Research Publications (Food Safety)

Mycotoxins are a class of important pollutants that seriously endanger food security, causing massive food waste and substantial economic losses. Zearalenone (ZEN) has become one of the representative type of mycotoxins owing to its wide range of contamination and high detection rate. With increasing ZEN contamination of food and increased biodegradation and targeting of ZEN, the food production industry has sought biodegradation techniques with enhanced safety and adaptability.

Salmonella is a major pathogen that causes serious foodborne diseases in humans and poses a serious threat to food safety and public health worldwide. Its rapid and accurate diagnosis is essential to prevent bacterial contamination of food.

At present, the main challenge for Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in food safety is still a lack of rapid, convenient detection methods. This study developed a combination of recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) and the CRISPR-Cas12a technology (known as the RPA-CRISPR-Cas12a assay) for the detection of S. aureus in food.

Table olives are one of the most important fermented vegetables in the Mediterranean countries. Although this fermented vegetable has a long record of microbial safety, various studies have shown the presence of Listeria monocytogenes during table olive processing. This study focused on evaluating the behaviour of a cocktail of L. monocytogenes strains during fermentation of Spanish-style green Manzanilla olives.

Salmonella is one of the most common foodborne pathogens that cause diarrhea in human, in which Enteritidis and Typhimurium are the top serovars frequently isolated from foodstuffs. A novel 3-plex droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) was successfully developed in this study for the simultaneous identification and absolute quantification of Salmonella and its two important serovars (Enteritidis and Typhimurium).

The purpose of this study was to reveal the antibacterial components of Houttuynia cordata Thunb. crude extract (HCCE), analyze the antibacterial activity and mechanism of HCCE against Cronobacter sakazakii, and evaluate the bactericidal effect of HCCE as a natural disinfectant.

Mould and aflatoxin contamination remains a serious threat to food quality and safety. In this study, simultaneous detection of Aspergillus moulds and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) contamination in rice was investigated by laser induced fluorescence (LIF) technology for the first time.

Our study was aimed to evaluate antifungal, antiaflatoxin, and antioxidant potential of Mentha pulegium, Myrtus communis, and Mentha piperita essential oils (EOs). The EOs showed efficacy as a couscous preservative. A total of 387 fungal species were isolated from Couscous samples, with Aspergillus flavus BN (20) which is identified as the highest aflatoxin producer. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of M.

Most Campylobacter infections in humans are sporadic cases, often connected to private households. Chicken meat is believed to be the main source of human exposure to Campylobacter and there are significant risks of cross-contamination when handling Campylobacter-contaminated chicken in the kitchen. One post-harvest preventive measure to reduce Campylobacter concentrations on chicken meat is freezing.

In the present study, CotA laccase was cloned from Bacillus licheniformis ZOM-1 and expressed in Escherichia coli. In addition to the oxidative degradation of zearalenone (ZEN) and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), CotA laccase also has the ability to degrade the Alternaria toxin alternariol (AOH). This is the first report of an Alternaria toxin-degrading enzyme.

Patulin is a mycotoxin that contaminates apple-based products and poses a serious threat to human health. Saccharomyces cerevisiae can efficiently degrade PAT during fermentation. However, the degradation mechanism of PAT remained unclear. This study investigated the degradation of PAT by S. cerevisiae and the formation of degradation products.

For molecular detection of foodborne pathogens to be effective, an efficient technique for bacterial DNA concentration is required. Solid phase reversible immobilization (SPRI) paramagnetic beads can concentrate DNA from foods containing low amounts of bacteria because of their highly specific DNA-binding capacity.

Rapid and accurate screening of foodborne pathogens in contaminated food is with great significance for food safety. AuNPs-based colorimetric assay is an attractive strategy in the field of food safety inspection, but is limited by tedious probe preparation, low color rendering resolution, and narrow color gamut.

There is a need to identify the presence of microorganisms, in particular human pathogens, in food processing facilities and products. Adhesion of pathogens to surfaces poses a detection challenge with biofilms greatly hindering detection by precluding the transfer of specific material to downstream sensors. Enzymes that disrupt biofilms can therefore enhance detection of foodborne pathogens through facilitating their release from abiotic and biotic surfaces.

Cronobacter sakazakii (C. sakazakii) is a serious threat to human health. Efficient detection of C. sakazakii is crucial for food safety and the control of foodborne diseases. Here, a fluorescence sensing platform for C.

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a pathogenic bacterium that can cause serious contamination in meat. Herein, a novel fluorescence biosensor was designed for the rapid detection of S. aureus based on mesoporous silica-modified upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs-mSiO2).

Dried red chili is an popular spice widely used in the world, but is vulnerable to be contaminated by toxigenic fungi, resulting in ochratoxin A contamination. The current study detected OTA contents in both chili peels (n = 49) and seeds (n = 49) of Guizhou dried red chilies.

Aspergillus westerdijkiae is an ochratoxin A (OTA) producer mould in dry-cured meat products.

Due to the technical challenges of small binding aptamer development, reliable computational simulation studies can be considered as effective tools to design novel and high functional mycotoxin aptameric probes. Here, two novel aflatoxin B1(AFB1) binding aptamers were successfully exploited as recognition elements in the lateral flow aptasensors and the reflective phantom interface (RPI) platform.

In recent years, food poisoning events caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus have shown an upward trend. Therefore, there is a growing need for a rapid, sensitive and simple detection method for V. parahaemolyticus.

To avoid potential health risks associated with the ingestion of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) contaminated foods, development of a simple and sensitive method for AFB1 detection is urgently needed. Herein, a label-free aptasensor for colorimetric/fluorometric dual-mode detection of AFB1 was developed. In the absence of AFB1, the aptamer-protected silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were prevented from salt-induced aggregation and the solution remained yellow.

Listeria monocytogenes is the most common foodborne pathogenic bacterium. L. monocytogenes can make biofilms on living or inanimate surfaces, helping it resist antimicrobial agents. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-biofilm effect of cell-free supernatants (CFS) of Bacillus subtilis KU43, B.

Mechanism characterization on cross protection between different stresses is important for microbial intervention optimizations to ensuring food safety. In our previous work, ethanol adaptation was found to induce cross-protection against freezing stress in Salmonella Enteritidis. The current work aimed to uncover the underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon using proteomic and mutagenic techniques.

Foodborne disease caused by pathogenic bacteria remains a great threat to public health throughout the world. Herein, a colorimetric assay was developed for rapid and selective detection of Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium) based on Fe/4Cu-metal organic framework nanorods (Fe/4Cu-MOF).

BCp12, a novel antimicrobial agent derived from buffalo milk, poses superior antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. In the present study, the effect of BCp12 on the cell wall synthesis and molecular pathways of Staphylococcus aureus was studied by the CLSM, SEM and proteomics analyses to facilitate the development of this novel antimicrobial peptide.