Research Publications (Food Safety)

Arabic gum has an interesting antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Arabic gum can be used as a natural emulsifier and egg substitution in vegan mayonnaise. The manufacture of mayonnaise with Arabic gum was useful in controlling the development of rancidity. Abstract The main factors affecting the spoilage of mayonnaise are lipid oxidation and microbial contamination.

Many laboratories sampling foods for Salmonella are interested only in presence or absence of Salmonella, so only one colony may be selected. The objectives of this study were to use two selective enrichment broths and two selective agar plating media for Salmonella recovery from naturally contaminated broiler carcass rinsates and evaluate these media combinations on Salmonella serotypes recovered from each carcass.

A newly isolated Campylobacter jejuni bacteriophage CJ01 was partially characterized and might be a potential biocontrol agent to improve food safety. Abstract Campylobacter jejuni is a major foodborne pathogen causing acute bacterial enteritis worldwide. Screening of novel bacteriophages as biocontrol tools to eliminate C. jejuni in food during pre‐ and postharvest is an emerging research field. In this study, we partially characterized C.

Process lethality during a 5 min resting period for E. coli O157 C37 and J3, and E. coli AW1.7 in patties cooked to 71°C. F2, single‐sided cooking with flipping twice; F3, single‐sided cooking with flipping three times; D, double‐sided cooking. Abstract This study assessed the adequacy of the current cooking recommendations in relation to heat resistant Escherichia coli by evaluating eight potentially heat resistant E. coli strains (four generic and four E. coli O157:H7) along with AW1.7.

Pasteurized trim milk was irradiated through coiled tube ultraviolet (UV‐C) reactor. Pasteurization followed by UV‐C treatment can increase shelf life of milk. UV‐C can inactivate spores under ambient conditions. Abstract The demand for minimally processed foods has increased in the last few years and gains high acceptability among consumers as it has better nutritional value than highly processed foods.

The present study investigated in vitro antimicrobial activity of Eryngium caeruleum essential oil (EEO) against some of the fish spoilage and fish‐borne pathogenic bacteria. Moreover, its effects on specific spoilage microorganisms, inoculated Listeria monocytogenes, and its sensory changes in minced fish were evaluated. The results showed that EEO had a significant in vitro antimicrobial effect on the studied bacteria.

Alpha diversity boxplots showing the distribution of Chao1 diversity for produce items. The Chao1 alpha diversity is presented for samples from farm fresh (cucumbers, tomatoes, and kale) and organic (squash and green bell peppers) produce items collected 1, spiepr146 24, and 96 hr after treatment with water, chlorine, PAA, or SalmoFresh. Abstract Diets rich in minimally processed foods are associated with numerous health benefits, in part, due to their diverse, natural microbiota.

Salmonella were detected in 3 of 24 cucumbers, all of which were multidrug‐resistant and one was acid‐resistant. In addition, developed dynamic model showed that the Salmonella isolates proliferated gradually in cucumber under changing temperature, simulating storage condition. These results suggest that cross‐contaminated Salmonella could increase during storage. It may lead to human infection, and the treatment may be hard because of antibiotic resistance.

The apple‐, carrot‐, and hibiscus‐based edible films containing carvacrol and cinnamaldehyde showed antimicrobial effects against Escherichia coli O157:H7 on organic leafy greens in sealed plastic bags. All three types of 3% carvacrol‐containing films reduced E. coli O157:H7 population by about 5 log CFU/g at day 0. The 1.5% carvacrol‐containing films reduced E. coli O157:H7 population by 1–4 logs CFU/g at day 7.

The current study demonstrated that SEU promoted the proinflammatory activity of macrophage via upregulation of AIF‐1 expression. The expression of AIF‐1 was inferred by RNAi and the interference abolished the increase of cell proliferation and inflammatory cytokine TNFα, IL6 secretion.

Boning of dry‐cured hams involves additional handling which increases the risk of contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. This work studies the ability of E‐beam to eliminate this pathogen from boned dry‐cured ham (BDH). The destruction kinetics of four L. monocytogenes strains (S2, S4‐2, S12‐1, and S7‐2) and L. innocua NCTC 11288 as a surrogate were determined at doses up to 3 kGy. L. innocua and L. monocytogenes S4‐2 were the most radioresistant (D‐value = 0.55 kGy).

The combined effect of the 222‐nm krypton‐chlorine (KrCl) excilamp and ohmic heating for the inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, and Escherichia coli O157:H7 in apple juice was investigated in this study. When ohmic heating and a KrCl excilamp were applied to apple juice simultaneously, the reduction level of E.

Enzymatic treatment is capable of removing the biofilm matrix so that the subsequent disinfection can be more effective. Abstract Bacterial biofilms are highly difficult to control, hence significant economic resources have been allocated to develop strategies to eradicate them. This study evaluated the effect of an enzymatic treatment to be used as a cleaning product to control the presence of biofilms.

Concentration of free chlorine before and after 15 min of exposure to washing water added of lettuce residues for each sodium hypochlorite treatment. Abstract Salmonella spp. is one of the main lettuce pathogens and should be inactivated during the disinfection of these vegetables before consumption. In minimally processed vegetable industries, residues of organic matter can prevent the inactivation of this pathogen by disinfectants.

Whey protein concentrate (WPC) mixed with various concentrations of Shirazi thyme (ST), sage, and cumin seed (CS) extracts separately. Then pistachio kernels (PK) contaminated with Aspergillus flavus (Af) were coated with each extract and the Af mycelium and generated aflatoxins measured after 3, 5, and 7‐days at 20°C.

Leuconostoc mesenteroides strains isolated from kimchi were shown to be effective probiotics for inhibiting Listeria monocytogenes biofilm formation more than 40‐fold. The cell‐free supernatant from the L. mesenteroides culture also decreased Listeria biofilms. This study indicates that kimchi probiotics can be applied to repress Listeria biofilm contamination on surfaces at food processing facilities.

The aim of this work was to collect relevant input data for integration into Monte‐Carlo simulation using 10,000 iterations to obtain quantitative estimates of exposure and associated risk to Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella. Higher prevalence rates of S. aureus (54.9 vs. 28.3%) and Salmonella (12.9 vs. 11.1%) were observed for raw milk distributed via collection milk collection centers (MCC) compared to those via dairy farms (DF). Prevalence found for S.

Graphical overview of the incidence and characterization of Aspergillus section Flavi in raw materials and finished feed in Algeria and their ability to produce aflatoxins, cyclopyazonic acid and ochratoxine A. Abstract In Algeria, little information is available on the population structure of Aspergillus section Flavi in raw materials and resultant animal feeds.

Sand filter‐UV‐C treatment for irrigation water. Abstract Surface irrigation water is a food safety risk due to susceptibility to contamination and varying turbidity that affects chlorination efficacy. Effectiveness of a combined high‐throughput, commercially available sand filter and UV‐C system to inactivate Escherichia coli (K12, and attenuated O157:H7) in simulated irrigation water of varying turbidity and actual irrigation water was investigated.

Bacteriophages are a potential agent for the biocontrol of Shiga toxin‐producing Escherichia coli in milk. Stability and activity of bacteriophages may increase the safety of dairy products. Additionally, phages can successfully reduce bacterial biofilm on the food processing surface. Abstract Shiga toxin‐producing Escherichia coli is a common foodborne pathogen which transmission includes dairy products.

High prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to drugs of critically/highly importance of human and veterinary medicine was observed among the recovered Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and Staphylococcus aureus, circulating over the different stages of poultry in India. Upward trend in AMR rates was observed in poultry‐retail shops than in poultry‐farms. Multi‐drug resistance was observed in >90% of all the isolates.

Yogurt is a health food with notable market production and demand. Because of this, we conducted a study on prominent commercial brands of yogurts in Pakistan for microbial content and the probiotic potential of the contained lactic acid bacteria (LAB), in the context of their label claims. All contained viable LAB, but the numbers (cfu g−1) varied considerably. Three of the products made explicit probiotic claims, but LAB from these displayed no probiotic attributes per WHO‐FAO guidelines.

Graphical overview of the monitoring and risk assessment of fipronil in eggs. Abstract In 2017, an outbreak regarding the release to the market of contaminated eggs with fipronil, alerted all EU authorities as to monitor and take relevant measures. In Greece, a total of 40 samples of poultry fat and eggs taken from the primary production (poultry farms) were analyzed, as to investigate the occurrence of fipronil residues.

This article review the emerging trends in the spread, distribution, and epidemiology of Listeria species in foods, water, human, animals, and different environments in the Southern African sub‐region based on the appraisal of scholarly articles available online.

Spot map showing areas of sample collection from Delhi‐NCR. Abstract Fresh fruits and vegetables contaminated with microbial pathogens can cause outbreaks of food poisoning and other enteric diseases if consumed raw. The objective of the present study was to determine the bacterial contamination and antibiotic resistance in fresh produce sold in Delhi, India.