Research Publications (Food Safety)

Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) is increasingly being used to diagnose infections caused by respiratory pathogens in pediatric inpatient facilities. mPCR assays detect a broader array of viruses, with higher specificity and sensitivity and faster turnaround than previous assays. We adapted the FilmArray Respiratory Panel (FA-RP) for diagnosing respiratory infections.

Seeking useful biological agents for mycotoxin detoxification has achieved success in the last twenty years thanks to the participation of many multidisciplinary teams. We have recently witnessed discoveries in the fields of bacterial genetics (inclusive of next-generation sequencing), protein encoding, and bioinformatics that have helped to shape the latest perception of how microorganisms/mycotoxins/environmental factors intertwine and interact, so the road is opened for new breakthroughs.

Rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) could play a major role in fighting multidrug-resistant bacteria. Recently, it was discovered that all living organisms oscillate in the range of nanometers and that these oscillations, referred to as nanomotion, stop as soon the organism dies. This finding led to the development of rapid AST techniques based on the monitoring of these oscillations upon exposure to antibiotics.

Arcobacter spp. are emerging waterborne and foodborne zoonotic pathogens responsible for gastroenteritis in humans. In this work, we evaluated the occurrence and the antimicrobial resistance profile of Arcobacter isolates recovered from different aquatic sources. Besides, we searched for Arcobacter spp. in seaweeds and the corresponding seawater samples. Bacteriological and molecular methods applied to 100 samples led to the isolation of 28 Arcobacter isolates from 27 samples.

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. Salmonella enterica is an important foodborne pathogen. Its rapid and reliable detection in food is critical for the effective prevention of the outbreak of foodborne diseases. Here, we report a novel method for the rapid, specific, label‐free, and real‐time detection of S. enterica with biolayer interferometry (BLI) using an antibody as the receptor. The limit of detection for S. enterica in buffer was 1.6 × 105 CFU/ml at a binding time of 300 s.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a foodborne pathogen that is frequently isolated from a variety of seafood. To control this pathogenic Vibrio spp., the implementation of bacteriophages in aquaculture and food industries have shown a promising alternative to antibiotics. In this study, six bacteriophages isolated from the seafood samples demonstrated a narrow host range specificity that infecting only the V. parahaemolyticus strains.

The use of whole genome sequencing (WGS) data generated by the long-read sequencing platform Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) has been shown to provide reliable results for Salmonella serotype prediction in a previous study.

Bacillus toyonensis is a group of Gram-positive bacteria belonging to the Bacillus cereus group and used in some cases as probiotics or biocontrol agents. To our knowledge, B. toyonensis from the deep sea (depth >1,000 m) has not been documented. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of a B. toyonensis strain, P18, from a deep sea hydrothermal field. P18 is aerobic, motile, and able to grow at low temperatures (4°C) and high concentrations of NaCl (8%).

by Brendha Truccollo, Paul Whyte, Catherine Burgess, Declan Bolton

Cattle are natural hosts of the intracellular pathogen Brucella abortus, which inflicts a significant burden on the health and reproduction of these important livestock. The primary routes of infection in field settings have been described, but it is not known how the bovine host shapes the structure of B. abortus...

Emerging zoonotic diseases exert a significant burden on human health and have considerable socioeconomic impact worldwide. In Asia, live animals as well as animal products are commonly sold in informal markets. The interaction of humans, live domestic animals for sale, food products, and wild and scavenging animals, creates a risk for emerging infectious diseases.

by Carsten Lange, Amanda Machado Weber, Ronny Schmidt, Christoph Schroeder, Thomas Strowitzki, Ariane Germeyer

This study aims to analyze the contamination and biofilm formation of foodborne and opportunistic pathogens in yellow-feathered chicken carcasses sampled in different seasons and to prove the relationship between biofilm-forming ability and bacterial extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) production. A total of 78 strains were isolated from chicken samples.

Author(s): Jiajing Guo, Xiao Hu, Zhipeng Gao, Gaoyang Li, Fuhua Fu, Xuebo Shang, Zengenni Liang, Yang Shan

Author(s): Zahra Sarlak, Kianoush Khosravi-Darani, Milad Rouhi, Farhad Garavand, Reza Mohammadi, Mohammad Reza Sobhiyeh

Author(s): Antonia Kreitlow, André Becker, Ulrich Schotte, Burkhard Malorny, Madeleine Plötz, Amir Abdulmawjood

Author(s): Simranjot Kaur, Jasbir Singh Bedi, Pankaj Dhaka, Deepthi Vijay, Rabinder Singh Aulakh

Author(s): Mogos Girmatsion, Abdu Mahmud, Bereket Abraha, Yunfei Xie, Yuliang Cheng, Hang Yu, Weirong Yao, Yahui Guo, He Qian

Author(s): Haiyan Zhou, Na Liu, Zheng Yan, Dianzhen Yu, Lan Wang, Kunbo Wang, Xinlin Wei, Aibo Wu

Author(s): Guozheng Zhao, Binhua Zhou, Xiuwen Wang, Jian Shen, Bo Zhao

Author(s): Saeed Shojaei, Amir Jafarpour, Siroos Shojaei, Yeboah Gyasi-Agyei, Jesús Rodrigo-Comino

Author(s): Shiv Shankar, Diako Khodaei, Monique Lacroix

Traditional fresh produce washing systems mainly rely on mechanical forces and usage of chlorine bleach solutions to aid in removal and sanitization of microorganisms attached on surfaces of fresh produce during washing processes. Frequent outbreaks of foodborne diseases from ready-to-eat produce indicate insufficient sanitization of the washing processes.

Application of organics in soil can reduce uptake of arsenic (As) in food crops grown on soil spiked with As. However, the results may be different if the crop is grown with As-contaminated irrigation water. In this study, a modest initiative has been undertaken to assess the organo-arsenic equilibria using the fulvic and humic extracted from paddy husk (PH), vermicompost (VC), and soil. The fulvic and humic acids were found to be polyprotic in nature.

The marine phycosphere harbors unique cross-kingdom associations with ecological relevance. During investigating the diversity of phycosphere microbiota of marine harmful algal blooms dinoflagellates, a faint yellow-pigmented bacterium, designated as strain LZ-8, was isolated from paralytic shellfish poisoning toxin-producing dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella LZT09. The new isolate appeared to have growth-promoting potential toward its algal host.