Research Publications (Food Safety)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the quantitative and qualitative changes in the proteome of the hemolymph of female Steatoda grossa spiders (Theridiidae) that were chronically exposed to cadmium and copper in food and were additionally immunostimulated (phorbol 12–myristate 13–acetate (PMA); bacterial suspensions: Staphylococcus aureus (G+), Pseudomonas fluorescens (G–).

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Thompson (S. Thompson) poses a major threat as a pathogen to food quality and public health. The foodborne pathogen requires zero tolerance in food control. The foodborne pathogen recently caused a large-scale outbreak in Korea. Hence, there is a dire need for a sensitive and efficient assay to detect S. Thompson.

The bacteriocin CAMT6 is a novel bacteriocin produced by Enterococcus durans YQ-6 isolated from Larimichthys polyactis in the South China Sea. In this study, the bacteriocin CAMT6 was purified by extraction using ethyl acetate, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, cation exchange chromatography and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, in sequence.

Sediments polluted by historical emissions from anthropogenic point sources are common in industrialized parts of the world and pose a potential threat to the function of aquatic ecosystems. Gradient studies using fish as a bioindicator are an option to assess the ecological impact of locally polluted areas. This study investigates the remaining effects of historical emissions on sediments outside ten Swedish pulp and paper mills using perch (Perca fluviatilis).

Background Cadmium (Cd) pollution in agricultural soils has been a worldwide problem that threatens eco-environmental sustainability and exerts a negative influence on plant growth.

Aflatoxin, a carcinogenic secondary metabolite produced by Aspergillus flavus, is a significant threat to human health and agricultural production. Histone 2-hydroxyisobutyrylation is a novel post-translational modification that regulates various biological processes, including secondary metabolism. In this study, we identified the novel histone 2-hydroxyisobutyryltransferase Afngg1 in A. flavus, and explored its role in cell growth, development and aflatoxin biosynthesis.

Bacteria can form biofilms in natural and clinical environments on both biotic and abiotic surfaces. The bacterial aggregates embedded in biofilms are formed by their own produced extracellular matrix. Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is one of the most common pathogens of biofilm infections. The formation of biofilm can protect bacteria from being attacked by the host immune system and antibiotics and thus bacteria can be persistent against external challenges.

mSystems, Ahead of Print. Shigella is a Gram-negative bacterium that invades the human gut epithelium. The resulting infection, shigellosis, is the deadliest bacterial diarrheal disease. Much of the information about the genes dictating the pathophysiology of Shigella, both on the chromosome and the virulence plasmid, was obtained by classical reverse genetics.

Microbiology Resource Announcements, Ahead of Print. The genome sequences of Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain 380-94, which was isolated from a 1994 dry-cured salami outbreak, and a stronger Congo red-binding variant, RV06, were determined using long-read sequencing technology and de novo assembly. Both strains possessed one chromosome and one plasmid. Strain RV06 possessed a 4,769-bp deletion in the rcs region.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a gram-negative bacterium capable of causing diseases in humans and aquatic animals. The global relationships among V. parahaemolyticus genomes have been studied using multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Recently, the MLST gene recA has shown difficulties in amplification and/or a larger PCR fragment for some V. parahaemolyticus genomes due to genetic recombination.

Utilization of rhizosphere microorganisms to improve plant growth and salt tolerance has recently attracted widespread attention. The growth and salt tolerance of willows inoculated with Bacillus cereus JYZ-SD2 and Peniophora cinerea XC were studied under different salt stress conditions. The results showed that the chlorophyll content of willow cuttings inoculated with the XC strain increased significantly by 51.27%.

Background A risk assessment conducted by EFSA identified Salmonella enterica (Salmonella) as a high-risk hazard at the EU level in the context of meat inspection of swine. Despite pork being considered an important source of S. Typhimurium and its monophasic variant, Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 does not set criteria for specific Salmonella serotypes.

Consumers are becoming vegan, vegetarian, or flexitarian due to the factors such as a healthy lifestyle, and growing environmental concerns. Circumstances like this have cumulatively driven the global nuts and dried fruits market. Thereby, this study aims to review two nuts (almond and cashew nut) in terms of processing effect on their quality attributes, nutritional value, phytochemical composition, and significant health advantages.

In recent years, hepatitis-hydropericardium syndrome (HHS) and inclusion body hepatitis (IBH) caused by serotype 4 fowl adenovirus (FAdV-4) and serotype 8b fowl adenovirus (FAdV-8b), respectively, are widely prevalent in China, causing huge economic losses to the poultry industry. Numerous studies have revealed the mechanism of the infection and pathogenesis of FAdV-4. However, little is known about the mechanism of infection with FAdV-8b.

Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) is a serious food-borne pathogen that can cause listeriosis, an illness caused by eating food contaminated with this pathogen. Currently, the treatment or prevention of listeriosis is a global challenge due to the resistance of bacteria against multiple commonly used antibiotics, thus necessitating the development of novel green antimicrobials.

Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, Accepted Article. Background Deoxynivalenol (DON) produced during the onset of fusarium head blight affects not only the quality and safety of wheat but also causes serious harm to human and livestock health. However, due to the high stability of DON, it is difficult to disappear or reduce naturally after production.

Background Exposure to zearalenone (ZEN, a widespread Fusarium mycotoxin) causes reproductive toxicity and immunotoxicity in farm animals, and it then poses potential threats to human health through the food chain. A systematic understanding of underlying mechanisms on mycotoxin-induced toxicity is necessary for overcoming potential threats to farm animals and humans.

Background Cattle industry is critical for China’s livestock industry, whereas E. coli infection and relevant diseases could lead huge economic loss. Traditional mammalian models would be costly, time consuming and complicated to study pathological changes of bovine E. coli. There is an urgent need for a simple but efficient animal model to quantitatively evaluate the pathological changes of bovine-derived E.

Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) accounts for serious public health and food safety problems owing to its stress resilience and pathogenicity. Based on their regulatory involvement in global gene expression events, cold-shock domain family proteins (Csps) are crucial in expression of various stress fitness and virulence phenotypes in bacteria.

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria pose a significant clinical threat to human health, but the development of antibiotics cannot meet the urgent need for effective agents, especially those that can kill persisters and biofilms. Here, we reported that nigericin showed potent bactericidal activity against various clinical MDR Gram-positive bacteria, persisters and biofilms, with low frequencies of resistance development.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of pulsed light (PL) treatment on the degradation of patulin in apple juice and its quality. The impact of different processing parameters on the degradation effect of patulin was explored. The degradation rate of patulin (200 μg/L) reached 96.27% in apple juice (12 oBrix) by applying the highest fluence (40.50 J/cm2, total processing time: 6 min 30 s) at 3.5 cm from the quartz glass.

Aflatoxin, a naturally occurring toxin produced by the fungus Aspergillus flavus, is the most economically important mycotoxin in the world, with harmful effects on human and animal health. Preventive measures such as irrigation and planting dates can minimize aflatoxin contamination most years. However, no control strategy is completely effective when environmental conditions are extremely favorable for growth of the fungus.

Introduction Gastrointestinal illnesses associated with the consumption of shellfish contaminated with Vibrio parahaemolyticus have a negative impact on the shellfish industry due to recalls and loss of consumer confidence in products. This bacterial pathogen is very diverse and specific sequence types (STs), ST631 and ST36, have emerged as prevalent causes of Vibrio foodborne disease outbreaks in the US, though other STs have been implicated in sporadic cases.

Salmonellosis is one of the most common foodborne diseases worldwide. Surface adherence and biofilm formation are among the main strategies evolved by Salmonella to survive under harsh conditions and are risk factors for its spread through the food chain. Owing to the increase in antimicrobial resistance, there is a growing need to develop other methods to control foodborne pathogens, and bacteriophages have been suggested as a potential alternative for this purpose.

A national survey of sixteen commonly used antibiotics in chicken meat was conducted for three consecutive years (2016–2018). A total of 4591 chicken meat samples were collected from 24 provinces in China and measured by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The results revealed that all of the antibiotics studied were detected with an overall detection frequency of 20.47% and an exceeding standard rate of 2.94%.