Research Publications (Food Safety)

Aflatoxins and melanins are the products of a polyketide biosynthesis. In this study, the search of potential inhibitors of the aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) biosynthesis was performed among compounds blocking the pigmentation in fungi. Four compounds—three natural (thymol, 3-hydroxybenzaldehyde, compactin) and one synthetic (fluconazole)—were examined for their ability to block the pigmentation and AFB1 production in Aspergillus flavus.

Publication date: Available online 21 October 2016
Source:

Author(s): Lisbeth Mehli, Sunniva Hoel, Gunn Merethe Bjørge Thomassen, Anita Nordeng Jakobsen, Hanne Karlsen

Publication date: December 2016
Source:, Volume 63

Author(s): Nicholas Nduti, Amy McMillan, Shannon Seney, Mark Sumarah, Patrisio Njeru, Mercy Mwaniki, G. Reid

Publication date: December 2016
Source:, Volume 63

Author(s): Asmaa B.M.B. Tahoun, Heba A. Ahmed, Rasha M.M. Abou Elez, Attia A. El-Gedawy, Ibrahim Elsohaby, Abeer E. Abd El-Ghafar

Publication date: December 2016
Source:, Volume 63

Author(s): Susana C. Ribeiro, Paula M. O'Connor, R. Paul Ross, Catherine Stanton, Célia C.G. Silva

Publication date: October 2016
Source:, Volume 121

Author(s): Olga I. Belykh, Irina V. Tikhonova, Anton V. Kuzmin, Ekaterina G. Sorokovikova, Galina A. Fedorova, Igor V. Khanaev, Tatyana A. Sherbakova, Oleg A. Timoshkin

Publication date: October 2016
Source:, Volume 121

Author(s): P. Caballero, M. Troncoso, S.I. Patterson, C. López Gómez, R. Fernandez, M.A. Sosa

Publication date: Available online 27 October 2016


Author(s): Isabelle Kempf, Eric Jouy, Claire Chauvin

Publication date: December 2016
Food and Chemical Toxicology, Volume 98, Part A

Author(s): Samira A. Brooks, Elizabeth Martin, Lisa Smeester, Matthew R. Grace, Kim Boggess, Rebecca C. Fry

Publication date: December 2016
Food and Chemical Toxicology, Volume 98, Part A

Author(s): Camila S. Silva, Ching-Wei Chang, Denita Williams, Patricia Porter-Gill, Gonçalo Gamboa da Costa, Luísa Camacho

The extreme temperatures generated in the melon crop, early harvest, induce an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) plant levels leading to oxidative stress. Phytoprostanes (PhytoPs) and phytofurans (PhytoFs) are plant metabolites derived from α-linolenic acid oxidation induced by ROS. The aims of this work were to evaluate PhytoPs and PhytoFs as oxidative stress biomarkers in leaves of melon plants thermally stressed.

Protein antigens expressed on the surface of all strains of Listeria monocytogenes and absent from nonpathogenic Listeria spp. are presumably useful targets for pathogen identification, detection, and isolation using specific antibodies (Abs). To seek such surface proteins expressed in various strains of L. monocytogenes for diagnostic applications, we focused on a set of surface proteins known to be involved or putatively involved in L.

Passerine salmonellosis is a well-recognized disease of birds in the order Passeriformes, which includes common songbirds such as finches and sparrows, caused by infection with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Previous research has suggested that some subtypes of S. Typhimurium—definitive phage types (DTs) 40, 56 variant, and 160—are host adapted to passerines and that these birds may represent a reservoir of infection for humans and other animals.

The development of resistance in foodborne pathogens to food preservation techniques is an issue of increasing concern, especially in minimally processed foods where safety relies on hurdle technology. In this context, mild heat can be used in combination with so-called nonthermal processes, such as high hydrostatic pressure (HHP), at lower individual intensities to better retain the quality of the food.

Fusarium langsethiae is a fungal pathogen of cereal crops that is an increasing problem in northern Europe, but much of its epidemiology is poorly understood. The species produces the mycotoxins T-2 and HT-2, which are highly toxic. It was hypothesized that grain aphids, Sitobion avenae, may transmit F. langsethiae inoculum between wheat plants, and a series of transmission experiments and volatile chemical analyses was performed to test this.

This study evaluated the inhibitory effect of cinnamon oil against Escherichia coli O157:H7 Shiga toxin (Stx) production and further explored the underlying mechanisms. The MIC and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of cinnamon oil against E. coli O157:H7 were 0.025% and 0.05% (vol/vol), respectively. Cinnamon oil significantly reduced Stx2 production and the stx2 mRNA expression that is associated with diminished Vero cell cytotoxicity.

Summary

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Online Ahead of Print.

Numerous aminoglycoside resistance genes have been reported in Campylobacter spp. often resembling those from Gram-positive bacterial species and located in transferable genetic elements with other resistance genes. We discovered a new streptomycin (STR) resistance gene in
Campylobacter

The heat-resistant agglutinin 1 (Hra1) is an integral outer membrane protein found in strains of Escherichia coli that are exceptional colonizers. Hra1 from enteroaggregative E. coli strain 042 is sufficient to confer adherence to human epithelial cells and to cause bacterial autoaggregation. Hra1 is closely related to the Tia invasin, which also confers adherence, but not autoaggregation.

Transposon insertion into Listeria monocytogenes lmo2665, which encodes an EIIC of the phosphoenolpyruvate:carbohydrate phosphotransferase system (PTS), was found to prevent D-arabitol utilization. We confirm this result with a deletion mutant and show that Lmo2665 is also required for D-xylitol utilization. We therefore called this protein EIICAxl.

In 2009, a novel pandemic swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus caused a public emergency of international concern. Vaccination is the primary strategy for the control of influenza epidemics. However, the poor immunopotency of many vaccine antigens is a major barrier to the development of effective vaccines against influenza. Flagellin, a Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) ligand, has been used as an adjuvant to enhance the immunopotency of vaccines in preclinical studies.

Marcus H. Wong, Miaomiao Xie, Liqi Xie, Dachuan Lin, Ruichao Li, Yuanjie Zhou, Edward W. Chan, Sheng Chen