AIM: The aim of our study was to investigate the perceptions and readiness of schoolteachers to accept notifications on food poisoning as a part of education to the students.
METHODOLOGY: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out with the help of a validated questionnaire for data collection. Our research involved schoolteachers from both primary and secondary schools in Muar. The questionnaire was pretested among the eligible trainee teachers and yielded an internal consistency reliability coefficient (c = Cronbach's alpha) of 0.082. This study was conducted from October 29, 2017, to December 14, 2018, in Muar. Our sample size was 259. Ethical consent was obtained from the Institution Ethical Committee.
RESULTS: A total of 259 schoolteachers from both primary and secondary schools in Muar were included in this study. In our study, 81.1% of the teachers responded that they can easily educate their students about food poisoning. Most of them (93.1%) were ready to receive notifications on food poisoning in any mode, and about 72% of the teachers preferred WhatsApp as their mode of receiving notification. The least (1.2%) preferred mode of notification was LINE (a social app). Teachers' willingness to disseminate the information regarding food poisoning was also higher (98.5%).
CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that majority of the schoolteachers had a good perception and were ready to receive the notifications on food poisoning through WhatsApp as a part of education to the students.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This work contributes to the knowledge on the biofilm formation and the distribution of agr groups in S. aureus strains as well as microbial surface components in recognizing adherence matrix molecules of organisms isolated from ready-to-eat sushi and sashimi. The findings provide valuable information to further study the roles of specific genes in causing biofilm-related infections.
RESULTS: P. acidilactici Kp10 was moderately tolerant to phenol and adhere to mammalian epithelial cells (Vero cells and ileal mucosal epithelium). The bacterium also exhibited antimicrobial activity against several gram-positive and gram-negative food-spoilage and food-borne pathogens such as Listeria monocytgenes ATCC 15313, Salmonella enterica ATCC 13311, Shigella sonnei ATCC 9290, Klebsiella oxytoca ATCC 13182, Enterobacter cloaca ATCC 35030 and Streptococcus pyogenes ATCC 12378. The absence of haemolytic activity and proteinase (trypsin) and the presence of a strong peptidase (leucine-arylamidase) and esterase-lipase (C4 and C8) were observed in this LAB strain. P. acidilactici Kp10 also produced acid, coagulated milk and has demonstrated proteolytic and amylolactic activities.
CONCLUSION: The properties exhibited by P. acidilactici Kp10 suggested its potential application as probiotic and starter culture in the food industry.