Research Publications (Food Safety)

Author(s): Brianna C. Britton, Ibrahima Sarr, Haley F. Oliver Peanuts and peanut products are significant revenue sources for smallholder farmers in the Senegalese peanut basin. However, microbial contamination during production and storage can greatly affect market access for producers. Peanut products have emerged as possible sources of foodborne illness, encouraging discussions on international standards for peanuts.

Strawberry is a very popular fruit with a special taste, color, and nutritional value. Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum fragariae severely limits fruit shelf life during post-harvest storage. Use of traditional chemical fungicides leads to serious environment pollution and threatens food safety. Biocontrol is considered as a promising strategy to manage the post-harvest fruit diseases.

The yellow peach (Amygdalus persica), an important fruit in China, is highly susceptible to infection by Alternaria sp., leading to potential health risks and economic losses. In the current study, firstly, yellow peaches were artificially inoculated with Alternaria alternate.

Mycotoxins present a global food safety threat of our feed and food. Mycotoxins are toxic metabolites of certain fungi in agricultural products that are harmful to animal and human health. The presence of mycotoxins in these products depends on a variety of management and environmental factors in the field, during storage and/or processing of feed and food commodities. To date, information on mycotoxin management is available, but is not easy to access by supply chain actors.

Recent apple-related recall and outbreak events have exposed a need for better food safety controls along the supply chain. Following harvest apples can be stored under a controlled atmosphere for up to one year after harvest before packing and distribution, making the crop susceptible to many opportunities for contamination that increase the quantity of postharvest losses. Botrytis cinerea (BC) and Penicillium expansum (PE) cause significant rot-associated losses to the apple industry.

Wheat flour has been connected to outbreaks of foodborne illnesses with increased frequency in recent years, specifically, outbreaks involving Salmonella enterica and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC). However, there is little information regarding the survival of these pathogens on wheat grain during long-term storage in a low-moisture environment. This study aims to evaluate the long-term survival of these enteric pathogens on wheat grain over the course of a year.

With the increase of food allergy events related to not properly cooked kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), more and more researchers are paying attention to the sensitization potential of lectin, one of the major storage and defensive proteins with the specific carbohydrate-binding activity.

New Zealand (NZ) has a high rate of reported campylobacteriosis cases. Cross-contamination in home kitchens during poultry handling is considered to be the main factor in campylobacteriosis transmission. The main aim of this study was to measure NZ consumers' food safety awareness and self-reported food safety practices associated with handling raw poultry. This study will contribute to the existing knowledge to explain the reasons behind the increase of campylobacteriosis incidents.

Aflatoxins (AFs) are among the most harmful fungal secondary metabolites imposing serious health risks on both household animals and humans. The more frequent occurrence of aflatoxins in the feed and food chain is clearly foreseeable as a consequence of the extreme weather conditions recorded most recently worldwide. Furthermore, production parameters, such as unadjusted variety use and improper cultural practices, can also increase the incidence of contamination.

Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) is a persistent public health concern in the United States and is the third leading cause of death from foodborne illness. Cross-contamination of L. monocytogenes is common in delis (between contaminated and uncontaminated equipment, food and hands) and likely plays a role in the associated with retail deli meats. In 2012, EHS-Net conducted a study to describe deli characteristics related to cross-contamination with L. monocytogenes.

Mature kiwi after minimal processing were treated with 0.5–2.0 kGy gamma irradiation to monitor changes in quality parameters under refrigerated conditions (3 ± 1°C, RH 85%) for 16 days. The results revealed that treatment of 2.0 kGy proved helpful in delaying onset of surface browning, reducing the polyphenol oxidase activity and preserving the original color of samples till 16 days. Dose dependent decrease in polyphenol oxidase activity and surface browning was observed in kiwi samples.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are important food-borne pathogens with Shiga toxins as the main virulence factor. Shiga toxins are encoded on Shiga toxin-encoding bacteriophages (Stx phages). Stx phages may exist as free bacteriophages in the environment or in foods or as prophages integrated into the host genome.

Dry-cured meat products are worldwide food with high-salt content, and filamentous fungi are beneficial to the maturation process. However, some salt-tolerant strains of Aspergillus and Penicillium produce ochratoxin A (OTA) on these products and thus threaten food safety. In our study, proteomic analysis was performed to reveal the mechanism of adaptability to high-salt environment by Aspergillus ochraceus.

The growing popularity of raw meat-based diets for pets is accompanied by an increasing concern regarding possible health implications of this practice to pet owners, due to the storage and preparation of raw meat. This study aimed to explore pet owners’ knowledge and perceptions about safety of raw meat-based feeding and determine self-reported food safety practices during raw meat-based pet food preparation.

Refugee camps provide basic necessities such as food, water, shelter, and medical treatment for displaced persons. Unsanitary conditions in refugee camps due to overcrowding, poor sanitation systems, lack of clean water, minimal ways to cook and store food can lead to an increased risk of foodborne illness. This article reviews the limited literature on the epidemiology of foodborne illness in refugee camps, effective risk mitigation strategies and opportunities for future research.

Lactic acid bacteria can be considered as natural biopreservative and good biotechnological alternative to food safety. In this study, the antilisterial compounds produced by Enterococcus isolates from the Patagonian environment and their effectiveness for the control of Listeria monocytogenes in a food model were studied.

Author(s): Vivien Teuteberg, Ina-Karina Kluth, Madeleine Ploetz, Carsten Krischek

Staphylococcus aureus is a widespread foodborne pathogen that threatens human health. In particular, multidrug-resistant bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are emerging problems in modern health care, food safety, and animal health, which require the development of new antimicrobials to replace overused conventional antibiotics. Dairy products can potentially act as vehicles for the transmission of S.

Fresh and fresh-cut tomatoes are high in phytonutrients. But the illness outbreaks associated with contaminated tomatoes have significantly impacted public health and the industry’s economic well-being. Scientific information is critically needed to develop an effective, practical food safety standard to reduce pathogen contamination.

As a popular hot‐pot ingredient, Chinese‐style shrimp mud (Xia‐Hua) is usually transported and stored frozen. However, frozen storage leads to decreased quality of Xia‐Hua products caused by the variations in physicochemical and functional properties of myofibrillar proteins (MPs). Κ‐carrageenan and its oligosaccharides are reported as antioxidants and antifreeze and can stabilize proteins in whole shrimp, but their effects on MPs in Xia‐Hua remain poorly understood.

Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus are two species able to produce aflatoxins in foodstuffs, and in particular in hazelnuts, at harvest and during postharvest phase. As not all the strains of these species are aflatoxin producers, it is necessary to develop techniques that can detect aflatoxigenic from not aflatoxigenic strains.

This study evaluated the effects of low doses of gamma radiation (up to 2.0 kGy) on the survival and growth of Listeria monocytogenes and on technological characteristics of RTE cooked hams, formulated without and with 50 and 150 mg/kg of sodium nitrite, after 30 days of cold (4°C) storage. The radiation reduced from 0.33 kGy in uncured and RTE50 to 0.25 kGy in RTE150 and after storage, a reduction (p > .05) in the Listeria growth in the cured samples.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is developing an Establishment-based Risk Assessment model for commercial and on-farm mills involved in the manufacture, storage, packaging, labelling or distribution of livestock feed (ERA-Feed Mill model). This model will help inform the allocation of inspection resources based on feed safety risk, including animal health and food safety risk.

Food safety has become a global issue due to the morbidity and mortality associated with it, particularly in developing countries. The objective of this community-based study is to examine food safety practices and its associated factors among postnatal mothers in the Western Region of Ghana. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted from August 1 2019 to January 31, 2020 from which data was obtained from the postnatal mothers (). The data was analysed using SPSS v.23.

Microorganisms play a crucial and unique role in fish and fish product safety. The presence of human pathogens and the formation of histamine caused by spoilage bacteria make the control of both pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms critical for fish product safety.