Sample preparation and EFTEM of meat samples for nanoparticle analysis in food

Nanoparticles are used in industry for personal care products and the preparation of food. In the latter application, their functions include the prevention of microbes' growth, increase of the foods nutritional value and sensory quality. EU regulations require a risk assessment of the nanoparticles used in foods and food contact materials before the products can reach the market. However, availability of validated analytical methodologies for detection and characterisation of the nanoparticles in food hampers appropriate risk assessment. As part of a research on the evaluation of the methods for screening and quantification of Ag nanoparticles in meat we have tested a new TEM sample preparation alternative to resin embedding and cryo-sectioning. Energy filtered TEM analysis was applied to evaluate thickness and the uniformity of thin meat layers acquired at increasing input of the sample demonstrating that the protocols used ensured good stability under the electron beam, reliable sample concentration and reproducibility

Qualitative risk assessment to support a policy decision on partially eviscerated (effilé) poultry production

Partially-eviscerated (also described as effilé, effileé, roped, partly eviscerated, partially drawn, wire drawn or Boston drawn) poultry are produced by removing the intestines from the poultry carcass but leaving the heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, crop, proventriculus and gizzard inside the body cavity (as defined in Regulation (EC) 543/2008). Regulation (EC) 853/2004 allows production of partially-eviscerated poultry, provided it is authorised by the competent authority. The overall aim of this project was to carry out a risk assessment of partially-eviscerated (effilé) poultry production (poultry with the heart, liver, kidneys, crop, proventriculus and gizzard left inside the body cavity) with a view to considering whether the risks of partially-eviscerated poultry production can be managed to an acceptable level such that the practice could be authorised in the UK. To achieve this aim the project had four Objectives: Objective 1, an initial risk assessment of the public health implications of allowing partially-eviscerated birds into the food chain together with a review of all relevant and appropriate literature/company information relating to the control of partially-eviscerated poultry production; Objective 2, an industrial survey of current production of partially-eviscerated poultry; Objective 3, a series of short practical evaluations of any processes where further data was required; Objective 4, a full analysis of all the data and findings of Objectives 1 to 3 and the production of the final project report. The literature review found that documentation on the production of partially-eviscerated poultry was scarce and not comprehensive. However, it highlighted the important points for risk assessment and identified a reason for the development of partial-evisceration processing, i.e. the prevention of “greening” during storage due to the removal of the intestines. The review of current post-mortem inspection of poultry concluded that of the twenty one conditions that are currently looked for during post-mortem inspection of poultry, the majority of these conditions do not pose a risk to public health. Seven conditions were considered to be of concern to public health (Ascites/oedema, Cellulitis, Contamination, Hepatitis, Pericarditis, Perihepatitis/peritonitis, Respiratory disease (airsacculitis)). It was concluded that only four of those seven conditions (hepatitis, pericarditis, perihepatitis/peritonitis, and respiratory disease (air sacculitis)) may not be identified during post-mortem inspection of partially-eviscerated poultry. Their public health significance was considered to be as indicators of the presence of enteric microbial pathogens rather than any inherent pathology of the conditions. Data on condemnations show that the rates of condemnations for these conditions are very low. In addition, these conditions should be clearly identifiable by the end user of the poultry during preparation of the carcass for cooking. Therefore, in our opinion, it is unlikely that the consumer would ingest such infected viscera. Four French plants and two UK plants were visited during the industrial survey. Although there was a commonality in the practices employed at all of the plants, differences were found between the plants, particularly in the specific method used to remove the intestines from the carcasses in order to produce the product. Four main methods have been identified that can be used to partially eviscerate poultry, three are manual, one is mechanical. The only UK plant currently producing partially-eviscerated poultry, skinned the whole carcass with its feathers on. Partially-eviscerated (effilé) poultry report 3 of 166 Due to the lack of data on the microbiological quality of partially-eviscerated poultry a series of short targeted experimental evaluations were carried out to: (1) investigate the difference in chilling time between partially-eviscerated and eviscerated broiler carcasses; (2) investigate any difference between the growth of microorganisms on partially-eviscerated and eviscerated broiler carcasses during chilled storage; (3) investigate the growth of microorganisms in the organs of partially-eviscerated broiler carcasses during chilled storage. These studies showed: (1) due to the presence of warm internal organs partially-eviscerated poultry carcasses are warmer than eviscerated carcasses at the start of chilling and the rate of cooling of partially-eviscerated poultry carcasses is slower than that of similar eviscerated carcasses; (2) there was no significant difference between the microbiological quality of partially-eviscerated and eviscerated broiler carcasses after chilling and during chilled storage; (3) ACC, Pseudomonas, Enterobacteriaceae, coliform and Escherichia coli counts were all shown to be capable of increasing in/on the heart, crop, feet, gizzard, cavity, skin and liver of partially-eviscerated broiler carcasses after chilling and during chilled storage. A critical review of all available relevant and appropriate literature and data was carried out, supplemented by a survey of current industrial practice and a practical evaluation of processes, to form a risk assessment of the public health implications of allowing partially-eviscerated birds into the food chain. This risk assessment considered: 1. What abnormalities may not be identified in partially-eviscerated poultry production when compared to traditional poultry production; 2. Whether the risk of zoonotic pathogens are any greater for partially-eviscerated poultry production when compared to traditional poultry production; 3. The aetiology of those conditions; 4. The public health implications of those conditions and of allowing partially-eviscerated poultry into the food supply

Sensory quality and shelf-life of locally produced British butters compared to large-scale, industrially produced butters

Purpose – The purpose of this pilot-scale study was to compare the quality of traditionally manufactured butters from local, small British producers with the quality of butters that are produced industrially. Design/methodology/approach – Butter samples were obtained after supervised site inspections of three traditional-butter manufacturers and one large-scale butter producer. The samples were subject to initial microbiological, chemical and sensory testing, followed by a refrigerated shelf-life study over 24 weeks. Findings – Traditional butters matched or exceeded the sensory quality of industrial butters, but spoilage microorganisms tended to grow faster on traditional butters. This seemed to be related to poorer water droplet dispersion in the manufacture of some of the traditionally made butters. Visible mould appeared on two of the traditional butters after eight weeks, but this occurred well after the nominal “best before” date. Originality/value – Prolonged lockdowns due to the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic pose a threat to the food supply chain, and food produced by local manufacturers may become increasingly important. However, are foods produced by local small-scale manufacturers of a quality comparable to that produced using large-scale production facilities? To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is no comparative study of the quality and shelf-life of traditionally-produced and industrially-produced butters. The current work presents such a comparison together with an outline of how the process of traditional butter-making differs from commercial production in Britain

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Profiles of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) Isolated from Fermented Meat Products of European Origin.

Introduction: LAB is a diverse group of Gram-positive anaerobic non-spore forming bacteria which play a critical role in food processing and are often added as starter cultures in a wide range of fermented products. Although it is recognised that the food chain plays a significant role in the complex pathway of AMR transmission to human, relatively little is known about the role of the food chain and how much food contributes to the burden of AMR. Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the AMR profiles of LAB isolates obtained from fermented food products of European origin. Methods: LAB were isolated from chorizo, ham, salami and sausage and was subjected to 18 different antibiotics using the disk diffusion method. The diameter of inhibitory zones was measured after incubation at 37°C under anaerobic conditions. Results: Antibiotic susceptibility profile of 40 LAB isolates revealed that 100% of isolates were resistant to nalidixic acid, 93% to vancomycin, 90% to cefoxitin, 88% to colistin and 83% to polymyxin B. Over 70% percent of isolates tested, show sensitivity to streptomycin (82%), bacitracin (75%), erythromycin (73%), ampicillin (73%), imipenem (73%) and rifampicin (70%). In terms of multiple resistance to antibiotics, our results show that 95% (38/40) of isolates were resistant to at least 4 antimicrobial agents and the highest AMR index recorded in our study was 0.89 while 0.11 was the lowest value recorded. Significance: Determination of AMR profiles of LAB as the dominant microbial community in fermented products is highly important in terms of identifying and understanding mechanisms of persistence and spread of resistance genes within the food supply chain microbial community. The results obtained here highlights the need for continuous monitoring and identification of practices that could be reviewed in order to control and prevent further spread of AMR in the food supply chain

Approaches for improvement in digestive survival of probiotics, a comparative study

The aim of this study was to compare approaches commonly recommended in the literature for the improvement of the survival of probiotics in the human digestive tract. The survival of two probiotics, L. casei W56 and B. lactis W52, in the presence or absence of prebiotics, maize starch, fermented milk and upon encapsulation in calcium alginate-chitosan were evaluated. While B. lactis W52 was resistant to stomach juice, but sensitive to duodenal juice, L. casei W56 showed an exactly opposite behaviour. Overall the digestive survivability of probiotics was not improved by prebiotics, maize starch or encapsulation. A significant improvement of the overall survivability of B. lactis W52 (but not L. casei W56) during in vitro digestion was noted in milk and fermented milk, possibly due to reduction of the activity of bile against this probiotic. Overall no one method could be recommended universally for the improvement of probiotic survivability. Nevertheless, this research indicated that certain probiotic characteristics, such as susceptibility to bile or acid or ability to utilise matrix components as an energy source could perhaps be used in further research to select the most effective approaches to deliver viable cells into lower parts of the digestive tract

Implementation of greywater heat recovery system in hospitals

The constant demand for domestic hot water (DHW) creates great opportunity for drain water heat recovery (DWHR) systems in hospitals, so there is an enormous potential to reduce energy consumption in accordance to the EU environmental policy. This paper aims to assess the energy saving from greywater in hospitals. The energy analysis considered the type, constructions, efficiency of the proposed four types of heat exchangers (HEX). The measured data from two Polish hospitals was elaborated and calculated for two supply cold water temperatures: constant and variable. Results ensure that implementation of HEX type GFX allows to save up 30% of the energy demand

Survival of Salmonella typhimurium DT104 and Salmonella senftenberg 775W on blanched almonds and skin-on almonds exposed to hot oil

Abstract will be available after the 6th of April 2017

Survival of Salmonella typhimurium DT104 and Salmonella senftenberg 775W on blanched almonds and skin-on almonds exposed to hot oil

Abstract will be available after the 6th of April 2017.</p

A study of the effect of Selol on the expression of genes encoding membrane transporters and drugs metabolism enzymes in sensitive and resistant tumour cells

The objective of this study was to demonstrate diff erences in the gene expression of human cervical cancer cells (HeLa) and vinblastine-resistant KB-V1 subline treated with doxorubicin alone and combination of Selol 5% and doxorubicin. Ongoing studies seek to clarify the mechanism of action of Selol in diff erent types of cancer cells, including those which show multidrug resistance. Cells treatment with the tested compounds in the group of genes tested in HeLa cells causes other changes than in KB-V1 cells. In the resistant cells, exposure to Selol 5% and doxorubicin, released the cytotoxic eff ects by changing the expression of ABCC2 and BCL2L1 genes. The observed dependence also allows better understanding the molecular mechanisms of resistance in the KB-V1 cell line.Celem pracy było wykazanie różnic w ekspresji genów komórek ludzkiego nowotworu szyjki macicy (HeLa) i opornej na winblastynę podlinii KB-V1, poddanych działaniu samej doksorubicyny oraz po łącznym podaniu Selolu 5% i doksorubicy. Prowadzone badania zmierzają do wyjaśnienia mechanizmu działania Selolu w różnych typach komórek nowotworowych, w tym opornych wielolekowo. Poddanie komórek działaniu testowanych związków powoduje inne zmiany w grupie badanych genów w komórkach HeLa niż w komórkach KB-V1. Łączne podanie Selolu 5% i doksorubicyny wyzwala efekt cytotoksyczny w komórkach opornych KB-V1, co przypuszczalnie jest związane ze zmianą ekspresji genów ABCC2 i BCL2L1. Zaobserwowana zależność pozwala także lepiej zrozumieć molekularne podłoże oporności komórek linii KB-V1