The production of antimicrobial sachet from silica-alginate-nanocellulose composite beads as carrier materials with the addition of nanocellulose (0, 1, 3, 5%) as nanofiller and cinnamon essential oil (CEO) as antimicrobial agent was investigated. The nanocellulose was isolated from oil palm empty fruit bunches by mechanical treatment using a combination of ultrafine grinding and ultrasonication. The produced composite beads were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The produced composite beads with 5% nanocellulose (BDCN5) was more compact and spherical than others. Meanwhile, the produced antimicrobial sachets were performed with release characteristic and antimicrobial tests. The antimicrobial sachet with the addition of nanocellulose showed the cinnamon essential oil was significantly released from beads for 60 min and had a high inhibitory effect. Almost all microorganisms tested by BDCN5 showed a high inhibitory effect, 5.43% for inhibiting Escherichia coli, 5.19% for Salmonella sp, 3.36% for Aspergillus sp, and 8.72% for Staphylococcus aureus.

Background and objectives: Dates, as a valuable and high-quality product, are the most important fruit in south of Iran. The quality of this fruit after harvesting and during the storage period, especially in the outside conditions of cold storage, may be changed due to biochemical and microbial interactions. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of cinnamaldehyde, sulfur dioxide, and ethanol in special multi-layer sachets on the quality characteristics of Mazafati during the storage period in cold and ambient temperatures.Materials and methods: To conduct the experiment, cinnamaldehyde, and ethanol combined with bentonite and sodium metabisulfite alone were placed in special multi-layer sachets. Inside each package of Mazafati samples (~ 300 g) a sachet was placed in order to evaluate the quality characteristics (weight loss, pH, acidity, total soluble solids, peroxidase and catalase enzymes, microbial tests, and sensory evaluation) of stored samples in refrigerator and ambient temperatures. This research was studied using a factorial experiment based on randomized complete design with 5 treatments (cinnamaldehyde, sodium metabisulfite, and ethanol at 25°C and the control samples at 4 and 25°C) in 3 replicates. Results: The changes related to weight loss, pH, acidity, and total soluble solids in the samples stored at 4°C were lower than the samples with releasing sachets; The highest changes were observed in control samples at 25°C (p<0.05). Among the samples treated with releasing sachets, the lowest pH and acidity changes were observed in the fruit samples treated with cinnamaldehyde and sulfur dioxide releasing sachets, respectively, also the lowest total soluble solids change was observed in the samples treated with sulfur dioxide releasing sachets and ethanol at the end of the storage period. peroxidase and catalase activity were higher in the samples stored at 4°C compared to other samples. Among the fruit treated with releasing sachets, the samples treated with sulfur dioxide and cinnamaldehyde releasing sachets respectively had more peroxidase and catalase activity than other samples. The counts of mesophilic bacteria and fungi of Mazafati samples stored at 4°C on the first day of storage were 2.8 and 3.4 log CFU g−1, respectively, which were significantly higher than the microbial counts of the samples stored at was 25°C (p<0.05). In the treated samples with ethanol, sulfur dioxide, and cinnamaldehyde the microbial populations were less than the detection limit. The panelists gave a lower score to the sample stored at 25°C due to the drier texture, sour taste and aroma at the end of the storage period, and the sample stored at 4°C received a higher sensory score. Among the samples treated with releasing sachets, the highest scores for aroma, taste, and overall acceptance were given to the sample treated with cinnamaldehyde releasing sachet.Conclusion: Storage temperature is an important factor that can affect the quality characteristics of Mazafati fruit during the storage period. In this regard, the least change of these parameters or in other words better preservation of quality characteristics was observed at 4°C. In general, among the investigated treatments and considering the cold storage costs, the use of cinnamaldehyde and sulfur dioxide-releasing sachets at 25°C storage, can be suggested to prevent microbial growth, reduce physicochemical changes, maintain quality characteristics, and ultimately the increase of Mazafati fruit shelf life.

Background: Activity concentrations of 40K, 226Ra and 228Ra were measured in some sachet drinking water samples produced in Nigeria.Materials and Methods: The measurement was done by using high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector (Canberra Industries Inc.). The measured activity concentrations for 226Ra (U-series) and 228Ra (Thseries) were used with their ingested dose conversion factors to estimate annual effective doses for the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) age groups 0 – 1y, 1 – 2y, 2 – 7y, 7 – 12y, 12 – 17y and >17y from consumption of the water samples. Results: Measured activity concentration values varied from 0.57±0.21 to 34.08±5.61 Bq l-1, 2.22±0.97 to 15.50±4.51 Bq l-1 and 0.04±0.01 to 7.04±1.16 Bq l-1 for the radionuclides respectively. Estimated total annual effective doses varied from 4.73 to 49.13, 1.21 to 12.26, 0.86 to 8.54, 1.22 to 11.66, 3.40 to 28.98 and 0.68 to 5.04 mSv y-1 for the age groups respectively. The highest total annual effective dose was found in Tisco sample while the lowest was found in Focar sample. Conclusion: The total annual effective dose in all samples considerably exceeded the average worldwide ingestion exposure dose value of 0.12 mSv y-1 from uranium and thorium series reported by the United Nations Scientific Committee on Effects of Atomic Radiations (UNSCEAR). Therefore the Nigeria populace is advised to consume less of these water samples.

For both big and small flows, reverse osmosis is particularly effective at treating brackish, surface, and groundwater. Pharmaceutical, boiler feed water, food and beverage, metal finishing, and semiconductor production are a few examples of businesses that employ RO water. This research establishes a method for testing the performance reliability of RO systems. The RO can turn unrestricted amounts of impure water into portable drinkable water without releasing carbon dioxide or other contaminants into the atmosphere. Because of these advantages, RO has been increasingly incorporated to meet pure water demand. In the present research, we consider a reverse osmosis system that is made up of six components. Raw water tank, with two units of tanks, one of them needs to be operational at a time. The second subsystem is the sand filter. The sand filter is needed for the system operation. The third subsystem is the activated carbon filter. Two out of three consecutive units of the activated carbon filter are necessary for the operation. Subsequently, the precision filter has one unit. And the unit is essential for operation. The RO membrane is the next subsystem. In this paper, one out of the three is essential for the system to be in operation. Finally, the last subsystem is the water-producing tank. One out of one of the water-producing tanks is necessary for operation. Availability, mean time to failure (MTTF), cost analysis, and reliability are discussed in the paper.

Background: In many developing countries, numerous brands of bottled water and the relatively cheaper counterpart, sachet water, can be found in all cities, towns, and even villages. This study assessed the concentrations of some phthalates and metals in bottled and sachet water sold in Lagos, Nigeria. Methods: Fifteen pieces of plastic bottled water and 15 pieces of sachet water were randomly obtained from different street vendors in Lagos, Nigeria. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used to determine the levels of dimethylphthalate (DMP), diethylphthalate (DEP), and dibutylphthalate (DBP). Also, atomic absorption spectroscopy assay was applied in order to assess the contents of metals, including zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd). All statistical analyses were carried out using the SPSS (version 20). Results: The mean concentrations of DMP, DEP, and DBP in bottled water samples were 0. 564± 0. 074, 0. 248± 0. 166, and 0. 042± 0. 049 mg/L, respectively; these rates for sachet water samples were 0. 803± 0. 049, 0. 243± 0. 035, and 0. 160± 0. 073 mg/L, respectively. Some significant differences (p<0. 01) were found between phthalates concentrations of various water brands. The mean DMP concentration of sachet water samples was significantly higher (p<0. 01) than that of bottled waters. The concentrations of Zn, Cr, Pb, and Cd in the samples were within the acceptable limits. Conclusion: The higher concentrations of phthalates in sachet water relative to bottled water indicate that drinking sachet water may pose higher risk of phthalates exposure.

Background: Water quality and safety are fundamental to human development and well-being. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the bacteriological and mineral content of water in Ho, the capital city of the Volta Region of Ghana. Methods: Sachet, bottled, and tap water were sampled from January to February in 2019 due to the high rate of consumption and their presumed quality which were taken at random from five different locations throughout the municipality. Water quality assessment protocols were utilized to ascertain the bacteriological as well as mineral contents of the samples, whilst ANOVA was used to determine statistical difference and significance at p<0.05. Results: The maximum Heterotrophic Plate Count for tap water was 9.95±0.64×105 Colony Forming Unit (CFU)/ml, for sachet water was 7.46±0.09×106 CFU/ml, and for bottled water was 1.10±0.56×105 CFU/ml, all obtained on nutrient agar. For MacConkey agar, maximum growth was 2.94±0.03×106, 9.42±1.67×106, and 2.31±0.77×105 CFU/ml for tap, sachet, and bottled water, respectively. The Xylose Lysine Deoxycholate Agar indicated maximum growth of 1.84±0.34×103, 5.72±0.06×106, and 5.50±2.12×104 CFU/ml for tap, sachet, and bottled water, respectively. The physical parameters such as pH, turbidity, color, and conductivity were within the recommended limits set by the Ghana Standards Authority. However, tap water recorded the highest turbidity, bottled water recorded the highest and least pH and turbidity, respectively. Moreover, the mineral analysis revealed high levels of phosphate (PO₄³⁻), chloride (Cl-), and sodium (Na) in bottled water, and total iron (Fe) was relatively high in several tap and sachet water samples, the latter item also recorded the highest for ammonia (NH3). Conclusions: Overall, the tap, sachet, and bottled water samples exhibited varied levels of microbial, and mineral contents whilst the physical parameters were relatively within the recommended levels. The sachet and tap water were the least wholesome in comparison with the bottled water samples. DOI: 10.18502/jfqhc.11.1.14991