Research Publications (Food Safety)

This research developed a novel, efficient and safe antimildew for peanut kernel postharvest storage. The antimildew, cinnamon-Litsea cubeba compound essential oil (CLCEO) microcapsule (CLCEOM), was synthesized with CLCEO as core materials and β-cyclodextrin as wall materials. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses indicated that major antifungal compounds of CLCEO were encapsulated in the cavity of β-cyclodextrin.

In 2008, the African Postharvest Losses Information Systems project (APHLIS, accessed on 6 September 2022) developed an algorithm for estimating the scale of cereal postharvest losses (PHLs). The relevant scientific literature and contextual information was used to build profiles of the PHLs occurring along the value chains of nine cereal crops by country and province for 37 sub-Saharan African countries.

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.

Botrytis cinerea is one of the most important postharvest pathogens causing economical loss in blackberry. To control B. cinerea effectively with safe agent, optimal allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) concentration was determined. Freshly harvested blackberries were placed in a plastic container and treated with AITC at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, and 10 μL L-1 for 12 h at 4 °C, and then stored for 14 d at 4 °C and 80 % relative humidity.

Blueberry surface color is determined in large part by anthocyanin pigments and is one of the most important quality traits influencing consumer preference. Postharvest changes in fruit surface color and phenolic compounds, including anthocyanins, have been reported in blueberries; however, the relationships between these changes had not yet been investigated.

Fruit phenotypic information reflects all the physical, physiological, biochemical characteristics and traits of fruit. Accurate access to phenotypic information is very necessary and meaningful for post-harvest storage, sales and deep processing. The methods of obtaining phenotypic information include traditional manual measurement and damage detection, which are inefficient and destructive.

Pesticide use has grown rapidly in West Africa over the past decades. Regulatory capacity has not kept pace with the rapid proliferation of pesticide products and on-farm use. As a result, health and environmental impacts from the growing use of pesticides, despite their potential importance to food safety, remain largely unmonitored, underreported, and poorly understood by key stakeholders.

As an apple fruit rot disease related fungus, Alternaria spp. could bring severe hazardous risk to apple fruits during postharvest storage. In this research, cold treatment is investigated for inhibition of Alternaria infection and related mycotoxins production during postharvest storage of apple. Morphology results show that cold treatment could inhibit Alternaria rot in inoculated apple samples.

Mycotoxins contamination and pest infestation of foods and feeds represent a pivotal threat for food safety and security worldwide, with crucial implications for human and animal health. Controlled atmosphere could be a sustainable strategy to reduce mycotoxins content and counteract the vitality of deleterious organisms in foodstuff.

Pulp breakdown is the main reason for the reduction of fruit quality. However, there are relatively few studies on small molecule metabolites based on the pulp breakdown of dragon fruit. In this study, four dragon fruit cultivars were comparatively analyzed during pulp breakdown.

Legume seed systems in many developing countries are characterized by low availability of certified seeds because the private sector is often absent, and the public sector has limited capacity to produce such seeds. Farmer seed enterprises (FSEs) are therefore increasingly promoted as alternative suppliers of certified and in some instances, quality declared and truthfully labelled seeds.

Gray mold, caused by the Botrytis cinerea fungus, is the most common and destroying disease in kiwifruit during storage. In this study, an experimental electronic nose system combined with machine learning (ML) approaches were utilized for early detection and monitoring of Botrytis cinerea in Hayward kiwifruit based on the odor-extracted information.

In this study, Toxicodendron vernicifluum fisetin chelated silver nanoparticles (FT-AgNPs) with outstanding antioxidant and antimicrobial activities were constructed via self-assembly. To surprise, 0.6 wt% FT-AgNPs was compatibly dispersed into the 1:1 chitosan/pullulan (CS/PUL, CP) matrix.

Introduction

Peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch,) and nectarine fruits (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch, var nectarine), are characterized by a rapid deterioration at room temperature. Therefore, cold storage is widely used to delay fruit post-harvest ripening and extend fruit commercial life. Physiological disorders, collectively known as chilling injury, can develop typically after 3 weeks of low-temperature storage and affect fruit quality.

Methods

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Ahead of Print. While growers have reported pressures to minimize wildlife intrusion into produce fields through noncrop vegetation (NCV) removal, NCV provides key ecosystem services. To model food safety and environmental tradeoffs associated with NCV removal, published and publicly available food safety and water quality data from the Northeastern United States were obtained.

After harvest at horticultural maturity, X-ray computed tomography was used for the non-destructive determination of internal defects occurring in chestnuts during storage. An image processing pipeline was established to accurately identify various types of defective chestnuts. Severely defective chestnuts, with a complete loss of eating quality, were accurately identified by their gray scale value from volume and porosity analyses.

Current methods of preserving fruit and vegetables are costly with accompanying health risks from preserver residue.

The effects of postharvest applications of hot water (HWT) (45, 50, and 55°C), 1-MCP (1, 5, and 10 μL L−1), and CaCl2 (1, 2, and 3%) on polygalacturonase (PG), pectin methylesterase (PME), α-galactosidase (α-Gal), β-galactosidase (β-Gal) and β-1,4-glucanase (β-1,4-Glu) activities, and the fruit firmness and cell wall composition of eggplant fruit were investigated.

The impact of red and blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) irradiation on the sugar metabolism and γ-aminobutyric acid in postharvest table grapes stored at 4 °C for 21 days after harvest were explored.

During adverse postharvest storage of Red haricot beans, the inositol phosphate content, particularly InsP6, decreased significantly, along with a significant increase in InsP5. Using a texture-based classification approach, the InsP6 content in cotyledons was shown an indicator for the extent of hard-to-cook (HTC) development during bean aging.

Cell wall material was isolated from selected non-aged and aged Red haricot bean cotyledons using a texture-based classification approach. Pectin-depleted residual cell wall fractions were obtained by sequential pectin extraction and were characterized to investigate in situ cell wall related molecular changes upon ageing during adverse storage of the beans.

Introduction: Foodborne diseases, together with increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR), pose a threat to public health in an era of huge challenges with climate change and the risks of zoonotic epidemics. A One Health approach to foster food safety is a key for improvement, particularly in complex socio-ecological systems such as in Palestine, to examine human–animal-environment interfaces and promote intersectoral action.

Resveratrol, the most widely studied phytoalexin, derived from the skin of grapes and other fruits. Evidence from numerous studies have confirmed its extensive bioactivities, such as antioxidation, anti-inflammatory and anticancer, as well as to promote antiaging effects in organisms. However, the effect of resveratrol on prolonging the postharvest storage of tomato fruits is still unknown.

Development of fermented flavour during storage reduces acceptability of Shughri pear. Therefore, the current study was designed to investigate the combined effect of 1-Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) and hypobaric treatment on stability of Shughri pear during 120 days of storage. Fruit were treated individually or combinedly with 25, 50, and 75 kilo pascal hypobaric treatments for 4 h and 1-MCP (0.3 μLL−1 and 0.6 μLL−1) for 24 h, whereas control received no treatment.

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, Accepted Article. The high water content of Lycopersicon esculentum usually favors microbial growth, thus resulting in shelf-life reduction and economic loss. In an effort to develop an ecofriendly preservative for cherry tomatoes, a comprehensive study establishing the antimicrobial activity of the seeds of Chrysophyllum albidum and Persea americana was carried out.