Research Publications (Food Safety)

ABSTRACT

B. E. Karp et al. A multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serotype Anatum strain reported in Taiwan was isolated in the United States from patients and in seafood imported from Asia. Isolates harbored 11 resistance determinants, including quinolone and inducible cephalosporin resistance genes. Most patients had traveled to Asia. These findings underscore the need for global One Health resistance surveillance.

An increasing global population demands a continuous supply of nutritious and safe food. Edible products can be contaminated with biological (e.g., bacteria, virus, protozoa), chemical (e.g., heavy metals, mycotoxins), and physical hazards during production, storage, transport, processing, and/or meal preparation.

Emergence and expansion of frequent multidrug‐resistant (MDR) major Salmonella clones/serotypes has been a significant threat in the last years. Metal compounds, such as copper, commonly used in animal‐production settings, have been pointed out as possible contributors for the selection of such strains/clones. However, the scarcity of studies limits our understanding of the impact of other metal environmental contaminants as arsenic (used in insecticides/herbicides/coccidiostats).

by Shauna M. Crowley, Xiao Han, Joannie M. Allaire, Martin Stahl, Isabella Rauch, Leigh A. Knodler, Bruce A. Vallance

LtrR is a LysR-type regulator involved in the positive expression of ompR to promote ompC and ompF expression. This regulatory network is fundamental in the control of bacterial transformation and in resistance to the bile salt sodium deoxycholate in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi. In this work, the transcriptional regulation of ltrR was characterized, revealing that the use of alternative promoters results in two transcripts.

Genetic variation in a pathogen, including the causative agent of salmonellosis, Salmonella enterica, can occur as a result of eco‐evolutionary forces triggered by dissimilarities of ecological niches. Here, we applied comparative genomics to study 90 antimicrobial resistant (AMR) S. enterica isolates from bovine and human hosts in New York state and Washington state to understand host‐ and geographic‐associated population structure.

Author(s): Epiphanie Nyirabahizi, Gregory H. Tyson, Uday Dessai, Shaohua Zhao, Claudine Kabera, Emily Crarey, Niketta Womack, Mary Katherine Crews, Errol Strain, Heather Tate

Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium is a bacterium that causes gastroenteritis and diarrhea in humans. The genome of S. Typhimurium codes for diverse virulence factors, among which are the toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems. SehAB is a type II TA, where SehA is the toxin and SehB is the antitoxin. It was previously reported that the absence of the SehB antitoxin affects the growth of S. Typhimurium.

High oleic peanuts were inoculated with Enterococcus faecium and roasted in a convection oven at 190°C. There was a 6 log CFU/g reduction at 480 s. D‐values for high oleic peanut butter at 110, 120, and 125°C were 438.9, 165.1, and 80.6 s, respectively. The z‐value was calculated to be 20.8°C. High oleic peanut butter was inoculated with E. faecium and agitated in a heated mixer for 21.5 min. E. faecium was reduced by 5.1 log CFU/g after 16.5 min.

Aims The food supply is a potential source of antimicrobial resistance. Current surveillance programs targeting food are limited to beef, pork and poultry and do not capture niche products. In this study, imported reptile and amphibian products were screened for antimicrobial resistant bacteria. Methods and Results Fifty‐three items including soft shell turtles, frog legs, geckos, snakes and a turtle carapace were purchased from specialty markets in Vancouver and Saskatoon, Canada.

Viable pathogenic bacteria are major biohazards that pose a significant threat to food safety. Despite the recent developments in detection platforms, multiplex identification of viable pathogens in food remains a major challenge. A novel strategy is developed through direct metatranscriptome RNA-seq and multiplex RT-PCR amplicon sequencing on Nanopore MinION to achieve real-time multiplex identification of viable pathogens in food.

The effects of previous Salmonella Typhimurium habituation to an Italian-style salami concerning pathogen resistance against ultraviolet-C light (UV-C) treatment were modeled in order to establish treatment feasibility for the decontamination of dry-fermented sausage. S. Typhimurium following 24 h habituation in fermented sausage (habituated cells) or non-habituation (non-habituated cells) were exposed to increasing UV-C radiation treatment times.

The online e-pub version of the article entitled, Antibiotic Resistance in Salmonella Enteritidis Isolates Recovered from Chicken, Chicken Breast, and Humans Through National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System Between 1996 and 2014” by Paudyal N, Pan H, Li X. Fang W.

Author(s): Seoung Hyuk Kim, Wang June Kim, Seok-Seong Kang

Author(s): Anand Prakash, Vellingiri Vadivel, Durairajan Rubini, Paramasivam Nithyanand

Fresh‐cut apples were dip‐coated in antimicrobial/antibrowning solutions. The developed solutions had the dual effectiveness of both controlling browning and reducing pathogenic bacterial populations, which maintained the fresh‐like appearance and texture of apple slices for 35 days and reduced populations of Salmonella to undetectable levels (<1 log) without growth throughout the storage at 4°C.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial effect of Chinese wild blueberry extract and its fractions against Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Enteritidis, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Chinese wild blueberry (Vaccinium uliginosum) crude extract (BBE) was obtained using methanol extraction, and sugars plus organic acids (F1), phenolics fraction (F2), and anthocyanins plus proanthocyanidins (F3) fractions were separated using C‐18 Sep‐Pak columns.

Author(s): Sihan Chen, Xinyan Yang, Shiqian Fu, Xue Qin, Tao Yang, Chaoxin Man, Yujun Jiang

Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is used increasingly in public-health laboratories for typing and characterizing foodborne pathogens. To evaluate the performance of existing bioinformatic tools for in silico prediction of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and serotypes of Salmonella enterica, WGS-based genotype predictions were compared with the results of traditional phenotyping assays. A total of 111 S.

To establish host association, the innate immune system, which is one of the first lines of defense against infectious disease, must be circumvented. Plants encounter enteric foodborne bacterial pathogens under both pre- and post-harvest conditions. Human enteric foodborne pathogens can use plants as temporary hosts. This unique interaction may result in recalls and illness outbreaks associated with raw agricultural commodities.

Introduction

The emergence and spread of new strains of zoonotic bacteria, such as multidrug resistant (MDR) Salmonella Infantis, represent a growing health risk for humans in and outside Europe due to foodborne infections of poultry meat origin.

Objectives

Modifications to pathogen detection kits to accomplish simplified protocols with reduced time to results may impact method performance, particularly when combining shortened enrichment times and simplified enrichment procedures.

Author(s): Shengyi Han, Wen Hu, Wei Kan, Zhiyi Ge, Xiangyang Song, Lingxia Li, Youjun Shang, Qiaoying Zeng, Jian-hua Zhou

Salmonella enterica is a foodborne pathogen often leading to gastroenteritis and is commonly acquired by consumption of contaminated food of animal origin. However, frequency of outbreaks linked to the consumption of fresh or minimally processed food of nonanimal origin is increasing. New infection routes of S. enterica by vegetables, fruits, nuts, and herbs have to be considered. This leads to special interest in S.