Research Publications (Food Safety)

Schematic illustration of PO combined with NFT inhibiting browning and maintaing qualities of fresh‐cut nectarines. Abstract Fresh‐cut fruits were convenient for consumers but vulnerable to quality deterioration, including browning, softening, and volatile aroma loss. In this study, the whole nectarines were pretreated with 100% O2 (pure oxygen, PO) for 2 h and stored at near‐freezing temperature (NFT, −1.5 ± 0.1°C) for 9 days after cutting.

Novel modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) formulation maintains the qualities of strawberries. Abstract For fresh foods, the purpose and benefits of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) generally include the preservation of antioxidants, the extension of shelf life, deferral of microbial spoilage, and retention of product color.

Significance and Functions of Biosensors. Abstract The food industry has inappropriate techniques for process and quality control and requires techniques that can provide information on the physical and chemical properties of food quickly and affordably. Food applications mostly focus on the identification of contaminants, with a few significant analytes, such as sugars, alcohols, amino acids, flavors, and sweeteners, as exceptions.

Fatty acid amides of palmitic (PAPY), lauric (LAPY), myristic (MYPY), and decanoic (DEPY) acids inhibited bacteria. Significant inhibition of Listeria and other bacteria increased at higher amide concentrations (10,000–20,000 ppm). LAPY reduced Listeria growth by 1.55 to >5.0 Logs in co‐inoculation assays and by 0.51 to >3.00 Log CFU/g on produce. Abstract Foodborne pathogens are a persistent threat to food and consumer safety.

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. Demand for sustainable and safe raw agricultural commodities is growing rapidly worldwide. Reducing the risk of foodborne illnesses associated with fresh produce is a task which the industry and academic researchers have been struggling with for many years. There is an immediate need to devise a non-invasive optical detection system to monitor the food-borne pathogens on the leaf surface.

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. Preharvest control strategies, to reduce or eliminate pathogenic bacteria in leafy vegetables that may be consumed raw, may provide additional food safety protection and shelf life quality extension beyond what is possible to achieve with postharvest sanitation alone.

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. Stropharia rugosoannulata, a high-value mushroom, exhibits high nutritional value and flavor characteristics; however, the mushroom is susceptible to spoilage, water loss and texture deterioration, which renders its safety and edibility a challenge. To improve the shelf life of fresh mushrooms during storage, a novel nanocomposite packaging (NP) was applied for the first time to maintain the freshness of S.

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) fumigation has been widely used to control pathogens and maintain the postharvest quality of table grapes. However, the effective dosage of SO2 treatment is close to causing bleaching damage on fruits. Further, the SO2 potential residue is a risk to human health.

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. This study aimed to investigate the effect of soaking lettuce seeds in a lime oil emulsion at 0 (control), 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 μl/ml before growing them in a hydroponic plantation. After harvesting baby lettuce at Day 21, all lettuce was kept inside the refrigerator (4 ± 2°C) for the next 7 days. The microbiological quality and the antioxidant properties of lettuce were also investigated.

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. Occurrences and contamination of Salmonella enterica on produce are a significant food safety issue. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of low-dose gamma radiation on survival and reductions of S. enterica on postharvest carrot and tomato. Irradiation treatments of 0–1 kGy were applied on produce, following pathogen inoculations in replicated experiments.

Journal of Food Safety, Volume 41, Issue 6, December 2021.

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView.

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli are well tolerant of freezing.

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. Increasing concerns toward food safety and public health have rendered the use of synthetic chemicals in agricultural environments unacceptable. A shift toward biologically safe approaches has been considered a preferred strategy within the food handling chain and has received increasing attention over the past years in managing undesirable microbial growth.

Botrytis rot is a serious disease of fruit and vegetables around the globe. We tested and found that frequencies above 5 kHz and mechanical vibrations and acoustic frequencies from cold‐storage devices increase the growth rate of botrytis rot, suggesting that acoustic output from storage units could promote the mold during transport, storage, or within grocery stores.

• Salmonella enterica subsp.

Innovation in colorimetric sensors to detect early signs of food spoilage is a growing interest in food safety and quality control. Currently available chemical dyes for sensor applications have concern because of their possible migration into food packaging and food in contact. In this study, a colorimetric indicator was developed using natural butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) anthocyanin with Sago (Metroxylon sagu) as polymeric film.

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.