Research Publications (Food Safety)

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, Ahead of Print.

by Zhaolei Wang, Haixia Du, Haofang Wan, Jiehong Yang, Haitong Wan

The need for alternative biomarkers of reproductive potential in the pork industry is apparent as the current selection approach for sow fertility is not keeping up with the improvement of other production-related traits. To date, the vaginal microbiome has been overlooked as a source of potential biomarkers of sow fertility status.

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is an opportunistic pathogen frequently associated with subclinical mastitis and accounts for a large proportion of the economic losses due to mastitis on Canadian dairy farms. Despite a plethora of investigations on the molecular mechanisms of mastitis, little information is available on the roles of regulatory noncoding RNAs (ncRNA).

Intrinsic and extrinsic factors determine the milk production of a dairy herd, which is affected by the reproductive efficiency of dairy farms. Infectious, nutritional, and management causes can negatively affect this efficiency. After parturition, dairy cows are sensible to clinical diseases since the physical barriers of the cervix, vagina, and vulva are compromised, allowing environmental bacteria to ascend, altering the vaginal microbiota.

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance poses a major threat to global health and food security and is primarily driven by antimicrobial use in human and veterinary medicine. Understanding its epidemiology at farm level is crucial for effective control measures. Despite the significant reduction in antibiotic use in conventional livestock production, the swine sector traditionally has a higher level of antibiotic use in veterinary medicine.

Staphylococcus hyicus is a significant pathogen in swine, primarily causing exudative epidermitis. Addressing S. hyicus infections requires both the characterization of virulence and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in farm-recovered isolates. This study aimed to characterize the virulence, AMR, and biofilm formation of S. hyicus isolates from Spanish swine farms. A total of 49 isolates were analyzed, originating from animals with cutaneous, reproductive, and systemic clinical signs.

This study investigated into the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of Origanum onites essential oil (OEO) and the application of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) on Iranian white cheese quality during storage at 4°C for 45 days. OEO contains 28.43 ± 0.34 mg GAE/g dw and exhibited antioxidant and antimicrobial activity in in vitro tests.

mSystems, Ahead of Print.

This study investigated the effects of X‐ray irradiation on pathogen inactivation, quality changes, and hydrocarbon profiles of pork cutlets. Summary Pork cutlets are susceptible to cross‐contamination with foodborne pathogens during processing. Food irradiation effectively improves food hygiene by eliminating microbes.

Characteristics of non-clinical strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) especially from fishery environment are poorly understood. This research, in addition to comprehensive characterisatio...

This study determined whether natural preservatives, when used as substitutes for sulfur dioxide (SO2) in Boerewors, influenced water activity (aw), pH, and moisture content; microbial and sensory quality; and the lipid oxidative and color stability in Boerewors models.

The food industry is seeking alternatives to chemical additives and preservatives due to the increasing consumers’ demand for healthier food products. Ziziphora tenuior L. (Z. tenuior) is an aromatic medicinal plant that exhibits various biological properties such as antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory properties. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of Z.

Overview of foodborne pathogens' detection and occurrence in minimally processed vegetables (MPV). Summary The increased consumption of minimally processed vegetables (MPV) in various countries is related to the continued interest of consumers in seeking practical and healthy food items. Due to multiple processing steps, MPV can be contaminated by several foodborne pathogens that pose significant health risks to consumers.

Abstract A wide range of active agents, synthetic and natural agents such as essential oils, chitosan and polyphneols consisting of curcumin, gallic acid, anthocyanins, and catechins have been used in order to develop antimicrobial packaging systems, and among them, natural polyphenolic compounds, specially curcumin (Cur) has great potential due to effective biological activities in developing food packaging material.

by Eun Jeong Won, Yu Jeong Lee, Moon-Ju Kim, Tae-Jong Kim, Hong-Joon Shin, Tae-Ok Kim, Yong-Soo Kwon

Staphylococcus aureus is a significant cause of foodborne illness in China. Our investigation concentrated on the genetic characterization of foodborne S. aureus identified during unannounced inspections conducted in Suzhou from 2012 to 2021. Dominant clones included clonal complex (CC) 1, CC398, CC188, and CC7, with CC398 notably increasing in 2020–2021. The isolates commonly contained 1–3 plasmids, with rep5a (48.55%) and rep16 (44.51%) predominating.

In this paper, we present for the first time the development of zinc-doped hydroxyapatite enriched with tetracycline (ZnHApTe) powders and provide a comprehensive evaluation of their physico-chemical and biological properties. Various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used for the sample’s complex evaluation.

Abstract This study targets explicitly finding an alternative to petroleum‐based plastic films that burden the environment, which is a high priority. Hence, polymeric films were prepared with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) (4%), pectin (2%), and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) (0.5%) with different concentrations of thymol (0.3%, 0.9%, 1.8%, 3%, and 5%) and glycerol as a plasticizer by solution casting technique.