Pathogens and Spoilage Microorganisms—Impact on Food Safety and Quality

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Quality and Safety".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 18 October 2024 | Viewed by 6872

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 27272, United Arab Emirates
2. Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Food Microbiology, Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, 451 10 Ioannina, Greece
Interests: food safety; natural food antimicrobials; food quality and safety of traditional Mediterranean and Arabic foods

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Guest Editor
Human Nutrition Department, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar
Interests: food packaging; food safety; food quality; essential oils; Arabic foods

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The human necessity of sustainability calls for having enough food, clean water, and quality environmental land for food production. In recent decades, apart from traditional foods, which are usually consumed locally, a massive food revolution has been witnessed, seeing foods available in different markets to both satisfy the quest of consumers for new ventures and to fulfill demands for gourmet, nutritional, quality, and safe food.

However, every food item, by its nature, is subjected to natural spoilage and deterioration, mostly by microorganisms, the latter in some cases making foods potentially unsafe for consumers. Foods, either available naturally or through sustainable food production, should be safe in order to reassure public health and consumers’ wellbeing. New food-processing technologies, which have been emerging over the last years, have managed to provide both an extension in shelf life and an improvement in food safety; however, foodborne infections do exist globally and, in some countries, aside from economic losses, result in deaths.

Combating both the spoilage of foods and maintaining their safety are crucial challenges nowadays for food supply chains, and in this context alternative technologies in food processing with the use of “natural preservatives” have been suggested. We invite researchers to submit manuscripts to this Special Issue, which in particular should stress the latest developments in tackling issues of food quality and safety in the current globalized world, where food quality and food safety need to be maintained by using state-of-the art processing technologies in order to guarantee the wellbeing of traditional and modern consumers.

Prof. Dr. Ioannis Savvaidis
Dr. Layal Karam
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • food spoilage
  • food pathogens
  • foodborne outbreaks
  • antimicrobials
  • emerging food-processing technologies
  • antimicrobial food packaging

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 5257 KiB  
Article
Microbial Decontamination of Cuminum cyminum Seeds Using “Intensification of Vaporization by Decompression to the Vacuum”: Effect on Color Parameters and Essential Oil Profile
by Hana Tannir, Espérance Debs, Georges Mansour, Susanne Neugart, Rima El Hage, Mahmoud I. Khalil, Nada El Darra and Nicolas Louka
Foods 2024, 13(14), 2264; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13142264 - 18 Jul 2024
Viewed by 676
Abstract
Cumin seeds are frequently utilized in herbal infusions and as flavoring agents in home cuisine. Nevertheless, studies have demonstrated that spices are frequently contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, including bacterial spores. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a new [...] Read more.
Cumin seeds are frequently utilized in herbal infusions and as flavoring agents in home cuisine. Nevertheless, studies have demonstrated that spices are frequently contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, including bacterial spores. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a new decontamination method called “Intensification of Vaporization by Decompression to the Vacuum” (IVDV) on intentionally contaminated Cuminum cyminum seeds. The study also examined the impact of this treatment on the color and oil profile of the treated samples. The untreated samples were inoculated with Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) and Salmonella Typhimurium (ATCC 14028) and then subjected to IVDV treatment. Response surface methodology was employed to obtain safe, high-quality cumin seeds presenting a balance between microbial load, color, and oil profile. The optimal IVDV conditions were achieved at a pressure of 3.5 bar and a time of 133.45 s, resulting in typical 4 log reductions observed with 99.99% of Escherichia coli and Salmonella Typhimurium inactivation. The treated spices presented a mild color modification compared to the untreated ones, manifested by a darker shade (decreased L* value), reduced greenness (increased a* value), and heightened yellowness (increased b* value). The GC-MS analysis detected the existence of seven compounds in the treated cumin, with cuminaldehyde being the primary compound (83.79%). Furthermore, the use of IVDV treatment resulted in an increase in the total content of essential oils in some samples, whereby six monoterpenes were identified in the untreated sample compared to seven monoterpenes in IVDV-treated samples. This innovative technology demonstrated high efficacy in decontaminating C. cyminum seeds, improving the extractability of the essential oils while only slightly affecting the color. Full article
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14 pages, 523 KiB  
Article
Survival of Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-to-Eat “Guacamole”: Role of Added Antimicrobials
by Rameez Al Daour, Tareq M. Osaili, Lucy Semerjian, Dinesh Kumar Dhanasekaran, Leila Cheikh Ismail and Ioannis N. Savvaidis
Foods 2024, 13(14), 2246; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13142246 - 17 Jul 2024
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Abstract
Ensuring the microbiological safety of food products is majorly important to regulatory agencies, producers, and consumers. This study aimed to examine the effects of three different antimicrobial agents, including chitosan (CH), mastic oil (M), and citric acid (CA), individually or as a combination, [...] Read more.
Ensuring the microbiological safety of food products is majorly important to regulatory agencies, producers, and consumers. This study aimed to examine the effects of three different antimicrobial agents, including chitosan (CH), mastic oil (M), and citric acid (CA), individually or as a combination, against Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes (artificially inoculated) in Guacamole, a ready-to-eat (RTE) avocado-based salad. The Guacamole samples included untreated samples, designated as CNL, and samples treated as follows: CA 0.15% and CA 0.30% with citric acid added at 0.15% and 0.30% v/w; CH 0.5% and CH 1% with chitosan at 0.5 and 1% v/w; M 0.2% and M 0.4% with mastic essential oil (EO) at 0.2% and 0.4% v/w; CACH with CA 0.30% and CH 1% v/w; CAM with CA 0.30% and M 0.4% v/w; CHM with CH 1% and M 0.4% v/w; and CACHM with CA 0.30%, CH 1%, and M 0.4% v/w. Microbiological evaluation, monitoring of the pH values, and proximate analyses (moisture, fat, protein, ash, and water activity) were performed at different time intervals (days 0, 1, 3, 5, and 7) at two storage temperatures (4 and 10 °C). Antimicrobial treatments, particularly CH 1% and CACHM, effectively (p < 0.05) reduced Salmonella spp. and E. coli O157:H7 populations at 4 °C, while CACHM showed the most efficacy against L. monocytogenes. However, at 10 °C, antimicrobials had limited impact, and the bacterial counts exhibited an increasing trend during storage. The pH values in the avocado-based salad samples showed, in general, higher decreases at 10 compared to 4 °C, with the CHM combination showing the highest antimicrobial effect. Full article
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12 pages, 1601 KiB  
Article
Prodigiosin-Producing Serratia marcescens as the Causal Agent of a Red Colour Defect in a Blue Cheese
by Javier Rodríguez, Cristina Lobato, Lucía Vázquez, Baltasar Mayo and Ana Belén Flórez
Foods 2023, 12(12), 2388; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12122388 - 16 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2402
Abstract
Technological defects in the organoleptic characteristics of cheese (odour, colour, texture, and flavour) reduce quality and consumer acceptance. A red colour defect in Cabrales cheese (a traditional, blue-veined, Spanish cheese made from raw milk) occurs infrequently but can have a notable economic impact [...] Read more.
Technological defects in the organoleptic characteristics of cheese (odour, colour, texture, and flavour) reduce quality and consumer acceptance. A red colour defect in Cabrales cheese (a traditional, blue-veined, Spanish cheese made from raw milk) occurs infrequently but can have a notable economic impact on family-owned, artisanal cheesemaking businesses. This work reports the culture-based determination of Serratia marcescens as the microbe involved in the appearance of red spots on the surface and nearby inner areas of such cheese. Sequencing and analysis of the genome of one S. marcescens isolate, RO1, revealed a cluster of 16 genes involved in the production of prodigiosin, a tripyrrole red pigment. HPLC analysis confirmed the presence of prodigiosin in methanol extracts of S. marcescens RO1 cultures. The same was also observed in extracts from red areas of affected cheeses. The strain showed low survival rates under acidic conditions but was not affected by concentrations of up to 5% NaCl (the usual value for blue cheese). The optimal conditions for prodigiosin production by S. marscescens RO1 on agar plates were 32 °C and aerobic conditions. Prodigiosin has been reported to possess antimicrobial activity, which agrees with the here-observed inhibitory effect of RO1 supernatants on different bacteria, the inhibition of Enterobacteriaceae, and the delayed development of Penicillium roqueforti during cheesemaking. The association between S. marcescens and the red colour defect was strengthened by recreating the fault in experimental cheeses inoculated with RO1. The data gathered in this study point towards the starting milk as the origin of this bacterium in cheese. These findings should help in the development of strategies that minimize the incidence of pigmenting S. marcescens in milk, the red defect the bacterium causes in cheese, and its associated economic losses. Full article
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Review

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16 pages, 976 KiB  
Review
Research Progress on Biological Accumulation, Detection and Inactivation Technologies of Norovirus in Oysters
by Yiqiang Sun, Meina Liang, Feng Zhao and Laijin Su
Foods 2023, 12(21), 3891; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12213891 - 24 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1870
Abstract
Noroviruses (NoVs) are major foodborne pathogens that cause acute gastroenteritis. Oysters are significant carriers of this pathogen, and disease transmission from the consumption of NoVs-infected oysters occurs worldwide. The review discusses the mechanism of NoVs bioaccumulation in oysters, particularly the binding of histo-blood [...] Read more.
Noroviruses (NoVs) are major foodborne pathogens that cause acute gastroenteritis. Oysters are significant carriers of this pathogen, and disease transmission from the consumption of NoVs-infected oysters occurs worldwide. The review discusses the mechanism of NoVs bioaccumulation in oysters, particularly the binding of histo-blood group antigen-like (HBGA-like) molecules to NoVs in oysters. The review explores the factors that influence NoVs bioaccumulation in oysters, including temperature, precipitation and water contamination. The review also discusses the detection methods of NoVs in live oysters and analyzes the inactivation effects of high hydrostatic pressure, irradiation treatment and plasma treatment on NoVs. These non-thermal processing treatments can remove NoVs efficiently while retaining the original flavor of oysters. However, further research is needed to reduce the cost of these technologies to achieve large-scale commercial applications. The review aims to provide novel insights to reduce the bioaccumulation of NoVs in oysters and serve as a reference for the development of new, rapid and effective methods for detecting and inactivating NoVs in live oysters. Full article
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