Research Publications (Food Safety)

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of waste milk with antibiotic residue on rumen fermentation and rumen bacterial composition of dairy calves during pre-weaned and post-weaned periods. A total of 24 Holstein male calves (43.4 ± 0.93 kg body weight, mean ± standard error) were allocated into four blocks based on birth date. Dairy calves were supplied 100% milk replacer (MR, n = 8), 50% milk replacer mixed with 50% waste milk (MM, n = 8), or 100% waste milk (WM, n = 8).

Increased use of antibiotics in livestock is a public health concern, as it poses risks of antibiotic residues and antibiotic-resistant pathogens entering the food chains and infecting humans. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 216 poultry farms to study knowledge, attitudes and practices of poultry farmers on the use of antibiotics in urban and peri-urban areas of Ouagadougou. Results show that only 17.13% (37/216) of farmers attended training on poultry production.

A national survey of sixteen commonly used antibiotics in chicken meat was conducted for three consecutive years (2016–2018). A total of 4591 chicken meat samples were collected from 24 provinces in China and measured by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The results revealed that all of the antibiotics studied were detected with an overall detection frequency of 20.47% and an exceeding standard rate of 2.94%.

This work aimed to develop an integrated high-throughput screening and quantification for multi-class veterinary drug residues by HPLC-Q-Orbitrap mass spectrometry. A qualitative screening mass database of 171 veterinary drugs was created using full scanning mode, which improved the screening accuracy and scope. Beef and chicken samples were chosen to validate the quantification method at three spiked concentration levels.

The emergence, persistence, and spread of antibiotic-resistant microbes is a tremendous public health threat that is considered nowadays a critical One Health issue. In Lebanon, the consumption of raw bovine milk has been recently reported as a result of the financial crisis.

National and international food and feed safety authorities are shifting from routine-to risk-based monitoring. Risk-based monitoring requires flexibility in the scope of analytes, matrices, and sampling. Also, risk-based monitoring implies a desire for retrospective analysis using different scope(s) to follow trends, identify new food safety threats, and monitor the effectiveness of policy interventions.

The residues of pharmaceutical compounds such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in aquatic environments are a matter of global concern because they may pose deleterious risks to human health and ecosystems. In this study, a novel composite was prepared by grafting ionic liquid hypercrosslinked polymer onto the surface of the melamine sponge skeleton. The resultant hypercrosslinked polymer@sponge was characterized using SEM, BET, FT-IR, TG-DSC, XPS, and a zeta potential analyzer.

The use of antibiotics leads to antibiotic residues in livestock and poultry products, adversely affecting human health. Ciprofloxacin (CFX) is a broad-spectrum antibiotic shared between animals and humans that is useful in treatments besides infections. However, changes in the gut microbiota caused by CFX and the possible link with the elimination of CFX residues have not been investigated.

Fluoroquinolones (FQs) are among the antibiotics whose widespread use in farm-raised animals results in potentially harmful residues in the end products. Additionally, most Thai farmers use antibiotics. Amoxicillin and enrofloxacin were commonly used by pig farms, and hens were given enrofloxacin to prevent immunization side effects. Moreover, antibiotic overuse has harmed food safety in the long term, and the use of low-dose antibiotics causes bacterial resistance.

The disposal of antibiotics in the aquatic environment favors the selection of bacteria exhibiting antibiotic resistance mechanisms. Quinolones are bactericidal antimicrobials extensively used in both human and animal medicine. Some of the quinolone-resistance mechanisms are encoded by different bacterial genes, whereas others are the result of mutations in the enzymes on which those antibiotics act.

This study investigates short cationic antimicrobial lipopeptides composed of 2–4 amino acid residues and C12-C18 fatty acids attached to the N-terminal part of the peptides. The findings were discussed in the context of the relationship among biological activity, self-assembly, stability, and membrane interactions. All the lipopeptides showed the ability to self-assemble in PBS solution.

Watersheds contaminated with municipal, hospital, and agricultural residues are recognized as reservoirs for bacteria carrying antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). The objective of this study was to determine the potential of environmental bacterial communities from the highly contaminated La Paz River basin in Bolivia to transfer ARGs to an Escherichia coli lab strain used as the recipient.

The prevalence of plasmid-mediated tigecycline resistance gene tet(X4) is presenting an increasing trend. Once tet(X4)-bearing plasmids are captured by multidrug-resistant bacteria, such as blaNDM and mcr-coharboring bacteria, it will promote bacteria to develop an ultra-broad resistance spectrum, limiting clinical treatment options. However, little is known about the destiny of such bacteria or how they will evolve in the future.

Antibiotic drug residues are crucial to ensure food safety and minimize risk to human health. Herein, a sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of antibiotic residues (mainly amphenicols) consisting of chloramphenicol (CAP), thiamphenicol (TAP), florfenicol (FF), and florfenicol amine (FFA) in aquatic products.

The first weeks of life represent a crucial stage for microbial colonization of the piglets’ gastrointestinal tract. Newborns’ microbiota is unstable and easily subject to changes under stimuli or insults. Nonetheless, the administration of antibiotics to the sow is still considered as common practice in intensive farming for pathological conditions in the postpartum.

Antibiotics, especially fluoroquinolones, have been exhaustively used in animal husbandry. However, very limited information on the occurrence and exposure assessment of fluoroquinolone residues in chicken and pork in China is available to date.

Nitrofurans, a kind of banned antibiotics for their serious toxic side effects, have often been found in aquatic products in the past and are still found nowadays which were a severe threat for human health. A rapid quantization of nitrofuran metabolites residues in aquatic products by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) method was developed in this study.

The intensive use of antibiotics in the veterinary sector, linked to the application of manure-derived amendments in agriculture, translates into increased environmental levels of chemical residues, AR bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARG). The aim of this review was to evaluate the current evidence regarding the impact of animal farming and manure application on the antibiotic resistance pool in the environment.

Photocatalysis, as a novel technique, has been widely used for antibiotic pollution remediation in wastewater. In the processes of degradation and removal of antibiotics, the impact of photocatalysts on microenvironment is very important but remains poorly understood.

In Tanzania, the increased demand for animal-derived foods, particularly eggs, meat, and milk, has resulted in the intensification of farming systems with the use of antimicrobials, particularly sulphonamides and tetracyclines. According to the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius commission, concentrations of antimicrobial residues in food exceeding the acceptable daily intake (ADI) and maximum residual limit (MRL) pose a health risk to consumers.

Multi-class antibiotic analysis in aquatic products is still challenging owing to the complex matrix and low co-extraction efficiency of various antibiotics. A facile and sensitive sample pretreatment method based on magnetic dispersive solid-phase extraction was thus developed via systematic optimization of extraction and purification procedure. The multi-class antibiotics can simultaneously be extracted by acetonitrile-2% acetic acid.

To assess the health risks from antibiotic residues in freshwater fish, this study analyzed residues of 65 antibiotics in 10 freshwater fish species sampled in southeast China. Eight antibiotics were detected by UPLC-MS/MS at an overall detection rate of 53.9%, with 3.48% of samples exceeding MRLs and 13.0% suggesting the misuse of human antibiotics. Quinolones, particularly enrofloxacin, were the most frequently detected residues.

Germacrene A (GA) is a key intermediate for the synthesis of medicinal active compounds, especially for β-elemene, which is a broad-spectrum anticancer drug. The production of sufficient GA in the microbial platform is vital for the precursors supply of active compounds. In this study, Escherichia coli BL21 Star (DE3) was used as the host and cultivated in SBMSN medium, obtaining a highest yield of FPP. The GA synthase from Lactuca sativa (LTC2) exhibited the highest level of GA production.

Enterococcus faecium has become an important drug-resistant nosocomial pathogen because of widespread antibiotic abuse. We developed short and chemically simple antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with a selective amino acid composition, fixed charge, and hydrophobicity ratio based on the core antimicrobial motif of bovine lactoferrin (LfcinB6). Among these peptides, 5L and 6L (both 12 residues long) demonstrated a narrow spectrum and high antibacterial activity against drug-resistant E.

India has achieved its food security through the green revolution and technological revolution, although food safety is still not realized. Subsequently, agricultural runoffs, industrial wastes and domestic sewages continuously contaminate the water and the associated livelihood through several contaminants. Pesticides and their residues, which function as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), influence the food web through water resources, among other things.