Research Publications (Food Safety)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a direct-fed microbial (DFM) product in reducing fecal shedding of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in finishing commercial feedlot cattle in Kansas (KS) and Nebraska (NE).

Aim To study the impact of incorporating micro‐nano‐bubbles (MNBs) in commonly used food antimicrobials (AMs) against Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EC) and Listeria monocytogenes (LM). Methods and Results Air, carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N2) were used to incorporate MNBs in city water.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 entered into the Viable but Non Culturable (VBNC) state under salinity stress of 10 and 30% during production of salted silver carp. VBNC E. coli O157:H7 induced by NaCl stress during salted fish production continued to express its pathogenic genes of stx1, stx2, eae and hly. Abstract Many bacteria including Escherichia coli can enter into the viable but non‐culturable (VBNC) state under unfavorable condition. This study investigated the fate of E.

A microfluidic device was applied to enumerate Escherichia coli O157:H7 cells in lettuce and beef samples. E. coli O157:H7 inoculated in lettuce and beef were collected with high efficiency by using filtration or two‐step centrifugation. This method could quantify target microbial cells within 1 hr. Abstract Quality assurance is one of the fundamental ways of preventing infections from foodborne pathogens such as Escherichia coli O157:H7, which produces a deadly toxin.

Escherichia coli O157:H7, a causative agent of haemolytic uremic syndrome, can enter into a viable but non‐culturable (VBNC) state in response to harsh stress. Bacteria in this state can retain membrane integrity, metabolic activity and virulence expression, which may present health risks. However, virulence expression and resuscitation ability of the VBNC state are not well understood. Here, we induced E.

Applications of whey protein concentrate (WPC) based films have been limited in the food industry due to their poor mechanical properties. This research aims to evaluate the effect of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) synthesized by Aspergillus niger on the mechanical and antimicrobial properties of WPC based films. The biosynthesized AgNPs solution was added into the WPC film formula at the concentration of 0, 0.25 and 1.25 mM.

Agricultural soil contaminated by manure is becoming an important source for the transmission of foodborne pathogens. There is an urgent need for a rapid and accurate method for viable pathogen detection in agricultural soil samples. Propidium monoazide (PMA) is a DNA-binding dye that can inhibit the amplification of DNA from dead cells through subsequent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), thus allowing for viable cells detection and quantification.

Several outbreaks of Escherichia coli O157:H7 associated with contaminated leafy green vegetables have been documented. Here, we report the draft genome sequences of 14 strains isolated from human patients in the state of Wisconsin during a multistate outbreak in early 2018 that was linked to consumption of romaine lettuce.

Efficacy of N‐Halamine on Foodborne Pathogens Abstract A major concern of the cattle industry is cross‐contamination of meat with pathogens. Cattle are exposed to fecal material, mud, and other contaminants which harbor pathogens that can be shed onto meat and meat processing equipment. Due to increased chances of meat contamination during processing, new antimicrobial formulations for carcass washing before hide removal needs to be identified and tested.

Antimicrobial peptides constitute an excellent alternative against conventional antibiotics because of their potent antimicrobial spectrum, unspecific action mechanism and low capacity to produce antibiotic resistance. However, a potential use of these biological molecules as therapeutic agents is threatened by their low stability and susceptibility to proteases.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is an extremely serious foodborne pathogen accounting for a vast number of hospitalizations. In this system, a simple, rapid, and safe compound method was developed based on carbonyl iron powder (CIP) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). Then, the CIP@MWCNT-based aptasensor was constructed by strong π-stacking between nanocomposite and aptamer, single-strand DNA, causing fluorescent quenching of the dye-labeled aptamer.

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) O157:H7 in colon content and on carcasses from pigs slaughtered at provincially licensed abattoirs (PLAs) in Alberta. In 2017, carcass sponge samples and colon content samples were collected from 504 healthy market hogs at thirty-nine PLAs and analyzed for E. coli O157:H7. Carcass samples were also analyzed for generic E. coli and aerobic colony count (ACC).

In August 2018, Public Health England (PHE) was made aware of five probable cases of Shiga toxin‐producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 among individuals reporting participation in a mud‐based obstacle race. An additional four cases, identified via routine whole‐genome sequencing, were subsequently linked to the same event. Two of the nine cases were due to secondary household transmission.

Sodium hypochlorite has been used in the food industry to reduce microbial contamination in food; however, the use of sodium hypochlorite is insufficient considering the human health hazards and environmental pollution. To overcome this issue, plant-derived antimicrobial agents have been developed.

As a common foodborne pathogen, Escherichia coli O157:H7 produces toxins causing serious diseases. However, traditional methods failed in detecting E. coli O157:H7 cells in the viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state, which poses a threat to food safety. This study aimed at investigating the formation, control, and detection of the VBNC state of E. coli O157:H7. Three factors including medium, salt, and acid concentrations were selected as a single variation.

Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 is an enteric pathogen that causes life-threatening disease in humans, with cattle being major natural reservoirs. A group of STEC O157:H7 with a dramatic combination of high virulence potentials and super-shedder bovine origin have been isolated. Here, an STEC O157:H7 isolate, JEONG-1266, was analyzed by comparative genomics, stx genotyping, and phenotypic analyses.

This study aimed to identify a suitable non-pathogenic surrogate for industrial validation of the irradiation process by high energy electron beam (5 MeV) of dried seeds. Pumpkin seeds and flax seeds were contaminated with a five-strain Salmonella cocktail comprising five different serovars or a two-strain Escherichia coli cocktail comprising pathogenic strains, including E. coli O157:H7. Comparison of log survival fractions of the E.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a common harmful foodborne pathogen that can cause severe diseases at low infectious doses. Traditional lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) for the rapid screening of E. coli O157:H7 in food suffers from low sensitivity due to its dependence on 20- to 40-nm gold nanoparticles (AuNP) with insufficient brightness as labels.

Bacteriophage therapy is acknowledged as a potential tool to prevent or treat multidrug resistant bacterial infections. In this study, our major focus was on the bacteriolytic activity of phage EcSw (ΦEcSw) against the emergence of the clinically important Escherichia coli Sw1 and E. coli O157:H7. The amount of the antibiotics were changed in a concentration dependent manner and the ΦEcSw susceptibility to antibiotics were determined.

More efficient sampling and detection methods of pathogens on fresh produce are needed. The purpose of this study was to compare a novel rinse/membrane filtration method (RMFM) to a more traditional sponge rubbing or stomaching method in processing jalapeño peppers and cantaloupe samples for detection of Escherichia coli , Salmonella enterica , and Listeria monocytogenes .

Soil microbial communities are often not resistant to the impact caused by microbial invasions, both in terms of structure and functionality, but it remains unclear whether these changes persist over time. Here we used 3 strains of Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7), a species used for modelling bacterial invasions, to evaluate the resilience of the bacterial communities from four Chinese soils to invasion. The impact of E.

Treatments of wastewater and fresh produce commonly employ chlorine as an antimicrobial. However, there are increasing levels of concerns regarding the safety and antimicrobial efficacy of chlorine treatments. Numerous studies have reported the antimicrobial properties of chlorine dioxide (ClO2) treatment in a variety of applications but information regarding how ClO2 affects bacteria is limited.

PDT is an emerging new antimicrobial technology, which uses a combination of photosensitizers and light. This study, for the first time, demonstrated that ERY (Red No. 3)‐mediated PDT can be an alternative antimicrobial treatment strategy to the conventional treatments used in tomato juice. Abstract The objectives of this study were to evaluate the efficacy of erythrosine B (ERY, Red No.

Aims The objective of the study was to determine levels of Escherichia coli O157:H7 colonization in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of naturally‐shedding cattle shedding the pathogen at low‐ or super‐shedder levels. Methods and Results Over two years, feedlot cattle were sampled multiple times for faecal shedding of E. coli O157:H7.

Some biological activities of dihydroquercetin (DHQ), including antioxidative, antibacterial and anticancer activities, and the oxidative stability of butter oil supplemented with DHQ were evaluated. The DPPH* radical‐scavenging activity was high for DHQ, with an IC50 of 63.83 ± 3.11 μg/ml, compared to that of Trolox, which had an IC50 of 117.02 ± 5.19 μg/ml, over the concentrations studied (10–100 μg/ml).