Research Publications (Food Safety)

The challenges associated with the global phosphorus (P) cycle are complex and multifaceted, from geological resource limitation, to P deficiency on arable farmland, to environmental contamination via excess P fertilization. Although no single solution can address all of the challenges associated with the P cycle, the principle of circularity provides a framework toward a more sustainable and food-secure P system.

Zearalenone (ZEA) is a mycotoxin that has several adverse effects on most mammalian species. However, the effects of ZEA on macrophage-mediated innate immunity during infection have not been examined. In the present study, bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) were used to induce the activation of macrophages and evaluate the effects of ZEA on the inflammatory responses and inflammation-associated signaling pathways.

Acinetobacter species are among the most life-threatening Gram-negative bacilli, causing hospital-acquired infections, and they are associated with high morbidity and mortality. They show multidrug resistance that acts via various mechanisms. In Acinetobacter baumannii, efflux pump-mediated resistance to many antimicrobial compounds, including tigecycline, has been widely reported.

Human-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (HA-MRSA) has mainly been reported in South African pig and chicken farms. The prevalence of antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs), virulence factors (VFs), and multilocus sequence types (MLSTs) associated with HA-MRSA in cattle farms has not been reported. Consequently, this study characterised LA-MRSA and its spread from cattle farms into the environment.

The widespread use of antibiotics has led to a gradual increase in drug-resistant bacterial infections, which severely weakens the clinical efficacy of antibacterial therapies. In recent decades, stilbenes aroused great interest because of their high bioavailability, as well as their manifold biological activity. Our research efforts are focused on synthetic heteroaromatic stilbene derivatives as they represent a potentially new type of antibiotic with a wide antibacterial spectrum.

An antibiotic susceptibility monitoring programme was conducted from 2004 to 2010, resulting in a collection of 143 Escherichia coli cultured from bovine faecal samples (diarrhoea) and milk-aliquots (mastitis). The isolates were subjected to whole-genome sequencing and were distributed in phylogroups A, B1, B2, C, D, E, and G with no correlation for particular genotypes with pathotypes.

Environmental Microbiology, Accepted Article. ABSTRACT

Arabinogalactans (AGs) are structural polysaccharides of the plant cell wall. A small proportion of the AGs are associated with hemicellulose and pectin. Furthermore, AGs are associated with proteins forming the so-called arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs), which can be found in the plant cell wall or attached through a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor to the plasma membrane. AGPs are a family of highly glycosylated proteins grouped with cell wall proteins rich in hydroxyproline.

Twelve strains of Leuconostoc carnosum from meat products were investigated in terms of biochemical, physiological, and functional properties. The spectrum of sugars fermented by L. carnosum strains was limited to few mono- and disaccharides, consistently with the natural habitats of the species, including meat and fermented vegetables. The strains were able to grow from 4 to 37°C with an optimum of approximately 32.5°C.

Antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) commensal Escherichia coli is a major reservoir that disseminates antimicrobial resistance to humans through the consumption of contaminated foods, such as retail poultry products. This study aimed to control AMR E. coli on retail chicken using a broad host range phage cocktail. Five phages (JEP1, 4, 6, 7, and 8) were isolated and used to construct a phage cocktail after testing infectivity on 67 AMR E. coli strains isolated from retail chicken.

Planktothrix rubescens is a harmful planktonic cyanobacterium, forming concentrated metalimnetic populations in deep oligo- and mesotrophic lakes, even after successful restoration. In Lake Zurich (Switzerland), P. rubescens emerged as a keystone species with annual mass developments since the 1970s. Its success was partly attributed to effects of lake warming, such as changes in thermal stratification and seasonal deep mixing.

Listeria monocytogenes (LM) has been proposed as vaccine vector in various cancers and infectious diseases since LM induces a strong immune response. In this study, we developed a novel and safe LM-based vaccine vector platform, by engineering a triple attenuated mutant (Lm3Dx) (ΔactA, ΔinlA, ΔinlB) of the wild-type LM strain JF5203 (CC 1, phylogenetic lineage I).

Vanillic acid (VA) is a phenolic acid derivative commonly found in plants and foods, with a pleasant creamy odor and pharmacologic activities, which is hypothesized to help improve silage fermentation. The silage profile of stylo silage ensiled with addition of VA was evaluated. The results showed that VA addition resulted in the decrease of pH value (5.22 vs. 4.33), dry matter loss (5.37 vs. 2.51% DM), and ammonia-N proportion (14.57 vs.

by Hildegunn Dahl, Dag M. Eide, Torstein Tengs, Nur Duale, Jorke H. Kamstra, Deborah H. Oughton, Ann-Karin Olsen

This study examines the role of a private standard on corporate social responsibility (CSR) compliance in the Pakistani mango industry and how this compliance affects rural workers’ motivation. Pakistan is the fifth largest mango producer in the world and the fourth largest exporter in global mango trade; also, mango is the biggest fruit crop within the country. Mango trade is subject to trade terms, where buyers decide the conditions of trade agreements by means of codes of conduct.

Author(s): Jiafei Yi, Guozheng Zha, Daxin Huang, Xiangfeng Kong, Bin Yang, Dachun Liu, Baoqiang Xu

Author(s): M. Wolffers, U. Eggenberger, S. Schlumberger, S.V. Churakov

Author(s): Chunxing Li, Shengyu Xie, Yu Wang, Ruqing Jiang, Xingdong Wang, Nan Lv, Xiaofang Pan, Guanjing Cai, Guangwei Yu, Yin Wang

Author(s): Jing Qian, Liangjun Ma, Wenjing Yan, Hong Zhuang, Mingming Huang, Jianhao Zhang, Jiamei Wang

Author(s): Ufuk Gokce Ayranci, Hakan Karaca

Author(s): Stephen Abiola Akinola, Collins Njie Ateba, Mulunda Mwanza

Author(s): Li Zhou, Chaoqin Zhang, Yu Qiang, Min Huang, Xiangmei Ren, Yuanhong Li, Jihong Shao, Lichun Xu

Author(s): Shunli Jiang, Guanlin Yang, Shuang Zhou, Xu Zhang, Cheng Peng, Qing Lu

Author(s): Luyao Li, Mei Zhou, Biyun Chen, Qin Wang, Shuya Pan, Yaxuan Hou, Jiamin Xia, Xue Zhou