Research Publications (Food Safety)

Author(s): Frederick Adams Ekuban, Cai Zong, Madoka Takikawa, Kota Morikawa, Toshihiro Sakurai, Sahoko Ichihara, Ken Itoh, Masayuki Yamamoto, Seiichiroh Ohsako, Gaku Ichihara

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of beef patty formulations and pressure levels on the inactivation of spoilage microbiota and native Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7. Beef patties were made with different salt and fat content (A: 1% NaCl – 10% fat, B: 2% NaCl – 10% fat, C: 1% NaCl – 20% fat and D: 2% NaCl – 20% fat) and treated at 400 and 600 MPa. STEC reductions after 400 and 600 MPa were 2 and 4 log CFU/g, respectively.

Aflatoxins are poisonous carcinogens produced by fungi, mainly Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. Aflatoxins can contaminate a variety of livestock feeds and cause enormous economic losses, estimated at between US$52.1 and US$1.68 billion annually for the U.S. corn industry alone. In addition, aflatoxin can be transferred from the diet to the milk of cows as aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), posing a significant human health hazard.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, EarlyView. The global trade of tropical fruits is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. In 2018, the production was approximately 100 million tones, an increase of 3.3% compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization, every year one‐third of the food produced in the world for human consumption is lost or wasted.

The Staphylococcus aureus Tet38 membrane protein has distinct functions, including drug efflux and host cell attachment and internalization mediated by interaction with host cell CD36. Using structural modeling and site-directed mutagenesis, we identified key amino acids involved in different functions. Tet38, a member of the major facilitator superfamily, is predicted to have 14 transmembrane segments (TMS), 6 cytoplasmic loops, and 7 external loops.

Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive, intracellular pathogen that is highly adapted to invade and replicate in the cytosol of eukaryotic cells. Intermediate metabolites in the menaquinone biosynthesis pathway are essential for the cytosolic survival and virulence of L. monocytogenes, independent of the production of menaquinone (MK) and aerobic respiration.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) contributes significantly to the substantial burden of infectious diarrhea among children living in low- and middle-income countries. In the absence of a vaccine for ETEC, children succumb to acute dehydration as well as nondiarrheal sequelae related to these infections, including malnutrition.

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) infections can result in a wide range of clinical presentations despite that EHEC strains belong to the O157:H7 serotype, one of the most pathogenic forms. Although pathogen virulence influences disease outcome, we emphasize the concept of host-pathogen interactions, which involve resistance or tolerance mechanisms in the host that determine total host fitness and bacterial virulence.

Trichinellosis is one of most neglected foodborne zoonoses worldwide. During Trichinella spiralis infection, the intestinal immune response is the first line of defense and plays a vital role in the host’s resistance. Previous studies indicate that purinergic P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) and pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome are involved in the intestinal immune response in T. spiralis infection.

Haemaphysalis longicornis is a blood-feeding hard tick known for transmitting a variety of pathogens, including Babesia. How the parasites in the imbibed blood become anchored in the midgut of ticks is still unknown. Leucine-rich repeat domain (LRR)-containing protein, which is associated with the innate immune reaction and conserved in many species, has been detected in H. longicornis and has previously been indicated in inhibiting the growth of Babesia gibsoni.

by Fenghua Zhu, Beibei Zhang, Lianqin Zhu

Author(s): Guijie Li, Xu Zhang, Tingting Liu, Hongxiu Fan, Hongcheng Liu, Shangyu Li, Dawei Wang, Lan Ding

Author(s): G.K. Sivaraman, K.H. Muneeb, S. Sudha, Bibek Shome, Jennifer Cole, Mark Holmes

Author(s): Lisa M. Frisch, Ludwig Niessen

Author(s): Liangshen Zhao, Chao Liang, Shasha Li, Kaifeng Du

Author(s): R. Kaavya, R. Pandiselvam, S. Abdullah, N.U. Sruthi, Yasendra Jayanath, C. Ashokkumar, Anandu Chandra Khanashyam, Anjineyulu Kothakota, S.V. Ramesh

Author(s): Weiwei Cheng, Xiaozhi Tang, Yan Zhang, Di Wu, Wenjian Yang

Author(s): Georgiana-Diana Dumitriu, Carmen Teodosiu, Irina Morosanu, Oana Plavan, Iulian Gabur, Valeriu V. Cotea

Acrylamide, a food processing contaminant with demonstrated genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, and reproductive toxicity, is largely present in numerous prominent and commonly consumed food products that are produced by thermal processing methods. Food regulatory bodies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) and European Union Commission regulations have disseminated various acrylamide mitigation strategies in food processing practices.

Plant bacterial diseases can potentially damage agricultural products around the world, and few effective bactericides can manage these infections. Herein, to sequentially explore highly effective antibacterial alternatives, 1,2,3-triazole-tailored carbazoles were rationally fabricated. These compounds could suppress the growth of three main intractable pathogens including Xanthomonas oryzae pv oryzae (Xoo), X.

Currently, there are more than 1000 varieties of synthetic sulfonamides universally used as antibiotics causing severe results of potential carcinogenicity and drug resistance for human health due to excessive residue of animal-derived food. A facile and novel approach for untargeted screening of sulfonamides (SAs) and metabolites was proposed based on magnetic solid-phase extraction–ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography–tandem high-resolution mass spectrometry (MSPE-UHPLC-HRMS).

Pollutants emitted into the air not only have local effect but can also affect areas further from the source. The goal of this study was to assess a method for identifying the sources of element pollution in rainwater using enrichment factors supported by Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. In this study, we collected nineteen rainwater samples at the two locations of Durham and Chimney Ridge in North Carolina, USA in July of 2014.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is one of the major clinical problems in hospitals because of its resistance to many antimicrobials. Biocides are used in hospitals to control nosocomial infections. This work aimed to investigate the relationship between the presence of integrons and reduced susceptibility to both biocides and antimicrobials in nosocomial multidrug-resistant (MDR)-MRSA isolates.

The continual increase in resistance to antibacterial drugs has become a major public health problem, and their indiscriminate use in agriculture, aquaculture, and the treatment of human and animal diseases has severely contributed to the occurrence and spread of multidrug resistance genes. This study phylogenetically characterized multidrug-resistant bacteria isolated from seafood cocktails. Seafood cocktail dishes from 20 establishments on public roads were sampled.