Research Publications (Food Safety)

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

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

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

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

Because of their small size, bacterial cells have long kept details about their inner workings a secret. We are starting to decipher their mechanistic secrets, in no small part due to the development of single-molecule and super-resolution fluorescence imaging, the subject of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. These new methods have yielded a surge of discoveries about the subcellular organization and dynamics inside microbes.

The Rid family of proteins is highly conserved and broadly distributed throughout the domains of life. Genetic and biochemical studies, primarily in Salmonella enterica, have defined a role for RidA in responding to endogenously generated reactive metabolites. The data show that 2-aminoacrylate (2AA), a reactive enamine intermediate generated by some pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzymes, accumulates in the absence of RidA.

Though several studies have evaluated the association between food safety training and behavior, little has investigated different training components in association with food handlers’ performance.

The food safety criteria that have been incorporated in European regulation (EC) N°2073/2005 (Commission regulation, 2005), for Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to eat (RTE) foods, specify a maximum allowable concentration of 100 cfu.g−1 or ml−1. Some factors such as pH, salt and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) are used to prevent the growth of L. monocytogenes in order to comply with the limit. Interactions between background microflora (BM) and L.

Changyong Cheng, Yongchun Yang, Zhimei Dong, Xiaowen Wang, Chun Fang, Menghua Yang, Jing Sun, Liya Xiao, Weihuan Fang and Houhui Song Listeria monocytogenes, a food-borne pathogen, has the capacity to maintain intracellular pH (pHi) homeostasis in acidic environments, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive.

India is the largest producer of pulses (edible legume) in the world. Pigeon pea or Tur (Cajanus cajan) is the second most major pulse produced in India and is mainly processed to convert into product known as “Tur dal”. The manufacturing industries of Tur dal generate considerable amount of byproduct/waste in the form of husk. The present investigation explores the possibility of exploiting activated carbon prepared from the Tur dal husk for removing heavy metal.

Publication date: 15 June 2015
, Volume 177
Author(s): L. Kupski , E. Badiale-Furlong

Publication date: Available online 23 January 2015

Author(s): A. Bousquet , S. Henquet , F. Compain , N. Genel , G. Arlet , D. Decré

One unreported case of extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi was identified, whole-genome sequence typed, among other analyses, and compared to other available genomes of S. Typhi. The reported strain was similar to a previously published strain harboring blaSHV-12 from the Philippines and likely part of an undetected outbreak, the first of ESBL-producing S. Typhi.

Human noroviruses are the leading cause of epidemic and sporadic gastroenteritis across all age groups. Although the disease is usually self-limiting, in the United States norovirus gastroenteritis causes an estimated 56,000 to 71,000 hospitalizations and 570 to 800 deaths each year.

While the differential association of Escherichia coli O157 genotypes with animal and human hosts has recently been well documented, little is known about their distribution between countries and how this might affect regional disease rates. Here, we used a 48-plex single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assay to segregate 148 E. coli O157 isolates from Australia, Argentina, and the United States into 11 SNP lineages.

Human infection with Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is a major cause of postdiarrheal hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), a life-threatening condition characterized by hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and acute renal failure. E. coli O157:H7 is the dominant STEC serotype associated with HUS worldwide, although non-O157 STEC serogroups can cause a similar disease. The detection of anti-O157 E.

Strains of Escherichia coli O26:H11 that were positive for stx2 alone (n = 23), which were not epidemiologically related or part of an outbreak, were isolated from pediatric patients in France between 2010 and 2013. We were interested in comparing these strains with the new highly virulent stx2a-positive E.

We encountered a rare case of severe fatal infection in a 70-year-old woman due to Campylobacter upsaliensis, identified by PCR amplification and sequencing analysis of the 16S rRNA gene using DNA extracted from the isolates. To our knowledge, fatal sepsis due to this organism has never been described to date.

An unusual increase in the number of Campylobacter concisus isolates found in stool cultures provoked an outbreak investigation at Bern University Hospital. No epidemiological links were found between the cases, and the Campylobacter isolates were clonally unrelated. A change in culture conditions to a hydrogen-rich atmosphere enhancing growth of C. concisus was deemed responsible for this pseudo-outbreak.

Most infant botulism cases worldwide are due to botulinum toxin types A and B. Rarely, Clostridium botulinum strains that produce two serotypes (Ab, Ba, and Bf) have also been isolated from infant botulism cases. This is the first reported case of infant botulism due to C. botulinum type Af worldwide.

An outbreak of human botulism was due to consumption of ham containing botulinum neurotoxins B and E. A Clostridium botulinum type E strain isolated from ham was assigned to a new subtype (E12) based on bont/E gene sequencing and belongs to a new multilocus sequence subtype, as analyzed by whole-genome sequencing.

The prebiotic effect of inulin added to MRS medium on growth and bacteriocin production by L. plantarum ST16 Pa was investigated in stationary cultures in anaerobic jars with medium containing 0.025% sodium thioglycolate or in flasks shaken at 100 rpm. In the presence of 1% inulin in anaerobic stationary cultures, this strain produced lactic acid at a level that was 36.5% higher than in the absence of the polysaccharide.

Pei Xiao, Hongxia Yang, Dongdong Di, Dongri Piao, Qiuxiang Zhang, Ruie Hao, Suxia Yao, Rong Zhao, Fanfei Zhang, Guozhong Tian, Hongyan Zhao, Weixing Fan, Buyun Cui, Hai Jiang

Background

Publication date: May 2015
, Volume 103
Author(s): Marzieh Kamankesh , Abdorreza Mohammadi , Hedayat Hosseini , Zohreh Modarres Tehrani

On 14-16 October the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is organising a conference with the title ‘Shaping the future of food safety, together’. The objectives of the conference are to take stock of challenges and opportunities for risk assessment to contribute to policy development and the assessment in the area of food safety.