Research Publications (Food Safety)

This work assessed the risk of protozoa in 10 school restaurants in Armenia (Quindío, Colombia) by analyzing the presence of Cryptosporidium spp, Giardia duodenalis, Blastocystis, and Cyclospora cayetanensis DNA in the food, water, and living and inert surfaces of school restaurants and in stools of children who ate at these restaurants. Of the 213 food, water, and surface samples, 6.6% were positive using PCR to test DNA for Blastocystis; 3.8% for Cryptosporidium spp; 0.9% for G.

This research aimed to determine microbiological and chemical quality of different types of salted pearl mullet (Chalcalburnus tarichi Pallas, 1811). Samples of salted pearl mullet (C. tarichi Pallas, 1811), produced by six different methods, were obtained from three different local producers at the end of the hunting season of 2016 and 2017 (May–June) with wooden boxes, plastic cans, or in bottom perforated plastic cans.

The aim of this study was to examine the resistome characteristics of Salmonella spp. Contamination found in raw retail beef, pork, and chicken samples collected in Hanoi, Vietnam. Approximately 28% (25/90) of samples tested carried Salmonella bacteria. A total of 13/25 (52%) of these Salmonella bacteria were resistant to at least one antibiotic and 9/25 (36%) of the isolates were found to be multidrug resistant.

The current study investigates the effect of Lactobacillus reuteri and Lactobacillus plantarum combined with water extract of garlic on microbial growth, chemical changes, and sensory attributes in ground beef samples at refrigeration condition (+4°C) up to 12 days of storage. in vitro study revealed that garlic extract combined with L. reuteri or L. plantarum caused 2.13 and 2.57 log reduction in the Listeria monocytogenes count, respectively. Combination of L.

This study investigated the combined effects of different doses of UV‐C light at 260 nm (0–1,800 mWs/cm2) and ethanol (0–70%) on the reduction of Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus in experimentally contaminated Gwamegi (semidried Pacific saury). After combined treatment of 4,800 mWs/cm2 of UV‐C and 70% ethanol, E. coli and B. cereus were reduced by 3.03 and 2.73 log CFU/g, respectively.

Detection of Salmonella on commercially processed broiler carcasses is essential to reduce the incidences of human salmonellosis. This study was designed to compare the standard procedure for Salmonella detection with two commercial screening methods. During seven separate visits to two processing plants, eight carcasses were obtained (n = 112). Each carcass was rinsed and the rinsate processed according to the U.S.

The main safety issue of cereal grains is mycotoxin contamination. There is no published information about mycotoxin contamination of organic wheat in the United States. This study quantified the contents of deoxynivalenol (DON) and ochratoxin A (OTA), two frequently occurring mycotoxins, in organic wheat samples collected from six counties in North Carolina by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

In this study, the antibacterial properties of Pimpinella anisum essential oil (PAO) were evaluated against six food‐related bacteria. Afterward, the effects of different concentrations of PAO on microbial, chemical, and organoleptic properties of minced beef were evaluated during refrigerated storage.

This research was done on the assumption that the risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development that attributed to the consumption of highly contaminated food (HCF) with aflatoxin, may have a major contribution to the total of expected risk. If this hypothesis is true, it is easy to apply an effective and low‐cost intervention approach by excluding HCF and then subjecting it to treatments before use.

The abattoir sector plays a crucial role in controlling foodborne hazards, so insight in the incentives that motivate abattoirs to implement control measures is of great relevance to food safety risk managers and policy makers. Therefore, a cross‐sectional telephone survey was conducted to assess the attitudes and opinions of abattoirs in Belgium and the Netherlands toward preventive measures for controlling microbiological pathogens.

The bacteriological quality and safety of ready‐to‐eat (RTE) foods in Barbados were assessed in two separate studies conducted between 2014 and 2016. In Study 1, 206 food samples were processed for Salmonella spp. by conventional bacteriological methods. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and serotyping were used for confirmation. In Study 2, 120 food samples were processed for the total aerobic plate count (TAPC), coliform count, and E. coli count using conventional bacteriological methods.

Concerns over the safety of nitrite and its role in the formation of nitrosamines have aroused considerable interest in developing alternative antimicrobial agents to replace nitrite. Plant‐derived antimicrobial agents could serve against food spoilage and pathogens. For the first time in this study, three semiempirical kinetic models, that is, exponential, homographic, and n‐order kinetic models were established to describe the microbiological population pattern and dynamic behavior.

This study aimed to functionalize the stainless steel surface with silver and to evaluate its antimicrobial capacity. For this purpose, stainless steel coupons coated or not with silver films were exposed to the presence of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The results of bacterial adhesion on the silver functionalized coupons showed lower counts of adhered S. aureus cells when compared to E. coli.

This study was focused on determining survival and growth characteristics of Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus on conventional (16.7 mg of sodium/g) and low‐sodium (10.7 mg of sodium/g) bacon. The two types of bacon were inoculated with the either L. monocytogenes or S. aureus stored at 4, 12, or 25°C for up to 7 days. Populations of L. monocytogenes and S. aureus did not change significantly on bacon stored at 4 and 12°C, regardless of sodium content. L.

In this study, we investigated the antibacterial activity of hexahydro‐β‐acids/methyl‐β‐cyclodextrin inclusion complex (HBA/M‐β‐CD) and researched its antibacterial mechanism against Staphylococcus aureus and Enterobacter sakazakii. The result showed that bacteria had different sensitivities to HBA/M‐β‐CD with diameters of inhibition zones ranging from 7.8 ± 0.5 to 14.8 ± 0.7 mm and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values from 16.25 to 65.00 μg/mL. Among these bacteria, S.

A real‐time loop‐mediated isothermal amplification (Rti‐LAMP) DNA assay was developed for rapid and sensitive detection of viable Escherichia coli O157:H7 in milk by combining with ethidium monoazide bromide (EMA) and bentonite coated activated carbon (BCAC) treatment without enrichment. The assay involved inoculating 25 mL portions of milk with various numbers of E. coli O157:H7. Then each of milk sample was adsorbed with 4 g BCAC to remove DNA amplification inhibitor.

Today, antibiotic resistance is one of the most crucial problems so that researchers have begun to search for alternatives to antibiotics. Among these alternatives, phage therapy and phytotherapy became prominent. The present study aims to put forward a different approach by combining these two methods. For this purpose, Staphylococcus aureus phages were isolated from commercial mixtures.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E coli O157:H7) is a highly virulent bacterial strain that is present in food, and as few as 10 cells can cause severe diseases. Rapid and sensitive bacterial detection is urgently required. In this study, we report a flow cytometry (FCM)‐based method for detecting E coli O157:H7 at the single‐cell level. Single E coli O157:H7 cells were obtained by a flow cytometric cell sorter and then artificially added to milk.

The antibacterial activity and the mechanism of Tetrapleura tetraptera root extract against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were investigated. The mechanism of action of T. tetraptera on tested bacterial species was predominantly characterized by the study of transmission electron microscopy, which revealed severe damage on the primary target which affected the cell integrity and cell membrane permeability.

The mechanisms of inactivation against Gram‐negative bacteria (GNB) including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and Gram‐positive bacteria (GPB) involving Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus, by dielectric barrier discharge cold atmospheric plasma were elucidated. Both GNB and GPB were exposed to treatment with cold plasma produced from argon/oxygen mixture (90:10) as the working gas for different treatment times (1, 2.5, and 5 min).

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