Research Publications (Food Safety)

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is one of the major opportunistic foodborne pathogens as well as a source of human and animal infections. As surveillance of S. aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is limited in ice cream, a total of 240 ice cream samples were collected from three cities in Shaanxi province, China, and screened for S. aureus.

In August 2016, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services notified the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg infections in people who reported contact with dairy calves. Federal and state partners investigated this to identify the source and scope of the outbreak and to prevent further illnesses.

Clostridium perfringens is a common foodborne pathogen, frequently associated with improper cooking, and cooling or reheating of animal products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Food Code outlines proper food preparation practices to prevent foodborne outbreaks; however, retail food establishments continue to have C. perfringens outbreaks.

Nontyphoidal Salmonella infection is a common cause of bacterial foodborne illness in Zhejiang Province, China. This study aimed to summarize the epidemiological and etiological characteristics of the outbreak of nontyphoidal Salmonella infection in Zhejiang Province. Data collected over a 10-year period (2010–2019) from the China National Foodborne Diseases Surveillance Network (NFDSN) were analyzed.

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains have become a great threat to public health. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in biological characteristics and antimicrobial resistance gene (ARG) mutations of V. parahaemolyticus that displayed different levels of antimicrobial resistance. The susceptibility of 74 V.

Non-O157 Shiga toxin (stx)–producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is recognized as an important human diarrheal pathogen. Cattle are the principal reservoirs of STEC, although other animals can be carriers. Humans are mainly infected by consuming contaminated drinking water or food. This study aimed to evaluate the virulence potential of isolated bovine non-O157 STEC to humans in Xinjiang.

Toxoplasmosis, due to Toxoplasma gondii, is a parasitic disease with global importance. Among livestock, chronic T. gondii infection has been reported in higher rates in pigs and small ruminants, but with subclinical infections in case commonly encountered in pigs. Seroprevalence in the global pig population ranges according to the age or species of pigs, geographical distribution, production programs, and systems. Generally, T.

Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)–producing Escherichia coli exhibits strong multidrug resistance (MDR) to ampicillin and third-generation cephalosporins. This study examined the occurrence, antimicrobial susceptibility, and molecular genetic features of ESBL-producing E. coli isolates from three commonly consumed minced meat varieties, namely pork, chicken, and beef. In total, 150 samples were collected from 10 local markets in Thailand. ESBL-producing E.

Klebsiella pneumoniae is an important foodborne pathogen with high biofilm-forming ability, which is continuously detected in food products in recent years. The antibacterial and antibiofilm activities and mechanism of ultrasonication in combination with heat treatment against K. pneumoniae were studied. K.

Listeriosis is a rare bacterial infection associated with foodborne illness that can result in septicemia, a serious acute outcome. Sepsis is responsible for one in three deaths during hospitalization. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the proportion of Listeria monocytogenes infections resulting in septicemia.

Listeria monocytogenes is a ubiquitous Gram-positive foodborne pathogen that is responsible for listeriosis in both humans and several animal species. The bacterium secretes a pore-forming cholesterol-dependent cytolysin, listeriolysin O (LLO), a major virulence factor involved in the activation of cellular processes. The ability of LLO to lyse erythrocytes is a measure of LLO activity. We used hemolytic activity assay to screen the LLO inhibitors.

Proteus mirabilis is an opportunistic pathogen associated with nosocomial infections and foodborne diseases. The resistance and biofilm formation of P. mirabilis have been a great concern. In this study a multidrug-resistant P. mirabilis strain 012 was exposed to a lethal dose of ampicillin (10 mg/mL, 2.5-fold minimal bactericidal concentration) for 24 h at 37°C.

In Latin America, nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) is one of the most important etiological agents of foodborne infections; it can survive in soil, water, and food even after processing. Here, we aimed to perform a systematic review by collecting data on the prevalence, serotypes, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of NTS isolated from different food products in Latin America, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli are an important pathogen causing food poisoning. The rapid detection of viable E. coli O157 in vegetables and fruits at single-cell level is critical because of the low infective dose of this pathogen. In this study, an immunomagnetic flow cytometry (IMFC)-based method was developed to detect E. coli O157 in lettuce and strawberries inoculated with 1 CFU/25 g. This method developed immunomagnetic (IM)-beads to capture E. coli O157 cells.

Foodborne illness is a continuing public health problem in the United States. Seven pathogens—Campylobacter, Clostridium perfringens, Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli O157, Listeria monocytogenes, nontyphoidal Salmonella, norovirus, and Toxoplasma gondii—are estimated to cause >90% of the foodborne illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths attributed to 31 known pathogens.

Risk assessment is a formal process of identifying hazards and assessing the risk associated with them (risk is a combination of the severity of illness and the probability of occurrence). This review highlights foodborne disease hazards reported in beverages consumed in Nigeria for the period between 2000 and 2020. Based on a preregistered protocol and search syntax, studies were retrieved from the PubMed, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect databases.

To disclose the antimicrobial susceptibility and wide adaptability of commonly occurring genotypes of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, the antimicrobial resistance and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) profiles of 196 Salmonella Typhimurium isolates (136 from food-producing animals, 19 from environments, 15 from markets, and 26 from humans) in China between 2007 and 2019 were analyzed.

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Microbial food safety remains an important issue in China and throughout the world. Great achievements have been made by regulatory agencies, academia, and the food industry in China over the past two decades since the 10th “five-year plan” (2001–2005) from the perspectives of policy reform, technological improvement and innovation, and implementation of relevant regulations.

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