Research Publications (Food Safety)

It has been a challenge in developing effective thermal pasteurization processes for foods with high-fat and low-moisture contents like peanut butter, due to a general lack of reliable data on thermal resistance of pathogens in those food matrices.

Since mcr-1 was first discovered in 2015, this gene has shown excellent transmission ability and evolutionary characteristics worldwide, leading to major public health and food safety concerns.

Essential oils (EOs), such as thyme (Thy) and cinnamon (Cin) oils, present promising antibacterial properties against foodborne pathogens (e.g., Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium). However, the food matrix might result in sublethal EO stress, and little information about direct and/or cross-resistance development after sublethal EO exposure is available.

This project explored the antibacterial mechanism of didecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) toward Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and its removal effect on biofilms. Furthermore, we explored the effect of treatment by DDAB combined with slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) on biofilms of S. aureus or P. aeruginosa. First, DDAB has bacteriostatic and biofilm removal effects.

Outbreaks involving romaine and iceberg lettuce are frequently reported in the United States. Novel technologies are needed to inactivate pathogens without compromising product quality and shelf life. In this study, the effects of a process aid composed of silver dihydrogen citrate, glycerin, and lactic acid (SGL) on Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes concentrations on lettuce immediately after washing and during cold storage were evaluated.

Various studies have identified the kidney as a target organ for patulin (PAT)-induced toxicity. However, detailed mechanistic insights into PAT-induced nephrotoxicity had not yet been done.

Foodborne pathogen-mediated biofilms in food processing environments are severe threats to human lives. In the interest of human and environmental safety, natural substances with antimicrobial properties and generally regarded as safe (GRAS) status are the futuristic disinfectants of the food industry. In this study, the efficacy of bioactive, soluble products (metabolic by-products) from lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and plant-derived essential oils (EO) were investigated as biocidal agents.

Due to the ubiquitous character of Listeria monocytogenes, multiple strains of the pathogen may end up co-existing in/on the same final products and could potentially cause infection during consumption. Such multiple strain contamination may occur in different stages of the food supply chain. The present study evaluated the effect of oxygen availability and matrix structure on inter-strain interactions of L.

The importance of single-cell variability is increasingly prominent with the developments in foodborne pathogens modeling. Traditional predictive microbiology model cannot accurately describe the growth behavior of small numbers of cells due to individual cell heterogeneity. The objective of the present study was to develop predictive models for single cell lag times of Salmonella Enteritidis after heat and chlorine treatment.

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a foodborne pathogen that endangers human health worldwide. Antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation (aPDI), mediated by titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NP), was recently used to control the growth of S. aureus, however, UV illumination had to be offered to initiate the photodynamic reaction.

Microorganisms in low-moisture foods (LMFs) exhibit prolonged survivability and high heat resistance. Various external factors (water, food texture, nutritional compounds, etc.) influence the microbial heat resistance in LMFs; yet, the influential degree of each factor is not fully understood. In this study, the thermal resistance parameters (D and z values) of Salmonella enterica Enteritidis PT 30 (S.

Salmonella enterica is a leading human pathogen responsible for foodborne outbreaks worldwide. In the last decade, foods with low water activity (aw) and high-fat content have been involved in an increased occurrence of foodborne outbreaks. This research focuses on the foodstuff tahini, which is often linked to Salmonella infection outbreaks and recalls.

Zoning is typically adopted by food manufacturers and classified into three different zones including Zone 1 (food contact surface), Zone 2 (proximity to food and food contact surfaces) and Zone 3 (remote surfaces from processing). In this study, environmental surfaces belonging to these three Zones were sampled during food processing in a FVs processing facility located in Beijing, China.

Salmonella enterica serovar Rissen is recognized as one of the most common serotypes in pigs and pig products in many countries and can be transmitted to human through the consumption of contaminated food. To reveal the genetic characteristics of S. Rissen, 39 isolates from human and animal food were subjected to whole-genome sequencing analysis combined with 337 genome sequences downloaded from the NCBI Assembly database.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is considered as the staple food for 50% of the world's population. Humans are exposed to arsenic (As) through rice consumption, which is a global health issue that requires attention. The present review reflects the scenario of rice grown in As endemic regions of Asia that has a significant portion of inorganic As (iAs) compared to other rice grown areas around the world.

Cronobacter sakazakii, a foodborne opportunistic pathogen, mainly affects neonates and infants, with mortality rates of 26.9%. Most outbreaks arise from powdered infant formula (PIF). The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and mechanism of 405-nm light-emitting diode (LED) and citral treatment used in combination against C. sakazakii in reconstituted PIF.

Sucrose laurate (SL) is a promising dual-functional additive due to its emulsification and antibacterial activity. However, the knowledge on the antibacterial action of SL against Bacillus cereus was lacking, and thus it was investigated from multiple targets. The antibacterial results demonstrated that the minimum inhibitory concentration of SL was 0.3125 mg/mL, and the time-killing curve confirmed the strong antibacterial activity of SL.

Many studies have demonstrated that UV radiation can degrade aflatoxins (AF) in contaminated foods. However, the effective wavelength ranges for AF decomposition and their impacts on the quality of foods have not been elucidated. This study investigated the AF reduction and oil quality change in peanuts subjected to three types of 17 W low-pressure (LP) UV lamps covering UV-A (Max. emission: 365 nm), UV-B (Max. emission: 310 nm), and UV-C (Max.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 EDL933 exposed to low-shear modeled microgravity (LSMMG) and normal gravity (NG) was used for a transcriptomic analysis. The modified Gompertz model (R2 = 0.81-0.99) showed an increased growth rate of E. coli O157:H7 under LSMMG. The mechanism of this active growth was associated with highly upregulated genes in nutrient and energy metabolism, including the TCA cycle, glycolysis, and pyruvate metabolism.

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.

Kashk is a fermented dairy product typical of the Middle East, traditionally produced with sour milk and/or dairy waste. The kashk water-soluble peptide fraction was characterized at the molecular level by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry and its antibacterial and skin healing activity was evaluated. Antibacterial assays showed a significant antibacterial activity against clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus (S.

Pathogens such as Salmonella can be difficult to control in low-moisture food (LMF) processing plants and because of this its presence especially in biofilm mode should be prevented in such an environment. This study evaluated the capacity of Salmonella strains isolated from the peanut supply chain (S. Muenster, S. Miami, S. Glostrup, S. Javiana, S. Oranienburg and S.