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Research Publications (Food Safety)

This page tracks research articles published in national and international peer-reviewed journals. Recent articles are available ahead of print and searchable by Journal, Article Title, and Category. Research publications are tracked across six categories: Bacterial Pathogens, Chemical Contaminants, Natural Toxins, Parasites, Produce Safety, and Viruses. Articles produced by USDA Grant Funding Agencies (requires login) and FDA Grant Funding Agencies (requires login) are also tracked in Scopus.

Displaying 1 - 25 of 533

  1. Evaluation of crAssphages as a potential marker of human viral contamination in environmental water and fresh leafy greens

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • CrAssphages are human gut bacteriophages with potential use as an indicator of human fecal contamination in water and other environmental systems. We determined the prevalence and abundance of crAssphages in water, food, and fecal samples and compared these estimates with the prevalence of norovirus. Samples were tested using two crAssphage-specific qPCR assays (CPQ056 and TN201-203) and for norovirus using TaqMan realtime RT-PCR.

      • Produce Safety
      • Leafy Greens
      • Viruses
      • Norovirus
  2. Seasonal variation of mycotoxin levels in poultry feeds and feed ingredients in Oyo State, Nigeria

    • Mycotoxin Research
    • Mycotoxins pose a major problem to poultry production as a result of feed contamination which has deleterious consequences such as production losses and human health risks. A total of 158 chicken feed samples were randomly collected from 46 consenting poultry farms in Oyo State throughout the wet season (April–October; 91 samples) and the dry season (November–March; 67 samples), including compounded feed (n = 129) and feed ingredients (n = 29).

      • Natural toxins
      • Aflatoxins
      • Mycotoxins
      • Produce Safety
      • Seasonal Produce
  3. In‐package cold plasma treatment to extend the shelf life of food

    • Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety
    • Abstract Conventional food preservation methods such as heat treatment, irradiation, chemical treatment, refrigeration, and coating have various disadvantages, like loss of food quality, nutrition, and cost‐effectiveness. Accordingly, cold plasma is one of the new technologies for food processing and has played an important role in preventing food spoilage. Specifically, in‐package cold plasma has become a modern trend to decontaminate, process, and package food simultaneously.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Pesticide residues
      • Produce Safety
      • Leafy Greens
  4. A chromosome-level genome assembly of Solanum chilense, a tomato wild relative associated with resistance to salinity and drought

    • Frontiers in Plant Science
    • Introduction

      Solanum chilense is a wild relative of tomato reported to exhibit resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. There is potential to improve tomato cultivars via breeding with wild relatives, a process greatly accelerated by suitable genomic and genetic resources.

      Methods

      • Produce Safety
      • Ethylene Sensitive
  5. Differential microbiota shift on whole romaine lettuce subjected to source or forward processing and on fresh-cut products during cold storage

    • International Journal of Food Microbiology
    • Romaine lettuce in the U.S. is primarily grown in California or Arizona and either processed near the growing regions (source processing) or transported long distance for processing in facilities serving distant markets (forward processing).

      • Produce Safety
      • Fresh Cut
  6. Combination of autochthonous Lactobacillus strains and trans-Cinnamaldehyde in water reduces Salmonella Heidelberg in turkey poults

    • Frontiers in Microbiology
    • Reducing the colonization of Salmonella in turkeys is critical to mitigating the risk of its contamination at later stages of production. Given the increased susceptibility of newly hatched poults to Salmonella colonization, it is crucial to implement interventions that target potential transmission routes, including drinking water.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Salmonella
      • Produce Safety
      • Pre Harvest
  7. Effect of Sequential Treatment of Plasma Activated Water and Bacteriophage on Decontamination of Salmonella Typhimurium in Lettuce

    • Food and Bioprocess Technology
    • Ensuring food safety measures are essential to minimize the risk of foodborne diseases linked to raw food products. Here, we investigated the efficacy of an innovative approach for the control of Salmonella Typhimurium found in fresh produces. Plasma activated water (PAW) and bacteriophages are emerging effective and valuable alternative methods for microbiological decontamination.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Salmonella
      • Produce Safety
      • Leafy Greens
  8. Disparity Mechanisms in Browning of Golden Nectarine and Chun Xue Peach Fruit during Postharvest Storage and Pulping: Biochemical Characteristics and Oxidative Stress

    • Postharvest Biology and Technology
    • Preliminary investigation showed a notable disparity in the browning of Golden Nectarine (GN) and Chun Xue (CX) during postharvest storage and pulping. Elucidating these underlying mechanisms might bring novel avenues for browning inhibition. To achieve this objective, GN and CX were stored at 25°C and 90 ± 5% relative humidity for 6 days, and then the biochemical changes were investigated.

      • Produce Safety
      • Post Harvest
  9. Effect of aqueous ozone treatment on the reduction of chlorpyrifos and physicochemical and microbial qualities of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.): Process modeling and optimization

    • Journal of Food Process Engineering
    • This study explored the impact of aqueous ozone treatment on chlorpyrifos degradation in cucumbers, optimizing conditions using both response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network‐genetic algorithm (ANN‐GA). While both models demonstrated high predictability, the ANN optimized conditions surpassed RSM in chlorpyrifos degradation, resulting in enhanced physicochemical and microbial qualities in cucumbers.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Pesticide residues
      • Produce Safety
      • Fresh Cut
  10. Hydroponic Nutrient Solution Temperature Impacts Tulane Virus Persistence over Time

    • Food and Environmental Virology
    • Controlled environment agriculture (CEA), or indoor agriculture, encompasses non-traditional farming methods that occur inside climate-controlled structures (e.g., greenhouses, warehouses, high tunnels) allowing for year-round production of fresh produce such as leaf lettuce. However, recent outbreaks and recalls associated with hydroponically grown lettuce contaminated with human pathogens have raised concerns.

      • Produce Safety
      • Leafy Greens
      • Viruses
      • Norovirus
  11. New Genomic Techniques applied to food cultures: a powerful contribution to innovative, safe, and sustainable food products

    • FEMS Microbiology Letters
    • Nontransgenic New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) have emerged as a promising tool for food industries, allowing food cultures to contribute to an innovative, safe, and more sustainable food system. NGTs have the potential to be applied to microorganisms, delivering on challenging performance traits like texture, flavour, and an increase of nutritional value.

      • Produce Safety
      • Pre Harvest
  12. Applied microbiology of the phyllosphere

    • Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
    • The phyllosphere, or plant leaf surface, represents a microbial ecosystem of considerable size, holding extraordinary biodiversity and enormous potential for the discovery of new products, tools, and applications in biotechnology, agriculture, medicine, and elsewhere.

      • Produce Safety
      • Leafy Greens
  13. Machine learning for storage duration based on volatile organic compounds emitted from 'Jukhyang' and 'Merry Queen' strawberries during post-harvest storage

    • Postharvest Biology and Technology
    • Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) is a widely favored horticultural crop renowned for its unique taste and flavor. To develop an accurate predictive model for strawberry freshness, colorimetric data, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were investigated in fully ripe 'Jukhyang' and 'Merry Queen' strawberries. Data measurements were conducted after 0, 4, 8, and 12 days of cold storage (10 °C, 79% RH).

      • Produce Safety
      • Post Harvest
  14. Effect of exogenous melatonin on postharvest storage quality of passion fruit through antioxidant metabolism

    • LWT
    • This study investigated the effect of melatonin (MT) on postharvest storage quality of passion fruit. Passion fruits were treated with four different concentrations of MT solutions (100, 200, 300 and 400 μmol/L) for 30 min and stored for 8 days.

      • Produce Safety
      • Post Harvest
  15. Review of fruits flavor deterioration in postharvest storage: Odorants, formation mechanism and quality control

    • Food Research International
    • Fruits flavor deterioration is extremely likely to occur during post-harvest storage, which not only damages quality but also seriously affects its market value. This work focuses on the study of fruits deterioration odorants during storage by describing their chemical compositions (i.e., alcohols, aldehydes, acids, and sulfur-containing compounds).

      • Produce Safety
      • Post Harvest
  16. Methyl jasmonate-loaded composite biofilm sustainably alleviates chilling lignification of loquat fruit during postharvest storage

    • Food Chemistry
    • In this work, the MeJA-loaded gelatin/pullulan/chitosan composite biofilm was prepared to inhibit the chilling lignification of the loquat fruit during storage at 0 °C. The firmness and lignin content were decreased by 89 % and 81.77 % after MeJA-loaded biofilm treatment. Malondialdehyde (MDA) production was almost completely suppressed and chilling injury of loquat fruit was significantly reduced.

      • Produce Safety
      • Post Harvest
  17. Influence of Postharvest Natural Softening Conditions on the Nutritional Quality of Safou (Dacryodes edulis H.J.Lam) Flour: Rheological Properties of the Optimized Safou Flour

    • International Journal of Food Science
    • Safou (Dacryodes edulis H.J.Lam) is a seasonal fruit of great importance in the diet and economy of the populations of safou-producing countries. However, the valorization of this fruit is limited due to postharvest losses linked to the softening of the fruit, though this fruit is an essential source of macro- and micronutrients.

      • Produce Safety
      • Seasonal Produce
  18. Characterization of granulation in citrus “Harumi” fruit during postharvest storage

    • Postharvest Biology and Technology
    • Granulation is a serious physiological disorder in citrus fruit, which impairs the fruit quality and causes economic losses to the citrus industry. ‘Harumi’ ((Citrus unshiu × C. sinensis) × C. reticulate), a mandarin-type variety, is prone to granulation, especially after long-term storage.

      • Produce Safety
      • Post Harvest
  19. AcMYB10 Involved in Anthocyanin Regulation of ‘Hongyang’ Kiwifruit Induced via Fruit Bagging and High-Postharvest-Temperature Treatments

    • Genes
    • Light and temperature are key factors influencing the accumulation of anthocyanin in fruit crops. To assess the effects of fruit bagging during development and high post-ripening temperature on ‘Hongyang’ kiwifruit, we compared the pigmentation phenotypes and expression levels of anthocyanin-related genes between bagged and unbagged treatments, and between 25 °C and 37 °C postharvest storage temperatures.

      • Produce Safety
      • Post Harvest
  20. Application of image analysis and machine learning for the assessment of grape (Vitis L.) berry behavior under different storage conditions

    • European Food Research and Technology
    • Fresh grapes are characterized by a short shelf life and are often subjected to quality losses during post-harvest storage. The quality assessment of grapes using image analysis may be a useful approach using non-destructive methods. This study aimed to compare the effect of different storage methods on the grape image texture parameters of the fruit outer structure.

      • Produce Safety
      • Post Harvest
  21. Development and evaluation of a vacuum impregnation system for enhancement of biochemical properties of food materials

    • Journal of Food Science and Technology
    • Vacuum impregnation is a novel methodology for adding various substances to porous foods. This study aimed to develop a cost effective automate system for vacuum impregnation of food materials to enhance their nutritional, functional and sensory properties depending on the functionality of the impregnation solution.

      • Produce Safety
      • Fresh Cut
  22. OsJMJ718, a histone demethylase gene, positively regulates seed germination in rice

    • The Plant Journal
    • SUMMARY Seed vigor has major impact on the rate and uniformity of seedling growth, crop yield, and quality. However, the epigenetic regulatory mechanism of crop seed vigor remains unclear. In this study, a (jumonji C) JmjC gene of the histone lysine demethylase OsJMJ718 was cloned in rice, and its roles in seed germination and its epigenetic regulation mechanism were investigated. OsJMJ718 was located in the nucleus and was engaged in H3K9 methylation.

      • Produce Safety
      • Ethylene Sensitive
  23. Application of UV-B Light and Low-Toxicity Compounds to Prevent Postharvest Spoilage on Lemons

    • Food and Bioprocess Technology
    • Green and blue molds and sour rot, caused by Penicillium digitatum, P. italicum, and Geotrichum citri-aurantii, are postharvest diseases which represent an important economic issue in lemon production. Conventionally, their control involves the intensive use of synthetic fungicides, leading to the emergence of resistant strains and harmful residue accumulation on fruits.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Pesticide residues
      • Produce Safety
      • Ethylene Sensitive
  24. Effect of edible coatings on quality parameters and phenol composition of ready-to-eat Salanova lettuce

    • European Food Research and Technology
    • Minimally processed fresh-cut leafy vegetables are becoming one of the fastest growing segments in the food industry. In this context, new strategies to extend the preservation, such as the application of edible coatings, represent a key issue for the research community. In this study, the effects of emulsion-based edible coatings on the quality parameters of ready-to-eat Salanova lettuce were investigated.

      • Produce Safety
      • Fresh Cut
  25. Assessment of Candidate Reference Genes for Gene Expression Studies Using RT-qPCR in Colletotrichum fructicola from Litchi

    • Genes
    • Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) is a tropical fruit originating from southern China that is currently cultivated in subtropical and tropical regions worldwide. Litchi anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum fructicola, a dominant species of Colletotrichum spp., is an important disease of litchi that damages the fruits in fields and in post-harvest storage.

      • Produce Safety
      • Post Harvest