JOURNAL OF FOOD QUALITY AND HAZARDS CONTROL
Year:2018 | Volume:5 | Issue:1|Papers Count:7

Emerging economies have often poor hygiene practices in traditional milk and dairy production all over the world. Therefore, pathogenic bacteria in milk pose major public health concerns especially for those communities who still consume raw milk. Escherichia coli and coliforms are often used as indicator microorganisms, so their presence in food implies poor hygiene and sanitary practices. The main purpose of this article is to review information on milk quality and coliform bacteria contamination associated with the production and distribution of raw milk in some of the low and middle income economies around the world. Data reported on coliform counts in milk samples from some countries categorized as low and middle income economies in Africa, South America, Asia, and Europe. Local marketing of raw milk has been increased in the low and middle income countries because of low purchasing power of most native consumers. This population is at risk of illnesses from food-borne pathogens as a result of poor milk handling along the informal milk value chains. The regulatory bodies from these low and middle income countries are usually underfunded; therefore the safety standards of the milk chain cannot be sufficiently provided, endangering public health. On the other hand, there are huge losses of milk due to microbial spoilage in the low and middle income countries. So, it is necessary for the low and middle income countries to invest in infrastructures and establishments such as potable water supply to the dairy actors, increase the electricity connectivity from national grid and off-grid, improve the transport infrastructure, and financial support of the standards regulatory institutions. Paying attention to the mentioned actions can help to improve milk safety and quality and thereby reduce the risk of the food-borne illnesses.

Background: Due to its nutrient content, a variety of spoilage microorganisms can grow in bee pollen, especially when handling practices are not appropriate. So, this survey was designed to assess the physicochemical and microbiological properties of bee pollen collected from Bulgaria. Methods: In June 2014, 13 fresh and 19 dried bee pollen samples were collected from Bulgaria. Water activity (aw), pH, Total Titratable Acidity (TTA), and bacteriological and fungal counts were evaluated. Data were analyzed using Statistica ver. 10. Results: Mean aw value for fresh and dried bee pollen samples were 0. 717 and 0. 359, respectively showing significant (p<0. 01) difference. The mean pH values of fresh bee pollen samples (4. 23) was significantly (p<0. 01) lower than that of dried ones (5. 21). Also, there is statistically significant difference (p<0. 01) between mean TTA value of fresh bee pollen (3. 69 g/100 g) and mean TTA value of dried samples (2. 09 g/100 g). The mean total viable count in fresh bee pollen samples was 182153. 8 Colony Forming Unit (CFU)/g which was significantly (p<0. 01) higher than that of dried samples (30352. 6 CFU/g); whereas statistical analysis demonstrated that there were no significant differences (p>0. 01) among the fresh and dried pollen for Enterobacteriaceae, lactic acid bacteria, and Staphylococcus spp. counts. The fungal colony count in the fresh bee pollen samples varied from 560 to 37000 CFU/g which were significantly (p<0. 01) higher than that in the dried ones. Conclusion: The fresh bee pollen analyzed in this survey had poor microbial quality compared to the dried bee pollen. There is also need to adopt appropriate manufacturing practices to prevent possible contamination by equipment or handling of Bulgarian bee pollen.

Background: Toxoplasmosis is one of the most prevalent parasitic infections among humans and animals which caused by Toxoplasma gondii. This study was carried out to detection and identification of T. gondii in pregnant women population of Urmia, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was done from August 2015 to March 2016. Totally, 620 pregnant women referred to the urban and rural healthcare centers of Urmia were studied. IgG and IgM specific for T. gondii were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The demographic and risk factors data were collected by questionnaires. All included women completed the consent letter of agreement. The identification of T. gondii was performed using nested Polymerase Chain Reaction. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS 16. 0. Results: Out of 620 pregnant women, 114 (18. 4%) had specific IgG and three (0. 5%) had specific IgM for T. gondii. Statistical analysis showed significant relation between the IgG level and age (p<0. 05). We did not find any significant relation (p>0. 05) between the level of T. gondii specific antibodies with career, education, and vegetable and meat consumption habits. Molecular identification of T. gondii showed type I in isolates obtained from three newborns of IgM-positive mothers. Conclusion: In order to prevent of the disease in newborns, screening of pregnant women and healthcare education are suggested.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus has always been known as an important kind of bacteria causing food poisoning. This study was carried out to determine S. aureus contamination in cream pastries collected from popular confectioneries in Hamedan, Iran; also, presence of the gene encoding Staphylococcal Enterotoxin A (SEA) was studied in the isolates. Methods: During April to October 2014 (as hot and dry seasons) and October to March 2015 (as cold and wet seasons), 80 puff pastry and 80 jelly roll samples were randomly purchased from confectionary markets of Hamedan, Iran. S. aureus colonies were isolated using culture media and identified by biochemical tests. Polymerase Chain Reaction was used for confirming identification of S. aureus using femA gene and detection of sea gene encoding the SEA. The data were analyzed by SPSS version 16. 0. Results: Out of 160 confectionary samples, 61 (38. 1%) were contaminated with S. aureus. Among 61 S. aureus isolates, 16 (26. 2%) contained the sea gene. Prevalence rates of S. aureus in the hot/dry and cold/wet seasons were 43. 7% (35 out of 80) and 32. 5% (26 out of 80), respectively showing significant difference (p<0. 05). However, the contamination rate was not statistically significant between puff pastry and jelly roll samples (p>0. 05). Conclusion: Our results indicated a considerable level of contamination in puff pastry and jelly roll samples with enterotoxigenic S. aureus, which could be due to microbial contamination of raw materials such as cream and utensils used for pastry production and lack of personal hygiene of workers. Consequently, appropriate measures should be applied to reduce the level of contamination in the confectionary products in order to ensure public health safety.

Background: Bacillus cereus is one of the important agents of the food-borne diseases worldwide. In the present study, the dried vegetable samples distributed in Tehran, Iran were evaluated in order to isolation, identification, and enumeration of B. cereus. Methods: A total of 140 samples containing open and packed dried vegetables were randomly purchased from different areas of Tehran, Iran from March to August 2015. Dried vegetable samples were equally divided into seven groups, including dill, parsley, coriander, tarragon, mint, his, and pot roast. After culturing of samples, isolated B. cereus colonies were enumerated and identified using biochemical tests. The statistical tests were done by SPSS 16 (Chicago, IL, USA) software. Results: Totally, 44 out of 140 (31. 4%) dried vegetable samples were contaminated with B. cereus. The B. cereus contamination were found in 25 out of 70 (35. 7%) and 19 out of 70 (27. 1%) open and packed dried vegetable samples, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference (p>0. 05) between contamination rate of B. cereus in open and packed dried vegetable samples. Also, contamination rate of B. cereus was not significantly different (p>0. 05) among various kinds of vegetable samples. Conclusion: Our study showed that dried vegetables sampled from Tehran, capital of Iran were contaminated with B. cereus. More researches are required in order to evaluate the prevalence of B. cereus contamination in raw and fresh vegetable samples consumed in the country.

Background: The quality and safety of fish products is determined by chemical, physical, and microbiological parameters, important for satisfying consumers’ requirements. Also, the freshness of fish is essential for evaluation of its quality. On the Bulgarian retail market, fish is commonly offered chilled, frozen, or processed. The purpose of this study was to determine some physicochemical characteristics of fish products sampled from Bulgarian retail markets. Methods: During June to July 2017, this survey was performed on 45 samples from smoked, semi-dried, marinated, and frozen fish products sold in Bulgarian markets. The samples were collected from specialized stores for fish products, and transported to the laboratory for analysis. Water content, water activity (aw), pH, salt content, and ash content were determined according to the standard protocols. Results: The highest average water content was established in frozen products, followed by almost equal values in marinated, smoked, and semi-dried fish products. The average aw value was also the highest in frozen products (0. 975), it was almost the same in marinated and smoked (0. 892); and the least in semi-dried fish products (0. 905). Semi-dried (3. 36%), marinated (3. 19%), and smoked (3. 03%) fish products had considerably higher average salt content than frozen ones (0. 1%). The average pH value of marinated fish products (5. 26) was lower than frozen (6. 88), smoked (6. 76), and also semi-dried (6. 68) ones. Average ash content was substantially higher in smoked (7. 16%), semi-dried (6. 57%), and marinated (5. 97%) fish products compared with frozen products (1. 18%). Conclusion: It is concluded that the frozen fish products sold in Bulgarian markets are probably more susceptible to spoilage than marinated, smoked, and semi-dried ones.

The publisher would like to inform that the primary title of this published article [Journal of Food Quality and Hazards Control 4 (2017) 113-118], was “ 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural and Total Phenolic Contents and Antioxidative Activity of Northwestern and Southwestern Iran Honey” . However, shortly before preparing of the last version of the galley proof, the journal office received an urgent scientific comment from one of the journal peer-reviewers indicating necessary required correction of the title and consequent related revision. Then, the edited galley proof was considered to be sent to the corresponding author in order to declare any opinion (if any) about the mentioned revision at maximum 72 hours. Unfortunately, it was later found that probably due to temporally problem of the journal website, the galley proof had not been sent to the corresponding author. The publisher apologizes for this unintentional misunderstanding.