Research Publications (Food Safety)

A laboratory-acquired E. coli O157:H7 infection with associated severe sequelae including hemolytic uremic syndrome occurred in an individual working in the laboratory with a mixture of nalidixic acid-resistant (NalR) O157:H7 mutant strains in a soil-biochar blend. The patient was hospitalized and treated with an intravenous combination of metronidazole and levofloxacin.

Marine biofilms are a collective of microbes that can grow on many different surfaces immersed in marine environments. Estimating the microbial richness and specificity of a marine biofilm community is a challenging task due to the high complexity in comparison with seawater.

Filter-feeding bivalves, such as the Mytilus species, are exposed to different types of bacteria in the surrounding waters, in particular of the Vibrio genus. Mussels lack an adaptive immune system and hemocytes can recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) via pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) to activate intracellular signaling pathways to trigger the antimicrobial effectors synthesis.

Listeria monocytogenes is considered major challenge for the food industry as it can persist for long periods in food processing plants by forming biofilms. The aims of this study were: i) to assess the biofilm producing ability of 57 Listeria monocytogenes isolates previously subjected to whole-genome sequencing (WGS); ii) to compare the levels of biofilm formation with the presence or absence of biofilm associated genes.

Laboratory procedures performed in water treatment studies frequently require the characterization of (oo)cyst suspensions. Standard methods commonly used are laborious, expensive and time-consuming, besides requiring well-trained personnel to prepare samples with fluorescent staining and perform analysis under fluorescence microscopy.

Specimens of the pentastomid parasite, Linguatula serrata, have been reported from several animals in Romania, including some domestic dogs translocated to other parts of Europe. In this study, gray wolves (Canis lupus, n = 80), golden jackals (C. aureus, n = 115), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes, n = 236), and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus, n = 1) were examined for pentastomes.

The toxicity of high-chlorinated polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can be efficiently reduced through anaerobic dechlorination. However, this approach suffers a lot in face of in situ microbial remediations, like a shortage of biomass. In this study, we showed that the amendment of organic matters could help microbiota in paddy soil with anaerobic dechlorination and greatly shortened the lag period.

The advanced oxidation processes (AOP) employ free radicals generated from the photolysis of H2O2 by UV radiation to decompose the contamination in foods. This study aims at applying AOP to reduce the aflatoxins in peanuts. Radiations in UV-C or UV-A range combined with H2O2 solution efficiently degraded aflatoxins in the model solution. The degradation compound, aflatoxin B2a, was also degraded by AOP.

This study was aimed at the isolation and identification of Arcobacter spp. and Campylobacter spp. from fresh vegetables sold at district markets in the Kayseri province, and at the determination of the antibacterial susceptibility of the recovered isolates. For this purpose, a total of 175 vegetable samples, including 35 spinach, 35 lettuce, 35 parsley, 35 arugula, and 35 radish samples, were collected.

Aims and Background

In recent decades, recycling of wastewater has received increasing attention among researchers, because it can satisfy the proliferating demand for groundwater and reduce water shortages in developed and developing countries.

Methods

Low-temperature­–long-time (LT–LT) cooking, also known as sous vide cooking, in which meat is sealed in a bag and cooked in hot water at a relatively low-temperature of around 60°C, increased in popularity; indeed, home-use low-temperature cookers are now commercially available. However, after LT–LT cooking, if even a small number of foodborne bacteria remain, they could cause infection and foodborne illnesses.

Cereulide-producing Bacillus cereus , which causes foodborne illnesses with vomiting, and psychrotolerant Bacillus cereus group strains such as Bacillus mycoides , which can grow at ≥7°C and cause spoilage of refrigerated foods, are significant concerns for the food industry. As such, rapid and simple methods to discriminate cereulide-producing B. cereus and psychrotolerant B. cereus group strains from other B. cereus group strains are needed.

In Mexico, the prevalence of Salmonella enterica in low water activity foods and their link to outbreaks is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the microbiological profile and the prevalence of S. enterica in low water activity foods (peanuts, pecans, raisins, sun-dried tomatoes, and chocolate sprinkles) purchased in retail establishments in Queretaro, Mexico. Seventy samples of each food item sold in bulk were purchased.

Blood sausages consisting of groats, pork, porcine offal, fat, blood, and spices are very popular in the Czech Republic. All these ingredients are potential sources of dietary exposure to ochratoxin A (OTA). OTA has a strong affinity to serum proteins in porcine blood. Thus, the contamination of blood sausages with OTA can be expected. This study aims to evaluate OTA in 200 samples of porcine blood sausages purchased at the Czech market during 2020–2021.

Widespread use of plastics poses a serious environmental hazard to our planet and should be substituted by eco-friendly and biodegradable alternatives, simultaneously reducing waste of perishable food products and the risk of transmission of pathogenic microbes. In our study, we describe how the water solubility of the antimicrobial surfactant ethyl lauroyl arginate (LAE) can be reduced through complexation with a Keggin-type polyoxometalate (POM), K8[SiW11O39].

Respective activities of ceftaroline and ceftobiprole were reported against staphylococci isolated in 2008, 2013, 2017, 2018 from bacteraemia and lower respiratory tract infections in England and Ireland.1 Methicillin-susceptible staphylococci were susceptible to both molecules. The behavior of methicillin-resistant staphylococci was dependent on the bacterial species. Only 1/424 (0.23%) methicillin-resistant S.

Activated carbon-boron (AC-B) nanocomposite has been developed as a new solid-phase extraction (SPE) sorbent for the extraction and specification of aflatoxins (AFs) in nuts. Porous activated carbon was produced by the chemical activation method from potato peels, which is important biomass waste, and boron was incorporated into the structure.

This study investigates the antimicrobial activity of insect chitosan against vegetative cells of Bacillus cereus in a rice matrix. Sample culture solutions were prepared with different concentrations of insect chitosan (150, 180, 220 and 250 μg/mL) and tested at three temperatures (30 °C, 20 °C and 10 °C), which simulate different storage temperature scenarios of precooked rice.

Electrochemiluminescent (ECL) sensors for organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) have received considerable attention, whereas complicated electrode’s immobilization, response to single hydrolysate and anodic emission correlated with ECL assays restrict their potential utilization. Herein, we developed a homogeneous dual-response cathodic ECL system for highly sensitive and reliable analysis of OP using CdTe QDs as emitters.

Zearalenone (ZEN) is a potent oestrogenic mycotoxin that is mainly produced by Fusarium species and is a serious environmental pollutant in animal feeds. Apiotrichum mycotoxinivorans has been widely used as a feed additive to detoxify ZEN. However, the effects of ZEN on A.

Magnaporthe grisea is one of the most destructive pathogen that encounters a challenge to rice production around the worldwide. The unique properties of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs), have high attractiveness as nanofungicide. In the present study, the response of fungi to ZnO NPs was evaluated using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Two different aligners (STAR and Hisat2) were used for aligning the clean reads, and the DEseq2 package was used to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs).

Despite the booming international trade in cigar tobacco leaves (CTLs), the main characteristics of tobacco leaves from different producing areas are rarely reported. This study aimed to characterize the microbial community, volatile flavor compounds (VFCs), and flavor of CTLs from four famous cigar-producing areas, including Dominica, Brazil, Indonesia, and China.

Background Organ transplantation from donors with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to recipients with HIV (HIV D+/R+) presents risks of donor-derived infections. Understanding clinical, immunologic, and virologic characteristics of HIV-positive donors is critical for safety.