Research Publications (Food Safety)

Clostridium perfringens has been implicated in food poisoning outbreaks linked to cooked cured meat. Although there are regulatory requirements to prevent its growth during meat production, additional control measures may reduce the C. perfringens risk. This study examined the effect of sodium chloride (salt) and sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) on the growth probability of C. perfringens in a cooked cured meat.

In this study, the heat resistance of S. aureus in goats’ raw milk subjected to thermisation temperatures was characterised through tests at various temperatures and modelling the survival curves using the Weibull model, through a two-step and an omnibus approach, which can model a full dataset covering all experimental conditions in one step. The fitting capacity of the secondary models obtained from the two-step approach was reasonable (adj.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a halophilic gram-negative bacterium commonly found in marine environments, particularly in warm coastal waters. This pathogen has been reported as a common cause of foodborne illness associated with the consumption of raw or undercooked seafood. The presence and density of this bacterium in seafood are often associated with the climatological conditions of the marine environment.

The consumer demand for raw milk from dairy cows has increased and local sales via vending machines have been intensified. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the risk associated with the consumption of unboiled raw milk contaminated with Campylobacter by estimating the number of campylobacteriosis cases. For this a stochastic quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) model was developed that covered the whole supply chain.

Norovirus is a significant hazard to consumers of shellfish, in particular oysters. Oysters grown in waters contaminated with wastewater filter and accumulate norovirus particles, causing infection in humans when the product is consumed raw or lightly cooked. In the European Union (EU) and the United States, bacterial detection criteria are used to assess and manage microbial risk in shellfish.

Share tables (ST) allow students to share unwanted food items with other students in school cafeterias, making them a possible method to reduce food waste and insecurity. This study assesses potential food safety risks and food security benefits of a ST system, to assess if future work on STs is warranted. But food safety concerns from stakeholders hinder ST implementation.

Conventional wastewater treatment plants do not effectively remove parasitic protozoa resulting in their presence in wastewater effluent. Therefore, agricultural reuse of wastewater effluent could be a route of Cryptosporidium transmission into the food chain.

Microbial risk assessment is a valuable tool to provide scientific evidence to control food safety. Therefore, this study evaluated the risk of foodborne illness caused by Staphylococcus aureus in ready-to-eat (RTE) salad products and economic impact. The prevalence of S.

Campylobacter cross-contamination of Danish broiler flocks at slaughterhouses was investigated using data from two national surveillance components and from ad-hoc sampling. The animal level (AL) and food safety (FS) components from 2018 were compared. The AL component contained results of PCR on pools of cloacal swabs from 3,012 flocks processed at two Danish slaughterhouses (S1-S2), while the FS component regarded culture testing of leg skins from 999/3,012 flocks.

Human and animal feces are one of the main pollutants in drinking water systems (DWS). Both sources of fecal pollution are related to environmental conditions, such as poor land use management and little micro-basin protection. Cryptosporidium sp. and Giardia sp. are zoonotic protozoan water and foodborne transmitted parasitic pathogens and a frequent cause of diarrhea in children in low- and middle-income countries.

Salmonellosis involving chicken meat is one of the most frequent foodborne diseases registered worldwide. Many studies report the prevalence of Salmonella spp. on chicken meat; however, data are limited or variable.

Cross-contamination is an important event for bacterial transfer throughout the pork production chain. In Brazil, Salmonella sp. is the most relevant hazard in the pork industry, and further knowledge concerning its contamination is essential for in-depth risk assessments. Thus, we aimed to assess the transfer probability of Salmonella sp.

This study aimed at, and developed, a climate-driven model for predicting the abundance of V. parahaemolyticus in oysters based on the local climatological and environmental conditions in Taiwan. The predictive model was constructed using the elastic net machine learning method, and the most influential predictors were evaluated using a permutation-based approach. The abundance of V.

Campylobacteriosis is one of the most important reported zoonosis worldwide. Besides poultry other sources of infection have been described. In the current study, the incidence of Campylobacter spp. was assessed over a five-month period in mussel samples harvested from one of the most important producing areas (Galicia, NW Spain) in Europe. Out of 91 samples screened, 8% were positive and identified as C. lari by MALDI-TOF and whole genome sequencing.

Effects of risk-based control of Campylobacter spp. in Danish broiler farms and flocks were simulated, to assess potential reductions of human risk of campylobacteriosis, associated to the consumption of poultry meat produced in Denmark. Two national data streams were used and represented: Flock status by testing cloacal swabs (CS, 2018–2019) and carcass status by testing leg skin samples (LS, 2019).

The potential risk-based improvement of the Salmonella Dublin surveillance programme in Danish dairy herds was investigated, considering herd status misclassifications due to testing errors. The programme started in October 2002. Currently (early 2021) all dairy herds are classified based on quarterly bulk tank milk (BTM) testing with an indirect antibody ELISA (iELISA).

The microbiological quality of fermented products such as salami are highly dependent on the interaction of environmental conditions during its fabrication. These effects may be predicted by mathematical modeling, and this approach has been adopted in several occasions. The aim of this study was to validate the Gamma concept model to predict Salmonella behavior during salami manufacturing in environmental conditions found in small scale Brazilian manufacturer.

Campylobacteriosis is an emerging foodborne illness which is frequently linked to the consumption of inadequately prepared poultry. The purpose of this study was to assess the risk associated with thermotolerant Campylobacter spp. in chicken döner kebab and to estimate the number of campylobacteriosis cases due to its consumption in Tlemcen city (Algeria).

Quantitative microbiological risk assessment (QMRA) studies have suggested that control options to reduce the concentration of Campylobacter spp. in broiler chicken caeca may be highly effective at reducing the risk of human campylobacteriosis. These QMRA studies have been updated based on scientific evidence obtained in the past decade.

Author(s): J.L. Moncada Barragán, Lucumí D.I. Cuesta, M.S. Rodriguez Susa

Author(s): Ursula Gonzales-Barron, Vasco Cadavez, Anne Thebault, Pauline Kooh, Moez Sanaa

Author(s): Anne Thébault, Anne-Marie Roque-Afonso, Pauline Kooh, Vasco Cadavez, Ursula Gonzales-Barron, Nicole Pavio

Yersinia enterocolotica is an important causative agent of diarrheal illness. A systematic review and meta-analysis of case-control studies were performed to determine the main risk factors associated with sporadic Y. enterocolitica infections. Suitable scientific articles published between 1987 and 2017 were identified through a systematic literature search and subject to methodological quality assessment.

Author(s): Mary E. Schoen, Trevor K. Peckham, Jeffry H. Shirai, John C. Kissel, Dipendra Thapaliya, Tara C. Smith, J. Scott Meschke

Author(s): Anne Thébault, Julie David, Pauline Kooh, Vasco Cadavez, Ursula Gonzales-Barron, Nicole Pavio