Research Publications (Food Safety)

by Sarah Depenbrock, Sharif Aly, John Wenz, Deniece Williams, Wagdy ElAshmawy, Kristin Clothier, Heather Fritz, Gary McArthur, Meera Heller, Munashe Chigerwe

by Eun-Hee Nah, Seon Cho, Hyeran Park, Dongwon Noh, Eunjoo Kwon, Han-Ik Cho

Background

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has a risk of progressing to cirrhosis. The prevalence of NASH and its associated risk factors in community populations are relatively unknown. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of NASH and advanced liver fibrosis using magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), and determine those risk factors in health examinees with asymptomatic fatty liver.

Migrant populations are one of several underimmunised groups in the EU or European Economic Area (EU/EEA), yet little is known about their involvement in outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. This information is vital to develop targeted strategies to improve the health of diverse migrant communities.

On May 5, 2021, Canada became the first country in the world to approve COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in children aged 12–15 years; later the same month, the US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency also gave the green light to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents.1 Children younger than 12 years are the next population who need a safe and efficient COVID-19 vaccine.

Author(s): Dipali Yadav, Gautam Dutta, Shubham Kumar

Author(s): Simon Kizito, Joseph Jjagwe, Bruno Ssewaya, Lillian Nekesa, Peter Tumutegyereize, Ahamada Zziwa, Allan John Komakech

Author(s): Yang Ma, Peizhen Huang, Jing Cao, Junfeng Zhang, Yan Huang, Biao Chen

Campylobacter is the leading bacterial pathogen that causes human foodborne illnesses worldwide and outbreaks have been associated with consumption of under-cooked chicken livers.  The objectives of this study were to compare two PCR assays for speciation of 250 Campylobacter isolates, to assess antibiotic resistance of the isolates, and to analyze genetic diversity of the quinolone resistance determining regions (QRDR) of the isolates.

The objective of the present study was to analyze the prevalence of Salmonella in multiple food commodities in China by performing a meta-analysis. Accordingly, we screened studies that examined the prevalence of Salmonella in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases. Methodological quality assessment and heterogeneity analyses were performed for included studies. The prevalence rate with the 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was selected as the effect size.

In this study, the distribution of hygienic indicator bacteria in cattle livers and bile was examined at slaughterhouses. First, 127 cattle livers with gallbladders were carefully eviscerated from the carcasses at 10 slaughterhouses.

Introduction. The Philippines, comprising three island groups, namely, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, experienced an increase in cholera outbreaks in 2016.

Introduction. Chlamydia psittaci is an important cause of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

This study assessed how the Sonchus asper L.—Zea mays intercropping influenced the plant Cd level, as well as the organic acid (low molecular mass) types and concentrations in root secretions, which was accomplished by conducting pot experiments with soil that was collected from a farmland surrounding a mining area.

Here, we evaluate the potential for trace metal accumulation of nine elements (Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, As, Cd, and Pb) in the cestodes Proteocephalus macrophallus parasitizing the tucunaré, Cichla kelberi, in the Jacaré-Guaçú River, southeastern Brazil. For metal quantification in the tissues of hosts and parasites, an inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) was used.

This paper describes a hydrochemical study held at Alambari river, which crosses the installations of Henrique Lage refinery (Revap), São José dos Campos city, São Paulo State, Brazil. The hydrochemical characterization of the Alambari river waters allowed to assess its quality and verify the presence of domestic and/or industrial effluents and other environmental impacts caused by urbanization and refinery activities.

Abstract

Soybeans are a common ingredient of animal feed. They contain isoflavones, which are known to act as phytoestrogens in animals. Isoflavones were described to have beneficial effects on farm animals. However, there are also reports of negative outcomes after the consumption of isoflavones.

Staphylococcus aureus causes a foodborne intoxication due to the production of enterotoxins and shows antimicrobial resistance, as in the case of methicillin-resistant strains (MRSA). Herein, we analyzed 207 ready-to-eat foods collected in Algeria, reporting a S. aureus prevalence of 23.2% (48/207) and respective loads of coagulase positive staphylococci (CPS) ranging from 1.00 ± 0.5 to 5.11 ± 0.24 Log CFU/g. The 48 S.

Recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) is a well-known performance enhancing drug in human athletes, and there is anecdotal evidence of it being used in horse racing for the same purpose. rHuEPO, like endogenous EPO, increases arterial oxygen content and thus aerobic power. Micro-doping, or injecting smaller doses over a longer period of time, has become an important concern in both human and equine athletics since it is more difficult to detect.

The in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility of 29 strains of the major periodontal pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis and three P. gulae (as an ancestor) to nine antibiotics (amoxicillin, amoxicillin/clavulanate, clindamycin, metronidazole, moxifloxacin, doxycycline, azithromycin, imipenem, and cefoxitin) was evaluated by E-testing of minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) according to international standards.

Consumption of retail meat contaminated with antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria is a common route for transmitting clinically relevant resistant bacteria to humans. Here, we investigated the genotypic and phenotypic resistance profiles of intrinsic colistin-resistant (ICR) Enterobacterales isolated from retail meats.

Salmonella enterica is known as one of the most common foodborne pathogens worldwide. While salmonellosis is usually self-limiting, severe infections may require antimicrobial therapy. However, increasing resistance of Salmonella to antimicrobials, particularly fluoroquinolones and cephalosporins, is of utmost concern. The present study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial susceptibility of S. enterica isolated from pork, the major product in Philippine livestock production.

The dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is a global health concern. This study identifies and critically reviews the published evidence on whether cooking (heating) food to eliminate bacterial contamination induces sufficient damage to the functionality of ARGs. Overall, the review found that there is evidence in the literature that Antimicrobial Resistant (AMR) bacteria are no more heat resistant than non-AMR bacteria.

Lung diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and pneumonia are causing many global health problems. The COVID-19 pandemic has directed the scientific community’s attention toward performing more research to explore novel therapeutic drugs for pulmonary diseases. Herein, gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry tentatively identified 44 compounds in frankincense ethanol extract (FEE).

Among 200 fungal strains isolated from the soil, only one culture filtrate of Aspergillus flavus JCK-4087 showed strong nematicidal activity against Meloidogyne incognita. The nematicidal metabolite isolated from the culture filtrate of JCK-4087 was identified as cyclopiazonic acid (CPA). Because JCK-4087 also produced aflatoxins, six strains of Penicillium commune, which have been reported to be CPA producers, were obtained from the bank and then tested for their CPA productivity.