Research Publications (Food Safety)

The surfaces of poultry slaughterhouse equipment are significant sources of contamination with Pseudomonas strains, which leads to spoilage of poultry meat during subsequent refrigerated storage. In this study, Pseudomonas strains with high biofilm-forming ability were isolated from different surfaces of the poultry slaughterhouse equipment, identified based on molecular data, and characterized their biofilm-forming ability.

The diseases caused by Vibrio during shrimp breeding program have the risk of spreading in different aquatic areas through larvae transportation between different regions. Therefore, the population distribution and the virulence and antibiotic resistance risk of 5 pathogenic Vibrio in shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) breeding system in China were evaluated for the first time.

The objectives of this study were, firstly, to compare a conventional (i.e., chlorinated alkaline) versus an alternative (chlorinated alkaline plus enzymatic) treatment effectivity for the elimination of biofilms from different L. monocytogenes strains (CECT 5672, CECT 935, S2-bac and EDG-e). Secondly, to evaluate the cross-contamination to chicken broth from non-treated and treated biofilms formed on stainless steel surfaces. Results showed that all L.

Non-Typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) continues to be a leading cause of foodborne illness worldwide. Food manufacturers implement hurdle technology by combining more than one approach to control food safety and quality, including preservatives such as organic acids, refrigeration, and heating.

To date, Cd remains a major contaminant in rice production. An in-depth exploration of the mechanism that causes genotypic differences in Cd enrichment in rice is necessary to develop strategies to regulate Cd enrichment in rice. Here, two rice cultivars (low grain Cd, ZZ143; and high grain Cd, YX409) displayed different transcriptomic profile patterns when subjected to 100μmol/L Cd stress.

Intelligent packaging with a pH indicator is a protective measure that can assure the food quality at the point of delivery or usage. This research targets to develop eggshell membrane gelatin-based hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanocomposite edible film incorporated with anthocyanin extracted from Jambolão (Syzygium cumini).

This study investigated several pre-treatments as strategies to increase the efficacy of the removal of metals when using exopolymeric substances (EPS) produced by Bacillus cereus. The pre-treatments used include heat (autoclaving, boiling) and chemical agents (sulphuric acid, sodium hydroxide, and methanol).

The NSAID ibuprofen (2-(4-isobutylphenyl)propanoic acid) and the structurally related 3-phenylpropanoic acid (3PPA), are widely used pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) which enter municipal waste streams but whose relatively low rates of elimination by wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are leading to the contamination of aquatic resources.

Salmonella enterica is a major cause of foodborne illness, and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has led to huge pressures on public health. Phage is a promising strategy for controlling foodborne pathogens. In this study, a novel Salmonella phage vB_SalM_SPJ41 was isolated from poultry farms in Shanghai, China.

Pulsed light (PL) technology has a good effect on the control of fungi in postharvest fruit. In this present work, PL inhibited the growth of Aspergillus carbonarius in a dose-dependent manner, the mycelial growth decreased by 4.83 %, 13.91 % and 30.01 % at a fluence of 4.5 J·cm−2 (PL5), 9 J·cm−2 (PL10) and 13.5 J·cm2 (PL15), respectively. When inoculated with PL15 treated A.

The aim of this study was to estimate the occurrence of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in milk and the exposure to aflatoxin from milk consumption in Chile in different age groups. For this, a total of 50 batches of the most consumed milk, were collected from hypermarkets from January to July 2022: 24 infant formulas and 26 powdered or fluid milk packages for general consumption. AFM1 levels were analyzed by ELISA using a commercial kit (RIDASCREEN, detection range 5–80 ng/L).

Blueberry surface color is determined in large part by anthocyanin pigments and is one of the most important quality traits influencing consumer preference. Postharvest changes in fruit surface color and phenolic compounds, including anthocyanins, have been reported in blueberries; however, the relationships between these changes had not yet been investigated.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a drug-resistant pathogen generally derived from pork and other animal foods. This study investigated the antibacterial mechanism of monocaprin against MRSA and its preservation effect on pork. The results showed that monocaprin had a strong anti-MRSA activity with visible cell surface damage and a minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.16 mg/mL.

Peanut is an important oil and food legume crop grown in more than one hundred countries, but the yield and quality are often impaired by different pathogens and diseases, especially aflatoxins jeopardizing human health and causing global concerns. For better management of aflatoxin contamination, we report the cloning and characterization of a novel A. flavus inducible promoter of the O-methyltransferase gene (AhOMT1) from peanut.

Bacillus cereus sensu lato (Bcsl) strains are widely explored due to their capacity to antagonize a broad range of plant pathogens. These include B. cereus sp. UW85, whose antagonistic capacity is attributed to the secondary metabolite Zwittermicin A (ZwA).

Bacillus cereus is a rod-shaped, gram-positive, motile, and β-hemolytic soil bacterium. B. cereus is an opportunistic pathogen, often responsible for human foodborne illness that is caused by ingestion of starchy foods with symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting. Among the numerous amylolytic enzymes in the genome of the pathogen, the one annotated as a putative neopullulanase (NPase) was cloned and its biochemical properties were characterized in this study.

Immunometabolic modulation of macrophages can play an important role in the innate immune response of chickens triggered with a multiplicity of insults. In this study, the immunometabolic role of two antibiotics (oxytetracycline and gentamicin) and four plant extracts (thyme essential oil, grape seed extract, garlic oil, and capsicum oleoresin) were investigated on a chicken macrophage-like cell line (HD11) during a Salmonella Enteritidis infection.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield and physiology are adversely affected due to limited water availability. However, desiccation-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (DT-PGPR) are potential candidates that can overcome the negative impacts of water stress.

Introduction Lactobacilli are avid producers of antimicrobial compounds responsible for their adaptation and survival in microbe-rich matrices. The bactericidal or bacteriostatic ability of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can be exploited for the identification of novel antimicrobial compounds to be incorporated in functional foodstuffs or pharmaceutical supplements.

In this study, for the first time, the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tyrosinase and antimicrobial property of P. atlantica Desf. subsp. atlantica leaf-bud extract have been investigated. The anti-inflammatory activity was determined in vivo by reducing carrageenan-induced hind paw edema in mice, while the antiradical function was evaluated using DPPH, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and reduction power assays.

In routine measurements, the length of the analysis time and nfumber of samples analysed during a time unit are crucial parameters, which are especially important for the food analysis, particularly in the case of mycotoxin determinations. High-resolution equipment, including time-of-flight or Orbitrap analyzators, can provide stable instrumental background for high-throughput analyses.

Maize is a significant crop to the global economy and a key component of food and feed, although grains and whole plants can often be contaminated with mycotoxins resulting in a general exposure of the population and animals.

Antimicrobial resistance is a serious problem for the control of infections and infectious diseases. Propolis is a substance produced by honeybees with antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties. To consider propolis as an alternative to the use of antimicrobials for infection control, we assessed its antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities. To assess propolis for topical medical use, toxicological studies were also performed.

Cadmium, one of the toxic heavy metals, robustly impact crop growth and development and food safety. In this study, the mechanisms of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) selenium-binding protein-A (TaSBP-A) involved in response to Cd stress was fully investigated by overexpression in Arabidopsis and wheat. As a cytoplasm protein, TaSBP-A showed a high expression in plant roots and its expression levels were highly induced by Cd treatment.

The degradation of aflatoxin (AF) is a topic that always exists along with the food and feed industry. Photocatalytic degradation as an advanced oxidation technology has many benefits, including complete inorganic degradation, no secondary contamination, ease of activity under moderate conditions, and low cost compared with traditional physical, chemical, and biological strategies.