Research Publications (Food Safety)

With the rapid development of logistics, a growing number of pathogenic microorganisms has the means to spread worldwide using food as a carrier; thus, there is an urgent need to develop effective detection strategies to ensure food safety.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus, is one of the most frequently reported pathogenic microorganisms that causes foodborne illnesses worldwide.

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.

Foodborne infections caused by Salmonella have been linked to a variety of poultry products. The aim of this study was to compare the molecular profile of virulence genes considering different serotypes of Salmonella, isolates were from chicken breast sampled during the last two decades (1999 to 2010 and 2011 to 2018).

Staphylococcal food poisoning is one of the common causes of food diseases, and the risk factor is staphylococcal enterotoxin. Milk and dairy products are often contaminated by antibiotic resistance and enterotoxins Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), which has become a critically important global public health concern. This study reviewed research studies on S.

The use of antibiotics in the food industry is avoided due to the increase of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Therefore, the bacteriophage is emerging as an alternative agent. Here, we characterized the Salmonella Enteritidis phage PBSE191 and applied it to a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film. Transmission electron microscopic analysis revealed that it belonged to the Caudoviricetes class, with an icosahedral head and flexible tails.

In the present study, the stress responses of Salmonella Montevideo adapted to red pepper powder with various humidities were investigated. The resistance of S. Montevideo to near-infrared heating increased significantly when adapted to red pepper powder. Moreover, the pathogen turned to a viable but noncultureable (VBNC) state after storage in red pepper powder at 30 °C with 40 % relative humidity (RH).

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most widely distributed and toxicologically dangerous mycotoxins. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) experiments have indicated a considerable degrading effect on DON, but the underlying interaction mechanism of plasma species and DON remains unknown.

Presence of aflatoxins in agricultural products is a worldwide problem. Because of their high heat stability and resistance to most of the food processing technologies, aflatoxin degradation is still a big challenge.

Listeria monocytogenes biofilm is a consistent source of cross-contamination, both in housing storage and food processing environments. This study monitored the dynamic process of L. monocytogenes ST9 and ST87 biofilms, as well as their cross-contamination behaviors at various stages of formation. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) captured the honeycomb-like structures and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) during the biofilm formation.

Listeria monocytogenes is an important food-borne pathogen, which could be detected in food, environmental and clinical samples. It contaminates food in any of the stages during production, processing, and storage, resulting in potential food safety issues. Traditional physical and chemical methods are effective in inhibiting the growth of L.

The productions of food, agricultural products and feed involve a variety processing conditions, which can affect the release/binding of zearalenone (ZEN) with macro-components in maize, resulting in the interconversion of hidden ZEN with free ZEN. This interconversion can cause the uncertainties and individual differences in the exposure assessment.

Bacterial infection has become an important factor affecting human health, and the increasing antibiotic resistance has seriously hindered the treatment of infectious diseases. This study aimed to explore a novel nanotechnology that combines silver with glutathione (GSH) to form antibacterial nanoclusters, GSH@AgNCs.

Listeria monocytogenes is a food-borne pathogen that can cause human listeriosis. The main cause of L.monocytogenes poisoning is the consumption of contaminated or processed foods, of which meat is the main one. At present, it is not clear whether the listeria contaminated in different meat is genetically diverse.

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a momentous factor affecting food safety. It can survive under long-term desiccation stress and contaminate foods that have intermediate to low water activities. However, the specific molecular mechanisms by which it survives and persists under low water activity stress are often overlooked. In this study, transcriptome analysis was applied to investigate the effect of desiccation stress on gene expression of S.

Listeria monocytogenes is a significant foodborne health hazard in many products and may survive and grow when making fermented meat sausages. The objective of this study was to investigate the competition between lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and L. monocytogenes during simultaneous fermentation and drying (SFD) of meat sausages.

This work developed an enzyme-free fluorescent aptasensor for sensitive aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) detection based on a dual signal amplification strategy of hybridization chain reaction (HCR) and Zn2+-dependent DNAzyme. In the presence of AFB1, the aptamer specifically binds to the target, releasing the blocking DNA, which can initiate HCR between hairpin probes H1 and H2.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is reported to cause intestinal damage following ingestion of contaminated foods. Tibetan kefir (TK) is a fermented dairy product that possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and gut microbiota-regulating properties. However, it is not clear if TK can alleviate OTA-associated intestinal toxicity. Here, we investigated whether TK can prevent OTA-induced intestinal barrier disruption in mice.

Recently, using bacteriophages as new molecular probes in reliable platforms for the detection of bacterial pathogens has attracted more and more increasing attentions. In this paper, a novel isolated Myoviridae bacteriophage SEP37 was covalently immobilized onto gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) modified gold disk electrode (GDE) surfaces using cysteamine (Cys) as a crosslinker.

In this article, the thermal inactivation of two Salmonella strains (Salmonella Enteritidis CECT4300 and Salmonella Senftenberg CECT4565) was studied under both isothermal and dynamic conditions. We observed large differences between these two strains, with S. Senftenberg being much more resistant than S. Enteritidis.

Fine ground black pepper generally consumed as a seasoning without any further processing has been associated with Salmonella enterica outbreaks. Thermal inactivation kinetics data is necessary to develop a pasteurization process for fine ground black pepper.

Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) activation has been shown to protect against intestinal injury induced by different stimuli. PPARγ is known to regulate tight junction proteins (TJP) in epithelial cells. Both eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are natural PPARγ agonists, but the implication of PPARγ in their physiological effects on the gut is poorly understood.

Blood sausages consisting of groats, pork, porcine offal, fat, blood, and spices are very popular in the Czech Republic. All these ingredients are potential sources of dietary exposure to ochratoxin A (OTA). OTA has a strong affinity to serum proteins in porcine blood. Thus, the contamination of blood sausages with OTA can be expected. This study aims to evaluate OTA in 200 samples of porcine blood sausages purchased at the Czech market during 2020–2021.

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen that can form biofilms in food processing facilities even under unfavorable growth environment. This study aimed to evaluate the biofilm eradication ability of Listeria-specific bacteriophage (phage) cocktail (LMPC01+02+03) against L.

Salmonella, especially drug-resistant Salmonella poses a serious threat to food safety and human health. Herein, we proposed a rapid, accurate and sensitive phage amplification-based analysis (PAA) based on an isolated Salmonella phage T156 with broad host range and potent lysis ability for the quantification of viable Salmonella, as well as rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing.