Research Publications (Food Safety)

by Tatjana Reuter, Felix Scharte, Rico Franzkoch, Viktoria Liss, Michael Hensel

Author(s): Daniela Comparsi Laranja, Patrícia da Silva Malheiros, Fabíola Ayres Cacciatore, Susana de Oliveira Elias, Bruno Pinheiro Milnitsky, Eduardo Cesar Tondo

The aim of the study was to evaluate the genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of 20 strains of S. Heidelberg (SH) isolated from broilers produced in southern Brazil. The similarity and presence of genetic determinants linked to virulence, antimicrobial resistance, biofilm formation, and in silico-predicted metabolic interactions revealed this serovar as a threat to public health.

Author(s): Cid R. González-González, Olaoniye Labo-Popoola, Gonzalo Delgado-Pando, Katerina Theodoridou, Olena Doran, Alexandros Ch Stratakos

Experiments were performed to assess the survival of Salmonella on whole Brazil nuts and pumpkin seeds stored at 8ºC, 23ºC, and 37ºC. Brazil nut kernels and pumpkin seeds were inoculated with bacterial inoculum containing 10.4 Log 10 CFU/ml of Salmonella Enteritidis Phage Type 30 ( S E PT30) and then aseptically dried at room temperature for 24 hrs.

The transfer of the intestinal microbiota from adult to juvenile animals reduces Salmonella prevalence and abundance. The mechanism behind this exclusion is unknown, however, certain member species may exclude or promote pathogen colonization and Salmonella abundance in chickens correlates with intestinal community composition.

The mcr-1 gene mediating mobile colistin resistance in Escherichia coli was first reported in China in 2016 followed by reports among different species worldwide, especially in E. coli and Klebsiella. However, data on its transmission in Salmonella are still lacking. This study analyzed the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles and the mcr-1 gene presence in 755 foodborne Salmonella from 26 provinces of mainland, China in 2016.

Author(s): Jessica Audrey Feijó Corrêa, João Vitor Garcia dos Santos, Alberto Gonçalves Evangelista, Anne Caroline Schoch Marques Pinto, Renata Ernlund Freitas de Macedo, Fernando Bittencourt Luciano

Bacterial ghosts (BGs) are empty cell envelopes possessing native extracellular structures without a cytoplasm and genetic materials. BGs are proposed to have significant prospects in biomedical research as vaccines or delivery carriers. The applications of BGs are often limited by inefficient bacterial lysis and a low yield.

Author(s): Jiajia Wan, Liping Zheng, Liangyu Kong, Zhaoxin Lu, Yang Tao, Zhiyang Feng, Fengxia Lv, Fanqiang Meng, Xiaomei Bie

Objective. This cross-sectional study conducted in Kibera, Kenya, sought to gain insights on relative microbial contamination levels of popular unprocessed food types, determine antimicrobial resistance (AMR) burden and the carriage of integrons that are essential elements for spreading antimicrobial resistance genes (ARG).

Author(s): Xiang Wang, Yani Xie, Hua Cai, Shenggang Duan, Xia Song, Yufan Wu, Taisong Fang, Qingli Dong, Hong Liu

Author(s): Haojie Ge, Kai Zhang, Dan Gu, Xiang Chen, Xin Wang, Guiqin Li, Hongji Zhu, Yingyan Chang, Ge Zhao, Zhiming Pan, Xin’an Jiao, Maozhi Hu

Author(s): Hend Ali Elshebrawy, Mahmoud Ahmed Mahros, Samir Mohammed Abd-Elghany, Mohammed Mohammed Elgazzar, Hideki Hayashidani, Khalid Ibrahim Sallam

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.

Propolis is a resinous material rich in flavonoids and involved in several biological activities such as antimicrobial, fungicide, and antiparasitic functions. Conventionally, ethanolic solutions are used to obtain propolis phytochemicals, which restrict their use in some cultures. Given this, we developed an alcohol-free high-performance extractive approach to recover antibacterial and antioxidants phytochemicals from red propolis.

Background

Author(s): Stephanie Arellano, Bibiana Law, Mendel Friedman, Sadhana Ravishankar

The emergence and evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is considered a public health concern. Salmonella is one of the most common pathogens that cause high mortality and morbidity rates in humans, animals, and poultry annually. In this work, we developed a combination of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with bacteriophage (phage) as an antimicrobial agent to control microbial growth.

Colistin has a long story of safe use in animals for the treatment and prevention of certain bacterial diseases. Nevertheless, the first description of the mcr-1 gene showed that colistin resistance can spread by horizontal gene transfer and changed the landscape.

Zoonoses and Public Health, EarlyView. Multidrug-resistant Salmonella Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) isolates have become a significant threat to public health, and fosfomycin has been proposed as one of the therapeutic antibiotics for serious infections by resistant pathogens. In this study, a total of 501 clinical S. Enteritidis isolates were screened and 14 (2.8%) isolates exhibited resistance to fosfomycin (MIC ≥ 1,024 μg/mL) as well as ceftriaxone (MIC ≥ 128 μg/mL).

Author(s): Yating Guo, Jie Li, Md. Sharifull Islam, Ting Yan, Yang Zhou, Lu Liang, Ian F. Connerton, Kai Deng, Jinquan Li

Toxoplasma gondii , hepatitis E virus (HEV) and Salmonella are zoonotic foodborne pathogens that may be transmitted to humans through the consumption of raw or undercooked pork.  The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of anti- Toxoplasma gondii , anti-HEV and anti- Salmonella antibodies from healthy pigs at slaughter in Switzerland.

Poultry remains one of the top food commodities responsible for foodborne illness in the U.S., despite poultry industry efforts since the inception of HACCP to reduce the burden of foodborne illness implicating poultry products. The appropriate use of antimicrobial compounds during processing of raw poultry can help minimize this risk. Currently, peroxyacetic acid (PAA) is the most popular antimicrobial in the poultry industry, displacing chlorine compounds and others.

This study aimed to investigate the inactivation of foodborne pathogens and the quality characteristics of fresh chicken breasts after Ultraviolet-C light-emitting diode (UVC-LED) treatment. Fresh chicken breasts were separately inoculated with Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes at an initia population of 6.01, 5.80, and 6.22 log 10 CFU/cm 2 , respectively, then were treated by UVC-LED at 1000 to 4000 mJ/cm 2 .