Research Publications (Food Safety)

Aflatoxins are natural mycotoxins that mainly occur in areas with humid climates. One of the methods for successful elimination of aflatoxins is gamma radiation treatment. In this paper, gamma radiation's influence on the content of aflatoxins in hemp flour and microbiological properties (total number of microorganisms, molds, and potentially pathogenic bacteria) and nutritional values ​​were investigated.

Mature kiwi after minimal processing were treated with 0.5–2.0 kGy gamma irradiation to monitor changes in quality parameters under refrigerated conditions (3 ± 1°C, RH 85%) for 16 days. The results revealed that treatment of 2.0 kGy proved helpful in delaying onset of surface browning, reducing the polyphenol oxidase activity and preserving the original color of samples till 16 days. Dose dependent decrease in polyphenol oxidase activity and surface browning was observed in kiwi samples.

A novel antimicrobial food package material was designed by immobilization of medicinal plant Acalypha indica leaf extract on the PCL nanofibrous mats which prevent the food materials from microbial contamination. The morphology of prepared mats was characterized by SEM images. The loading of plant extract onto the PCL nanofibrous mats was confirmed by XRD spectrum. The porosity percentage of the prepared electrospun PCL nanofibrous mats has been found from SEM image using ImageJ software.

Dates are a low moisture ready‐to‐eat fruit which are popular both globally and in the United States. The harvesting and post‐harvest handling of dates could result in the contamination of common produce‐associated foodborne pathogens including E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella spp. In this study, the efficacy of antimicrobial washes for the reduction of foodborne pathogen populations was evaluated as a post‐harvest mitigation step.

Hazelnut contaminated with aflatoxin (5,10, 25 and 50 ppb) were treated ozone at three different doses and two exposure time (5,10 and 20 ppm with 10 and 20 min) on aflatoxin degradation. The highest peroxide value was reached (12.89 meqO2/kg) 20ppm/20minutes, and the lowest was 5 ppm/20 minutes (3.20 meqO2/kg).

The medicinal plants, like Alhagi maurorum, has received great attentions, especially by food scientists and manufacturers as natural food preservatives due to their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities.

The objective of this work was to optimize a suitable high‐pressure (HP) condition to inactivate artificially inoculated Listeria monocytogenes in silver pomfret (Pampus argenteus) fish medium by employing a wide range of pressure levels (225‐550 MPa) and holding times (5‐30 min). The optimized HP conditions (375 MPa/20 min) were subsequently employed in pomfret fish. Glycine and glutamic acid were the predominant amino acids in pomfret fish.

The current study was aimed to extract and purify the cell walls of cereal industrial by‐products, that is, maize, wheat, and barley bran, followed by their nutritional and biochemical properties. For the purpose, three varieties of wheat and barley were procured from Ayub Agriculture Research Institute, Faisalabad, Pakistan. Cell walls from industrial by‐products were isolated and purified followed by the removal of starch and proteins from contaminating endosperm tissue.

The nonmeat ingredients (NMI) used in the manufacturing of traditional dry‐cured sausages (DCS) are red pepper paste, garlic paste, salt, and water. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of NMI and pig natural casings, concerning physicochemical and microbiological parameters. The NMI used in the two manufacturing units (A and B) were characterized and the microbiological control of salt and water was performed.

Toxic biogenic amines (BAs), especially histamine, in food is a major safety issue. Two autochthonous Lactobacillus plantarum strains were inoculated as starters to reduce BAs in Yucha, a kind of spontaneously fermented fish in China. Taxonomic analysis demonstrated the proportion of Lactobacillus genus in inoculated Yucha was higher than that in the spontaneously fermented Yucha, suggesting the effective colonization abilities of the starters.

The antibacterial effect of volatile compounds in millets and cereal by‐products was investigated. Hexane extracts of rice bran (RB), corn cob (CC), green (GM), and yellow millets (YM) showed antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli ATCC 35150, Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579, Helicobacter pylori MH179991, and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 13150 with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 2.5 to 5 mg/ml.

Disk diffusion method to determine antimicrobial activity of plant essential oils was used. While the essential oil extracted from oregano has a high effect on 9 of our test microorganisms (75%), one of them had a medium effect and two of them had a weak effect in the test results.

The aim of the present study was to prepare whey protein isolate (WPI)‐based films containing Citrus sinensis peel essential oil (CSEO) loaded emulsions and nanoemulsions (2.5% and 5% of WPI), as an active packaging system. The fabricated films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Filed Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and tensile analyses.

In the present study, changes in the quality characteristics of the albumin and yolk parts of the eggs obtained from different poultry systems for four seasons were investigated. The highest egg weight, shell thickness, dry shell weight, shell deformation, shell fracture and vitellin membrane strength values were determined to be in cage systems with 70.92g, 0.45 mm, 9.46g, 0.79 mm, 71.80 N and 0.13 N, respectively.

The contamination of feeds and foods with mycotoxins is a serious problem worldwide. Deoxynivalenol (DON), an important mycotoxin from the trichothecene family, is abundant in animal feed. Mycotoxin binders such as Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) detoxify mycotoxins by adsorption and inactivate the toxins through the formation of mycotoxin‐organic adsorbent complex or act as biomarkers to convert the toxins into less toxic products.

Effects of marinating and frying on the flavor of pigeon meat during the production process of braised pigeon were investigated. Volatile components of raw pigeon meat, braised pigeon meat and fried pigeon meat were analyzed by SPME‐ GC‐MS and gas chromatography‐ion mobility spectroscopy (GC‐IMS). Results showed that 47 and 39 volatile aroma components were detected by GC‐MS and GC‐IMS technologies respectively in the samples of braised pigeon.

It was investigated effects of roasting temperature and time on color, crude oil, acrylamide, total phenols, antioxidant activity, and trans fatty acid and phenolic contents in white and brown sesame seeds. Samples were roasted in a microwave oven (360, 540, 720 W; 5, 10, 15 min) and an electric oven (180 °C, 200 °C, 220 °C; 10, 20, 30 min). Phenolic and antioxidant contents changed significantly.

The effects of different concentrations of defatted by supercritical CO2 chokeberry pomace extracts isolated by consecutive pressurized ethanol and water on the growth of L. monocytogenes, B. thermosphacta, P. putida, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB) were tested. The extracts at >3.3% concentration effectively inhibited tested bacteria in their cultures. Heating reduced antimicrobial activity of extract at higher microbial load.

This present work shows the potential of dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC) as a promising approach to ensure quality and safety of coconut water in term of microbial inactivation and minimal changes in quality parameters during cold storage (4 °C). Pathogenic strains including Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Enteritidis and Listeria monocytogenes were selected for evaluation of inactivation kinetic with DMDC concentration between 0 – 300 ppm.

The effects of cold plasma on the enzymatic activity, color, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of avocado pulp with lime extract (PL) and without extract (PW) were studied. The experimental conditions applied varied with regard to time (10, 20, and 30 min) and gas flow (10, 20, and 30 mL). The gas flow combination of 20 mL/20 min applied in PL was efficient for reducing POD and PPO activities and browning index as well as for color maintenance.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of lipophilic organic compounds consisting of two or more fused aromatic rings. Ingestion through contaminated food and water is a major route of human exposure to PAHs. Smoked products are important sources of dietary PAHs. Therefore, this study evaluated the effect of smoking times on the content of PAH compounds.

Half pieces of vacuum‐packaged traditional chorizos with different characteristics from Spain and Portugal were treated by high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) in order to increase their stability during storage. Microbiological, physical‐chemical, oxidative, and sensory changes were evaluated during the storage at 4°C and 20°C for 180 days. HHP was effective for the reduction of microorganisms’ counts. In both chorizos, instrumental color was modified after HHP.

This study aimed to optimize microwave‐assisted extraction (MAE) parameters for saponins from cacao pod husk (CPH). The results showed that the optimal MAE parameters for obtaining the highest saponin content (SC) and saponin extraction efficiency (SEE) from the CPH were 85% methanol concentration, 600 W microwave power, 6 s/min irradiation time, 40 min extraction time, and 50 ml/g solvent to sample ratio.

This study aimed to characterize yerba‐maté kombucha by showing its oxidative stress inhibitory property with Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast as the model and to determine its antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Different yerba‐maté concentrations and fermentation temperatures were analyzed by an experimental design. Sucrose was used as the carbon source and green tea kombucha was used as the control.

The present research aims to elucidate the effect of lactic acid concentration on the extractability and physicochemical properties of cobia (Rachycentron canadum) skin collagen. The cobia skin acid‐soluble collagen (ASC) was isolated using different concentrations of lactic acid (0.5 M and 1.0 M) and characterized on its extractability and physicochemical properties. The extract using 0.5 M lactic acid gives a higher yield compared to using 1.0 M lactic acid.