Research Publications (Food Safety)

The purpose of this study was to determine the heat resistance of isolated Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella sp., and Escherichia coli bacterial strains obtained from frequently consumed foods (chicken sandwiches, cheese, raw chicken, tahini, and raw meat) in Lebanon. The isolated bacterial strains were heat-treated at 55, 60, 65, 70, and 75°C. The colony-forming unit per gram (CFU.g−1) was recorded for each temperature every minute for 10 min.

Aflatoxin M1 was determined in 240 milk samples collected from Hulla and Dale districts, Ethiopia, by Enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) detection. It has been found that 96.7% of the respondents did not have any awareness about aflatoxin. Laboratory analysis showed that AFM1 was detected in 77.91% of the total raw milk samples collected within a range of 0.00–0.038 and with an average of 0.0068 µg/L.

The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, and the growth boundaries of two strains of L. monocytogenes isolated from RTE foods and one ATCC7644 strain under different temperature (4, 20, and 37°C), salt (0, 1, 2, 3, and 4% w/v), and nisin (0, 50, 100, 200, and 400 µg/mL) levels with different inoculum sizes (3, 4, 5, and 6 log10 CFU/mL).

The microbial dextran (MD) as a natural bacterial hydrocolloid was used for acrylamide (AA) inhibition in gluten-free quinoa biscuits. The European council approved the use of MD as a safe functional additive in bakery products. AA was spontaneously produced during the baking of 100% quinoa biscuit dough which was quantified at 2142 ± 3 μg kg−1dry biscuit.

A simultaneous analysis method using LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS was developed for improving the analysis accuracy of various pesticide residues. Samples spiked with 247 and 34 pesticide residues were analyzed by LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS, respectively. The method was verified by measuring sensitivity, linearity, selectivity, precision, and accuracy.

A multi-class multi-residue analytical method was validated in this paper for simultaneously identifying 204 veterinary drugs in pork by UPLC-QTRAP MS/MS, including sulfonamides, quinolones, β-agonists, and nitroimidazoles. MRM-IDA-EPI mode of QTRAP was used to establish a secondary mass spectrum library of these 204 veterinary drugs, which could enhance the qualitative analysis of suspect substances.

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ABSTRACT Oat predominately cultivated as forage crop and is not explored for its value-added bioactive moieties. This study was aimed to characterize five selected oat (Avena sativa L.) cultivars with respect to organic sugars, antioxidant activities, pesticide residues, mycotoxin and phenolic acids as measured HPLC.

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The current review focused on the effect of different thermal and non-thermal processing techniques on the structural and functional modifications of milk proteins. In thermal processing, denaturation in whey proteins takes place at the temperature range of 60–100°C. High temperature short time (HTST) treatment caused denaturation with the loss of secondary structure of proteins at temperature of 72°C for 15 minutes.

The current work aimed to study the effect of adding gum Arabic and varying fat (butter) contents on the physicochemical characteristics of gluten-free quinoa cakes and compared it to cakes made from 100% wheat flour and control quinoa flour. Gum Arabic (GA) was supplemented in three levels (0.1, 0.5, and 1%, w/w) while fat was simultaneously reduced at 25, 50, and 75% (w/v) during the preparation of 100% gluten-free quinoa cakes (GFQCs).

This study aimed to provide information about the characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from traditional Turkish cheese samples in Ankara (Turkey), focusing on their prevalence, phenotypic and genotypic characteristics, and antibiotic resistance. To this end, 387 cheese samples were randomly collected from various local bazaars and supermarkets. A total of 85 S. aureus isolates were identified by morphological, biochemical and molecular methods.

The antibiotic residues were investigated in raw and pasteurized milk produced in Neyshabur region, Iran. To this end, 82 milk samples, including raw and pasteurized milk of different brands and local raw milk samples of collection centers, were collected from Neyshabur region in two seasons during 2016. The antibiotic four-plate test (FPT) was performed to examine the presence of tetracycline, flomocaine, sulfonamide, enrofloxacin, aminoglycoside, and macrolide in the samples.

A study of pesticide residues was investigated in vegetable samples to highlight the trend of drugs obtained from the Jilin Province, China. Total of 230 samples obtained from four regions over the period 2016–2017 were screened for 18 pesticides that were analyzed using gas chromatography with electron capture (GC-ECD). The results showed that 45 samples (19.6%) were positive including 17 samples (7.39%) exceeded the national maximum residue limit (MRL).

Arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury contents of Ganoderma lucidum, Phellinus linteus, Umbilicaria esculenta, Trametes versicolor, Agaricus blazei, Hericium erinaciium, Paecilomyces japonica, Fuscoporia obliqua, Sarcodon imbricatu and Hypsizygus marmoreus mushroom samples from the South Korean market were analyzed using validated methods. Method validation was performed, and the limits of detection and quantification were determined to be 0.38–0.66 and 1.21–2.09 μg/kg, respectively.

Foodborne botulism is a potentially fatal illness caused by consuming food with neurotropic exotoxins produced by Clostridium botulinum and other species capable of producing botulinum toxins. Its incidence in Poland has decreased but new cases are still noted. The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed information on epidemiological data and clinical features of patients with botulism hospitalized at the Department of Infectious Diseases in Lublin Province (Eastern Poland).

Date fruits have ample amount of beneficial minerals but owing to diverse causes may contract with heavy metals and contaminants during field, processing, or transportation posing health challenges to consumers.

Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxin is widely contained in seafood and its product. It brings great harm to human health when people eat it. During the past two decades, shellfish toxin quantitative analysis methods develop fast, such as mouse bioassay (MBA), chemical analysis method, immunoassay and cell-based assay (CBA). However, there are some disadvantages in these analytical methods such as time consuming, high cost. Therefore, a more suitable method is in demand.

This study was carried out to evaluate the impact of gamma irradiation and turmeric powder (TP) on microbial quality (total aerobic bacteria and coliforms), physicochemical quality (pH, Hunter’s parameter, oxidative and microbial stabilities, haem pigment), stability, and antioxidant status of chicken meat. Accordingly, two doses (1 kGy and 2 kGy) of gamma irradiation alone and in combination with 3% TP along with the control (0 kGy) were applied.

The purpose of the study was to determine if pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) peel contains polyphenolic compounds with antibacterial activity against Cronobacter sakazakii. Minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations of a methanolic extract were found to increase significantly (P < .05) with decreasing temperature (37, 21, 10 °C) and pH (6.0, 5.0, 4.0).