An official website of the United States government.

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

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 45

  1. Global and regional prevalence of Cronobacter sakazakii in powdered milk and flour

    • Scientific Reports
    • Cronobacter sakazakii (Cz) infections linked with powdered milk/flour (PMF) are on the increase in recent times. The current study aimed at assessing worldwide and regional prevalence of Cz in PMF. Cz-PMF-directed data were conscientiously mined in four mega-databases via topic-field driven PRISMA protocol without any restriction.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Cronobacter
  2. Determination and risk assessment of aflatoxin B1 in the kernel of imported raw hazelnuts from Eastern Azerbaijan Province of Iran

    • Scientific Reports
    • Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is widespread and seriously threatens public health worldwide. This study aimed to investigate AFB1 in imported hazelnut samples in northwest of Iran (Eastern Azerbaijan Province) using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with a Fluorescent Detector (HPLC-FLD). In all tested samples AFB1 was detected. The mean concentration of AFB1 was 4.20 μg/kg and ranged from 3.145 to 8.13 μg/kg.

      • Natural toxins
      • Aflatoxins
      • Mycotoxins
  3. Identification of small molecules targeting homoserine acetyl transferase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Staphylococcus aureus

    • Scientific Reports
    • There is an urgent need to validate new drug targets and identify small molecules that possess activity against both drug-resistant and drug-sensitive bacteria. The enzymes belonging to amino acid biosynthesis have been shown to be essential for growth in vitro, in vivo and have not been exploited much for the development of anti-tubercular agents. Here, we have identified small molecule inhibitors targeting homoserine acetyl transferase (HSAT, MetX, Rv3341) from M.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Staphylococcus aureus
  4. Molecular occurrence and risk factors for Toxoplasma gondii infection in equids in Jilin, China

    • Scientific Reports
    • Toxoplasma gondii, one of the important zoonotic parasites, has been detected in lots of hosts including humans, with a widespread prevalence. The products of equids, such as meat and milk, have been closely related to humans’ life. As the intermediate hosts, little is known about equids toxoplasmosis in Jilin province.

      • Parasites
      • Toxoplasma gondii
  5. Synthesis of nano-sized lead sulfide thin films from Avocado (Glycosmis cochinchinensis) Leaf extracts to empower pollution remediation

    • Scientific Reports
    • The translucent and nano-crystalline PbS films were equipped with the CBD techniques on metal substrates by the temperature of 90 °C through aqueous solutions of Lead Nitrate and Thiourea. The XRD phases verify the crystalline property of synthesized thin films that the shape falls in the cubic structures with favourite orientations. It revealed that the prepared material is cubic crystal oriented as (111), (110), (100) and (101) crystal planes.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  6. In vitro bacteriological effect of tri-beveled needle electrolysis against Staphylococcus aureus

    • Scientific Reports
    • Percutaneous needle electrolysis using tri-beveled needles with a specific protocol (5 mA applied for 25 s) has demonstrated to provoke a clinical reduction of recurrent bacterial infections in mammary fistulas.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Staphylococcus aureus
  7. Microfluidic model for in vitro acute Toxoplasma gondii infection and transendothelial migration

    • Scientific Reports
    • The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) causes one of the most common human zoonotic diseases and infects approximately one-third of the global population. T. gondii infects nearly every cell type and causes severe symptoms in susceptible populations. In previous laboratory animal studies, T. gondii movement and transmission were not analyzed in real time.

      • Parasites
      • Toxoplasma gondii
  8. The role of serum Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive Mac-2 binding protein in the assessment of fibrosis in children with chronic hepatitis C

    • Scientific Reports
    • At present, noninvasive fibrosis markers are not available for the assessment of liver fibrosis in children with chronic hepatitis C. Sixty-three children with chronic hepatitis C were included. Changes in Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive Mac-2 binding protein (M2BPGi) levels were evaluated in l3 of 27 treatment-naive patients during the natural course of disease (median 4, range 3–6 years).

      • Viruses
      • Hepatitis
  9. Genetic diversity of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in imported and domestic camels in Saudi Arabia

    • Scientific Reports
    • Camels gained attention since the discovery of MERS-CoV as intermediary hosts for potentially epidemic zoonotic viruses. DcHEV is a novel zoonotic pathogen associated with camel contact. This study aimed to genetically characterize DcHEV in domestic and imported camels in Saudi Arabia. DcHEV was detected by RT-PCR in serum samples, PCR-positive samples were subjected to sequencing and phylogenetic analyses. DcHEV was detected in 1.77% of samples with higher positivity in domestic DCs.

      • Viruses
      • Hepatitis
  10. Detrimental health relationship between blood lead and cadmium and the red blood cell folate level

    • Scientific Reports
    • Increasing studies have demonstrated the association between heavy metal pollution and micronutrients, especially folate. However, the relationship between cadmium and folate remains rarely discussed. In this study, we aim to explore the potential correlation between cadmium and folate in human population and highlight the possible mechanism of cadmium impacting human health.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  11. Effects of cadmium on oxidative stress and cell apoptosis in Drosophila melanogaster larvae

    • Scientific Reports
    • With the increase of human activities, cadmium (Cd) pollution has become a global environmental problem affecting biological metabolism in ecosystem. Cd has a very long half-life in humans and is excreted slowly in organs, which poses a serious threat to human health.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  12. Application of fingernail samples as a biomarker for human exposure to arsenic-contaminated drinking waters

    • Scientific Reports
    • This study evaluated the relationship between arsenic uptake via drinking water ingestion and arsenic concentration in fingernails as a biomarker for human exposure. For this purpose, we collected fingernail samples from 40 healthy participants of arsenic-affected rural regions of Kaboudrahang County, the west of Iran. A total of 49 fingernail samples were also collected from individuals who lived in areas where contamination of drinking water sources with arsenic had not been reported.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  13. Satisfied quantitative value can be acquired by short-time bone SPECT/CT using a whole-body cadmium–zinc–telluride gamma camera

    • Scientific Reports
      • Heavy Metals
      • Chemical contaminants
  14. Antioxidant status in relation to heavy metals induced oxidative stress in patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)

    • Scientific Reports
    • Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a global health concern for women of reproductive age, as 6.5% of women worldwide are affected by this syndrome. PCOS is marked by hyperandrogenism, anovulation, menstrual abnormalities, and polycystic ovaries. Metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury are considered to be systemic toxicants/human carcinogens and seem to have devastating effects on humans, even at minimal exposures.

  15. Large voltage-induced coercivity change in Pt/Co/CoO/amorphous TiOx structure and heavy metal insertion effect

    • Scientific Reports
    • There is urgent need for spintronics materials exhibiting a large voltage modulation effect to fulfill the great demand for high-speed, low-power-consumption information processing systems. Fcc-Co (111)-based systems are a promising option for research on the voltage effect, on account of their large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) and high degree of freedom in structure.

  16. Synthesis, delivery, and molecular docking of fused quinolines as inhibitor of Hepatitis A virus 3C proteinase

    • Scientific Reports
      • Hepatitis
      • Viruses
  17. Faceting–roughening transition of a Cu grain boundary under electron-beam irradiation at 300 keV

    • Scientific Reports
    • Abstract

  18. Development of custom lead shield and strainer for targeted irradiation for mice in the gamma cell chamber

    • Scientific Reports
    • We presented a development of a custom lead shield and mouse strainer for targeted irradiation from the gamma-cell chamber. This study was divided into two parts i.e., to (i) fabricate the shield and strainer from a lead (Pb) and (ii) optimize the irradiation to the mice-bearing tumour model with 2 and 8 Gy absorbed doses. The lead shielding was fabricated into a cuboid shape with a canal on the top and a hole on the vertical side for the beam path.

      • Heavy Metals
      • Chemical contaminants
  19. Effects of curcumin on the bioavailability of dioxin-like pollutants in rats

    • Scientific Reports
    • The effects of curcumin on the bioavailability of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) were investigated in Sprague–Dawley rats. Tetra- and penta-chlorinated PCDFs had the lowest bioavailability and hexa-chlorinated PCDD/Fs had the highest, while there was no obvious change in that of DL-PCBs.

      • Dioxins
      • Chemical contaminants
  20. Controlling the corrosion and hydrogen gas liberation inside lead-acid battery via PANI/Cu-Pp/CNTs nanocomposite coating

    • Scientific Reports
      • Heavy Metals
      • Chemical contaminants
  21. Clinicopathological analysis of hepatic immune-related adverse events in comparison with autoimmune hepatitis and graft-versus host disease

    • Scientific Reports
      • Hepatitis
      • Viruses
  22. Restoration and risk reduction of lead mining waste by phosphate-enriched biosolid amendments

    • Scientific Reports
    • Lead (Pb) contamination in environment has been identified as a threat to human health and ecosystems. In an effort to reduce the health and ecological risks associated with Pb mining wastes, a field study was conducted to stabilize Pb using phosphate (P)-enriched biosolid amendments in the contaminated mining wastes (average of 1004 mg Pb kg−1) located within the Jasper County Superfund Site, southwest Missouri.

      • Chemical contaminants
      • Heavy Metals
  23. Author Correction: Gamma Attenuation Coefficients of Nano Cadmium Oxide/High density Polyethylene Composites

    • Scientific Reports
      • Heavy Metals
      • Chemical contaminants
  24. Interactive effect of potassium and cadmium on growth, root morphology and chlorophyll a fluorescence in tomato plant

    • Scientific Reports
    • A hydroponic experiment was conducted to evaluate the role of potassium (K) in tomato plant growth exposed to cadmium (Cd) stress. In this work, the effects of three potassium nutrition regimes (155, 232 and 310 ppm of K) combined with Cd at different levels (0, 12 and 25 µM of CdCl2) on chlorophyll content index, root and shoot dry weights, root morphology, chlorophyll a fluorescence and translocation factor were analyzed.

      • Heavy Metals
      • Chemical contaminants
  25. Assessment of the embolization effect of temperature-sensitive p(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-butyl methylacrylate) nanogels in the rabbit renal artery by CT perfusion and confirmed by macroscopic examination

    • Scientific Reports
    • Transcatheter embolization is an important treatment method in clinical therapy, and vascular embolization material plays a key role in embolization. The temperature-sensitive p(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-butyl methylacrylate) (PIB) nanogel is a novel embolic agent.

      • Chemical contaminants