Research Publications (Food Safety)

The study was aimed at evaluating the presence of antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in retailed raw chicken meat from retail stores intended for human consumption. The presence, characterization, and antibiotic susceptibility of S. aureus from 38 retail raw chicken meat samples was performed using a standard microbiological method involving mannitol salt agar (MSA) and Mueller-Hinton agar (MHA).

The tomato is one of the most consumed agri-food products in Lebanon. Several fungal pathogens, including Alternaria species, can infect tomato plants during the whole growing cycle. Alternaria infections cause severe production and economic losses in field and during storage. In addition, Alternaria species represent a serious toxicological risk since they are able to produce a wide range of mycotoxins, associated with different toxic activities on human and animal health.

Environmental monitoring, particularly of water, is crucial to screen and preselect potential hazardous substances for policy guidance and risk minimisation strategies. In Portugal, extensive data are missing. This work aimed to perform a qualitative survey of antibiotics in surface- groundwater, reflecting demographic, spatial, consumption and drug profiles during an observational period of three years.

One of the most-used food contact materials is stainless steel (AISI 304L or AISI 316L), owing to its high mechanical strength, cleanability, and corrosion resistance. However, due to the presence of minimal crevices, stainless-steel is subject to microbial contamination with consequent significant reverb on health and industry costs due to the lack of effective reliability of sanitizing agents and procedures.

Author(s): Salma Barkaoui, Melika Mankai, Najla B. Miloud, Mokhtar Kraïem, Joana Madureira, Sandra Cabo Verde, Nourhène Boudhrioua

Author(s): Mingfei Pan, Jingying Yang, Kaixin Liu, Xiaoqian Xie, Liping Hong, Shan Wang, Shuo Wang

Author(s): Thomas De Bock, Xingchen Zhao, Liesbeth Jacxsens, Frank Devlieghere, Andreja Rajkovic, Pieter Spanoghe, Monica Höfte, Mieke Uyttendaele

Author(s): Yaoyin Pan, Chendi Liu, Jiguo Yang, Yuqian Tang

Author(s): Hualin Guo, Yuhan Sun, Pengfei Ma, Imran Mahmood Khan, Nuo Duan, Zhouping Wang

Author(s): Ana M. Molina, Nieves Abril, Antonio J. Lora, Paula V. Huertas-Abril, Nahum Ayala, Carmen Blanco, M.Rosario Moyano

Author(s): Denise Adamoli Laroque, Sandra Tiemi Seó, Germán Ayala Valencia, João Borges Laurindo, Bruno Augusto Mattar Carciofi

Author(s): Guiling Yang, Yanhua Wang, Tiancai Wang, Dou Wang, Hongbiao Weng, Qiang Wang, Chen Chen

Author(s): Xuan Weng, Cheng Zhang, Hai Jiang

Author(s): Erica Tirloni, Cristian Bernardi, Francesco Celandroni, Emilia Ghelardi, Simone Stella

Author(s): Stefani Machado Lopes, Ana Carolina Fösch Batista, Danielle Carmo da Silva, Rochele de Quadros Rodrigues, Eduardo César Tondo

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, Accepted Article. Influenza A virus (IAV) was a neglected swine pathogen in South America before the 2009 H1N1 pandemic (A(H1N1)pdm2009). The A(H1N1)pdm2009 strain has widely spread among the Chilean swine population and co-circulates with endemic H1N2 and H3N2 viruses. The presence of IAV as a swine pathogen in Chilean swine before the 2009 pandemic is unknown.

Journal of Food Science, EarlyView. To evaluate the pollution level of toxic elements in edible mushrooms from Jilin Province, China, the lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic content present in them were monitored and evaluated. A total of 610 edible mushroom samples, including fresh and dried, were collected from nine cities in the Jilin Province.

Journal of Food Science, EarlyView. The environment in poultry abattoirs is the primary potential source of bacterial contamination and cross-contamination of broiler carcasses. In this context, we explored the influence of chilling water and contact surfaces on the microbial diversity of broiler carcasses in warm and cold seasons. High-throughput sequencing was used to target the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, EarlyView. Whey and its components are recognized as value-added ingredients in infant formulas, beverages, sports nutritious foods, and other food products. Whey offers opportunities for the food industrial sector to develop functional foods with potential health benefits due to its unique physiological and functional attributes.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, EarlyView. Flavanols, a subgroup of polyphenols, are secondary metabolites with antioxidant properties naturally produced in various plants (e.g., green tea, cocoa, grapes, and apples); they are a major polyphenol class in human foods and beverages, and have recognized effect on maintaining human health.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, EarlyView. Micellar casein concentrate (MCC) is a novel ingredient with high casein content. Over the past decade, MCC has emerged as one of the most promising dairy ingredients having applications in beverages, yogurt, cheese, and process cheese products.

Journal of Fish Diseases, EarlyView. Galectin-9, an important pathogen recognition receptor (PRR), could recognize and bind pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) on the surface of invading microorganisms, initiating the innate immune responses. A galectin-9 was identified from Qihe crucian carp Carassius auratus and designated as CaGal-9. The predicted CaGal-9 protein contained two non-identical carbohydrate recognition domains (CRDs), namely, N-CRD and C-CRD.

Microorganisms play an important role in the remediation of cadmium pollution in the soil and their diversity can be affected by cadmium. In this study, the bacterial community in arable soil samples collected from two near geographical sites, with different degrees of cadmium pollution at three different seasons, were characterized using Illumina MiSeq sequencing.

New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase, a metallo-β-lactamase carbapenemase type, mediates resistance to most β-lactam antibiotics including penicillins, cephalosporins, and carbapenems. Therefore, it is important to detect blaNDM genes in children’s clinical samples as quickly as possible and analyze their characteristics.

Fatty acids of two mesophilic and one psychrotrophic strains of the foodborne pathogen Bacillus cereus were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry during growth at cold (10 and 12°C) vs. optimal (30°C) temperatures and during the whole growth process (6–7 sampling times) from lag to stationary phase. In all these strains, a sequential change of fatty acids during cold growth was observed.