Rapid colorimetric detection and potent eradication of Staphylococcus aureus in dairy products via a dual-functional magnetic mesoporous manganese oxide nanozyme probe.

Domestic food markets are of significant importance to Kosovar and Albanian companies because access to export markets is under-developed, partly as a result of the gaps in food safety and quality standards. Kosovar and Albanian consumers’ use of food safety attributes and their evaluation of the quality of domestic food versus imported food are the research objectives of this study. The paper is based on a structured consumer survey of 300 Kosovars and 349 Albanians analyzing their perceptions of issues related to food safety and quality, measured through two respective batteries of items using a 5-point Likert scale. We used the t-test to identify differences between populations, correlation analysis and the bootstrapping method. Despite the prevalent problems with food safety, consumers in both countries consider domestic food to be safer as well as of higher quality than imported products. Kosovars are more likely than Albanians to perceive domestic food products to be significantly better than imported products. Female and better educated consumers use information related to food safety more often. Expiry date, domestic and local origin, and brand reputation are the most frequently used safety and quality cues for both samples. International food standards such as ISO or HACCP are less frequently used as quality cues by these consumer groups. It is important to strengthen the institutional framework related to food safety and quality following best practices from EU countries.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate restaurant employee behaviors and their likelihood of intervening when witnessing food safety threats.Design/methodology/approachA mixed method was used for this study with the focus group interview and survey questionnaire. A total of eight focus groups ranging in number of participants from to 6 to 12 were asked to respond to presented scenarios that depicted restaurant employees committing food safety risk behaviors and threats in the restaurant environment that would present food safety risks such as out-of-stock bathroom supplies, dirty tables in the restaurant dining area, employee personal hygiene issues and unclean production equipment. These participants were also asked to complete a draft of the survey that would later be edited and distributed to the sample population.FindingsResults suggest that social norms and perceived severity of threats impact the likelihood that restaurant employees will intervene. Implications for academics and practitioners are discussed.Originality/valueThis study was special as it provides a synthetic viewpoint that considers how service organizations can work to do a better job of interviewing employees before starting their jobs about their beliefs and personal practices of food safety at home, their previous work in the restaurant industry and food safety culture that they may have worked in before, as well as increasing the communication in restaurants to build a food safety culture. These practices can help to lower risks to the public regarding food safety and can help to build relationship trust in the brands that we all love to indulge in when dining out.

Introduction: Controlling the presence of contaminants or harmful substances in milk and dairy products provides early detection of risks since their presence, even in legally permitted concentration, increases the risk of damaging human health, especially children's health, such as allergic manifestations, and they can have potentially toxic, carcinogenic and genotoxic effects. Aim of the Study: The aim is to determine the frequency of the presence of contaminants in samples of milk and dairy products in the Republic of Srpska from 2010 to 2012 (metals, radionuclides, aflatoxins and residues of antibiotics and pesticides), and especially to point out their public health significance because of possible health risks. The aim of the paper is to emphasize the need for monitoring all the other contaminants in milk and dairy products specified in regulations. Material and Methods: The frequency of the presence of contaminants in the samples of milk and dairy products (n= 407) was determined on the basis of legally prescribed methodology of sampling, chemical analyses and preparation of expert opinion on food safety in accordance with current food regulations. Descriptive statistical indicators were used (a number of the samples, minimum and maximum concentrations). Chi square test (χ2) of contingency was used for testing the significance of differences in presence of contaminants and residues analyzed and recommended by regulations in samples of milk and dairy products. Results: The results of public health research of contaminants in samples of milk and dairy products indicate that no health defective food samples were determined at tested parameters - metals, radionuclides, aflatoxins, and residues of antibiotics and pesticides. A statistically significant number of samples examined on heavy metal content (83.29% or 339 samples) was determined comparing to the number of samples examined on the other contaminants and residues recommended by regulations in milk and dairy products (χ2=1000.776, p<0.001) Conclusion: The data obtained can serve as a basis for further analysis in the context of milk and dairy product sample monitoring. Although samples of milk and dairy products are safe, a long-term exposure to residues of harmful substances results in cumulative effect and damage health, meaning that each early detection of food risk found through continuous controls has a public health significance for preservation and promotion of population health in the Republic of Srpska.

Preventive Strategy Against Infectious Diarrhea—A Holistic Approach

Evaluating the status quo of deep eutectic solvent in food chemistry. Potentials and limitations

Summary This study investigates the strength of the relationship between the destination choices of respondents and the perceived risk of food-borne illnesses, as well as respondents' sources of information regarding food safety prior to traveling. Results indicate that food safety was of secondary importance to respondents with frequent travelers more willing to discount the use of food safety in their travel decisions. Female respondents were likely to regard food safety as more important than their male counterparts. Africa was the top region that most respondents would avoid due to food safety concerns. Friends and relatives, travel agents, and magazines and newspapers were the most common sources turned to for health and food safety information. Travel agents were not perceived as a reliable source of food safety information.

Background: Food safety knowledge (FSK) is the understanding of food learned from skills or schooling while food safety attitude (FSA) refers to sensation or belief about food safety, and food safety practice refers (FSP) to the act or use of food safety. In the absence of well-maintained and proper food handling practices in mass catering establishments, they have the potential to impart a disastrous effect on human health. This study was conducted with the aim to assess the knowledge and food hygiene practices among food handlers deployed in various food establishments in Saifai developmental block, Etawah district, Uttar Pradesh.Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among all (109) the food handlers above 15 years age working at all the food establishments registered or unregistered with district administration in Saifai developmental block of district Etawah from September2020-October 2020. Results: Out of 76 eligible participants, 62 (81.5%) were males as compared to females 14 (18.5%). Majority of the food handlers 36 (47.3%) were aware that disease transmission was through contaminated water followed by contaminated hands (34.2%). 68 (89.4%). Responses of males and females on various questions related to food safety practices were found to be statistically significant (p&lt;0.05) which shows a difference in knowledge of same question in males and females.Conclusion: Food-handlers in the study area had satisfactory knowledge related to food safety, general and personal hygiene, cleaning and sanitation procedures. However, this did not translate into strict food hygiene practices. Routine medical examination of food handlers must be carried by health officers.

Changing consumer attitudes show an increased interest in non-chemical antimicrobials in food preservation and safety. This greater interest of consumers in more ‘natural’ or ‘clean-label’ food interventions is complicated by concurrent demands for minimally processed, ready-to-eat (RTE) foods with long shelf lives. Two viable interventions are bacteriophage (phage) and bacteriocins, a number of which have already been approved for use in food safety. Listeriosis is a serious foodborne infection which affects at-risk members of the population. Listeriosis incidence has increased between 2008 and 2015 and has a case fatality rate of up to 20% with antibiotic intervention. Here, we tested an intervention to attempt to control a pathogenic Listeria monocytogenes strain in a food model using two of these alternative antimicrobials. Phage P100 on its own had a significant effect on L. monocytogenes ScottA numbers in coleslaw over a 10-day period at 4 °C (p ≤ 0.001). A combination of P100 and Nisaplin® (a commercial formulation of the lantibiotic bacteriocin, nisin) had a significant effect on the pathogen (p ≤ 0.001). P100 and Nisaplin® in combination were more effective than Nisaplin® alone, but not P100 alone.

Each year millions of children are enrolled in center-based childcare. Childcare employees are tasked with handling over half the children’s weekly meals. Proper food handling practices are crucial in mitigating this high-risk population’s risk of foodborne illness. The purpose of this study was to identify childcare food handling employees’ (n = 278) perceived barriers and motivators to follow recommended food safety practices. Six important barriers and 14 key motivators to following recommended food safety practices were identified. Important barriers pertained to time restraints, workloads, and lack of understanding of the importance of following proper food safety practices. Key motivators were focused on children’s safety, available supplies, communication, and food safety training/information. Employee and facility characteristics were shown to influence perceived importance of barriers and motivators to following food safety practices. Childcare directors should review scheduling and job duties of employees as the majority of identified barriers focused on “work pace” and “time restraints.” Directors should also attempt to increase food safety communication through practical situational training, written food safety policies, and use of food safety signage to increase understanding of the importance of proper food safety practices. Ensuring proper supplies are available is necessary.

Serious social, economic, and ecological consequences of climate change due to the high levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in our atmosphere resulting from a wide range of human activities including the burning of fossil fuels and land use have impacted weather events world over. Extreme weather events and warmer global temperatures are likely to be more frequent with an adverse overall effect on agricultural production unless there is an urgent reduction in GHG emissions. There is thus an immediate need for increasing adaptive capacity in agriculture to long-term climatic trends and increasing variability in weather patterns. Climate change also poses significant challenges to global food safety due to the emergence of new pathogens, insect pests, and toxicants. Food safety threats cause an enormous burden on economies due to disruptions or restrictions in global and regional agrifood trade, food loss, and associated income. Food safety thus plays a critical role across the four pillars of food security-availability, access, utilization, and stability. Climate change is likely to create new safety issues entailing reassessing our tolerance to risk and safety limits presently established for the human food chain. The present review focuses on the factors affecting food security and safety as a consequence of climate change and the pre- and postharvest strategies that need to be adopted to mitigate these effects for enhancing food safety and global food sufficiency in future.

Serious social, economic, and ecological consequences of climate change due to the high levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in our atmosphere resulting from a wide range of human activities including the burning of fossil fuels and land use have impacted weather events world over. Extreme weather events and warmer global temperatures are likely to be more frequent with an adverse overall effect on agricultural production unless there is an urgent reduction in GHG emissions. There is thus an immediate need for increasing adaptive capacity in agriculture to long-term climatic trends and increasing variability in weather patterns. Climate change also poses significant challenges to global food safety due to the emergence of new pathogens, insect pests, and toxicants. Food safety threats cause an enormous burden on economies due to disruptions or restrictions in global and regional agrifood trade, food loss, and associated income. Food safety thus plays a critical role across the four pillars of food security—availability, access, utilization, and stability. Climate change is likely to create new safety issues entailing reassessing our tolerance to risk and safety limits presently established for the human food chain. The present review focuses on the factors affecting food security and safety as a consequence of climate change and the pre- and postharvest strategies that need to be adopted to mitigate these effects for enhancing food safety and global food sufficiency in future.

Food safety and quality assurance are one of the important pillars of any management systems, and the applicability of these systems in the dairy industry is integral when the focus is on customer safety. The use of food safety and quality assurance in dairy plants is very important to eliminate chemical and microbiological hazards. Strict regulatory law implementation in the dairy industries and long-term planning is required to achieve and ensure the quality and safety of dairy products. For the said purpose, implementation of pre-requisite programs like training of personnel, good manufacturing practices (GMP), etc. are needed. Operational pre-requisite programs and risk analysis need to be established for the effective applicability of HACCP that determines physical, chemical, and microbiological hazards in the dairy industry. Food Safety systems based on HACCP approaches, integrated with ISO 9000, 22000, 14000 and OHSOS systems look for hazards or any factors that may harm product safety and implement control measures.

Staphylococcus aureus Food Poisoning is a common cause of food-borne disease worldwide. Of particular relevance is the ability of some Staphylococcus aureus strains to produce heat stable enterotoxins that cause staphylococcal food poisoning, which ranks as one of the most prevalent worldwide causes of gastroenteritis. Several studies have shown that 15% to 80% of the Staphylococcus aureus isolated from various sources (dairy products, ice heavy cream, meat products) is able to produce enterotoxin. Classically, enterotoxins from Staphylococcus aureus strains can be classified into 18 serological types: A-U (except S, F and T), most of these serotypes are heat stable. The percentage of samples of milk and milk products contaminated with S. aurues in the current study were 46% which is higher than that reported by who detected S. aureus in 17 % and 32 % respectively of the analyzed samples of milk and milk products. Staphylococcal enterotoxins are low molecular weight proteins (MW 26.900 – 29,600).They are encoded by genes embedded in mobile genetic elements such as phages and pathogenicity islands .There are several methods for detection of enterotoxigeneic bacteria. The phonotypical methods are not reliable in specificity, because staphylococcal enterotoxins serotypes are antigenically similar. On the other hand, commercial serological kits can not detect all the serotypes and are limited in serotypes (A-B). Therefore, molecular techniques such as multiplex polymerase chain reaction and real-time polymerase chain reaction are recommended for detection of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxins genes.

Magnetic solid phase extraction with carbon-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles coupled to HPLC-UV for the simultaneous determination of losartan, carvedilol, and amlodipine besylate in plasma samples

This thesis investigates the integral roles of Food Safety and Environmental Management within the wine industry's sustainability framework in the context of the European Commission's Farm to Fork Strategy, part of the ambitious European Green Deal. With the global imperative for sustainable agriculture intensifying, the wine sector presents a unique case for embedding eco-friendly practices that not only ensure its longevity but also foster environmental awareness. Through rigorous empirical analysis, this research unveils a high adoption rate of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points systems alongside Environmental Management Systems within wineries, marking a significant shift towards sustainable operations. However, it also exposes a critical need for an enhanced focus on food safety performance and environmental management by wineries to advance towards sustainability in wine production. By proposing a sustainability matrix as a quantitative evaluation tool, this work illuminates the performance of wineries with respect to Food Safety and Environmental Management standards, highlighting the need for their integrated application with other components linked to its value chain aimed at achieving an improvement in the overall sustainability of the wine sector. The findings advocate for a unified approach to Food Safety and Environmental Management practices, highlighting their indispensability in achieving broader sustainability goals. Offering actionable insights, this thesis serves as a valuable resource for policymakers, industry stakeholders, and scholars dedicated to advancing environmental resilience and sustainability in agricultural practices, particularly within the viticulture domain. RESUMEN Esta tesis investiga los roles integrales de la Seguridad Alimentaria y la Gestión Ambiental dentro del marco de sostenibilidad de la industria vinícola en el contexto de la Estrategia De la Granja a la Mesa de la Comisión Europea, como parte del ambicioso Pacto Verde Europeo. Con el imperativo global para la agricultura sostenible intensificándose, el sector del vino presenta un caso único para la incorporación de prácticas ecológicas que no solo aseguran su longevidad, sino que también fomentan el compromiso ambiental. A través de un análisis empírico riguroso, esta investigación revela una alta tasa de adopción de sistemas de Análisis de Peligros y Puntos Críticos de Control junto con Sistemas de Gestión Ambiental dentro de las bodegas, marcando un cambio significativo hacia operaciones sostenibles. Sin embargo, también expone una necesidad crítica de un enfoque mejorado en el desempeño de la seguridad alimentaria y la gestión ambiental por parte de las bodegas para avanzar hacia la sostenibilidad en la producción de vino. Al proponer una matriz de sostenibilidad como herramienta de evaluación cuantitativa, este trabajo arroja luz sobre el rendimiento de las bodegas respecto a los estándares de Seguridad Alimentaria y Gestión Ambiental, subrayando la necesidad de su aplicación integrada con otros componentes vinculados a su cadena de valor dirigida a conseguir una mejora de la sostenibilidad global del sector vitivinícola. Los hallazgos abogan por un enfoque unificado de prácticas de Seguridad Alimentaria y Gestión Ambiental, resaltando su indispensabilidad para alcanzar objetivos de sostenibilidad más amplios. Ofreciendo información práctica, esta tesis sirve como un recurso valioso para formuladores de políticas, partes interesadas de la industria y académicos dedicados a avanzar en la resiliencia ambiental y la sostenibilidad en prácticas agrícolas, particularmente dentro del dominio de la viticultura.