Research Publications (Food Safety)

Peaches are vulnerable to cold temperature, showing the symptoms of chilling injury (CI). The occurrence of CI results in irreversible aroma loss, especially ‘peach‐like’ lactones loss during cold storage and subsequent shelf life. Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) treatment is effective in alleviating CI symptoms in peach fruit; however, its effect on peach aroma volatiles is still unknown.

The effect of oxygen permeability of packaging material on shelf life of minimally processed and passive modified atmosphere packaged pomegranate arils, cv “Wonderful” as well as some quality attributes were investigated. Packaging materials having Oxygen transmission rate (OTR) as low as 125–290 cm3/m2/day were found to provide the gas concentration requirements of 2–5% O2 and 3–10% CO2 for passive modified atmosphere application of fresh fruits and vegetables.

The present study was conducted to utilize the sapota fruit wasted during seasonal glut for the production of wine. Being rich in sugars, sapota is a suitable raw material for fermentation which is an efficient method for the preservation of the nutritional, antioxidative, and functional properties of this fruit.

The effects of thiols were examined to inhibit the enzymatic browning of fresh‐cut potato during 48 hr of storage. Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity, residual thiol contents, ascorbic acid and antioxidant activities of treated samples were determined after 1, 24 and 48 hr. NAC (2.0%) and CYS (1.0%, 2.0%) solutions totally inhibited the activity of PPO and increased the thiol contents, ascorbic acid and antioxidant activities of potatoes, significantly.

CH and RH reduced browning severity of fresh‐cut taros; CH and RH reduced browning of fresh‐cut taros by regulating PAL, POD and PPO activity; Terpenoids contained in hydrosol extracts might play roles in regulating the activity of PAL, POD and PPO. Abstract Hydrosols are byproducts produced by steam distillation of aromatic plant materials.

Is regeneration by seed required to maintain species richness and productivity in grasslands? Our experiment in semi‐natural grassland crossed seed addition with precipitation exclusion in summer and spring. We show that seed deficiency limits productivity, and seed augmentation compensates a negative effect of spring drought on species diversity. Enhancing the supply of local seeds would therefore assist in mitigating negative drought impacts.

A simple, fast, and sensitive analytical protocol using fabric‐phase sorptive extraction followed by high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection has been developed and validated for the extraction of five parabens including methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, and benzylparaben. In the present work, sol‐gel polyethylene glycol coated fabric‐phase sorptive extraction membrane is used for the preconcentration of parabens (polar) from complex matrices.

Milk and milk products have been utilized by humans for many thousands of years. With the advent of metagenomic studies, our knowledge on the microbiota of milk and milk products, especially as affected by the environment, production, and storage parameters, has increased. Milk quality depends on chemical parameters (fat and protein content and absence of inhibitory substances), as well as microbial and somatic cells counts, and affects the price of milk.

Microbial ecology and activity in wine production influences grapevine health and productivity, conversion of sugar to ethanol during fermentation, wine aroma, wine quality and distinctiveness. Fungi in the vineyard ecosystem are not well described.

Kinetics and thermodynamic modeling of the aflatoxins decontamination. Abstract Aflatoxins as the remarkable food safety issues are toxic compounds produced by some of the fungus among variety of food and feed products, while their decontamination has been investigated through some proposed kinetics based on the various conversion factors.

BACKGROUND Seasonal persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) crops have steadily increased in Spain; this has been linked to a significant increase in the postharvest production waste. Therefore, development of valorized products is of great interest. In this study, a hot air‐drying technique was used to obtain persimmon snacks.

Aflatoxins are secondary metabolites produced by specific strains of fungi, especially Aspergillus spp. These natural toxins are mainly found in soil, decaying vegetation and food storage systems and are particularly abundant during drought stress. Aflatoxin contamination is one of the most important threats to food safety and human health due to its toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic properties.

In this study, we explored the aging processes of a commercial polyethylene (PE) mulch film under UV irradiation and compared the laboratory aged films with films aged in nature. Overall, the aged films obtained from laboratory conditions were similar with that from natural conditions. Among the investigated factors, UV irradiation was crucial in the aging of the films, producing cracks and oxygen-containing functional groups on the films surface, constantly with natural aging.

This study investigated the obstacles in detecting enteric viruses from berry fruits, which are on the one hand often associated with outbreaks of viral enteric disease, and on the other hand recognized as a challenging food matrix for molecular detection of enteric viruses. According to the ISO 15216 protocol, for soft fruit samples, virus extraction is by elution with agitation followed by precipitation with polyethylene glycol/NaCl.

Sweet pepper purees (red, yellow and green) were examined for FTIR (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy), chemical, bioactive, color and rheological parameters. FTIR technique was used to evaluate the functional groups. FTIR wave numbers are associated with the absorption bands that depicted the presence of several phytocompounds in the purees.

Diarrhetic shellfish toxins (DSTs) are among the most prevalent marine toxins in Europe’s and in other temperate coastal regions. These toxins are produced by several dinoflagellate species; however, the contamination of the marine trophic chain is often attributed to species of the genus Dinophysis.

The survival and virulence of Listeria monocytogenes was assessed during storage on three low-moisture foods (LMFs), chocolate liquor, corn flakes and shelled, dry-roasted pistachios (a w 0.18, 0.27, 0.20). The LMFs were inoculated with a 4-strain cocktail of L. monocytogenes at 8 log CFU/g, dried, equilibrated and then stored at 4°C, 25–81% relative humidity (RH) and 23°C, 30–35% RH for at least 336 days. At 4°C, L. monocytogenes remained stable on the LMFs for at least 336 days.

In Japan, strategies for ensuring food safety have been developed without reliable scientific evidence on the relation between foodborne infections and foods. The aim of this research was to provide information on the proportions of foodborne diseases caused by seven major causative pathogens ( Campylobacte r spp., Salmonella spp., EHEC, V. parahaemolyticus , Clostridium perfringens , Staphylococcus aureus , and Norovirus) attributable to foods using analysis of outbreak surveillance data.

Salmonella is an important foodborne pathogen that causes public health problem globally, and chicken meat is considered as an important reservoir of Salmonella dissemination to humans. Furthermore, the increase of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Salmonella has intensified the problem.

As demand for fresh-cut produce increases, minimizing the risk of salmonellosis becomes critical for the produce industry. Sanitizers are routinely used during commercial flume washing of fresh-cut produce to minimize cross-contamination from the wash water .

Author(s): Aniket Satish More, Chaminda Senaka Ranadheera, Zhongxiang Fang, Robyn Warner, Said Ajlouni

Aims: Domestic violence is a major health concern and a largely hidden crime. It is estimated that authorities receive information in only a minority of cases. This study investigated seasonal patterns in seeking help for domestic violence by employing Google data. Methods: We utilised monthly Google search data and police calls made in Finland in 2017 to analyse seasonal variation in seeking help for domestic violence.

Aims: This study aimed to describe the demographic and geographic patterns of campylobacteriosis in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden during 2000–2015. Methods: All Campylobacter infections notified to national authorities in the four countries during the study period were included. Background data for each notification consisted of patient age, sex, geographical location, presumed origin of infection and date of sample taken or date of sample received in the laboratory.

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) includes a time-to-harvest interval following the application of noncompliant water to preharvest produce to allow for microbial die-off. However, additional scientific evidence is needed to support this rule. This study aimed to determine the impact of weather on the die-off rate of Escherichia coli and Salmonella on spinach and lettuce under field conditions.

The uncontrolled use of pesticides on leafy vegetables has been frequently reported in recent years. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of pH, total acidity and various technological processes for the preparation of babenda on pesticide residues contained in leafy vegetable. The "babenda" is a Burkinabè dish consisting mainly of Hibiscus sabdariffa, Amaranthus hybridus and Cleome gynandra coarsely cut from steamed rice.