Research Publications (Food Safety)

Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) are an important cause of foodborne illness in humans with infections ranging from mild non-bloody diarrhea to bloody diarrhea (BD) and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). This study aimed to investigate the distribution of STEC in shellfish from coastal shores of Lake Timsah in Ismailia Governorate, Egypt and its probable hazard to seafood consumers.

Escherichia coli O157:H7-contaminated beef has been implicated in numerous foodborne outbreaks. Contamination occurs despite the use of antimicrobial interventions such as lactic acid (LA). In addition, resistance to antibiotics such as ampicillin and streptomycin among isolates has been frequently reported. The influence of antibiotic resistance (ABR) on growth rates and cross-tolerance of lettuce isolate E. coli O157:H7 H1730 to LA was evaluated.

Journal of Food Science, EarlyView. The antimicrobial potential of switchgrass extractives (SE) was evaluated on cut lettuce leaves and romaine lettuce in planta, using rifampicin-resistant Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium strain LT2 as model pathogens. Cut lettuce leaves were swabbed with E. coli O157:H7 or S.

Microbiology Resource Announcements, Ahead of Print. Draft genomes of multidrug-resistant Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains IPK9(1) and IKS1(2), which were isolated from ready-to-eat foods (kokoro and shawarma) sold in Lagos, Nigeria, are reported. The genomes possessed genetic determinants for virulence and the antibiotic resistance gene for macrolide-associated resistance mdf(A).

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) is a nonthermal processing technology that can maintain the original color, flavor and nutritional components of food during preservation. In this study, the mechanism of HHP to inactivate Escherichia coli O157:H7 was studied and clarified. Along with the increase of treatment pressure, the total number of viable bacteria decreased significantly (p < 0.05).

Bacterial pathogens, such as Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and Shigella spp., are important causes of foodborne illness internationally. Recovery of these organisms from foods is critical for food safety investigations to support attribution of illnesses to specific food commodities; however, isolation of bacterial cultures can be challenging. Methods for the isolation of STEC and Shigella spp.

Chlorine dioxide (ClO2) and sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) are two chlorinated oxidizing agents that are implemented in water treatment and postharvest processing of fresh produce. While the antibacterial mechanisms of NaClO have been investigated, there are comparatively few studies that have looked at how ClO2 kills bacteria. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare the inactivation pathways of ClO2 and NaClO against Escherichia coli O157:H7.

Microbiology Resource Announcements, Ahead of Print. Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is a foodborne pathogen transmitted from animal to humans through contaminated food. Here, we report the draft genome sequences of six STEC isolates (six serotypes) from food (cheese, coriander, and pea protein pellets) in different countries; these isolates were resistant to tetracycline, with MIC values ranging from <1.5 to 256 μg/mL.

A laboratory-acquired E. coli O157:H7 infection with associated severe sequelae including hemolytic uremic syndrome occurred in an individual working in the laboratory with a mixture of nalidixic acid-resistant (NalR) O157:H7 mutant strains in a soil-biochar blend. The patient was hospitalized and treated with an intravenous combination of metronidazole and levofloxacin.

Oat contains a variety of phenolic compounds, including avenanthramides, which are found only in oats. This study was conducted to establish the quantitative analysis of seven phenolic compounds in oat powders and sprouted oat powders and validate an efficient high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. All calibration curves represented good linearity (R2 ≥ 0.9997) in the concentration range (0.5−50 mg/kg) with LOD and LOQ of 0.01−0.21 and 0.02−0.64 mg/kg, respectively.

Author(s): Longfeng Wang, Xiaoxue Kong, Yun Jiang. High pressure processing (HPP) has been demonstrated as an effective technique in reducing E. coli O157:H7 levels on beef. However, an “injure and recover” action of E. coli O157:H7 was found to raise their beef contamination after HPP disinfection. Furthermore, the recovered cell could be miscalculated owing to the complex bacterial community of meat.

Apart from antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria, the formation of biofilms is a feature that makes bacterial infections especially difficulty to treat. Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains are dangerous pathogens, causing severe infections in humans, and capable of biofilm production. We have reported previously the identification and characterization of the vB_Eco4-M7 bacteriophage, infecting various STEC strains.

Prior studies have demonstrated that parabens enhanced the thermal inactivation of foodborne pathogens including Cronobacter sakazakii , Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes in model systems. However, there have been few studies looking at this phenomenon in actual food systems. The current study evaluated the potential enhancement of thermal inactivation of C.

New strategies are needed to fight the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria caused by an overuse of antibiotics in medical and veterinary fields. Due to the importance of biofilms in clinical infections, antibiofilm peptides have a great potential to treat infections. In recent years, an increased interest has emerged in antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). One of the richest sources of AMPs is represented by amphibian skin.

Inshell walnuts could be contaminated with pathogens through direct contact or cross-contamination during harvesting and postharvest hulling, drying, or storage. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of ultraviolet–C (UV–C) radiation in inactivating foodborne pathogens on inshell walnut surfaces.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), particularly seven serogroups O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, O145, and O157, are major food borne pathogens. Cattle are a major reservoir in which STEC colonize the hindgut and are shed in the feces. Most cattle shed the organisms at low concentrations and a small proportion, called super shedders, shed at high concentrations (≥ 104 per g).

The most commonly reported serotype of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is O157:H7. This pathogen presents a threat to public health and is a cause of foodborne illness worldwide. The efficient and sensitive detection of E. coli O157:H7 remains a challenge for food safety. In this report, we developed a sensitive and specific loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) reaction coupled with a lateral flow (LF) assay to rapidly detect E. coli O157:H7.

We monitored viability of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes during preparation and storage of fuet. Coarse ground pork (ca. 35% fat) was mixed with salt (2.5%), dextrose (0.3%), starter culture (ca. 7.0 log CFU/g), celery powder (0.5%), and ground black pepper (0.3%), and then separately inoculated with a multi-strain cocktail (ca. 7.0 log CFU/g) of each pathogen. The batter was stuffed into a ca.

Background The Thermo Scientific SureTect™ Escherichia coli O157:H7 and STEC Screening PCR Assay and SureTect Escherichia coli STEC Identification PCR Assay are real-time PCR kits for the rapid detection of E. coli O157:H7 and non-E. coli O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) serotypes (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, O145) from fresh raw spinach, fresh baby leaves, fresh cut tomatoes, frozen raw beef, raw beef trim, and beef carcass sponges.

International Journal of Food Science & Technology, EarlyView. A new gelatin-protocatechuic acid (PCA) film with Escherichia coli O157:H7 phage JN01 was developed and characterised. After incorporated with JN01, swelling value, water vapour permeability, water solubility and elongation at break of gelatin-PCA film were not significantly different.

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. Foodborne illness outbreaks caused by consuming cantaloupe melon contaminated with Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli O157:H7 are recurrent. The objective of this work was to investigate the antimicrobial effect of the combination of chitosan (Q) and extracellular metabolites of Pediococcus pentosaceus CM175 (EmPp) on the surface of cantaloupe against E.

A high event period (HEP) occurs when beef processing facilities experience an elevated rate of STEC positive trim samples. In order to avoid contaminated vacuum-packaged beef entering into commerce, primals and subprimals associated to positive trim must be treated with antimicrobials, repackaged, and retested for STEC to ensure product wholesomeness.

Letters in Applied Microbiology, Accepted Article. We evaluated combined effects of vacuumed hydrogen peroxide vapor (VHPV) and vacuum-sealed dry heat (vacuum heat, VH) to inactivate foodborne pathogens (Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes) on alfalfa seeds.

Letters in Applied Microbiology, Accepted Article. Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EHEC) causes foodborne outbreaks worldwide and the bacteria form antimicrobial-tolerant biofilm. We investigated the abilities of Thymus daenensis and Satureja hortensis essential oils (EOs) to inhibit bacterial growth, biofilm formation and quorum sensing (QS) by E. coli O157:H7.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) belonging to the O26 serogroup represent an important cause of Hemolitic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) in children worldwide. The localization of STEC virulence genes on mobile genetic elements allowed the emergence of clones showing different assets of this accessory genomic fraction.