An official website of the United States government.

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Research Publications (Food Safety)

This page tracks research articles published in national and international peer-reviewed journals. Recent articles are available ahead of print and searchable by Journal, Article Title, and Category. Research publications are tracked across six categories: Bacterial Pathogens, Chemical Contaminants, Natural Toxins, Parasites, Produce Safety, and Viruses. Articles produced by USDA Grant Funding Agencies (requires login) and FDA Grant Funding Agencies (requires login) are also tracked in Scopus.

Displaying 176 - 200 of 2819

  1. Insights into the Remediation of Cadmium-Contaminated Vegetable Soil: Co-application of Low-Cost By-products and Microorganism

    • Water, Air, & Soil Pollution
    • Cadmium (Cd) is an unessential metal for plants that is popular in agricultural soil due to the activities of humans, such as urban refuse, phosphate fertilizers, and polluted irrigation water. Cd poses a severe threat to human health; therefore, remediation and prevention of Cd accumulation in plants on Cd-contaminated soils are required. The study was conducted by using the coupled impact of microorganisms (Trichoderma sp.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  2. Effect of arsenic stress on the intestinal structural integrity and intestinal flora abundance of Cyprinus carpio

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Aquatic organisms such as fish can accumulate high concentrations of arsenic (As), which has toxic effects on fish. However, whether the intestinal flora are involved in As damage to fish intestinal tissues and the underlying process are unclear. Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) were exposed to As (2.83 mg/L) in water for 30 days, and blood, muscle, intestine, and intestine samples were collected.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  3. Empirical and Mechanistic Modeling of Release Kinetics of Heavy Metals and Their Chemical Distribution in the Rhizosphere and Non-rhizosphere Soils Under Vegetable Cultivation

    • Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
    • Biochemical processes in the rhizosphere affect the availability and distribution of heavy metals (HMs) in various forms. Rhizosphere soil (RS) and non-rhizosphere soil (NRS) samples were collected from 10 fields under tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus L.) cultivation to investigate the release kinetics and distribution of HMs including cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn) in five fractions.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  4. Spatiotemporal distribution and probabilistic health risk assessment of arsenic in drinking water and wheat in Northwest China

    • Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
    • Drinking water arsenic poisoning has been a health concern, however the importance of dietary arsenic exposure to health also needs to be taken into account. The aim of this study was to conduct a comprehensive health risk assessment of arsenic-contaminated substances in drinking water and wheat-based food intake in the Guanzhong Plain, China. 87 samples of wheat and 150 samples of water were randomly selected from the research region and examined.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  5. Novel mechanisms of cadmium tolerance and Cd-induced fungal stress in wheat: Transcriptomic and metagenomic insights

    • Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
    • Although several studies on the effects of cadmium (Cd) on wheat have been reported, the gene expression profiles of different wheat tissues in response to gradient concentrations of Cd, and whether soil microorganisms are involved in the damage to wheat remain to be discovered.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  6. Regulation of gut bacteria in silkworm (Bombyx mori) after exposure to endogenous cadmium-polluted mulberry leaves

    • Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
    • Soil cadmium (Cd) pollution presents a severe pollution burden to flora and fauna due to its non-degradability and transferability. The Cd in the soil is stressing the silkworm (Bombyx mori) out through a soil-mulberry-silkworm system. The gut microbiota of B.mori are reported to shape host health.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  7. Pretreatment with egg white hydrolysate protects resistance arteries from damage induced after treatment with accidental cadmium exposure values

    • Journal of Functional Foods
    • We investigated whether pretreatment with an egg white hydrolysate (EWH) protects the cardiovascular system, especially the resistance vessels, from damage promoted by Cd exposure at high levels. Male Wistar rats, divided into groups: 1) Control – tap water by gavage + distilled water i.p. (28 days); 2) Cd – tap water (28 days) + CdCl2 1 mg/kg i.p. (last 14 days); 3) EWH 1 mg/kg/day by gavage + distilled water i.p.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  8. Analysis and health risk assessments of heavy metals and nitrate migration into pickle beverages

    • Food Science and Technology International
    • This research aimed to investigate the levels of heavy metals (lead, cadmium, inorganic arsenic, and aluminium) and nitrate contaminants in pickle beverages sold in the Turkey market produced from various fruits and vegetables. In addition, carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic risk assessments of exposure resulting from oral consumption of these beverages have also been made.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  9. Differential allocation of cadmium and zinc in durum wheat during grain filling as revealed by stable isotope labeling

    • Plant and Soil
    • Background and aims Cereals can be made safer and more nutritious by reducing cadmium (Cd) and enhancing zinc (Zn) levels.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  10. Cocultivation with Solanum nigrum and inoculation with Rhizophagus intraradices can improve plant photosynthesis and antioxidant defense to alleviate cadmium toxicity to soybean

    • Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
    • High Cd pollution can damage plant physiology and seriously threaten ecological security and human health. Therefore, we designed a cropping system, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) - soybean - Solanum nigrum L., to solve the high Cd pollution problem in an environmentally and economically friendly way.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  11. Effect of Organic Amendments on Cadmium Bioavailability in Soil and its Accumulation in Rice Grain

    • Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
    • A pot trial was conducted during the boro (dry) season to evaluate the impact of six traditional organic amendments (OAs) on the growth of SL-8 rice variety in both agricultural and cadmium (Cd) stressed soil at 2% and 4% application rates. Traditional OAs used in the study were cow dung, mustard oil cake (MOC), rice husk, saw dust, tea leaf and vermi compost (VC). Except for cow dung all other OAs were found to remove 99% of Cd from the aqueous solution, while cow dung removed 95%.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  12. Reducing cadmium accumulation in shrimp using Escherichia coli with surface-displayed peptide

    • Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
    • Cadmium (Cd) is a hazardous metal that can accumulate in aquatic organisms and endanger human health via the food chain. In this study, genetic engineering was used to display a peptide with Cd-binding potential on the surface of Escherichia coli cells. This whole-cell adsorbent exhibited high affinity for Cd ions (Cd2+) in the solution.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  13. Changes in Chromosome Complement and Germination of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) Exposed to Heavy Metal Stress

    • Water, Air, & Soil Pollution
    • Heavy metals are defined by their high atomic mass. When essential to organisms, metal presence improves plant development; if nonessential, metal presence is toxic. This study aimed to evaluate the biological effects of heavy metals (copper, lead, nickel, aluminum, and cadmium) on Lactuca sativa germination, growth, cytogenotoxicity, and physiology. Seeds of L.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  14. Insight into the biochemical and physiological mechanisms of nanoparticles-induced arsenic tolerance in bamboo

    • Frontiers in Plant Science
    • Introduction Arsenic (As) contamination in soil, sediments, and water poses a significant threat to the growth of bamboo plants.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  15. Rapid Screening and Comparison of Chimeric Lysins for Antibacterial Activity against Staphylococcus aureus Strains

    • Antibiotics
    • Chimeric lysins composed of various combinations of cell wall-lysing (enzymatic) and cell-wall-binding (CWB) domains of endolysins, autolysins, and bacteriocins have been developed as alternatives to or adjuvants of conventional antibiotics. The screening of multiple chimeric lysin candidates for activity via E. coli expression is not cost effective, and we previously reported on a simple cell-free expression system as an alternative.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Staphylococcus aureus
      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  16. Assessment of Heavy Metals Contamination and Antimicrobial Drugs Residue in Broiler Edible Tissues in Bangladesh

    • Antibiotics
    • There are substantial public health consequences when hazardous heavy metal contaminants and antimicrobial drug residues are present in broiler edible tissues. This study aimed to assess the concentration of antimicrobial drugs and heavy metals residues in broiler meat, bones and edible composites (combinations of liver, kidney and gizzard). Samples were collected from different types of broiler farms, broiler wet meat markets and supermarkets, covering all five divisions of Bangladesh.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Antibiotic residues
      • Heavy Metals
  17. Mitigation mechanism of zinc oxide nanoparticles on cadmium toxicity in tomato

    • Frontiers in Plant Science
    • Cadmium (Cd) pollution seriously reduces the yield and quality of vegetables. Reducing Cd accumulation in vegetables is of great significance for improving food safety and sustainable agricultural development. Here, using tomato as the material, we analyzed the effect of foliar spraying with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) on Cd accumulation and tolerance in tomato seedlings.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  18. Determination of Lead and Cadmium in Non-mineralized Raw Milk Samples Employing Extraction with Magnetic Restricted Access Carbon Nanotubes Followed by FAAS Analysis

    • Food Analytical Methods
    • Lead and cadmium were determined in non-mineralized raw milk samples employing dispersive solid-phase extraction with magnetic restricted access carbon nanotubes (M-RACNTs), followed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry analysis. M-RACNTs were obtained by modifying carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with magnetite nanoparticles and then covering with a chemically crosslinked bovine serum albumin (BSA) external layer.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  19. Activation of endogenous cadmium from biochar under simulated acid rain enhances the accumulation risk of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.)

    • Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
    • Biochar has been widely applied to remediate heavy metal-contaminated soils, but the environmental risk of the endogenous pollutants in biochar remains unclear. Two biochars with different endogenous cadmium (Cd) concentrations were prepared from background soil (BCB) and contaminated soil (BCC), respectively. We studied the effects of simulated acid rain (SAR) on the activation mechanism of endogenous Cd in biochar and Cd uptake of Cd by lettuce from the biochar-amended soils.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  20. The mechanism of silicon on alleviating cadmium toxicity in plants: A review

    • Frontiers in Plant Science
    • Cadmium is one of the most toxic heavy metal elements that seriously threaten food safety and agricultural production worldwide. Because of its high solubility, cadmium can easily enter plants, inhibiting plant growth and reducing crop yield. Therefore, finding a way to alleviate the inhibitory effects of cadmium on plant growth is critical. Silicon, the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, has been widely reported to promote plant growth and alleviate cadmium toxicity.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  21. Cadmium-absorptive Bacillus vietnamensis 151–6 reduces the grain cadmium accumulation in rice (Oryza sativa L.): Potential for cadmium bioremediation

    • Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
    • Microbial bioremediation of heavy metal-polluted soil is a promising technique for reducing heavy metal accumulation in crops. In a previous study, we isolated Bacillus vietnamensis strain 151–6 with a high cadmium (Cd) accumulation ability and low Cd resistance. However, the key gene responsible for the Cd absorption and bioremediation potential of this strain remains unclear. In this study, genes related to Cd absorption in B.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  22. Toxic effects of maternal cadmium exposure on the metabolism and transport system of amino acids in the maternal livers

    • Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
    • Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is one of the most common obstetric diseases, and affects approximately 10 % of all pregnancies worldwide. Maternal cadmium (Cd) exposure is one of the factors that may increase the risk of the development of FGR. However, its underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  23. Exopolysaccharide-producing bacteria enhanced Pb immobilization and influenced the microbiome composition in rhizosphere soil of pakchoi (Brassica chinensis L.)

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Lead (Pb) contamination of planting soils is increasingly serious, leading to harmful effects on soil microflora and food safety. Exopolysaccharides (EPSs) are carbohydrate polymers produced and secreted by microorganisms, which are efficient biosorbent materials and has been widely used in wastewater treatment to remove heavy metals. However, the effects and underlying mechanism of EPS-producing marine bacteria on soil metal immobilization, plant growth and health remain unclear.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  24. Monitoring arsenic species concentration in rice-based processed products distributed in South Korean markets and related risk assessment

    • Food Science and Biotechnology
    • Rice is an important grain as a major source of carbohydrates in Asia but contains more arsenic (As) than other grains. A total of 239 rice-based processed foods (rice, n = 30; rice cake, n = 30; porridge, n = 39; noodles, n = 33; bread, n = 20; snack, n = 59; powder, n = 28) were purchased in 2019 from domestic markets to measure total As (tAs) and As species.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  25. An integrated remediation approach using combinations of biochar, Rhizobium leguminosarum, and Vigna radiata for immobilizing and dissipating cadmium contaminants from the soil–mustard plant system

    • Frontiers in Plant Science
    • Cadmium (Cd) contamination of soils is an environmental concern, as cadmium harms food crops and can therefore impact human health. The use of combinations of biochar (seeded with Rhizobium leguminosarum) and Vigna radiata (as an intercrop) has the potential to reduce the mobilization of Cd from soil via mustard plants (Brassica juncea). Mustard plants are grown as a food and oil production crop that is consumed worldwide.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals