Author(s): Vanessa Pereira Perez Alonso, Jessica de Oliveira Moraes, Dirce Yorika Kabuki

The aim of this study is to analyze and document the microbiological safety and quality of ready-to-eat foods in hospital and university canteens in Hanoi, Vietnam. A total of 420 ready-to-eat food products from 21 canteens were sampled in July 2018 and May 2019. The ratio of samples exceeding the unsatisfactory level for Total Plate Count (TPC) was 31%.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, EarlyView. Bacillus cereus is one of the leading etiological agents of toxin-induced foodborne diseases. Its omnipresence in different environments, spore formation, and its ability to adapt to varying conditions and produce harmful toxins make this pathogen a health hazard that should not be underestimated. Food poisoning by B. cereus can manifest itself as an emetic or diarrheal syndrome.

Bacteriocins have become biological weapons against harmful food pathogens and have attracted interest as tools for biopreservation. The aim of this study was to isolate, identify and characterize lactic acid bacterial (LAB) strains from cheese samples, partially purify potential bacteriocins and characterize their antimicrobial activity against pathogens. Bacteriocin-producing organisms were screened by Agar spot assay test.

Sixteen metabolites, including seven C7-alkylated salicylaldehyde derivatives (1–7) and nine prenylated indole alkaloids (8–16), three of which are new, namely, asperglaucins A and B (1 and 2) and neoechinulin F (8), were separated from the endolichenic fungus Aspergillus chevalieri SQ-8. Asperglaucin A (1) represents an unusual phthalide-like derivative with a benzo[c]thiophen-1(3H)-one scaffold.

ABSTRACT Stachys pilifera Benth is an endemic species of Stachys family found in Iran with a wide application as an herbal tea. The objective of this research was to evaluate the antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of the essential oil from the aerial parts of S. pilifera.

Co-infection with ancillary pathogens is a significant modulator of morbidity and mortality in infectious diseases. There have been limited reports of co-infections accompanying SARS-CoV-2 infections, albeit lacking India specific study. The present study has made an effort toward elucidating the prevalence, diversity and characterization of co-infecting respiratory pathogens in the nasopharyngeal tract of SARS-CoV-2 positive patients.

A 57-year-old man with a medical history notable for hypertension presented with 10 days of blue skin discoloration on the bilateral arms and trunk. The discoloration was asymptomatic without any associated pain or itch. His medications included hydrochlorothiazide, olmesartan, and amlodipine with no new medications or exposures. A review of systems was unremarkable.

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. Bacillus cereus is among the primary food-poisoning pathogenic bacterium that causes diarrhea and emetic types of diseases throughout the world. Recent advances show that bacteriophages become important tools in detection and control of foodborne bacterial pathogens in foods. They gain the interest of researchers for the food industries mainly because they are host-specific and harmless to humans.

Pythium myriotylum is a notorious soil-borne oomycete that causes post-emergence damping-off in chili pepper. Of various disease management strategies, utilization of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in disease suppression and plant growth promotion is an interesting strategy. The present study was performed to isolate and characterize PGPR indigenous to the chili rhizosphere in Pakistan, and to test the potential to suppress the damping-off and plant growth promotion in chili.

This study isolated Bacillus cereus from soft soybean curds and developed a dynamic model to describe the kinetic behavior of B. cereus isolates during transfer and storage. B. cereus were first isolated from soft soybean curds. A mixture of B. cereus isolates was then inoculated in soft soybean curd and the bacterial cell counts were enumerated during storage at 10-30°C. The B.

Author(s): Jung-Whan Chon, Kun-Ho Seo

Bacillus cereus sensu stricto is an important pathogen causing food poisoning, as well as extraintestinal diseases. It presents a major challenge for the food industry, as it can easily be spread to different foods via crop plants and livestock. Furthermore, its ability to produce biofilms and spores makes B. cereus extremely resistant towards cleaning and disinfection procedures, as well as the technological processing of foods.

Retail foodservice establishments (FSE) frequently utilize washes with sanitizing agents during fresh produce preparation. This study evaluated the efficacy of ozonated water on the inactivation of viruses, bacteria, and viruses in association with bacteria on produce surfaces.

The diversity of 61 Bacillus cereus strains isolated from different clinical specimens, food including raw milk and milk products, and water was evaluated. PFGE analysis could discriminate 61 distinct pulsotypes with similarity levels from 25 to 82%, which were divided into 13 clonal complexes. The similarity between clonal complexes was at least 40%.

Bacillus cereus is a human pathogenic bacterium that produces emetic and diarrheal foodborne diseases. This study evaluated the genetic and toxigenic diversity in B. cereus group isolates from powdered foods collected in public educational institutions, bakeries and powdered food companies located in Medellín, Colombia. B. cereus was detected in 35 of 305 (11%) powdered food samples and 52 B. cereus were isolated.

Bacillus cereus, which causes foodborne disease, is detected using selective media. However, competing flora is the most common factor preventing the correct enumeration of B. cereus on selective agars. In this study, we aimed to improve the selectivity of mannitol-yolk-polymyxin B agar (MYPA) and its modified version containing trimethoprim (mMYPA) developed in our previous study by supplementation with ceftazidime (16 μg/mL).