Research Publications (Food Safety)

Publication date: Available online 12 August 2015
Food and Chemical Toxicology
Author(s): Sven Dänicke, Janine Winkler

A study was conducted to determine the prevalence and spatial distribution of Salmonella infection in Pennsylvania raccoons (Procyon lotor), common wildlife mammals known to occupy overlapping habitats with humans and domestic food animals. The Pennsylvania Game Commission provided a total of 371 raccoon intestinal samples from trapped and road-killed raccoons collected between May and November 2011.

Ruminant diets include cereals, protein feeds, their by-products as well as hay and grass, grass/legume, whole-crop maize, small grain or sorghum silages. Furthermore, ruminants are annually or seasonally fed with grazed forage in many parts of the World. All these forages could be contaminated by several exometabolites of mycotoxigenic fungi that increase and diversify the risk of mycotoxin exposure in ruminants compared to swine and poultry that have less varied diets.

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease , Vol. 0, No. 0.

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease , Vol. 0, No. 0.

The Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) provides a foundation for food safety policy and illness prevention in the United States. FoodNet conducts active, population-based surveillance at 10 US sites for laboratory-confirmed infections of 9 bacterial and parasitic pathogens transmitted commonly through food and for hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Publication date: Available online 12 August 2015

Author(s): E.M. Smith, Z.N. Willis, M. Blakeley, F. Lovatt, K.J. Purdy, L.E. Green

Raquel Montiel, Izaskun Martín-Cabrejas, Margarita Medina

Abstract

A novel target-enriched multiplex polymerase chain reaction (Tem-PCR) assay for the simultaneous detection of Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7 was developed in the present study. The invA, hly and rfbE genes were selected as target genes for identifying Salmonella spp., L. monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7, respectively.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of temperature, pH, sugar content and antimicrobial components on the growth of 11 yeast isolates in apple juice (12 °Brix, pH 4.0). The results showed that reduction of the storage temperature to 4C could achieve a complete inhibition of test strains, and the temperature required to kill all the initial yeast inoculum (103 cfu/mL) within 20 min ranged from 46 to 55C, depending on the isolate.

Publication date: February 2016
, Volume 60
Author(s): Céline Le Lay, Jérôme Mounier, Valérie Vasseur, Amélie Weill, Gwenaëlle Le Blay, Georges Barbier, Emmanuel Coton

Thermophilic Campylobacter species colonize the intestine of agricultural and domestic animals commensally, but cause severe gastroenteritis in humans. In contrast to other enteropathogenic bacteria, Campylobacter have been considered to be non-glycolytic, a metabolic property originally used for their taxonomic classification. Contrary to this dogma, we demonstrate that several Campylobacter coli strains are able to utilize glucose as a growth substrate.

Campylobacters are a leading cause of gastrointestinal morbidity worldwide and the majority of human infections are triggered by eating foods contaminated with Campylobacter jejuni or Campylobacter coli. Campylobacters are equally notorious for their ability to mimic human glycoconjugate structures and for their capacity to synthesize both N- and O-linked glycoproteins.

Publication date: January 2016
, Volume 111
Author(s): Lucía Plaza, Rosa Altisent, Isabel Alegre, Inmaculada Viñas, Maribel Abadias

Parasite assemblages acquired through trophic interactions in fish hosts are increasingly cited as a means to determine pollution effects on water quality and food web structure. We examined gastrointestinal parasite community changes above and below coal mine input from 597 individuals representing 3 species of sunfish: green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus), bluegill (L. macrochirus), and longear sunfish (L. megalotis).

Trichuris suis is a common parasitic helminth of pigs. As with many other parasites, T. suis ensures its own survival by evading host immune responses, but little is known about how this is achieved. MicroRNAs (miRNA) have been shown to be involved in various immunological processes by post-transcriptional regulation of specific genes, and the potential of using these molecules as biomarkers of disease is currently being examined.

Publication date: Available online 10 August 2015
Food and Chemical Toxicology
Author(s): M.S. Frehse, M.I.M. Martins, E.Y.S. Ono, A.P.F.R.L. Bracarense, L.Y. Bissoqui, E.M.K. Teixeira, N.J.R. Santos, R.L. Freire

Publication date: Available online 10 August 2015
Food and Chemical Toxicology
Author(s): Katarzyna Mokra, Magdalena Kocia, Jaromir Michałowicz

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease , Vol. 0, No. 0.

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease Aug 2015, Vol. 12, No. 8: 693-703.

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease Aug 2015, Vol. 12, No. 8: 679-685.

Fining of wine with agents containing cow's milk or hen's egg white is a common and traditional procedureIn light of increasing food allergies all over the world, the presence of fining residues has been subject of intense debate. Switzerland does not make exception, and since 2009 the Federal Department of Home Affairs has modified its food regulations stating that the labels must show if traces of fining agents are present.

Clostridium perfringens type D strains are usually associated with diseases of livestock and their virulence requires the production of epsilon toxin (ETX). We previously showed (Li et al. PLoS Pathogen. 2011, 7 (12): e1002429) that BMC202, a nanI null mutant of type D strain CN3718, produces less ETX than does wild-type CN3718.

Four trials were carried out at a broiler processing plant to examine the effectiveness of spraying lactic acid solutions for reducing the numbers of Campylobacter on carcasses. The carcasses were naturally contaminated and treated after the inside–outside washer and before the air chiller. Carcasses were treated by spraying in a tunnel or with one of two hand-held sprayers.