The Persian granular caviar traditionally is made in two forms of additives (1) with salt but without any preservative and (2) with salt and preservative (Boric acid and Borax). This preservative has a very weak antimicrobial activity and beside its use is illegal in most western countries. Therefore because of an urgent need for a new formulation of additive in this product, 16 formulations of additives were used and evaluated in this study. These formulations, contained 3 concentrations of salt (4.5, 5 and 5.5%) and 4 combinations of preservatives including (1) a mixture of 0.3% Boric acid with 0.4% of Borax, (2) a mixture of 0.26% K- sorbate with 80 ppm of Na-nitrite, (3) 0.1% of methyl paraben and (4) 0.2% of methyl paraben. All of these formula were made in Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) broth and inoculated with 2 bacteria (e. botulinum type E spores and E. coli type O111 ells) using> 105 spores or cells per ml of broth and stared for up to 7d at 30°C. Clostridium botulinum was examined for both growth and toxicity testing using bioassay technic. The results indicated that the lowest antimicrobial activity belonged to the combination of Boric acid and Borax plus salt concentration of 4.5 to 5.5% with only bacteriostatic activity.The highest antimicrobial activity belonged to the combination of 0.1 to 0.2% met Growth and toxigenesis study of C. botulinum and E. coli affected by various formulations of salt and Preservatives expected for processing of caviar hylparaben plus salt concentration of 4.5 to 5.5% with a strong bacteriocidic activity. Increasing of salt from 4.5 to 5.5 concentrations slightly increased the antimicrobial activity of the additive combination. Therefore methyl paraben which is a GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) preservative, and has a strong antimicrobial activity at high pH values, was selected for use in caviar.

Background and Objectives: In many countries, there is a popular belief that the simultaneous handling of food and money contributes to the incidence of food - related public health incidents. The objective of this study was to determine the total bacterial count and the presence of food borne bacterial pathogens on Iranian currency notes, collected from food - related shops.Materials and Methods: A total of 120 Iranian currency notes, comprising notes in four denomination (2000, 5000, 10000 and 20000 R) were collected from various food-related shops including, butchery, bakery, confectionary, fast food, ice cream and poultry meat shop. The currency notes were categorized into three groups according to their physical conditions. All currency notes were examined for total bacterial count, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella and Listeria according to the standard techniques.Results:The average number of total bacterial count in four denomination of currency notes (2000, 5000, 10000 and 20000 R) were 118.49, 106.32, 69.44 and 220.81 CFU/cm2, respectively. The association between total bacterial count and denomination of the currency was not statistically significant. Of the 120 currency notes on which bacteriological analysis was conducted 13.3 %, 32.5% and 10.8 % were contaminated with E. coli, S. aureus and B. cereus, respectively. Salmonella and Listeria were not isolated from samples. Currency notes collected from butchery, bakery,confectionary, fast food, ice cream and poultry meat shop were contaminated with E. coli at the rate of 60, 0, 5, 5, 0 and 10 %; with S. aureus at the rate of 55, 30, 10, 25, 40 and 35 %; with B. cereus at the rate of 0, 10, 20, 5, 20 and 10 %, respectively. There was not a statistically significant association between physical condition and bacterial contamination of the currency notes. The effect of presence or absence of cashier in food-related shops on bacterial contamination of the currency notes was also evaluated.Conclusion: Money has got the potential to change through many different hands and could be exposed to many different environments at a relatively high frequency. Since there is very little information regarding the hygienic history of any forms of currency, great care should be taken when the same person facilitates the handling of money and the preparation and handling of food to avoid cross contamination.

Probiotics are products from microbial cells that have useful influence on health and tranquility of humans. According to numerous studies, many valuable properties such as anti-mutagenic, anti-carcinogenic, boosting body immunity and resistance against enteric pathogens have been attributed to probiotics. Therefore the aim of this study is to specify the effect of probiotics use in the diet of broilers on microbial hazards of poultry meat. For this purpose, two groups of treatment and control each containing 40 broiler chicks were chosen and edible probiotic were given to the treatment group throughout the whole 55 days of the rearing period under the same conditions and following slaughter 100 grams of skin and breast meat samples were collected from each carcass and transferred to food hygiene laboratory of the veterinary faculty under sterile conditions. Total microbial count, Staphylococcus aureous, fecal Streptococci, Clostridium perferingens, Coliforms counts and detection of Salmonella and E.coli were performed on the samples according to standard approaches of Iran. The results were analyzed using independent t-Test and Chi-square test. Comparison of the means of total microbial count, coliform, enteric streptococci and meat staphylococcus counts in the control and treatment group using independent t-Test showed a significant reduction (p<0.005). Also, detection of E.coli in the treatment group showed a significant reduction in comparison with the control group (p<0.05) although, Salmonella and Clostridium reductions were not statistically significant. It seems that oral consumption of probiotics is effective in the reduction of enteric pathogenic bacteria of poultry meat. Therefore, if the frequency and level of microbial contamination of food including poultry meat with these micro-organisms is reduced on effective step is undertaken towards reduction of food borne diseases and improvement of hygienic quality and shelf life of poultry meat. 

Monolaurin, pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium L., Labiatae) and spearmint (Mentha spicata L.) essential oils have various antibacterial activities on microorganisms. Enhancement of antibacterial activity and detect their combination effects on B.cereus ATCC 11778 and E. coli O157:H7 were the purpose of this investigation. Monolaurin preparation, spearmint and pennyroyal oils preparation and their chemical composition analysis with GC-MS method, bacterial inoculums preparation, antimicrobial susceptibility testing using broth micro dilution MIC testing and finally statistic analysis of results with SPSS software package were the material and methods used in this research. MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) of pennyroyal oil, spearmint oil, monolaurin, monolaurin-pennyroyal oil combination and monolaurin-spearmint oil combination on B.cereus and E. coli O157:H7 were significant (p<0.01). The MIC of monolaurin-pennyroyal oil combination and monolaurin-spearmint oil combination on B.cereus in comparison with the MIC of pennyroyal and spearmint oils separately were significant (p<0.01). Monolaurin-spearmint oil combination on E.coli O157:H7 synergistic inhibitory effect was shown. The most effective antimicrobial agents on B.cereus were monolaurin, monolaurin-spearmint oil combination and monolaurin-pennyroyal oil combination, and the least effective agent was spearmint oil. Also the most effective antimicrobial agent on E. coli O157:H7 was pennyroyal oil, and the least effective agent was monolaurin. Since the MIC of monolaurin-pennyroyal oil combination and monolaurin-spearmint oil combination on E.coli O157:H7 in comparison with using them separately were not significant, so for significant effect on E.coli O157:H7 and other gram negative bacteria, combination of monolaurin with chelator agents and other natural antimicrobials is suggested.

Thyme (Zataria multiflora Boiss) cultivated in Iran is extensively used as flavoring agent in dairy products. Also it has antimicrobial effects on the pathogenic bacteria which cause some food borne diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial effect of this plant’s essential oil on Escherichia coli O157:H7 in white brined cheese, considering the organoleptic properties of cheese. The essential oil of Z. multiflora Boiss. Was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC/MS. Preliminary sensory tests were carried out to establish the upper level of the essential oil incorporation. At the end of storage time, evaluation of the sensory characteristics of the supplemented cheeses suggested that, Z. multiflora Boiss. Essential oil’s concentrations more than 200 ppm in cheese milk had adverse effects on the taste and odor of cheeses. Therefore, further examinations were carried out with 0, 100, 150 and 200 ppm concentrations. The inhibitory effects of different concentrations of the Z. multiflora Boiss. essential oil on E. coli O157:H7 were determined by enumeration of the microorganism on selective media and comparing the bacterial counts in different groups. The inhibitory effect of Z. multiflora Boiss. essential oil at concentration of 200 ppm was higher compared to its lower concentrations and also compared to the control groups. No significant difference (P>0.05) was observed between the pH values of control groups and treated samples. Incorporation of Z. multiflora Boiss. essential oil at concentration of 200 ppm into cheese milk had significant antibacterial activity (P<0.05). However, when these kinds of essential oil have to be recommended for cheese safety, issue of strong taste and smell should be addressed.

The diseases due of the consumption septic and unsafe nutrition are one of the major problems in developed and developing countries yet. Ice cream is a dairy product which favors the growth of microorganisms. Production of non-pasteurized handmade ice cream as traditional ice cream is very popular in Iran. In attention to more consumption of ice cream in warm seasons, especially in tropical areas, this study was conducted from the aspect of indicator microorganisms in ice cream. In this research, totally 120 samples were collected during summer of 2009 from different part of Ahvaz. According to reference methods and in order to examine Coliform and E.coli and Staphylococcus aureus contamination of samples, selective media and finally biochemical test were carried out. The results showed that 94 (78.33%) and 13 (10.83%) samples were contaminated to coliform and E.coli respectively, while 38 (31.67%) out of 120 samples were contaminated to coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus. The result of this study showed that in attention the standard limits, the most of the examined ice creams were not allowed for consumption. Therefore, the more seriously monitoring to prevent bacterial contaminations should be considered by responsible authorities.

Escherichia coli is among the most important intestinal foodborne bacterial pathogens. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of E. coli in traditionally-made ice creams at retails of Khoy city. Moreover, the antibiotic profile of the isolates was investigated. For this, during April to September 2012, 150 ice cream samples collected from markets and confectionery shops. The samples were analyzed for the presence of E. coli. Afterwards, the antibiotic susceptibility and resistance of the isolates was evaluated on 10 different antibiotic using Kirby-Bauer test. According to the results, 31.33% (47.150) of the samples were found positive for E. coli. The results of antibiogram test indicated that the highest level of sensitivity was determined for ceftizoxim (80.85%), ciprofloxacin (78.73%), and ceftriaxone (74.47%), respectively. In contrast, the most resistance antibiotics were amoxicillin (95.74%), oxacilin (82.98%), kanamycin (61.7%), respectively. The results revealed that the prevalence of E. coli, as the indication of fecal contamination, in traditionally made ice cream in Khoy retails and the antibiotic profile of the isolates were noticeable.

Ice cream is a popular dairy product especially in warm seasons. Due to its lengthy shelf life, it is considered as one of the potentially high-risk foods in transmission of food-borne pathogens. The aim of this study was to evaluate the bacterial contamination of ice cream in Urmia city. To achieve this goal, Urmia city was divided into four regions based on scattering of the ice cream retailers. Afterwards, 144 samples were purchased from traditional retails using cluster sampling method. Bacterial contamination of the samples was analyzed according to the procedures of the Iranian National Standards. Based on the results, 78% of the samples contained the load of contamination higher than 4.2×107 CFU/g. Moreover, 82.9% of the samples were contaminated with more than 10 CFU of Enterobacteriaceae per gram. Results also revealed that 52.2% and 2.8% of the samples were contaminated with E. coli and coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. Salmonella was not detected in any of the samples. High microbial contaminations in traditional ice creams represent non-hygienic practices at different stages of production.