Research Publications (Food Safety)

In 2017 and 2019, five outbreaks of infections from multiple strains of Salmonella linked to the consumption of whole, fresh Maradol papayas were reported in the United States, resulting in 325 ill persons. Traceback, laboratory, and epidemiologic evidence indicated papayas as the likely vehicle for each of these outbreaks and identified the source of papayas.

Diseases caused by harmful microorganisms pose a serious threat to human health. Safe and environment-friendly disinfectants are, therefore, essential in preventing and controlling such pathogens. This study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial activity and mechanism of a novel hydrogen peroxide and silver (H 2 O 2 -Ag + ) complex (HSC) in combatting Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Escherichia coli O157:H7 NCTC 12900 and Salmonella typhimurium SL 1344.

Based upon regulatory and food industry-driven food safety standards, there is a need for rapid, accurate methods for assessing sanitary conditions. A commonly utilized assay is based on the assessment of the biochemical molecule, adenosine triphosphate (ATP). A more recent assay (AXP) targets the cumulative presence of ATP and its dephosphorylated homologues, adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and adenosine monophosphate (AMP).

Ozonated water is a possible handwashing alternative to antimicrobial soap and water. In a previous report, 4 ppm of ozonated water removed artificially contaminated bacteria from the hands of healthy volunteers as effectively as antimicrobial or non-antimicrobial soap and water. Currently, there is a lack of data on the efficacy of ozonated water in removing bacteria from hands loaded with organic materials.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7/NM and some non-O157 STEC are foodborne pathogens. In response to pork-associated O157 STEC outbreaks in Canada, we investigated the occurrence of STEC in Canadian retail raw ground pork during the period of November 1, 2014 and March 31, 2016. Isolated STEC were characterized to determine the Shiga-toxin gene ( stx ) subtype and the presence of virulence genes encoding intimin ( eae ), and enterohemorrhagic E. coli hemolysin (hlyA) .

Foodborne diseases remain a global public health challenge worldwide. The European surveillance system on multistate foodborne outbreaks integrates elements from public and animal health, and the food chain for the early detection, assessment, and control. This review aims to describe the significant outbreaks that occurred in Europe in the last decade.

Given the importance of strain variability to predictive microbiology and risk assessment, the present study aimed to quantify the magnitude of strain variability in growth and thermal inactivation kinetics behaviors after acid adaptation. Thirty-three Listeria monocytogenes strains were exposed to acid-adapted tryptic soy broth with yeast extract and nonacid-adapted TSB-YE (pH 7.0) for 20 hours.

Processes based on generating vapor phase hydroxyl-radicals or chlorine-radicals were developed for inactivating Listeria monocytogenes on mushrooms without negatively affecting quality. Antimicrobial radicals were generated from the UV-C degradation of hydrogen peroxide or hypochlorite and ozone gas.

The aim of this study is to analyze and document the microbiological safety and quality of ready-to-eat foods in hospital and university canteens in Hanoi, Vietnam. A total of 420 ready-to-eat food products from 21 canteens were sampled in July 2018 and May 2019. The ratio of samples exceeding the unsatisfactory level for Total Plate Count (TPC) was 31%.

Throughout these past decades, climate change has featured among one of the most complex global issues. Characterized by worldwide alterations in weather patterns, along with a concomitant increase in the temperature of the Earth, climate change will undoubtedly have significant effects on food security and food safety. Climate change engenders climate variability, which are significant variations in weather variables and in their frequency.

Infections by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are gradually increasing in the community. There is a potential public health hazard resulting from S. aureus contamination of seafood, which is mainly due to unhygienic handling, processing and storage environments. In Poland, the limits provided in Commission Regulation (EC) No 1441/2007 refer to the presence of Escherichia coli and S. aureus in shelled and shucked products of cooked crustaceans and molluscan shellfish.

Many foods have the potential to cause foodborne illness, however some pose a higher risk. Data were collected through the Foodbook study, a population-based telephone survey conducted between 2014 and 2015 that assessed 10,942 Canadians’ food exposures using a seven-day recall period. Nineteen foods included in the survey were identified as high-risk for common foodborne pathogens in Canada. Results were analyzed by age group, gender, region of residence, income, and education.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is an important food-borne pathogen in aquatic products, which can survive long-term in an oligotrophic environment and maintain pathogenicity. In this study, the growth curves of 38 strains of V.parahaemolyticus (pathogenic and environmental strains) under different oligotrophic conditions (tryptone soy broth (TSB), TSB diluted 2, 4, and 6 times medium) were simulated and their growth heterogeneity was compared.

Ubiquity of Listeria monocytogenes in the environment impacts the food industry and presents concerns for frozen food facilities. This study determined the prevalence and numbers of Listeria species and L. monocytogenes on raw produce arriving at frozen food facilities. Raw produce was collected using multi-level blinding protocols to ensure anonymity of participants and avoid traceback. Five raw vegetables were selected: corn, carrots, green beans, peas, and spinach.

Significant resources including both human and financial capital have been dedicated to developing and delivering food handler training programs to meet government and organizational mandates. Even with the plethora of food safety-oriented training programs, there is scant empirical evidence documenting their effectiveness suggesting the need to rethink the design and delivery of food safety training for food handlers.

Experiments were performed to assess the survival of Salmonella on whole Brazil nuts and pumpkin seeds stored at 8ºC, 23ºC, and 37ºC. Brazil nut kernels and pumpkin seeds were inoculated with bacterial inoculum containing 10.4 Log 10 CFU/ml of Salmonella Enteritidis Phage Type 30 ( S E PT30) and then aseptically dried at room temperature for 24 hrs.

Fresh Milk Bar (FMB), an emerging dairy retail franchise, is used to instantly produce and sell pasteurized milk and other dairy products in China. However, the quality and safety of pasteurized milk in FMB have received little attention. The objective of this study is to investigate the prevalence, antimicrobial resistance, and virulence genes of Escherichia coli (E. coli) , Staphylococcus aureus (S.

L. monocytogenes causes relatively few outbreaks linked to whole fresh produce but triggers recalls each year in the US. There are limited data on the influence of wet vs. dry methods on pathogen growth on whole produce. A cocktail of five L. monocytogenes strains that included clinical, food, or environmental isolates associated with foodborne outbreaks and recalls was used. Cultures were combined to target a final wet inoculum concentration of 4-5 log CFU/mL.

The application of plant extracts (PEs) could be a promising option to satisfy consumers’ demand for natural additives to inhibit growth of variable pathogenic bacteria. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop a standardized microdilution method to examine the antimicrobial effects of ten hydrophilic plant extracts against two strains of C. perfringens facing various food-relevant influencing factors.

The human noroviruses are major causes of nonbacterial gastroenteritis, and are transmitted by both food and water, as well as via a person-to-person route. Asymptomatic norovirus infection of food handlers may play a role in transmission. The outbreak of noroviruses infections has been recognized in PyeongChang Winter Olympics, starting with security staffs from February 3, 2018.

Bottled tea beverages (BTB) are popular for the benefits to human health and convenience. Because Chlorpyrifos (CP) is commonly used as a biomarker for exposure as well as a pesticide in the field, it is important to determine the dynamics of CP dissipation in BTB in order to better perform risk assessments.

Toxoplasma gondii , hepatitis E virus (HEV) and Salmonella are zoonotic foodborne pathogens that may be transmitted to humans through the consumption of raw or undercooked pork.  The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of anti- Toxoplasma gondii , anti-HEV and anti- Salmonella antibodies from healthy pigs at slaughter in Switzerland.

Poultry remains one of the top food commodities responsible for foodborne illness in the U.S., despite poultry industry efforts since the inception of HACCP to reduce the burden of foodborne illness implicating poultry products. The appropriate use of antimicrobial compounds during processing of raw poultry can help minimize this risk. Currently, peroxyacetic acid (PAA) is the most popular antimicrobial in the poultry industry, displacing chlorine compounds and others.

This study aimed to investigate the inactivation of foodborne pathogens and the quality characteristics of fresh chicken breasts after Ultraviolet-C light-emitting diode (UVC-LED) treatment. Fresh chicken breasts were separately inoculated with Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes at an initia population of 6.01, 5.80, and 6.22 log 10 CFU/cm 2 , respectively, then were treated by UVC-LED at 1000 to 4000 mJ/cm 2 .

Study was carried out to evaluate the incidence of mycobiota and contamination of AFB 1  in sesame seeds from rainfed and irrigated zones of the Punjab, Pakistan. For this purpose, 100 sesame seed samples were collected directly from the fields of major sesame-producing areas of the rainfed and irrigated zone. Samples were subjected to the Agar Plate Method for the isolation of mycobiota and thin-layer chromatography for AFB 1 contaminations.