Meat is a rich source of energy that provides high-value animal protein, fats, vitamins, minerals and trace amounts of carbohydrates. Globally, different types of meats are consumed to fulfill nutritional requirements. However, the increasing burden on the livestock industry has triggered the mixing of high-price meat species with low-quality/-price meat. This work aimed to differentiate different meat samples on the basis of metabolites. The metabolic difference between various meat samples was investigated through Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy coupled with multivariate data analysis approaches like principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least square-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). In total, 37 metabolites were identified in the gluteal muscle tissues of cow, goat, donkey and chicken using 1H-NMR spectroscopy. PCA was found unable to completely differentiate between meat types, whereas OPLS-DA showed an apparent separation and successfully differentiated samples from all four types of meat. Lactate, creatine, choline, acetate, leucine, isoleucine, valine, formate, carnitine, glutamate, 3-hydroxybutyrate and α-mannose were found as the major discriminating metabolites between white (chicken) and red meat (chevon, beef and donkey). However, inosine, lactate, uracil, carnosine, format, pyruvate, carnitine, creatine and acetate were found responsible for differentiating chevon, beef and donkey meat. The relative quantification of differentiating metabolites was performed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey test. Our results showed that NMR-based metabolomics is a powerful tool for the identification of novel signatures (potential biomarkers) to characterize meats from different sources and could potentially be used for quality control purposes in order to differentiate different meat types.
Matched MeSH terms: Food Contamination/prevention & control
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) combined with multivariate calibration of partial least square (PLS) was developed and optimized for the analysis of Nigella seed oil (NSO) in binary and ternary mixtures with corn oil (CO) and soybean oil (SO). Based on PLS modeling performed, quantitative analysis of NSO in binary mixtures with CO carried out using the second derivative FTIR spectra at combined frequencies of 2977-3028, 1666-1739, and 740-1446 cm(-1) revealed the highest value of coefficient of determination (R (2), 0.9984) and the lowest value of root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC, 1.34% v/v). NSO in binary mixtures with SO is successfully determined at the combined frequencies of 2985-3024 and 752-1755 cm(-1) using the first derivative FTIR spectra with R (2) and RMSEC values of 0.9970 and 0.47% v/v, respectively. Meanwhile, the second derivative FTIR spectra at the combined frequencies of 2977-3028 cm(-1), 1666-1739 cm(-1), and 740-1446 cm(-1) were selected for quantitative analysis of NSO in ternary mixture with CO and SO with R (2) and RMSEC values of 0.9993 and 0.86% v/v, respectively. The results showed that FTIR spectrophotometry is an accurate technique for the quantitative analysis of NSO in binary and ternary mixtures with CO and SO.
Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is an important pathogen which has been responsible for many food-borne outbreaks. HAV-excreting food handlers, especially those with poor hygienic practices, can contaminate the foods which they handle. Consumption of such foods without further processing has been known to result in cases of infectious hepatitis. Since quantitative data on virus transfer during contact of hands with foods is not available, we investigated the transfer of HAV from artificially contaminated fingerpads of adult volunteers to pieces of fresh lettuce. Touching the lettuce with artificially contaminated fingerpads for 10 s at a pressure of 0.2 to 0.4 kg/cm(2) resulted in transfer of 9.2% +/- 0.9% of the infectious virus. The pretreatments tested to interrupt virus transfer from contaminated fingerpads included (i) hard-water rinsing and towel drying, (ii) application of a domestic or commercial topical agent followed by water rinsing and towel drying, and (iii) exposure to a hand gel containing 62% ethanol or 75% liquid ethanol without water rinsing or towel drying. When the fingerpads were treated with the topical agents or alcohol before the lettuce was touched, the amount of infectious virus transferred to lettuce was reduced from 9.2% to between 0.3 and 0.6% (depending on the topical agent used), which was a reduction in virus transfer of up to 30-fold. Surprisingly, no virus transfer to lettuce was detected when the fingerpads were rinsed with water alone before the lettuce was touched. However, additional experiments with water rinsing in which smaller volumes of water were used (1 ml instead of 15 ml) showed that the rate of virus transfer to lettuce was 0.3% +/- 0.1%. The variability in virus transfer rates following water rinsing may indicate that the volume of water at least in part influences virus removal from the fingerpads differently, a possibility which should be investigated further. This study provided novel information concerning the rate of virus transfer to foods and a model for investigating the transfer of viral and other food-borne pathogens from contaminated hands to foods, as well as techniques for interrupting such transfer to improve food safety.
Sprouts have gained popularity worldwide due to their nutritional values and health benefits. The fact that their consumption has been associated with numerous outbreaks of foodborne illness threatens the $250 million market that this industry has established in the United States. Therefore, sprout manufacturers have utilized the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended application of 20,000 ppm of calcium hypochlorite solution to seeds before germination as a preventative method. Concentrations of up to 200 ppm of chlorine wash are also commonly used on sprouts. However, chlorine-based treatment achieves on average only 1- to 3-log reductions in bacteria and is associated with negative health and environmental issues. The search for alternative strategies has been widespread, involving chemical, biological, physical, and hurdle processes that can achieve up to 7-log reductions in bacteria in some cases. The compilation here of the current scientific data related to these techniques is used to compare their efficacy for ensuring the microbial safety of sprouts and their practicality for commercial producers. Of specific importance for alternative seed and sprout treatments is maintaining the industry-accepted germination rate of 95% and the sensorial attributes of the final product. This review provides an evaluation of suggested decontamination technologies for seeds and sprouts before, during, and after germination and concludes that thermal inactivation of seeds and irradiation of sprouts are the most practical stand-alone microbial safety interventions for sprout production.
The authentication of food products from the presence of non-allowed components for certain religion like lard is very important. In this study, we used proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ((1)H-NMR) spectroscopy for the analysis of butter adulterated with lard by simultaneously quantification of all proton bearing compounds, and consequently all relevant sample classes. Since the spectra obtained were too complex to be analyzed visually by the naked eyes, the classification of spectra was carried out.The multivariate calibration of partial least square (PLS) regression was used for modelling the relationship between actual value of lard and predicted value. The model yielded a highest regression coefficient (R(2)) of 0.998 and the lowest root mean square error calibration (RMSEC) of 0.0091% and root mean square error prediction (RMSEP) of 0.0090, respectively. Cross validation testing evaluates the predictive power of the model. PLS model was shown as good models as the intercept of R(2)Y and Q(2)Y were 0.0853 and -0.309, respectively.
Lipid is the general name given to fats and oils, which are the basic components of cooking oils, shortening, ghee, margarine, and other edible fats. The chosen term depends on the physical state at ambient temperature; fats are solids and oils are liquids. The chemical properties of the lipids, including degree of saturation, fatty acid chain length, and acylglycerol molecule composition are the basic determinants of physical characteristics such as melting point, cloud point, solid fat content, and thermal behavior. This review will discuss the major lipid modification strategies, hydrogenation, and chemical and enzymatic interesterification, describing the catalysts used mechanisms, kinetics, and impacts on the health-related properties of the final products. Enzymatic interesterification will be emphasized as method that produces a final product with good taste, zero trans fatty acids, and a low number of calories, requires less contact with chemicals, and is cost efficient.
The growth and survival of Salmonella typhimurium in goat milk samples at different shifting temperatures were evaluated. The growth of S. typhimurium at lower temperatures (5°C, 10°C, and 15°C) exhibited bacteriostatic effects in milk, whereas at ambient temperature (25°C) and at 45°C, this pathogen luxuriantly grew throughout the 12-h stationary phase. At 50°C this pathogen was found to be thermotolerant and could still thrive in the milk. Overall, shifting temperatures from 37°C to 55°C and 60°C clearly indicated S. typhimurium to have reached complete elimination. The results demonstrated that the adaptation and survival of this pathogen directly depend on temperature stress. It is expected that the results will be useful to dairy industries for implementation of good manufacturing practices with a better hazard analysis critical control point approach to predict the microbial risk assessment and also benefit the consumers.
The effects of ultraviolet (UV-C) and medium heat (70 °C) treatments on the quality of fresh-cut Chokanan mango and Josephine pineapple were investigated. Quality attributes included physicochemical properties (pH, titratable acidity, and total soluble solids), ascorbic acid content (vitamin C), antioxidant activity, as well as microbial inactivation. Consumers' acceptance was also investigated through sensory evaluation of the attributes (appearance, texture, aroma and taste). Furthermore, shelf-life study of samples stored at 4 ± 1 °C was conducted for 15 d. The fresh-cut fruits were exposed to UV-C for 0, 15, 30, and 60 min while heat treatments were carried out at 70 °C for 0, 5, 10 and 20 min. Both UV-C and medium heat treatments resulted in no significant changes to the physicochemical attributes of both fruits. The ascorbic acid content of UV-C treated fruits was unaffected; however, medium heat treatment resulted in deterioration of ascorbic acids in both fruits. The antioxidants were enhanced with UV-C treatment which could prove invaluable to consumers. Heat treatments on the other hand resulted in decreased antioxidant activities. Microbial count in both fruits was significantly reduced by both treatments. The shelf life of the fresh-cut fruits were also successfully extended to a maximum of 15 d following treatments. As for consumers' acceptance, UV-C treated fruits were the most accepted as compared to their heat-treated counterparts. The results obtained through this study support the use of UV-C treatment for better retention of quality, effective microbial inactivation and enhancement of health promoting compounds for the benefit of consumers.
Matched MeSH terms: Food Contamination/prevention & control
A specific safety concern is the possibility that a dietary supplement could be contaminated with heavy metals. This research was undertaken to investigate the daily exposure levels of heavy metals in dietary supplements available in the UAE and to explore the factors associated with the contamination of dietary supplements with heavy metals. A total of 277 dietary supplement samples were collected from the UAE market and prepared for the analysis of selected heavy metal contamination. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to determine the presence of heavy metals. The average daily intake of cadmium was 0.73 μg [95% CI 0.61-0.85], compared to the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 6 μg; the daily intake of lead was 0.85 μg [95% CI 0.62-1.07], compared to the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 20 μg; and the daily intake of arsenic was 0.67 μg [95% CI 0.57-0.78], compared to the acceptable daily intake of 10 μg. Although the dietary supplements available in the UAE have low levels of heavy metal contamination, numerous individuals are consuming a number of different dietary supplements every day and thereby may experience a cumulative level of toxic exposure. Dietary supplements formulations (Categories), dosage forms and country of origin are strong determents of heavy metal contamination in dietary supplements products.
This study investigates the practices and knowledge of a Control Authority dealing with the environment and the safety and control of hawker foods. Experience and background education are used as likely determinants of food safety practices and knowledge of the control authority. A total of 60 questionnaires were distributed to the Health Inspectors (HIs) in the Hawkers' and Health Departments, City Hall, Kuala Lumpur. The return rate was 93%. The structured questionnaire contained 14 main food safety practices and knowledge constructs. Significance was found pertaining to knowledge of HIs with different experience backgrounds but experience was not demonstrated to impact on practices of HIs. However, education was noted to have significantly but inconsistently influenced certain Practices and Knowledge scores of HIs. A Pearson bivariate coefficient characterised an association between food safety practices and knowledge of the control authority. The findings: (1) highlight the actual shortcomings in the staff resources relating to environmental health, food safety, foodborne illnesses and their control, and (2) provide information on the control aspect within the hawker micro-industry with the view of protecting the public from health hazards arising from the hawkers' practices and consumption of hawker foods.
Fresh raw shrimps were dipped for 10, 20, and 30 min at room temperature (25°C ± 1°C) in lactic acid (LA; 1.5%, 3.0%, v/v) to evaluate their antipathogenic effects against Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Salmonella entreitidis, and Escherichia coli O157:H7 inoculated at a level of 10(5) CFU/g. Significant reductions in the population of all these pathogenic bacteria were recorded after dipping treatments, which were correlated to the corresponding LA concentrations and treatment time. With respect to the microbial quality, 3.0% LA treatment for 10 min was acceptable in reducing the pathogenic bacteria. Additionally, sensory evaluation results revealed a 10-min dip in 3.0% LA to be more acceptable organoleptically compared with 20 and 30 min of treatments. Results of the present study are envisaged to be useful for commercial applications for effective decontamination of shrimp.
A total of 225 samples from poultry farms and the surrounding environment were screened for vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) and bifunctional aminoglycoside-resistant enterococci using conventional microbiological tests and a nanoplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Three (1.3%) of the samples were found to contain vancomycin-resistant isolates (MIC>256 microg/mL) that had a vanA genotype. The three vanA positive VRE isolates were identified as different species. Only one isolate (Enterococcus faecium F 4/13_54) was sensitive to teicoplanin (MIC<0. 12-0.35 microg/mL); the other two VRE (E. faecalis A 21_35 and E. gallinarum F 5/10_1) were resistant to teicoplanin (MIC 3.6-->16 microg/mL). The vanC genotype was observed in nine (4%) of the samples collected. High-level gentamicin-resistant (HLGR) enterococci (with MIC ranging between 100 and 500 microg/mL) were detected in 44 samples. However, only 40 of these were found to possess the aac(6')-aph(2'') gene. The overall prevalence of VRE among the samples from the poultry farms and environment was 5.3%, but the prevalence of the clinically significant vanA VRE was 1.3%, and the prevalence of bifunctional aminoglycoside-resistant enterococci was slightly higher, at 19.5%.
Matched MeSH terms: Food Contamination/prevention & control
While there is good epidemiological evidence for foods as vehicles for norovirus transmission, the precise means of spread and its control remain unknown. The feline calicivirus was used as a surrogate for noroviruses to study infectious virus transfer between hands and selected types of foods and environmental surfaces. Assessment of the potential of selected topicals in interrupting such virus transfer was also made. Ten microliters of inoculum of feline calicivirus deposited onto each fingerpad of adult subjects was allowed to air dry and the contaminated area on individual fingerpads was pressed (10 s at a pressure of 0.2 to 0.4 kg/cm2) onto 1-cm-diameter disks of ham, lettuce, or brushed stainless steel. The virus remaining on the donor and that transferred to the recipient surfaces was eluted and plaque assayed. Virus transfer to clean hands from experimentally contaminated disks of ham, lettuce, and stainless steel was also tested. Nearly 46 +/- 20.3, 18 +/- 5.7, and 13 +/- 3.6% of infectious virus was transferred from contaminated fingerpads to ham, lettuce, and metal disks, respectively. In contrast, approximately 6 +/- 1.8, 14 +/- 3.5, and 7 +/- 1.9% virus transfer occurred, respectively, from ham, lettuce, and metal disks to hands. One-way analysis of variance test showed that pretreatment (washing) of the fingerpads either with water or with both topical agent and water significantly (P < 0.05) reduced virus transfer to < or = 0.9%, as compared with < or = 2.3 and < or = 3.4% transfer following treatments with either 75% (vol/vol) ethanol or a commercial hand gel containing 62% ethanol, respectively. Despite wide variations in virus transfer among the targeted items used, intervention agents tested reduced virus transfer significantly (P < 0.05) when compared with that without such treatments (71 +/- 8.9%). These findings should help in a better assessment of the potential for cross-contamination of foods during handling and also assist in developing more effective approaches to foodborne spread of norovirus infections.
Matched MeSH terms: Food Contamination/prevention & control
To explore new approaches of phage-based bio-process of specifically pathogenic Escherichia coli bacteria in food products within a short period. One hundred and forty highly lytic designed coliphages were used. Escherichia coli naturally contaminated and Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli experimentally inoculated samples of lettuce, cabbage, meat, and egg were used. In addition, experimentally produced biofilms of E. coli were tested. A phage concentration of 10(3) PFU/ml was used for food products immersion, and for spraying of food products, 10(5) PFU/ml of a phage cocktail was used by applying a 20-s optimal dipping time in a phage cocktail. Food samples were cut into pieces and were either sprayed with or held in a bag immersed in lambda buffer containing a cocktail of 140 phages. Phage bio-processing was successful in eliminating completely E. coli in all processed samples after 48 h storage at 4°C. Partial elimination of E. coli was observed in earlier storage periods (7 and 18 h) at 24° and 37°C. Moreover, E. coli biofilms were reduced >3 log cycles upon using the current phage bio-processing. The use of a phage cocktail of 140 highly lytic designed phages proved highly effective in suppressing E. coli contaminating food products. Proper decontamination/prevention methods of pathogenic E. coli achieved in this study can replace the current chemically less effective decontamination methods.
This study aims to optimise the operating conditions for the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of toxic elements from fish oil. The SFE operating parameters of pressure, temperature, CO2 flow rate and extraction time were optimised using a central composite design (CCD) of response surface methodology (RSM). High coefficients of determination (R²) (0.897-0.988) for the predicted response surface models confirmed a satisfactory adjustment of the polynomial regression models with the operation conditions. The results showed that the linear and quadratic terms of pressure and temperature were the most significant (p < 0.05) variables affecting the overall responses. The optimum conditions for the simultaneous elimination of toxic elements comprised a pressure of 61 MPa, a temperature of 39.8ºC, a CO₂ flow rate of 3.7 ml min⁻¹ and an extraction time of 4 h. These optimised SFE conditions were able to produce fish oil with the contents of lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury reduced by up to 98.3%, 96.1%, 94.9% and 93.7%, respectively. The fish oil extracted under the optimised SFE operating conditions was of good quality in terms of its fatty acid constituents.
In this review, we present the current information on development and applications of biological control against phytopathogenic organisms as well as mycotoxigenic fungi in Malaysia as part of the integrated pest management (IPM) programs in a collective effort to achieve food security. Although the biological control of phytopathogenic organisms of economically important crops is well established and widely practiced in Malaysia with considerable success, the same cannot be said for mycotoxigenic fungi. This is surprising because the year round hot and humid Malaysian tropical climate is very conducive for the colonization of mycotoxigenic fungi and the potential contamination with mycotoxins. This suggests that less focus has been made on the control of mycotoxigenic species in the genera Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Penicillium in Malaysia, despite the food security and health implications of exposure to the mycotoxins produced by these species. At present, there is limited research in Malaysia related to biological control of the key mycotoxins, especially aflatoxins, Fusarium-related mycotoxins, and ochratoxin A, in key food and feed chains. The expected threats of climate change, its impacts on both plant physiology and the proliferation of mycotoxigenic fungi, and the contamination of food and feed commodities with mycotoxins, including the discovery of masked mycotoxins, will pose significant new global challenges that will impact on mycotoxin management strategies in food and feed crops worldwide. Future research, especially in Malaysia, should urgently focus on these challenges to develop IPM strategies that include biological control for minimizing mycotoxins in economically important food and feed chains for the benefit of ensuring food safety and food security under climate change scenarios.
To investigate the antifungal activity of conventional chitosan and chitosan-loaded nanoemulsions against anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum spp. isolated from different tropical fruits.
Approximately 900 tonne of crude palm oil (CPO) underwent washing using 5 to 10% hot water (90 to 95°C) at a palm oil mill. The aim of the CPO washing was to eliminate and/or reduce total chlorine content present in the conventional CPO, as it is known as the main precursor for the formation of 3-monochloropropane-1, 2-diol esters (3-MCPDE). By a simple hot water washing, more than 85% of the total chlorine was removed. However, washing did not have significant (p > 0.05) effect on other oil quality parameters such as the deterioration of bleachability index (DOBI), free fatty acid (FFA) content and diacylglycerol (DAG) content of the oil. The latter has been established as the main precursor for glycidyl esters (GE) formation. The treated CPO was then transported using tankers and further refined at a commercial refinery. Refining of washed CPO resulted in significantly (p < 0.05) lower formation of 3-MCPDE, but GE content remained slightly high. Post-treatment of refined oil significantly reduced the GE content (p < 0.05) to an acceptable level whilst almost maintaining the low 3-MCPDE level. The study has proven that water washing of CPO prior to refining and subsequent post-refining is so far the most effective way to produce good quality refined oil with considerably low 3-MCPDE and GE contents. Dry fractionation of refined palm oil showed these contaminants partitioned more into the liquid olein fraction compared to the stearin fraction.
Consumers' demand is increasing for safe foods without impairing the phytochemical and sensory quality. In turn, it has increased research interest in the exploration of innovative food processing technologies. Cold plasma technology is getting popularity now days owing to its high efficacy in decontamination of microbes in fruit and fruit-based products. As a on-thermal approach, plasma processing maintains the quality of fruits and minimizes the thermal effects on nutritional properties. Cold plasma is also exploited for inactivating enzymes and degrading pesticides as both are directly related with quality loss and presently are most important concerns in fresh produce industry. The present review covers the influence of cold plasma technology on reducing microbial risks and enhancing the quality attributes in fruits.
An acidic solution containing mercury chelating agents to eliminate mercury in raw fish (mackerel) fillet was developed. The solution contained hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide, cysteine, EDTA, and NaCl. The optimum conditions for mercury reduction were achieved using response surface methodology (RSM) at cysteine concentration of 1.25%, EDTA of 275 mg/L, NaCl of 0.5%, pH of 3.75, and exposure time of 18 min. The optimized conditions produced a solution which can remove up to 91% mercury from raw fish fillet. Cysteine and EDTA were identified as potential chelating agents with the greatest potential for use. The solution can be employed in fish industries to reduce mercury in highly contaminated fish.