Research Publications (Food Safety)

Potato is constantly exposed to various kinds of phytopathogens which cause diseases during the developmental stage and post-harvest storage. This investigation was designed to assay the anti-phytopathogen activity of bacterial endophytes and their suppressive effects on rot disease in potato. The study also aimed to screen isolates for their plant growth-promoting traits and establish GC–MS-based metabolite profile of the potent isolate.

Rapid softening of soursop (Annona muricata L.) fruit results in postharvest losses. Bacillus genus is one of the most studied antagonistic biological control agents against postharvest diseases. Nevertheless, information about how this bacterium acts on the fruits is still not understood.

Lipid phosphate phosphatases (LPPs) are a key enzyme in the production and degradation of phosphatidic acid (PA), which plays an important role in plant growth, development, stress resistance and plant hormone response. Thus far, little is known about the LPP family genes in kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.). According to this study, 7 members in the AcLPP family were identified from the whole genome of kiwifruit, the subcellular localization predictions were mainly on the plasma membrane.

Development of an efficient and eco-friendly technique to break tuber dormancy in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is highly demanded due to the production of two or more crops annually. Several physiological and hormonal changes have been found to be related to the breaking of tuber dormancy; however, their consistency with genotypes and different protocols have not been well clarified.

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by fungi that infect a wide range of foods worldwide. Nivalenol (NIV), a type B trichothecene produced by numerous Fusarium species, has the ability to infect a variety of foods both in the field and during post-harvest handling and management. NIV is frequently found in cereal and cereal-based goods, and its strong cytotoxicity poses major concerns for both human and animal health.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, EarlyView. Due to the global use of cold chain, the development of postharvest technology to reduce chilling injury (CI) in postharvest fruits and vegetables during storage and transport is needed urgently. Considerable evidence shows that maintaining intracellular adenosine triphosphate (iATP) in harvested fruits and vegetables is beneficial to inhibiting CI occurrence.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of electron-beam generated X-ray irradiation on the postharvest storage quality and antioxidant capacity of Agaricus bisporus.

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, Accepted Article. This study aimed to inhibit the growth of Lacanicillium fungicola (L. fungicola) and improve the quality of button mushroom during a 21-day storage time at 4 °C using treatment of surface dielectric barrier discharge plasma.

Background Botrytis cinerea can cause serious disease on lots of plant hosts during growth and postharvest storage. Biocontrol is known to be eco-friendly methods to control pathogens. Plant endophytic bacteria are generally considered as beneficial organisms, since they can promote plant growth and enhance plant immune system.

Water chestnut (Trapa bispinosa Roxburg) has short shelf life even after drying due to insect infestations resulting in huge economic losses to farmers. Study was performed including coating with Aloe-vera gel, air drying, LDPE packaging and gamma irradiation (≤ 1 kGy) were evaluated for their efficacy in controlling storage losses. The study was performed with complete randomized design up to 6-month storage period.

Gene expression analysis largely improves our understanding of the molecular basis underpinning various plant biological processes. Stable reference genes play a foundational role during the normalization of gene expression levels. However, until now, there have been few reference genes suitable for ginger reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) research.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, EarlyView. At postharvest, fruits have a short shelf life. Recently, there has been much literature on the effects of melatonin on the postharvest quality of horticultural crops. However, reports of various findings comprise mixed claims and product-specific conclusions. Therefore, a meta-analysis systematically dissects the comprehensive effect on several fruits.

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, Accepted Article. To study the effect of low-dose electron beam irradiation treatment on the postharvest storage quality of Actinidia arguta. The kiwifruit was irradiated with 300, 400, and 500 Gy electron beam, respectively, stored at 0-1°C with 90%-95% RH. The physical and chemical indexes, physiological indexes and resistance enzyme activities of the fruits were determined.

Apple is typically stored under low temperature and controlled atmospheric conditions to ensure a year round supply of high quality fruit for the consumer. During storage, losses in quality and quantity occur due to spoilage by postharvest pathogens. One important postharvest pathogen of apple is Botrytis cinerea. The fungus is a broad host necrotroph with a large arsenal of infection strategies able to infect over 1,400 different plant species. We studied the apple-B.

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of different doses (0.4, 0.8, 1.2, 1.6 and 2.0 mM) of putrescine treatments on the postharvest weight loss, decay, firmness, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, pH, respiration rate, L*, a*, b*, Chroma and Hue angle and phenolic compounds, organic acids and vitamin C content of kiwi (cv. Hayward.

Fungicides are often used to extend the storage time of postharvest satsuma mandarin fruit. In recent years, fungicide residue has become an issue of food safety. This study aimed to investigate the distribution and migration of three typical fungicides (imazalil, prochloraz, thiophanate-methyl) in postharvest satsuma mandarins using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

International Journal of Food Science & Technology, Accepted Article. Persian shallot is a valuable vegetable because of its nutritional value and medicinal attributes, but it has a short storage life. In the current study, the effects of curing treatments on Persian shallot postharvest decay, sprouting, color and biochemical changes were evaluated. Treatments included: control, sun curing, and convective mild air curing at 40 and 50 ºC with 1 m/s air velocity.

Blue light, measuring from 400 to 500 nm, is generally assumed to increase the content of antioxidants in plants independent of the species. Blue light stimulates the biosynthesis of phenolic compounds such as flavonoids and their subclass anthocyanins from the phenylpropanoid pathway. Flavonoids, anthocyanins, and phenolic acids are strong reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers and may lessen the symptoms of abiotic stresses such as chilling.

by Jian-Ling Bai, Hui-Hui Wang, Ju-Mei Zhang, Qing-Ping Wu, Shu-Ping Mo, Ying-Long He, Shao-Quan Weng, Xiao-Juan Yang, Ci-Zhou Li ε-Poly-l-lysine (ε-PL) is a natural antimicrobial polymer with significant inhibitory activity against a broad spectrum of microorganisms, and nowadays used widely as a preservative in the food industry. In the present study, ε-PL broth was obtained from Streptomyces ahygroscopicus GIM8 fermentation in a nutrient-limited liquid medium.

Postharvest deterioration of ginger rhizome caused by microorganisms or wound infections causes significant economic losses. Fusarium solani is one of the important causal agents of prevalent ginger disease soft rot across the world. The massive and continuous use of chemical fungicides in postharvest preservation pose risks to human health and produce environmental contamination.

Many fruits and vegetables suffer from unwanted discolorations that reduce product quality, leading to substantial losses along the supply chain. Witloof chicory (Cichorium intybus L. var. foliosum), a specialty crop characterized by its unique bitter taste and crunchiness, is particularly sensitive to various types of red and brown discolorations. The etiolated vegetable suffers from three predominant color disorders, i.e., core browning, internal leaf reddening, and leaf edge browning.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, EarlyView. Tree nuts are important economic crops and are consumed as healthy snacks worldwide. In recent years, the increasing needs for more efficient and effective postharvest processing technologies have been driven by the growing production, higher quality standards, stricter food safety requirements, development of new harvesting methods, and demand to achieve energy saving and carbon neutralization.

Evaluation of food quality and stability during storage and processing necessitates understanding the kinetics of food functional property changes and the underlying reactions. In this study, textural stability of beans during storage and subsequent cooking was evaluated through an integrated kinetic approach.

Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) is an enzyme associated with the browning process that can occur from mechanical injury and postharvest storage. Thus, its inactivation to inhibit this process is of great interest to the food industry. Recently a nonthermal technology, high frequency ultrasound (100–1 MHz), has found usage in this aspect.

This article is the third in a series of historical reviews on sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), exploring why agricultural production and irrigation schemes are underperforming, and how this contributes to high levels of food insecurity. The expression ‘food security’ emerged in 1974 following the Sahel and Darfur famines. Despite SSA being a net agricultural exporter, food insecurity has persisted and is increasing.