Research Publications (Food Safety)

Transmission of foodborne pathogens by plants, especially shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, has become a public health concern for ready-to-eat products. Due to the patchy distribution of foodborne pathogens on commodities, random sampling before processing and following packaging cannot reliably exclude presence of pathogenic microbes. Robust, cost-effective, and reliable methods for monitoring pathogenic E.

The consumption of agri-foods contaminated with mycotoxins poses a serious threat to human health. In this study, we evaluated the presence of total aflatoxins (AFs) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in various agri-food products of national and imported origin in Chile that are consumed daily.

Novel artilysins by the fusions of phage lysin Lysqdvp001 (Lys) with outer membrane (OM) destabilizing peptides against Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. parahaemolyticus) were designed and developed assisted by molecular docking. Eleven designed artilysins with predicted high affinity to lipopolysaccharide lipid-A (LPSA) of bacterial OM were selected, and eight designed artilysins after cloning and expression showed abilities to hydrolyze V.

Cooked battered products like nuggets and sausages are famous street foods in Malaysia. However, these foods lack prevalence data for the non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica serovars Enteritidis and Typhimurium (NTS) contaminations, thus leading to concern over foodborne outbreaks. Therefore, the present work aimed to examine the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant NTS in battered foods, and investigate their survival under simulated gastric fluid (SGF) and microwave heating.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent toxic, organic chemicals that tend to accumulate in the food chain. This study reports the rapid and selective extraction and determination of PCBs (PCB81, 153, 105, 126, and 157) in milk samples by a dispersive solid-phase extraction (DSPE) coupled with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC–MS/MS).

This study was conducted to determine the effects of glucosamine (GlcN) on zearalenone (ZEA)-induced reproductive toxicity and placental dysfunction in mice.

Citrinin (CTN) is a mycotoxin that is found as a contaminant in various types of food/feed grains and fermented food supplements. Previous studies have already established the nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity of CTN, but the neurotoxicity of CTN has not been clearly examined. In this study, CTN at 2–20 μM was first found to interfere with the neural ganglia formation and locomotive behavior of embryonic zebrafish, a vertebrate animal model, at 24 hpf and 6 dpf, respectively.

Intrinsic characteristics of fresh produce, such as pH, water activity, acid content and nutrient availability are critical factors in determining the survival and growth of Listeria monocytogenes (Lm). In this study, sterile fresh produce juice was used to analyze Lm growth potential among 14 different commodities and to identify physicochemical characteristics in those juices that affect Lm growth.

A colorimetric biosensor based on a novel metal-organic framework (MOF) composed of Zirconium (Zr) and Praseodymium (Pr) is presented as a nanozyme to detect Salmonella Typhimurium (S. typhimurium). The ZrPr-MOF poses extreme peroxidase-mimic activity, and it interacts with an aptamer. In the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), the intense blue color is observed via the oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) by ZrPr-MOF.

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa, which causes the zoonotic disease toxoplasmosis. T. gondii infects almost all warm blood animals. Generally, infected animals are asymptomatic and remain infected for life. Infection of humans occurs by consumption of infected undercooked meat or contaminated vegetables, fruit and water.

Cadmium is one of the most common heavy metal contaminants found in agricultural fields. MutSα, MutSβ, and MutSγ are three different MutS-associated protein heterodimer complexes consisting of MSH2/MSH6, MSH2/MSH3, and MSH2/MSH7, respectively. These complexes have different mismatch recognition properties and abilities to support MMR.

Geraniol nanoemulsions (G-NE) based on Tween 80 and medium chain triglyceride (MCT) as surfactant and co-surfactant, respectively, has been prepared by the spontaneous emulsification method. Its physical and chemical properties such as mean particle size, zeta potential, PDI, pH, viscosity, contact angle, appearance morphology, and stability (storage stability, thermal stability, centrifugal properties, acid-base stability, and freeze-thaw properties) of the droplet were analyzed.

Background Ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in soil are of great biological importance as they regulate the cycling of N in agroecosystems.

This study reports levels of aflatoxin and fumonisin in maize samples (n = 1294) from all agroecological zones (AEZs) in Malawi. Most maize samples (> 75%) were contaminated with aflatoxins and 45% with fumonisins, which co-occurred in 38% of the samples. Total aflatoxins varied across the AEZs, according to mean annual temperature (P < 0.05) of the AEZs.

Catalase (CAT) can eliminate oxygen radicals, but it is unclear whether exogenous CAT can protect chickens against deoxynivalenol (DON)-induced oxidative stress. This study aimed to investigate the effects of supplemental CAT on antioxidant property and gut microbiota in DON-exposed broilers. A total of 144 one-day-old Lingnan yellow-feathered male broilers were randomly divided into three groups (six replicates/group): control, DON group, and DON + CAT (DONC) group.

Campylobacteriosis is recognized as one of the most common food-borne zoonoses, with worldwide distribution, having undercooked poultry meat and other cross-contaminated foodstuffs as the main sources of human infections. The current study aimed to provide data on the occurrence of the thermophilic Campylobacter spp. in seven broiler chicken flocks, from three north-western Transylvanian counties of Romania, as well as to determine the antimicrobial resistance profile of the isolated C.

Propolis is a natural resinous substance that is collected by honeybees (Apis mellifera) with promising antibacterial effects. Here, we examined the antibacterial activity of Chinese propolis against Clostridium perfringens, a bacterial pathogen that threatens food safety and causes intestinal erosion. The inhibitory effects of the ethanolic extract of Chinese propolis (CPE) on human-associated C.

The present study aims to characterize the plant growth-promoting bacterial traits of Bacillus simplex (strain 115). This bacterium was inoculated in hydroponically conditions to improve pea (Pisum sativum L.) growth submitted to lead (Pb) toxicity. Root nodulation system was developed enough in 23-day-old plants attesting the interaction between the two organisms.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the antibacterial effect and mechanism of cinnamaldehyde on Bacillus cereus spores in ready-to-eat beef. The colour difference and texture of the ready-to-eat beef supplemented with cinnamaldehyde did not differ greatly from the colour and texture of the blank beef. However, cinnamaldehyde has an effective antibacterial effect on the total number of bacterial colonies and B. cereus spores in ready-to-eat beef.

Biofouling is a serious problem in the food industry, and one way to control biofouling is using topographically patterned surfaces. This in vitro study used a laser surface texturing process to produce six differently patterned topographies which were analysed for their topography and wettability with repeated fouling and cleaning.

Outbreaks of Salmonella and Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) linked to wheat flour led to increased interest in characterizing the fate of Salmonella and STEC on wheat during processing. Tempering is the stage of wheat processing where water is added to toughen the bran prior to milling, which has the potential to influence pathogen behavior on the kernels.

The emergence of mobile colistin resistant gene (mcr-1) in Enterobacteriaceae has become a global public health concern. Dissemination of the mcr-1 gene through conjugation of bacteria associated with food may occur. This research investigated the transfer frequency of the mcr-1 gene among Escherichia coli in liquid media and during growth of mung bean sprouts. The donor strain E.

Scallops are delicious and healthy, but their filter feeding habits make them vulnerable to ingesting and accumulating toxic chemicals from the environment, resulting in food safety issues. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of steaming process on the concentration, distribution and bioaccessibility of cadmium (Cd) in Chlamys farreri tissues.

Aflatoxins contaminate a variety of food and feeds and have a serious health concern to humans and animals. The present work investigated the effect of Zingiber officinale (ginger) for the reduction of aflatoxin B1, G1, B2, and G2. Ginger juice reduced 70.2 ± 0.1%, 99.76 ± 0.0%, 56.8 ± 0.5%, and 98.6 ± 0.0% of aflatoxin B1, G1, B2, and G2, respectively.

Aflatoxins, the mycotoxins produced as secondary metabolites by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, are the most common known food contaminants implicated with liver cancer and lethal aflatoxicosis outbreaks. This study aimed to evaluate the levels of total aflatoxins in stored maize, maize flour, and stiff porridge consumed in schools in Dodoma Region.