Food Safety Issues Research Articles

The Pressing Issue of Food safety for Infants and the Role of the Pediatrician

The Pressing Issue of Food safety for Infants and the Role of the Pediatrician

Emergence of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae species complex from agrifood systems: detection of ST6326 co-producing KPC-2 and NDM-1.

Klebsiella pneumoniae species complex (KpSC) is an important disseminator of carbapenemase-encoding genes, mainly blaKPC-2 and blaNDM-1, from hospitals to the environment. Consequently, carbapenem-resistant strains can be spread through the agrifood system, raising concerns about food safety. This study therefore aimed to isolate carbapenem-resistant KpSC strains from the agricultural and environmental sectors and characterize them using phenotypic, molecular, and genomic analyses. Klebsiella pneumoniae and Klebsiella quasipneumoniae strains isolated from soils used for lemon, guava, and fig cultivation, and from surface waters, displayed an extensive drug-resistance profile and carried blaKPC-2, blaNDM-1, or both. In addition to carbapenemase-encoding genes, KpSC strains harbor a broad resistome (antimicrobial resistance and metal tolerance) and present putative hypervirulence. Soil-derived K. pneumoniae strains were assigned as high-risk clones (ST11 and ST307) and harbored the blaKPC-2 gene associated with Tn4401b and Tn3-like elements on IncN-pST15 and IncX5 plasmids. In surface waters, the coexistence of blaKPC-2 and blaNDM-1 genes was identified in K. pneumoniae ST6326, a new carbapenem-resistant regional Brazilian clone. In this case, blaKPC-2 with Tn4401a isoform and blaNDM-1 associated with a Tn125-like transposon were located on different plasmids. Klebsiella quasipneumoniae ST526 also presented the blaNDM-1 gene associated with a Tn3000 transposon on an IncX3 plasmid. These findings provide a warning regarding the transmission of carbapenemase-positive KpSC across the agricultural and environmental sectors, raising critical food safety and environmental issues. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Antibiofilm activity and synergistic effects of DNase I and Lysostaphin against Staphylococcus aureus biofilms

Abstract In recent years, food safety has become the focus of global public health concerns. Microbial contamination is one of the most common food safety issues. Staphylococcus aureus is a common foodborne pathogen that can form biofilms on the surface of food processing equipment, leading to greater resistance to antimicrobial agents than occurs with planktonic bacteria. In this work, recombinant Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) cells expressing optimised lysostaphin (Lst) were constructed, recombinant Lst was produced and purified, and Lst enzymatic assays were performed, followed by antimicrobial testing of Lst. Finally, a mixture of Lst and DNase I was tested for antibiofilm activity. The protein content of purified Lst was 0.6 mg/mL and the enzyme activity was 240 U/mL. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Lst against S. aureus was 0.1 μg/mL. At 1 MIC, Lst exerted an effect on the growth, cell wall integrity and cell membrane permeability of S. aureus. Although Lst alone also showed good inhibition and disruption of S. aureus biofilms, inhibition and disruption of S. aureus biofilms was significantly greater when Lst was mixed with DNase I. This is probably because DNase I removes extracellular DNA, affecting biofilm formation and dispersing mature biofilms, and thereby facilitating penetration of Lst.

Fungal Diversity in Wet and Dry Ripe Plantains: Isolation, Identification, and Implications for Public Health

The persistent inadequacy of storage facilities in in globally and more prevalent in developing nations leads to substantial annual losses of harvested agricultural produce, severely impacting the economic stability of local farmers. This investigation focuses on the critical public health implications arising from the fungal contamination of stored plantain chips, a delicacy snack in Nigeria, West Africa. Notably, the fungal species isolated, which are Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium chrysogenum, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Aspergillus fumigatus, Fusarium spp., Rhizopus stolonifer, and Mucor spp. are critical from a public health perspective. Species such as Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger are particularly concerning due to their capacity to produce aflatoxins, which are among the most carcinogenic substances known and have been linked to liver cancer and immune system suppression. The prevalence of these mycotoxins not only compromises the nutritional integrity and safety of the plantain chips but poses severe risks to consumers, highlighting a broader issue of food security and safety. This study brings to the fore the pressing need for interventions that enhance the storage conditions and decrease fungal contamination, thereby reducing the exposure of the population to mycotoxins. The implications of this research extend beyond the economic damage to encompass significant public health concerns, emphasizing the critical need for regulatory, technical, and infrastructural developments to uphold the microbial quality of plantain both in wet and dry states, ensuring safe consumption.

Prevalence, Molecular Detection, and Antimicrobial Resistance of Salmonella Isolates from Poultry Farms across Central Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study in Urban and Peri-Urban Areas.

A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the prevalence, molecular detection, and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella isolates within 162 poultry farms in selected urban and peri-urban areas of central Ethiopia. A total of 1515 samples, including cloacal swabs (n = 763), fresh fecal droppings (n = 188), litter (n = 188), feed (n = 188), and water (n = 188), were bacteriologically tested. The molecular detection of some culture-positive isolates was performed via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) by targeting spy and sdfl genes for Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Enteritidis, respectively. Risk factors for the occurrence of the bacterial isolates were assessed. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of PCR-confirmed Salmonella isolates was conducted using 12 antibiotics. In this study, it was observed that 50.6% of the farms were positive for Salmonella. The overall sample-level prevalence of Salmonella was 14.4%. Among the analyzed risk factors, the type of production, breed, and sample type demonstrated a statistically significant association (p < 0.05) with the bacteriological prevalence of Salmonella. The PCR test disclosed that 45.5% (15/33) and 23.3% (10/43) of the isolates were positive for genes of Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Enteritidis, respectively. The antimicrobial susceptibility test disclosed multi-drug resistance to ten of the tested antibiotics that belong to different classes. Substantial isolation of Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Enteritidis in poultry and on poultry farms, along with the existence of multi-drug resistant isolates, poses an alarming risk of zoonotic and food safety issues. Hence, routine flock testing, farm surveillance, biosecurity intervention, stringent antimicrobial use regulations, and policy support for the sector are highly needed.

UV−Curable choline chloride and bromophenol red covalent functionalized chitosan antibacterial and pH−sensitive hydrogels

Food safety and food freshness issues have become important concerns for consumers and hydrogels with high antibacterial efficiency, low toxicity and pH−sensitive colorimetric intelligence are one of candidates to meet the requirement of food package and food spoilage monitoring. Nevertheless, hydrogels prepared only by assembling the ingredients with non−covalent interactions through time−consuming molding process usually encounter drawbacks such as relatively poor mechanical properties, stability and thermal stability, which always restrict their further applications. To overwhelm these shortcomings, UV−curable choline chloride (ChCl) and bromophenol red (BR) covalent functionalized antibacterial and pH−sensitive cross−linked hydrogels (UV−hydrogels) were developed in this paper. The UV−hydrogels possessed good thermal stability because the initiated thermal decomposition temperature (Td5) is in the range of 135.8–184.7 °C. The DMA analysis revealed that the UV−hydrogels are with good mechanical properties because the elongation at break is in the range of 117–525% and the tensile strength is in the range of 0.8–2.7 MPa. The UV−hydrogels with BR groups exhibited naked eye visible color variation from yellow to dark blue-green with the variation of the pH values from 2 to 14. The antibacterial efficiency of the UV−hydrogels against S. aureus, E. coli and M. albican increased with the increment of covalent−grafted ChCl amount. Cytotoxicity assay demonstrated that the UV−hydrogels are low toxicity against L929 cells. The experiment of monitoring freshness of beef denoted the UV−hydrogels have potential application in animal–derived high protein food packaging and freshness monitoring.

Content of Toxic Elements (Arsenic, Cadmium, Mercury, Lead) in Eggs from an Ethically Managed Laying Hen Farm.

Domestic chicken farming has been promoted and spread in several Italian municipalities and worldwide as an aid to the self-consumption of domestically produced food. This study investigated the levels of four toxic elements (As, Cd, Hg, and Pb) in eggs from an ethical laying hen farm, comparing the element concentrations with those possibly present in supermarket eggs. A total of 201 eggs, 141 from the farm and produced by different hen genotypes, and 60 from the supermarket, were collected. The levels of the toxic elements were evaluated in the yolk, albumen, and eggshells of all eggs. The results show that the supermarket eggs' yolk and albumen were more contaminated with lead, compared to the rural eggs. Contrarily, the mean content of arsenic was higher in the albumen and eggshells of the rural eggs, compared to the supermarket eggs. The cadmium content was below the LOQ (0.005 mg/kg) in all samples. The mercury content was below or around the LOQ in all rural eggs. Overall, the supermarket egg albumens were significantly more contaminated than the rural ones. No significant differences were found in quality parameters for both types of eggs. The toxic element values that were detected were in line with other studies in the literature. However, despite the concentrations found not representing a risk to the consumers' health, the results of this study raise a potential food safety issue, and it would be desirable to set specific MRLs for eggs for consumers' protection.

The effect of carvacrol, thymol, eugenol and α-terpineol in combination with vacuum packaging on quality indicators of anchovy fillets

Food safety issues associated with the increased use of synthetic and chemicals preservatives agents are receiving increasing attention. The utilisation of natural resources may provide a potential and advisable alternative to chemical preservatives in the seafood industry. This research study focused on the impacts of pure bioactive compounds (carvacrol, thymol, eugenol, and α-terpineol) on the sensory and microbiological (total viable count, TVC) and chemical qualities (total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) value, thiobarbituric acid (TBA), free fatty acid (FFA), and peroxide value (PV)) of vacuumed packaged anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) fillets during the refrigerated storage period. This study also evaluated the potential effect of bioactive compounds on biogenic amines (BAs) and ammonia (AMN) production in fish samples. Sensory investigations revealed that the control had an 8-day shelf life, that of the carvacrol and α-terpineol treatment was 15 days, and that of the thymol and eugenol treatment was 19 days. The application of bioactive compound on fish had a positive impact on the preservation of its oxidative stability through the reduction of TBA, FFA, and PV values as well as enhancement of the microbiological quality in comparision to the control. The use of pure bioactive compounds resulted in the reduction of the accumulation of BAs and AMN in anchovy fillets during 22 days of storage. The results exhibited that the pure bioactive compounds mainly eugenol and thymol, can increase the shelf life of anchovy. Therefore, they can be used by seafood industries as preservative agents due to their good antimicrobial and antioxidant activities.

Analysis of the original notifications in the Tuscany region “Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed” in the seven-year period 2015-2021

The original notifications (n=1355) managed by the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed of the Tuscany region in the seven-year period 2015-2021 were analyzed. 68.9% of them were classified as alert notifications, and they mostly originated (56.3%) from official controls on the market, followed by the company's own checks (29.1%). Italy was the most represented notifying country (73.3%) and the most represented country of origin of the notified products (64.5%). Out of the 28 considered food categories, “fish and products thereof” (F), “cereals and bakery products” (C), “bivalve mollusks and products thereof” (B), and “meat and meat products (other than poultry)” (M) were the most notified. F were especially notified for the presence of heavy metals (45.7%), C for undeclared allergens (32.1%), B for microbial contaminants (Escherichia coli, 49.6%), and M for pathogenic microorganisms (55.9%), mostly Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes. This study provides an updated framework for the main food safety issues at the regional level. The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed should be periodically analyzed to evaluate historical trends and emerging or poorly known hazards. This is especially important for the planning of official control activities and the prevention of risks through the food supply chain.

Integrated transcriptomics and metabolomics reveal the mechanism of intestinal damage upon acute patulin exposure in mice

Mycotoxin contamination has become a major food safety issue and greatly threatens human and animal health. Patulin (PAT), a common mycotoxin in the environment, is exposed through the food chain and damages the gastrointestinal tract. However, its mechanism of enterotoxicity at the genetic and metabolic levels remains to be elucidated. Herein, the intestinal histopathological and biochemical indices, transcriptome, and metabolome of C57BL/6 J mice exposed to different doses of PAT were successively assessed, as well as the toxicokinetics of PAT in vivo. The results showed that acute PAT exposure induced damaged villi and crypts, reduced mucus secretion, decreased SOD and GSH-Px activities, and enhanced MPO activity in the small intestine and mild damage in the colon. At the transcriptional level, the genes affected by PAT were dose-dependently altered in the small intestine and fluctuated in the colon. PAT primarily affected inflammation-related signaling pathways and oxidative phosphorylation in the small intestine and immune responses in the colon. At the metabolic level, amino acids decreased, and extensive lipids accumulated in the small intestine and colon. Seven metabolic pathways were jointly affected by PAT in two intestinal sites. Moreover, changes in PAT products and GST activity were detected in the small intestinal tissue but not in the colonic tissue, explaining the different damage degrees of the two sites. Finally, the integrated results collectively explained the toxicological mechanism of PAT, which damaged the small intestine directly and the colon indirectly. These results paint a clear panorama of intestinal changes after PAT exposure and provide valuable information on the exposure risk and toxic mechanism of PAT.

A novel IFN-CSM-CoCoSo approach for multiple-attribute group decision-making with intuitionistic fuzzy sets: An application in assessing corporate social responsibility performance

With the rapid growth of the economy, enterprises have encountered a series of problems while pursuing economic benefits, such as food safety and environmental pollution issues, resource shortages and energy consumption issues, which affect the sustainable development of enterprises. Establishing a corporate performance evaluation system from the perspective of social responsibility, based on stakeholder theory and the importance of overall goals reflected in the weight of social responsibility indicators, is a very effective measure to achieve corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals through CSR motivation and stakeholders. The performance evaluation of CSR from the perspective of environmental accounting is a MAGDM. Recently, the CoCoSo technique and cosine similarity measure (CSM) technique was utilized to conduct the MAGDM. The intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFSs) are utilized as a technique for conducting uncertain information during the performance evaluation of CSR from the perspective of environmental accounting. In this study, the intuitionistic fuzzy CoCoSo based on the CSM (IFN-CSM-CoCoSo) technique is built for MAGDM with IFSs. Finally, a numerical example for performance evaluation of CSR from the perspective of environmental accounting is conducted to verify the IFN-CSM-CoCoSo technique.

PH Responsive Properties of Methyl Red/PVA Polymers for Smart Food Packaging Applications

Responsive polymers in particular have gained increasing interest during the last decades due to their unique properties. Their Ability to exhibit sharp and reversible changes in response to environmental pH condition have made them suitable for various applications. The pH responsive polymeric materials are being developed by the researcher in the recent year for the improvement of food safety issue in the packaging materials. In this study organic methyl red (MR) dye is used as a pH indicator induced with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films prepared by solution casting method. The prepared samples were characterized for microstructural, morphological, mechanical, water absorption and pH responsive properties using various analytical techniques. The XRD analysis has shown better crystallinity property which is in good agreement with the mechanical strength of the material. The morphological studies have shown homogeneous dispersion of MR on PVA matrix and change in the morphology of the MR/PVA polymer composites after acid treatment. The MR/PVA films were treated with rotten papaya fruit and change occurred in the samples were identified using UV-vis spectrometric analysis. The prepared MR/PVA pH-responsive polymers have shown good pH reactivity in the range of pH 4.5 to 6.5. Overall, the prepared samples have good pH responsive properties with additional qualities like good optical, structural, and mechanical characteristics.

Indonesian Agricultural Industry Innovation to Create World Food Storage in 2045

The issue of food safety and food security has become an international concern, given the increasing global food demand due to the food crisis caused by the Covid 19 pandemic. Indonesia is trying to become a global food supplier through the Indonesian government's vision of "World Food Barn 2045". This article uses the approach of the theoretical debate between Ester Boserup, Mark Nathan Cohen, Michael Lipton, Parker G. Marden, and Warren C. Robinson which states that there is a relationship between variables of food availability, changes in agricultural technology, and population growth in the world. The results of the author's research in this article assume that in handling the issue of the global food crisis it is necessary for each country to sustain the event, Indonesia seeks to sustain the global food crisis through the implementation of an "Integrated Agriculture System" that integrates the agricultural sector and the livestock sector.

Organic food production among Chinese urban botanists

Organic food production is recognized by most countries and regions worldwide as a method of ecological and environmental protection because traditional agricultural practices significantly use pesticides and other chemicals, creating severe issues regarding the ecological, environmental, and food safety issues. Most research on organic production focuses on large-scale organic production. This study focuses on growing noncommercial, small-scale urban organic food using the value-belief-norm (VBN) model to explore the pro-environmental behavior regarding organic food production from a psychological perspective. We employed nonprobability sampling because of the absence of a sampling framework for the target population. We obtained a sample of 621 respondents from noncommercial urban botanists in China followed by quantitative methods to examine the relationships among variables using partial least squares structural equation modeling. This study focused on organic food behavior by modifying the VBN theory, which built trust in organic food production methods and developed a structural equation model to explain the underlying motivational factors that influenced the propensity to grow organic food. Finally, the path analysis results demonstrated that all hypothesized associations were statistically significant, except for the ecological worldview on personal norms and trust in organic food production, and personal norms on intention toward organic food production. Overall, the results of this study verify the validity of the VBN theory in the context of organic food consumption as a pro-environmental behavior. Therefore, relevant departments and governments should take measures to promote organic food production in China from a psychological perspective.

Eco-Friendly and Self-Sanitizing Microporous Cellulose Sponge (MCS)-Based Cooling Media for Mitigating Microbial Cross-Contamination in the Food Cold Chain.

Maintaining precise temperature control is vital for cold chain food transport, as temperature fluctuations can cause significant food safety and quality issues. During transport, ice that melts can promote the growth of microbes and their spread, resulting in microbial cross-contamination. This study developed sustainable, non-melting, self-sanitizing "ice cubes" using food grade compositions including microporous cellulose sponges (MCS) and photosensitizers, aimed at enhancing temperature regulation and minimizing microbial contamination in the cold chain. Upon absorbing water, the MCS matched traditional ice in cooling efficiency and heat absorption and exhibit remarkable mechanical and thermal durability, withstanding multiple freeze-thaw cycles and compressive stresses. The cationic MCS combined with erythrosine B demonstrated strong self-sanitizing capabilities, effectively reducing microbial cross-contamination in food models. Additionally, the release rates of photosensitizers from the MCS can be modulated by altering environmental ionic strength. This research offers viable solutions to address microbial cross-contamination challenges in current cold chain systems.

Food and You 2: Wave 6 Key Findings

Food and You 2 is a biannual ‘Official Statistic’ survey commissioned by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The survey measures consumers’ self-reported knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to food safety and other food issues amongst adults in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Fieldwork for Food and You 2: Wave 6 was conducted between 12th October 2022 and 10th January 2023. A total of 5,991 adults (aged 16 years or over) from 4,217 households across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland completed the ‘push-to-web’ survey (see Annex A for more information about the methodology). The modules presented in this report include ‘Food you can trust’, ‘Concerns about food’, ‘Food security’, ‘Eating at home’, ‘Food hypersensitivities’ and ‘Eating out and takeaways’.

A magnetic graphene oxide and UiO-66 based homogeneous dual recognition electrochemical aptasensor for accurate and sensitive detection of aflatoxin B1

Aflatoxin (AFs) contamination is one of the serious food safety issues. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is the most common and toxic aflatoxin, which has been classified as a class 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). It is extremely destructive to liver tissue. Developing a convenient and sensitive detection technique is essential. In this paper, we developed a homogeneous dual recognition strategy based electrochemical aptasensor for accurate and sensitive detection of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) based on the magnetic graphene oxide (MGO) and UiO-66. The MGO was synthesized for the recognition and magnetic separation of AFB1 from complex samples. UiO-66/ferrocenecarboxylic acid (Fc)/aptamer composites were constructed as both recognition and signal probes. The probes would specifically capture AFB1 enriched by MGO, which enables dual recognition in homogeneous solution, thus further improving the accuracy of AFB1 detection. The electrochemical aptasensor for AFB1 had a linear range from 0.005 to 500 ng mL−1. Additionally, the limit of detection was 1 pg mL−1. It shows a favorable potential for both sensitive and accurate detection of AFB1 in real samples.

Consumers’ purchase propensity for pasta tracked with blockchain technology and labelled with sustainable credence attributes

IntroductionPasta is a key product in Italy’s agri-food industry, consumed due to its ease of preparation, nutritional richness, and cultural importance. Evolving consumer awareness has prompted adaptations in the pasta market, to address concerns about social, environmental, quality, and food safety issues. This study examines Italian consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for pasta in local markets, analysing their behaviours and preferences.MethodsFor this purpose, we used a discrete choice experiment (DCE) technique combined with a latent variable model. We also collected 397 valid online questionnaires.Results and DiscussionThe results reveal an interest utility among all respondents to pay a price premium of €1.16, €0.82, €0.62, €0.41, and €0.36 for 500 g of pasta, for the use of blockchain/QR code (BC) technology on the label, providing data on credence attributes such as safety, environmental and social sustainability as well as business innovative practices, respectively. As such, this research has private and public implications. On one hand, this research may bridge the scarcity in studies regarding consumer preferences and WTP for BC in the pasta value chain, preventing agricultural frauds, ensuring the sustainability and quality of agri-food products like pasta, and protecting and educating consumers through clear and transparent information. On the other hand, this research may incentivise pasta businesses to meet social and environmental consumers’ demands while simultaneously enhancing their financial performance.

Food Security and Foodborne Mycotoxicoses-What Should Be the Adequate Risk Assessment and Regulation?

The purpose of this review is to elucidate the actual threat of the most prevalent mycotoxins in agricultural commodities and human/animal food/feed for the induction of foodborne diseases or ailments. The underestimated hazard of combined mycotoxin uptake by animals or humans is critically discussed with regard to synergistic or additive interaction between some target mycotoxins. The real toxicity of target mycotoxin combinations as it happens in practice is evaluated and possible lower limit values or control measures are suggested in such cases. Some critical points on adequate risk assessment, hygiene control, and regulation of mycotoxins are discussed. The efficiency of current mycotoxin regulations and control measures is evaluated in regard to human/animal health hazards. The risk assessment in the case of multiple mycotoxin exposure of humans/animals via food/feed or agricultural commodities is evaluated and some suggestions are proposed in such cases. Appropriate control measures and food safety issues throughout the food supply chain are proposed in order to prevent the target foodborne diseases. Some preventive measures and possible veterinary hygiene controls or risk evaluations are proposed in some natural cases of foodborne diseases for preventing mycotoxin contamination of animal products designed for human consumption and to avoid possible public health issues.

A Review of Cyclic Imines in Shellfish: Worldwide Occurrence, Toxicity and Assessment of the Risk to Consumers.

Cyclic imines are a class of lipophilic shellfish toxins comprising gymnodimines, spirolides, pinnatoxins, portimines, pteriatoxins, prorocentrolides, spiro-prorocentrimine, symbiomines and kabirimine. They are structurally diverse, but all share an imine moiety as part of a bicyclic ring system. These compounds are produced by marine microalgal species and are characterized by the rapid death that they induce when injected into mice. Cyclic imines have been detected in a range of shellfish species collected from all over the world, which raises the question as to whether they present a food safety risk. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) considers them to be an emerging food safety issue, and in this review, the risk posed by these toxins to shellfish consumers is assessed by collating all available occurrence and toxicity data. Except for pinnatoxins, the risk posed to human health by the cyclic imines appears low, although this is based on only a limited dataset. For pinnatoxins, two different health-based guidance values have been proposed at which the concentration should not be exceeded in shellfish (268 and 23 µg PnTX/kg shellfish flesh), with the discrepancy caused by the application of different uncertainty factors. Pinnatoxins have been recorded globally in multiple shellfish species at concentrations of up to 54 times higher than the lower guidance figure. Despite this observation, pinnatoxins have not been associated with recorded human illness, so it appears that the lower guidance value may be conservative. However, there is insufficient data to generate a more robust guidance value, so additional occurrence data and toxicity information are needed.