Applied Microbiology of Foods

A special issue of Applied Microbiology (ISSN 2673-8007).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 20594

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
1. Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078-6055, USA
2. Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Product Center, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078-6055, USA
Interests: food microbiology of raw and processed meats and produce; foodborne pathogens: Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., STEC E. coli; vegetable nitrite (‘natural nitrite’) vs. sodium nitrite, Clostridium spp.; surrogate organisms to mimic pathogens; antimicrobial interventions (chemical, biological, physical; bacteriocins as biopreservatives); microbiology and processing of dried beef (biltong); biofilms; sanitizers; shelf-life studies/microbial validation
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce a Applied Microbiology Special Issue within the field of food microbiology: “Applied Microbiology of Foods”. This Special Issue will consider a wide scope of applied microbiology as it relates to foodborne microorganisms and their interactions with foods and processes meant to inhibit bacteria or safeguard foods involving foodborne pathogens, spoilage, or beneficial microorganisms. Topics may include antimicrobial interventions, whether chemical, biological, or physical to reduce or eliminate foodborne pathogens or spoilage microorganisms from raw/processed foods. The Special Issue may also include analysis of microbial outcomes or wholesale microbiome analyses of the result of interventions. The use of ‘natural’ antimicrobials (i.e., bacteriocins, bacteriophage, microbial fermentates, vegetable nitrite) has gained favor in applications such as food preservatives. In recent years, natural, microbial-derived ingredients have made gains in their acceptance as natural food ingredients. These include ‘microbial fermentates’ produced by lactic acid bacteria that are generally regarded as safe (GRAS) that include bacteriocins or other natural antimicrobials. Biological modifications using ‘safe’ bacteria have changed the outlook on ‘natural’ vs ‘chemical’ food preservatives and have made an impact on commercial applications in food. Natural sources of antimicrobials may result in a ‘clean/green label’ additive. Such changes have revitalized many commercial processes. Antimicrobial interventions are not limited to chemical/biological treatments; there are also physical processes (drying, blanching, sous vide, hot water shower, submersed water pasteurization, radiant heat oven, microwave processing, high-pressure processing, cold atmospheric plasma) that can provide effective food safety measures to inhibit pathogens and spoilage organisms. As Guest Editor of this Special Issue, I look forward to receiving and reviewing your contributions to this topic.

Prof. Dr. Peter Muriana
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Antimicrobial interventions against foodborne pathogens or spoilage organisms
  • Foodborne pathogens (L. monocytogenes, STEC E. coli, Salmonella, Clostridium, Staphylococcus)
  • Evaluation of surrogate microorganisms to mimic foodborne pathogens during processing
  • Inhibition of spore germination
  • Biofilm, microbial adherence, and removal or elimination
  • Bacteriocins as biopreservatives
  • Challenge studies and microbial validation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2154 KiB  
Article
Application of a Bacteriophage–Sanitizer Combination in Post-Harvest Control of E. coli O157:H7 Contamination on Spinach Leaves in the Presence or Absence of a High Organic Load Produce Wash
by Badrinath Vengarai Jagannathan, Steven Kitchens, Stuart Price, Melissa Morgan and Paul Priyesh Vijayakumar
Appl. Microbiol. 2022, 2(1), 12-24; https://doi.org/10.3390/applmicrobiol2010002 - 27 Dec 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3195
Abstract
Foodborne illness due to the consumption of contaminated products continues to be a serious public health issue. Bacteriophages might provide a natural and effective way to control and reduce the pathogenic bacterial population on food products. Researchers have conducted various experiments to prove [...] Read more.
Foodborne illness due to the consumption of contaminated products continues to be a serious public health issue. Bacteriophages might provide a natural and effective way to control and reduce the pathogenic bacterial population on food products. Researchers have conducted various experiments to prove their effectiveness against different pathogens and their ability to act as a natural intervention to control pathogen populations, especially in the food industry. In this study, a cocktail of bacteriophages (phages) was added to wash water in the presence of a high organic load along with commercially used sanitizers (chlorine or Sanidate 5.0) to study the efficacy of the phage–sanitizer combination in the challenge water. It was determined that in the absence of organic loads, the sanitizer by itself or the combination with phages significantly (p < 0.001) reduced the contamination by 3.00–5.00 log CFU/mL. In the presence of organic loads, the sanitizer by itself did not contribute to a significant reduction (p > 0.05) compared to the control. However, the sanitizer–phage combination led to a 3.00-log and 6.00-log reduction (p < 0.001) of the pathogen at the end of 3 and 6 h, respectively, in the presence of high organic loads. Therefore, utilizing a combination treatment (phage–sanitizer) might be one solution to reduce pathogen contamination in the food industry, especially the fresh produce industry, thus providing safe food for consumption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Microbiology of Foods)
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13 pages, 3242 KiB  
Article
Isolation and Characterization of Nitrate Reducing Bacteria for Conversion of Vegetable-Derived Nitrate to ‘Natural Nitrite’
by Arjun Bhusal and Peter M. Muriana
Appl. Microbiol. 2021, 1(1), 11-23; https://doi.org/10.3390/applmicrobiol1010002 - 5 Mar 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 15784
Abstract
In the US, sodium nitrate is used as a preservative and curing agent in processed meats and is therefore a regulated ingredient. Nitrate reducing bacteria (NRB) can convert vegetable nitrate into nitrite allowing green/clean label status in the US as per the USDA-FSIS [...] Read more.
In the US, sodium nitrate is used as a preservative and curing agent in processed meats and is therefore a regulated ingredient. Nitrate reducing bacteria (NRB) can convert vegetable nitrate into nitrite allowing green/clean label status in the US as per the USDA-FSIS definition of ‘natural nitrite’. The current ‘in-liquid’ test tube assay for detecting nitrite is not suitable for screening mixtures of bacteria nor is commercial nitrate broth suitable for growth of many Gram (+) bacteria. M17 broth was therefore used to develop M17-nitrate broth to be inclusive of Gram (+) bacteria. An ‘on-agar’ colony-screening assay was developed to detect the conversion of nitrate to nitrite on agar plates and could detect one NRB+ colony among ~300–500 colonies on a single plate. Samples that might have NRB were spread-plated on M17 agar plates, sandwiched with nitrate agar, and after incubation followed with sequential agar overlays containing the reagents used in the nitrate reduction assay; the appearance of red color zones above colonies indicated the presence of nitrite. NRB derived from various samples were confirmed for nitrate conversion and both nitrate and nitrite were quantified by C8 reversed-phase (RP) ion-pairing high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis (1 ppm limit of detection). Staphylococcus carnosus, a strain commonly used for nitrate reduction, was able to convert 1100 ppm M17-nitrate broth to 917 ppm nitrite. Staphylococcus caprae and Panteoa agglomerans, NRB isolated using the M17-nitrate agar assay, were also able to ferment the same broth to 916 ppm and 867 ppm nitrite, respectively. This is the first report of an on-agar colony screening assay for the detection and isolation of nitrite reducing bacteria allowing NRB to be readily isolated. This may allow for the identification of new bacteria that may have a more efficient process to generate nitrite, and possibly concomitant with production of additional natural antimicrobials, as vegetable nitrite becomes more widely used to prevent spore germination. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Microbiology of Foods)
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