Food control Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Powdered grape seeds and bagasse were extracted with petroleum ether to remove fatty material and then re-extracted with different solvent mixtures to determine their total phenolics and antibacterial activities. In the grape seeds extracts the content of total phenolic compounds was found to be 627.98 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g with acetone:water:acetic acid (90:9.5:0.5) and 667.87 mg GAE/g with ethyl acetate:methanol:water (60:30:10). The bagasse extracts contained 45.44 mg GAE/g and 29.55 mg GAE/g with ethyl acetate:methanol:water (60:30:10) and ethanol:water (95:5), respectively. These extracts at 1%, 2%, 4% and 20% concentrations were tested for their antibacterial effects by using the paper disc diffusion method against some food spoilage and pathogenic bacteria including Aeromonas hydrophila ATCC 7965, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens ATCC 3842, Bacillus brevis FMC 3,

- by
- •
- Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa

A total 67 strains were isolated from five different stations of Aksu River. Total aerobic bacteria number in the river was determined as 2 x 10 7 CFU/mL and fecal coliforms were determined >1100 MPN/100 mL. Strains of Enterobacteriaceae (66 isolates), representative of the human and animal commensal flora, and Pseudomonas sp. (1 isolate) were selected for antibiotic susceptibility testing. Among the isolates, 67,2% were Escherichia coli, 29,8% Klebsiella spp., 1,5% Citrobacter spp., and 1,5% Pseudomonas spp. Eleven antibiotics (Meropenem, Cefoxitin, Ceftazidime, Ceftriaxone, Imipenem, Sulbactam/Cefoperazone, Cefazoline, Cefotaxime, Aztreonam, Ampicillin/Sulbactam, Penicillin G) were used for determination of antibiotic resistance of isolates. Multiple antibiotic resistances were determined in 27 isolates (40%) and they were resistant to five or over antibiotics and 49,3% of the isolates were found to be β-lactamase producing.

- by Hoang Nguyen
- •
- Zoology, Public Health, Aquaculture, Antibiotic Resistance
- by Abhay Grover
- •
- Food Sciences, Food control
- by Gun Wirtanen
- •
- Materials Science, Food Sciences, Food control

Meeting consumer concerns and preferences for fresh and safely processed fisheries products free of chemical and synthetic preservatives is a challenge for the aqua-food industry. As such, natural preservatives from plant and animal origin including chitosan, essential oils (EOs), plant extracts and lactic acid bacteria have attracted considerable interest recently. These preservatives have antimicrobial and antioxidant properties that can retard spoilage, uphold product quality and safety as well as extend the storage shelf-life of fish and seafood. Chitosan and EOs have been successfully used in edible coatings, film wrapping and dipping solutions. The present review focuses on the effectiveness of chitosan, EOs and other natural preservatives intended for prolonging the shelf-life of fisheries products, and maintaining their freshness and quality. Moreover, the mechanisms of action of natural additives, harmful impacts of chemical preservatives and status of aquatic food preserva...

- by Ashraf Hussain
- •
- Chitosan, Seafood processing, Antioxidants, Essential oils

Chemical compounds studied in this article: HCB (PubChem CID 8370) a-HCH (PubChem CID 727*) Lindane (PubChem CID 727*) Aldrin (PubChem CID 12310947) p,p 0 -DDE (PubChem CID 3035) o,p 0 -DDD (PubChem CID 4211) p,p 0 -DDD (PubChem CID 6294) o,p 0 -DDT (PubChem CID 13089) * a-HCH and lindane (g-HCH) are isomers, but considered as synonyms in PubChem list.

- by Thiago Schwanz
- •
- Food Sciences, Food control
- by Mike Lewis
- •
- Food Safety, Biology, Food Sciences, Food control

This study is the Wrst attempt in the Philippines to conduct a region-wide assessment of the microbiological quality of retailed mung bean sprouts. Production and vending practices of selected stakeholders were also determined. Ninety-four percent of the samples tested positive for the presence of Salmonella spp. and some samples had Coliform and Escherichia coli counts as high as 5.90 and 5.50 log 10 CFU • g ¡1 , respectively. The TPC, YMC and LAB were established to be as high as 11.38, 5.90 and 10.47 log 10 CFU • g ¡1 , respectively. The poor microbiological quality of most of the tested sprouts was attributed to unhygienic sprout production and retailing practices. To improve the microbiological quality of the retailed sprouts, adherence to sprouting industry best practices is strongly recommended.

- by Ana Estrada
- •
- Microbiology, Escherichia coli, Best practice, Food Sciences

By combining portable, handheld near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy with state-of-the-art classification algorithms, we developed a powerful method to test chicken meat authenticity. The research presented shows that it is both possible to discriminate fresh from thawed meat, based on NIR spectra, as well as to correctly classify chicken fillets according to the growth conditions of the chickens with good accuracy. In all cases, the random subspace discriminant ensemble (RSDE) method significantly outperformed other common classification methods such as partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), artificial neural network (ANN) and support vector machine (SVM) with classification accuracy of > 95%. This study shows that handheld NIR coupled with machine learning algorithms is a useful, fast, non-destructive tool to identify the authenticity of chicken meat. By comparing and combining different protocols to measure the NIR spectra (i.e., through packaging and directly on meat), we show the possibilities for both consumers and food inspection authorities to check the authenticity and origin of packaged chicken fillet.

- by Andre Van Den Doel
- •
- Food Sciences, Food control

ABSTRACT Compared to most product supply chains, food supply chains are often more complex and more difficult to manage because the food product is perishable and has a short shelf life. A cold chain or temperature-controlled supply chain provides the essential facilities and methods required to maintain the quality and quantity of foods. Since foods can be time and temperature sensitive in nature, they need to be properly taken care of in terms of harvesting, preparation, packaging, transportation and handling – in other words, throughout the entire chain. Temperature is the most important factor in prolonging or maintaining the shelf life of perishables. Refrigeration is one of most widely used methods to date to slow the bacteria growth that leads to food deterioration. The proper control and management of temperature is crucial in delivering perishables to consumers and ensuring that those perishables are in good condition and safe to eat. This paper addresses the methods used to improve the ability to define an optimal target temperature for multi-commodity refrigerated storage. Simulation results support the fact that the presented methods provide more accurate results compared to the conventional method. In addition, an experiment with a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) was conducted. As a result, the sensor-based methods for real time quality monitoring and assessment that consider product metabolism and Euclidean distance cost depending on temperature changes are found to be superior to the traditional visual assessment method.

- by Myo Min Aung
- •
- Food Sciences, Food control

The antibacterial activity of essential oils and their derivatives has been recognized for a long time. In the present study, the chemical composition and the antibacterial properties of the essential oils obtained from the aerial parts of the four Lamiaceae species, wild oregano (Origanum minutiflorum) (endemic in Turkey), oregano (Origanum onites), black thyme (Thymbra spicata) and wild savory (Satureja cuneifolia), with commercial importance in Turkey, were evaluated. The major constituent of the oils determined by GC was cavracrol (86.9% in O. onites, 84.6% in O. minutiflorum, 75.5% in T. spicata and 53.3% in S. cuneifolia). Four essential oils were investigated for activity against Aeromonas hydrophila, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, B. brevis, B. cereus, B. subtilis, Corynebacterium xerosis, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Listeria monocytogenes, Micrococcus luteus, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Proteus vulgaris, Staphylococcus aureus and Yersinia enterocolitica, using a paper disc diffusion method. All essential oils inhibited all bacteria at concentrations of <1/100 (v/v). The essential oil of T. spicata was the most active. B. amyloliquefaciens was the most sensitive. The results of this study confirmed the possibility of using these four essential oils in food systems to prevent the growth of foodborne bacteria and extend the shelf life of processed foods.

- by Mohammad Jalali
- •
- Essential Oil, SHELF LIFE, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes

Our objective was to investigate nitrate and nitrite contents of acidified and fermented fruits and vegetables. l -ascorbic acid and total phenols were also examined based on the hypothesis that the presence of these antioxidant compounds may influence N-nitrosation reactions upon human consumption. The fermented and acidified vegetable products included 131 samples from multiple lots of 46 different commercially available products. Nitrite was detected in low concentrations ( l -ascorbic acid content of 32 ± 10 mg/100 g, with a low nitrate level of 0.1 ± 0.09 mg/100 g. These results provide new information for evaluating nitrate and nitrite contents in pickled fruit and vegetable products with regard to potential human dietary health consequences.

- by Den Truong
- •
- Food Sciences, Food control

The aim of this work was to compare refractometric index (RI) and Karl Fischer (KF) titration methods for moisture content measurement in honeys. In addition, the effectiveness of two different solvents (methanol (M) and methanol: formamide in the ratio 1:1 (M+F)) was evaluated. Results indicated that RI and KF methods yielded similar results for moisture determination in honeys; mainly, when the solvent M+F was used. This solvent mixture (M+F) also allowed a reduction in titration time which may be a potential advantage for measuring moisture content in honey.

- by María Clara Zamora
- •
- Food Sciences, Indexation, Water Content, Food control

Phthalate, adipate and sebacate esters contamination in olive oils produced in Sicily in the crop years 2006e2009 and in Molise in the crop years 2007e2008 was studied by HRGC-MS. The statistical elaboration of plasticizer data was performed to compare the contamination of the Sicilian samples with those of the samples produced in Molise in the same crop years and to compare the contamination of the Sicilian samples produced in three consecutive crop years. In all analyzed samples DEA, DiHP, DOP, and DEHS residues were always less than their LOQ. Furthermore in Sicilian olive oils were not found residues of DBA and DiDP, while DiBP, BBP and DEHP were found to be the phthalates most abundants. In Molise olive oils there were not residues of DiBA, DMP and DEP, while DiNP and DiDP are the most abundants. Among all plasticizers found only DEHP was observed stronger that its proposed limit by BNN (3 mg/kg) in 9.1% of Molise olive oils and in 27.27% of Sicilian samples of the year 2007e2008.

- by Angela Potortì
- •
- Statistical Analysis, Olive Oil, Dep, Food Sciences
- by Oliveri Gea
- •
- Food Sciences, Food control

Industrial automation is useful to reduce production costs and improve product quality. The wine industry has been increasingly adopting industrial automation seeking these objectives. In Chile, wineries have been lagging behind in embracing new technologies to control the fermentation process. In most cases, enologists decide control actions (cooling, heating, pumping over) based on off line periodic measurements. In this work we explore the applicability of ultrasound to measure the sugar and alcohol concentrations of hydroalcoholic solutions mimicking fermenting musts. Additionally, implementation issues such as the attenuation effect of bubbles and tank curvature are analyzed. We show that working at two sufficiently distinct frequencies, we can measure sugar and alcohol content simultaneously. Measurement resolution achieved for the wave time of travel translates to a better than 0.02% for both concentrations, depending on the container size.

- by Yonny Vargas
- •
- Environmental Science, Industrial Automation, Ultrasound, New Technology

Eleven samples of commercially available Greek wines were analyzed in order to determine the phenolic content. For the analysis, reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) coupled with diode array detection was used. The most abundant phenolic substance detected was (+)-catechin (11.8-40 mg l À1 ). Red wines contained more phenolic substances than white ones. The effect of aging in oak wood barrels on phenolics was also investigated. Specific types of Greek white wines, ''retsina'', were also analyzed. Pitch, which is added to such types of wines, contributes significantly to the increased amount of phenolic compounds present in the wine.

- by Charalampos Proestos and +1
- •
- Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Zoology, Analytical Chemistry
- by Brijesh Tiwari
- •
- Kinetics, Heat Treatment, Predictive Microbiology, Predictive Modelling

Application of an impedance sensor to determine the salt content, moisture and water phase salt (WPS) of fresh salted Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) fillets was estimated. Three probes with different electrodes geometries were concurrently tested. Whatever the probe used, the salt content of samples was successfully evaluated (R 2 > 0.822) by linear prediction models based on conductance and increment capacitance data. WPS was correctly predicted (0.732 < R 2 < 0.890) using these same data to determine the prediction model. Nevertheless, the prediction of moisture based only on impedance measurements was not efficient. In this case, adding the sample lipid content in models yielded to better result (0.668 < R 2 < 0.757).

- by Charles Ghommidh
- •
- Atlantic Salmon, Prediction Model, Impedance, LINEAR PREDICTIVE CODING

Spores of Geobacillus stearothermophilus and Bacillus subtilis adhering to the surface of stainless steel (SS) and polypropylene (PP) were subjected to rinsing in water or NaOH solution to study their removability. The spores were made adherent through deposition from suspension under humid and dry conditions. The humid condition kept the surface wet throughout the deposition, whereas the dry condition made them dry up finally. Experimental results demonstrated that drying significantly enhanced both quantity and strength of the spore adhesion for both types of surface. No removal of the spores adhering to surfaces exposed to dry environment was observed through water rinsing with shear force application. Even with 0.2% NaOH, they were hardly removed irrespective of temperature. Although 1% NaOH removed or inactivated most of spores on SS surface, it left considerable viable spores on PP surface. Thus enhanced alkali tolerance was indicated for spores adhering to surfaces, especially made of PP, exposed to dry environment.

- by Tomoaki Hagiwara
- •
- Shear Force, Food Sciences, Food control

Listeria monocytogenes is a major foodborne pathogen in the United States. Effective methods for reducing L. monocytogenes in foods would reduce the likelihood of foodborne outbreaks of listeriosis, and decrease economic losses to the food industry. Nigella sativa is a herbaceous plant, whose seeds (black seed) have been used as a spice and condiment in foods in the Middle East. The objective of this study was to determine the antibacterial effect of black seed oil on twenty strains of L. monocytogenes by disc diffusion method. A population of 7.0 log CFU of each strain of L. monocytogenes was inoculated on duplicate plates containing antibiotic medium one agar. The plates were allowed to dry at room temperature for 15 min. Three discs (6 mm diameter), each impregnated with 10 ll of black seed oil, vegetable oil (oil control), or gentamicin (positive control) were placed on each inoculated plate. The plates were incubated at 37°C for 24 h, and were observed for zones of L. monocytogenes growth inhibition. Black seed oil exhibited a strong antibacterial activity against all the strains of L. monocytogenes, yielding a significantly (P < 0:01) larger inhibition zone than that of gentamicin. The mean zones of inhibition produced by black seed oil and gentamicin were 31.50 ± 1.0 and 14.80 ± 0.50, respectively. The vegetable oil had no inhibitory effect on L. monocytogenes. Results indicate that black seed oil could potentially be used to inhibit L. monocytogenes, but appropriate applications in foods need to be validated.

- by Pradeep Vasudevan
- •
- Middle East, United States, Listeria monocytogenes, Food Industry

A method is presented for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes in food, which produces definitive results on the third day after the sample collection. The method is equivalent to EN ISO 11290-1 or ISO 10560 in terms of the same detection limit of 100 cfu per 25 or 10 g and 100% relative accuracy. The version alternative to EN ISO 11290-1 begins with a primary enrichment in half Fraser broth (24 h), secondary enrichment in Fraser broth (24 h) and post-enrichment in brain heart infusion broth (5 h). The version alternative to ISO 10560 begins with enrichment in Listeria enrichment broth (48 h) and post-enrichment in tryptone soya broth (5 h). These steps are followed by bacterial cell lysis by boiling, PCR oriented to inlB gene using a mimic internal control, and agarose gel electrophoresis. At the evaluation of the method on model food samples artificially contaminated with decimal dilutions of a L. monocytogenes culture (cheese, smoked fish, ready-to-eat meat products; 21 samples altogether), a detection limit of 100 cfu per 25 or 10 g was determined. Dead L. monocytogenes cells did not cause false positivity, as determined using model food samples artificially contaminated with decimal dilutions of dead L. monocytogenes cells. At the evaluation of the method on naturally contaminated food samples (same as above, 140 samples altogether) identical results (8 positives) as with the reference method were obtained.

In the food industry pasteurisation is very commonly carried out using plate heat exchangers. Steady-state analysis of, and experimentation into, the effects of disturbances on the temperatures showed that temperature approach (water inlet temperature minus milk outlet temperature) changed very little. This showed that control based on a steady temperature approach could be effective. A control algorithm that calculates the

- by Ken Morison
- •
- Control, Plate Heat Exchanger, Water Temperature, Food Industry

A total of 210 food samples originating from milk products, ready-to-eat salads, raw meat and raw meat products purchased in ten open-air market places in Thessaloniki, Greece, were analyzed for the presence of Listeria monocytogenes. Thirty (14.3%) contained L. monocytogenes with the highest prevalence in raw meat (27.5%), raw meat products (18%) and cheese (8%). The strains were susceptible to 16 antimicrobials as determined by microbroth dilution, except one strain which displayed resistance to tetracycline (MIC > 32 lg/ml). This strain carried the tetracycline resistance gene tet(M). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) revealed a low genetic diversity among the isolates, irrespective of their origin. This suggests that dominant L. monocytogenes clones are widespread in different food product types in open-air food markets in Greece. The high prevalence of L. monocytogenes in these products indicates that appropriate hygienic measures and periodic bacteriological controls are also necessary in open-air food markets to reduce contamination with food-borne pathogens. Greek specialties made with raw meat and raw milk may contain L. monocytogenes and should not be consumed by persons at risk.

Knowledge of food safety among consumers has various dimensions. Due to a number of food-related incidents and reported outbreaks worldwide, consumer confidence has begun to vacillate. The objective of this quantitative survey (n = 1030) was to determine Slovenian consumers' food safety knowledge and practices during purchase, transportation and storage of food, as well as food handling practices at home. The study highlighted gaps in food safety knowledge and some critical safety violations regarding food handling at home. Half of the respondents never thought of using a cooling bag for the transport of refrigerated or frozen foods. Approximately half of the respondents defrost meat on working surfaces and only one-third wash knives and cutting boards with hot water and detergent before re-use or use clean implements. Forty-four percent of respondents did not know the correct refrigerator temperature for the storage of perishable food. All other determinations concerning food safety knowledge and practices are presented and discussed. Consumer education should be the focus in order to reduce foodborne diseases. Educational material regarding Good Housekeeping Practice should be available to the general public from many sources. Only safety-conscious consumers can become active partners within the food safety circle.

- by Mojca Jevšnik
- •
- Food Safety, Consumer, Food Sciences, Food control

Microbiological control of raw milk quality at the dairy plant is an important step before appropriate decisions concerning the milk processing can be made. This step is therefore considered a CCP in the HACCP plans. Under the European Union (EU) law, 10 5 bacteria ml À1 at this point of the process are the critical limit enforced through the Directive 92/46 EEC. In the present work, the authors propose shifting the monitoring from procedures based only in temperature measurement to direct microbial count in milk using an ATP bioluminescence method, thus improving compliance at the CCP mentioned.

- by Armando C Louzã
- •
- European Union, Haccp, Bioluminescence, Temperature measurement

Performances of SAS-super-180 air sampler and settle plates were investigated for the assessment of airborne fungal food contamination. Air samples were taken from processing rooms of a dry-cured production facility and outdoors. Fungal colonies and numbers of species were counted and compared. Quantitatively, the air sampler showed higher numbers of species and mean CFU/plate compared to settle plates. Qualitatively, the two methods showed similar dominating fungal genera and species associated with dry-cured meat products. The study showed settle plates could provide important qualitative information for food processing plants where airborne fungi associated with food products are the targets.

- by Truls Nesbakken
- •
- Food Processing, Air Sampling, Food Sciences, Meat products

Raw milk samples from fourteen districts of the Punjab province, Pakistan, were analyzed for the contamination of aflatoxin M 1 . The analysis was carried out by using immunoaffinity columns and Fluorometer. All of the samples analyzed were found contaminated with aflatoxin M 1 (AFM 1 ). However, the level of aflatoxin M1 in 96.4% samples was below the US tolerance limit of 0.5 lg/L. Only 3% samples showed AFM 1 concentration higher than the US maximum limit. The 99.4% samples exceeded the European Union limit, i.e. 0.05 lg/L. Seasonal effect was also studied on the presence of AFM 1 concentration in milk. The data were analyzed statistically by applying ANOVA. The results urge the need to impose a maximum permissible limit for AFM 1 levels in milk and milk products in Pakistan. This study, which is the first one of its nature on aflatoxin M 1 in Pakistan, suggests a regular monitoring of AFM 1 in milk and milk products in the country.

- by imtiaz hussain
- •
- European Union, Milk products, Food Sciences, Raw Milk

The processing of açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) and juçara (Euterpe edulis Mart) fruit requires water addition for adequate pericarp extraction. Currently, the amount of added water is based on fruit moisture content as estimated using a convection oven method. In this study, diffuse reflectance FTNIR spectra (1000e2500 nm, 64 scans and spectral resolution of 8 cm À1) of intact açaí and juçara fruit were used to discriminate fruit batches based on the dry matter (DM) content using mature fruit collected over two years. Spectra were collected of~25 fruits per batch, placed on a 90 mm diameter glass dish in a single layer. The calibration set contained of 371 lots, while the prediction set consisted of 132 lots (of different locations, times). Spectra were subject to several pre-processing methods and models were developed using Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR), Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) and Principal Component Analysis Discriminant Analysis (PCA-DA). A PLSR model constructed using the wavelength range of 1382e1682 nm and full multiplicative scatter correction achieved a root mean square error for prediction on DM of 5.25% w/w with a ratio of the standard deviation of DM set to the bias corrected RMSEP of 1.5 on the test set. A PCA-DA model based on the same wavelength of region outperformed the PLS-DA method to segregate the test population into categories of high (>32 %DM) and low DM (<32% DM) with 74% accuracy achieved. The PCA-DA technique is recommended to the processing industry as a non-destructive and rapid method for optimisation of water added during processing using batch assess of fruit from incoming lots of fruits.

- by Bed Prasad Khatiwada
- •
- Partial Least Squares Regression, Food Sciences, Food control

Pelargonium graveolens L'Her is an aromatic, rose-scented herb which is indigenous to various parts of southern Africa, and nowadays cultivated worldwide. This work presents the first phytochemical investigation of P. graveolens cultivated in Bosnia. The volatile profile of odorous parts of the plant was analysed by GC/MS. More than eighty compounds were identified in essential oils obtained from the leaves and stems, representing 92.3% and 96.3% in total, respectively. The major compounds in essential oils were oxygenated monoterpenes (64.3e74.2%), with geraniol (27.5e50.2%) and citronellol (14.2 e19.0%) as the main representatives. The content of phenolic compounds in corresponding hydrosols as 34.88 AE 2.00 mg GAE/g in leaves and 102.44 AE 1.63 mg GAE/g in stems including flavonoid compounds of 32.35 AE 0.81 mg GAE/g to 101.87 AE 1.03 mg GAE/g. The radical-scavenging activity was measured by the DPPH method and IC 50 values ranged from 0.19 AE 0.05 mg/mL (stems) to 0.39 AE 0.04 mg/mL (leaves) for hydrosols, and from 63.70 AE 1.56 mg/mL (leaves) to 64.88 AE 1.12 mg/mL (stems) for essential oils.

- by Milka Maksimovic
- •
- Natural Products Chemistry, GC-MS, Food Sciences, Food control

Recent trends in food security are promoting an increasing search for trace compounds that can affect human health such as biogenic amines. The present paper describes a comparative study between two modified quick and simple HPLC methods for evaluating biogenic amines. In both methods biogenic amines were separated by reversed-phase chromatography. In the method with pre-column derivatization with o-phthaldialdehyde after modifications we obtained excellent results to separate and to quantify both biogenic amines and amino acids in a single run. Ó

- by Mario Eduardo Arena
- •
- Comparative Study, Food Science and Technology, Food Security, Human health

Market pressures for shorter product turnover and faster selling result in modified production practices of Serbian traditional dry, cured beef ham known as "govedja pr suta". These are mainly characterized by incomplete maturation and drying of the hams, resulting in higher water activity levels of products that require correctly chosen intrinsic and extrinsic factors to control foodborne pathogens. An incidence of almost 90% has been found after the enrichment of Staphylococcus aureus in 20 tested samples produced by five different producers and marketed in different parts of Serbia. Although important these findings do not completely surprise due to known high prevalence of S. aureus. However, combined with market-driven shorter and incomplete maturation and drying of the products this high prevalence of low numbers resulted in growth and staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) production in 35% of samples tested (7/20). Results of the analysis showed that enumerable S. aureus counts were found only in four out of twenty samples, but with counts ranging from 2.8 to 3.7 log CFU/g suggesting that actual outgrowth and toxin production perhaps occurred earlier in the production stages. Nevertheless, inoculation of enterotoxigenic isolates in the same type of product, previously found negative on the presence of S. aureus and SE, showed that both growth and SE production can occur even in the final product at 22 C and 37 C, but not at 12 C, regardless of whether vacuum or aerobic packaging of the product was applied.

- by Andreja Rajkovic
- •
- Food Sciences, Enterotoxin, Food control

Risk assessment frameworks, such as those used for GM crops, have detailed comparative analysis with appropriate non-GM counterparts as their cornerstone. Opinions have been voiced that current analytical approaches are too specific and need to be complemented by more unbiased, larger scale analysis of gene expression and protein expression using transcriptomics and proteomics, respectively. In parallel, the use of metabolomics has been advocated as an approach to expand significantly the range of metabolites that can be measured to assess more stringently the potential for any unintended effects. Transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics have been termed collectively ''omics" technologies. This review assesses the potential for using ''omics" techniques in risk assessment. Importantly, the review provides information on sources of natural variation which can result from crop management practices, from interactions between genotype and growing environment and from non-GM breeding systems. This provides an important benchmark for risk assessors and risk managers.

- by Howard Davies
- •
- Genomics, Transcriptomics, Biology, Metabolomics

Lower thermal load on foods is desirable for food producers and consumers as the food gets higher quality. With reduced thermal load, the investigation of food safety is of importance. In this study, microbial inactivation efficacy of a new retort process with high frequency longitudinal agitation was compared to static retort process which was used as a benchmark. As a model, fish soup samples, inoculated with approximately 10 8 cells/ml Listeria innocua, was exposed to mild heat treatments at 62, 65 and 68 C. Results clearly demonstrated that agitating mode can provide equivalent lethality to the model organism L. innocua within significantly shorter heating times compared to static mode. Bacteria were not detected on TSA-YE plates after 11.5, 6.8 and 5.5 min processing in agitating mode; 77, 67 and 52 min processing in static mode at 62, 65 and 68 C respectively. Bacterial inactivation in agitating mode was generally correlated with estimated inactivation based on product core temperature, D-and z-values for L. innocua. This may indicate that distribution of the heat load over the soup was enhanced through agitation. Results showed that utilization of high frequency longitudinal agitation mechanism in retorts is promising for reducing the thermal load on food products without compromising on food safety related to non-spore forming pathogens.

- by Mehmet Kemal Ates and +1
- •
- Food Safety, Drying Technology, Response Surface Methodology, Logit & Probit models

2010): Ozone inactivation of acid stressed Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria innocua in orange juice using a bubble column. Food Control, 21(13) 1723-1730. Abstract 25 Orange juice inoculated with Listeria monocytogenes strains ATCC 7644, NCTC 11994 26 and Listeria innocua NCTC 11288 (10 6 CFU/ml) as challenge microorganisms was 27 treated with direct ozone at 0.098mg/min/ml for different time periods (0-8 min) using an 28 ozone bubble column. Ozone treatment of mild acid stressed and mild acid stress-29 habituated (pH 5.5) cells of L. monocytogenes resulted in higher inactivation times 30 compared to control non-acid stressed cells. Additionally acid stressed cells habituated in 31 orange juice (ATCC 7644 & NCTC 11288), showed higher inactivation times during 32 ozonation by comparison with the control as well as the mild-acid stressed cells. Overall 33 the gaseous ozone treatment applied to orange juice resulted in a population reduction of 34 5 log cycles within a time range that varied between 5 to 9 min. 35 36

- by Paula Bourke
- •
- Microbiology, Kinetics, Food Processing, Listeria monocytogenes

Natural losses from fruit and vegetable products stored in cold conditions are investigated. A mathematical model describing heat and mass transfer processes taking place during storage time is presented and the resulting governing equations are solved using Software Mathcad7. The relative humidity of the ventilating air and the temperature field of an apple bulk are found for different cold storage conditions; namely the initial air relative humidity and air flow rate. It was found that the relative humidity of the ventilating air approaches a limiting value as the apple bulk depth increases up to 4.2 m. In addition, when the relative humidity is larger than the equilibrium relative humidity value, an increase in the ventilating air rate reduces the losses of the product during the period of its storage while larger losses occur when the relative humidity values are lower than the equilibrium one.

- by Bourhan Tashtoush
- •
- Heat and Mass Transfer, Air flow, Relative Humidity, Mathematical Model

We begin by revisiting the sequential execution of instructions … Recall we have written a program which added two given number A and B. The instructions that we had given after defining the three locations where an input instruction to read the value of A and B then an assignment operation to add A and B and assign the value to SUM finally an output operation COUT<<SUM which would give the value of the SUM observe that all our instructions or statements are executed one after another in the given sequence. There are situations when we may wish to execute some of our instructions depending upon the condition. This thing arises many times in real life. These are the problem of finding out the larger amongst the two given numbers. So consider that we wish to find not the sum of two numbers A &B, but we wish to find out the largest amongst the two and assign the larger value to the location called SUM*.

- by manikandan rajagopal
- •
- Tamil Nadu, South India, Copper, Black Tea

The concept of food safety objective has been proposed to provide a target for operational food safety management, leaving flexibility in the way equivalent food safety levels are achieved by different food chains. The concept helps to better relate operational food safety management to public health goals, i.e. to an appropriate level of protection. The FSO articulates the joint target of a food chain, including all relevant links in that chain, and is common to all other food chains relevant to a pathogen/commodity combination. Performance objectives and performance criteria are two new concepts proposed recently to complement that of food safety objectives with respect to food safety control and control measures and process criteria regarding operational food safety management. All concepts together help government to give guidance to food chains about the expected safety of food products and at the same time help food chains to design their food production and food safety management systems such that there is compliance with this expectation.

- by leon gorris
- •
- Food Safety, Public Health, Management System, Food Sciences

The objective of this research was to examine how various factors in Icelandic cod fishing can influence the quality of the raw material, using traceability systems to link these factors, and how transfer that knowledge and techniques to the Brazilian seafood industry. Data were collected in 2007 and analysed, to find a functional relationship between various quality factors. The analysis, showed, that there is a correlation between the number of parasites in the fillets and location of the fishing ground. It also showed that fishing ground and volume in haul can influence gaping, and that fillet yield differs between fishing grounds. These conclusions could only be drawn because of the ability to trace the fish from catch and all the way through processing. Recommendations drawn from this research to the Brazilian Competent Authority are to revise the countries fisheries legislation in order to enable the implementation of a traceability system that could be used as a tool to improve the quality of the raw material.

- by Juliana Galvão
- •
- Quality Control, Raw materials, Legislation, Quality Factor

Accurate identification of seafood species in the markets is a growing concern due to the high incidence of species substitution at international level. It is a prime priority for governments to be able to identify the already processed fish products (fish fillets). In this context, DNA barcoding was applied to ascertaining species in fish fillets (tilapia, Nile perch and panga) purchased from Egyptian markets. Ninety commercial samples were analyzed. Sequencing of a short fragment of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene revealed 33.3% species substitution in the fish fillets analyzed, 50% Nile perch (Lates niloticus) and 50% basa fish (Pangasius bocourti) being replaced by imported Vietnamese tra fish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus). These results demonstrate that DNA barcoding is a reliable tool for detecting fish products adulteration in Egypt. We recommend its use for control and law enforcement of seafood quality.

- by Asmaa Galal-Khallaf
- •
- Egypt, DNA Barcoding, Food Sciences, Fish fillets

Honey, produced by Apis mellifera from nectar or honeydew, contains a discrete quantity of water (about 17%). The variability of water content influences the quality, the stability, the workability and the storage of honey. Moisture in honey is usually measured via determination of refractive index (RI); from the value measured, the percentage is calculated by an empirical formula or by ''conversion'' table. A possible alternative approach is the Karl Fischer Titration (KFT). The objective of this work was to find the optimal parameters for water determination in honey with KFT without any heat treatment of sample or working medium and the measurement of water content in more than 100 honeys of different botanical origin, using RI and KFT determinations. The water content, obtained with KFT, was usually higher than that determined by RI analysis. According to our results KFT seems to be the most reliable method.

- by Franco Mutinelli
- •
- Heat Treatment, Apis mellifera, Moisture, Refractive Index

In food industry, Bacillus species are encountered in deteriorating many food products thus shortening their shelf-life. Moreover, Bacillus cereus and the subtilis group (Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis, and Bacillus pumilus) have been recognized as food poisoning agents. Lysozyme peptides preparation (LzP) is a commercially available as a natural food preservative. Although, LzP derived from lysozyme yet it showed only 11% of the lysozyme lytic activity. LzP at a concentration of 100 lg ml À1 completely inhibited B. subtilis, B. licheniformis, B. megaterium, B. mycoides, B. pumilus, B. coagulans, B. amyloliquefaciens, B. polymexa and B. macerans. However, B. cereus and B. stearothermophilus showed a slightly higher resistance. Interestingly, LzP at concentration P10 lg ml À1 showed inhibitory effect on both vegetative and spore forms of B. subtilis. Moreover, LzP was stable at 95°C for 30 min and at different pH values (4.5-7). In conclusion, LzP may be useful to control growth of Bacillus spoilage organisms.

- by Adham Abdou
- •
- Food Sciences, Food control

The ability of activated carbon (AC) prepared from cherry stones (CS) by activation with H 3 PO 4 , ZnCl 2 or KOH to remove ochratoxin A (OTA) from two Italian red wines has been studied. AC was characterized in terms of texture and surface chemistry. OTA was analyzed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatrography, using a fluorescence detector. The content of OTA in the starting wines is 7.38 and 2.36 lg/L. The adsorption of OTA is high only for one AC, which was prepared by KOH activation at 900°C, using the 3:1 KOH:CS impregnation ratio. It possesses a large apparent surface area (S BET = 1620 m 2 /g) and a high volume of large size macropores (1.84 cm 3 /g). It also contains narrow mesopores and intermediate size and wide micropores. Its content of acidic oxygen surface groups is low, whereas the content of basic groups is high (2.62 meq/g). The treatment of the wines with such an AC results in a decrease of the initial OTA content of more than 50%. However, the changes produced in the total polyphenolic index, color intensity, and hue are small (i.e. 88%, 85.5% and $1.2%, respectively).

- by Emilia Garcia-moruno
- •
- Surface Chemistry, Activated Carbon, Red Wine, Surface Area

The antimicrobial activity of Eucalyptus globulus essential oil was evaluated against 14 food spoilage microorganisms in liquid and vapour phase using agar dilution/well diffusion method and disc volatilisation method, respectively. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) varied from 2.25 to 9 mg/ml for bacterial and fungal strains, and from 1.13 to 2.25 mg/ml for yeast strains. Significantly higher antimicrobial activity was observed in the vapour phase. The chemical composition of E. globulus in liquid as well as in the vapour phase was determined by gas chromatography (GC), gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and solid phase micro extraction-gas chromatography mass spectrometry (SPME GC-MS), respectively. The dominant compounds in E. globulus oil were 1,8-cineole (45.4%), limonene (17.8%), p-cymene (9.5%), c-terpinene (8.8%), a-pinene (4.2%) and a-terpineol (3.4%), while in the vapour, 1,8-cineole (34.6%), limonene (29.9%), p-cymene (10.5%), c-terpinene (7.4%), a-pinene (4.0%) and a-phellandrene (2.4%) were identified.

- by amit tyagi
- •
- Mass Spectrometry, Food Chemistry, Multidisciplinary, Essential Oil

A risk profile of microbial, chemical and physical hazards across the supply continuum for the Australian beef, sheep and goat meat industries was developed. The aim was to provide risk managers with a risk rating of hazard:meat and meat product combinations, advise on the feasibility and advisability of risk analyses and identify research and development priorities. Hazard:red meat combinations arising from manufacturing and catering settings that have been associated with food-borne illness and their risk ranking are reported elsewhere. The profiling process was completed within a one-year timeframe and involved a planned iterative consultation process between risk managers and assessors to ensure outputs remained relevant to current risk management concerns.

- by Ian Jenson and +1
- •
- Risk Management, Research and Development, Food Sciences, Meat products