Undeclared animal species in dry and wet novel and hydrolyzed protein diets for dogs and cats detected by microarray analysis

Abstract Background Although the European Pet Food Industry Federation (FEDIAF) stated that labels must be accurate and provide detailed information on the ingredients, mislabeling of pet food has been documented by several authors. This phenomenon is of particular concern when related to products used as elimination diets for the diagnosis of adverse food reaction (AFR) in dogs and cats because the presence of undeclared ingredients may negatively interfere with the trial and prevent the veterinarian from making an appropriate diagnosis. The aim of this study was to shed light upon the problem of contamination and mislabeling in both dry and wet novel protein diets (NPDs) and hydrolyzed protein diets (HPDs) using a microarray-based commercial kit which tests for the presence of 19 animal species. Results Of the 40 analyzed products (9 dry NPDs, 22 wet NPDs, 6 dry HPDs and 3 wet HPDs), ten presented a content that correctly matched the label, while five did not contain the declared animal species, twenty-three revealed the presence of undeclared animal species, and two had a vague label that did not allow the evaluation of its accuracy. The most frequently contaminants identified in both dry and wet pet foods were pork, chicken and turkey. The presence of undeclared animal species was higher in dry than wet pet foods; furthermore, a lower number of contaminating animal species was identified in HPDs than NPDs (4 vs 10), and a lower number of contaminated HPDs (6 out of 9, 67%) than contaminated NPDs was detected (24 out of 31, 77%). Thirteen out of 14 brands tested presented at least one mislabeled product. Conclusions Mislabeling seems to be a widespread issue in pet foods used as elimination diets. Contamination can occur in all types of products used for the purpose, although dry NPDs are the main issue. Due to the high risk of contamination, particular attention should be given to both the selection of raw material suppliers and the production process

Occurrence, Diversity of Listeria spp. Isolates from Food and Food-Contact Surfaces and the Presence of Virulence Genes

This study evaluates the hazards posed by foodborne bacteria of the Listeria genus by analyzing the occurrence, diversity and virulence of Listeria spp.in food and food-manufacturing plants. Seventy-five isolates obtained from the routine analysis of 653 samples taken by three diagnostic laboratories in Northern Italy were genotypically differentiated by Repetitive Extragenic Palindrome (rep) PCR, with the GTG5 primer identified by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene and examined by specific PCR tests for the presence of L. monocytogenes virulence determinants occasionally found to occur in other species of the genus. Within this sample, 76% (n = 57) isolates were identified as L. innocua, 16% (n = 12) as L. monocytogenes, 6.6% (n = 5) as L. welshimeri and 1.3% (n = 1) as L. seeligeri. All L. monocytogenes isolates belonged to the serotype 1/2a and were predicted to be virulent for the presence of the inlJ internalin gene. Potentially virulent strains of L. innocua, L. seeligeri and L. welshimeri, carrying the L. monocytogenesinlA gene and/or hly gene, were identified, and most isolates were found to possess the toxin–antitoxin system mazEF for efficient adaptation to heat shock. Results indicated the need to reinforce food-contamination-prevention measures against all Listeria species by defining efficiently their environmental distribution

Multi-Analyte MS Based Investigation in Relation to the Illicit Treatment of Fish Products with Hydrogen Peroxide

Fishery products are perishable due to the action of many enzymes, both endogenous and exogenous. The latter are produced by bacteria that may contaminate the products. When fishes age, there is a massive bacteria growth that causes the appearance of off-flavor. In order to obtain “false” freshness of fishery products, an illicit treatment with hydrogen peroxide is reported to be used. Residues of hydrogen peroxide in food may be of toxicology concern. We developed two mass spectrometry based methodologies to identify and quantify molecules related to the treatment of fishes with hydrogen peroxide. With ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) we evaluated the concentration of trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), trimethylamine (TMA), dimethylamine (DMA), and cadaverine (CAD) in fish products. After evaluating LOQ, we measured and validated the lower limits of quantification (LLOQs as first levels of calibration curves) values of 50 (TMAO), 70 (TMA), 45 (DMA), and 40 (CAD) ng/mL. A high ratio between TMAO and TMA species indicated the freshness of the food. With a GC-MS method we confirmed the illicit treatment measuring the levels of H2O2 after an analytical reaction with anisole to give 2-hydroxyanisole as a marker. This latter product was detected in the headspace of the homogenized sample with simplification of the work-up. A LLOQ of 50 ng/mL was checked and validated. When fish products were whitened and refreshed with hydrogen peroxide, the detected amount of the product 2-hydroxyanisole could be very important, (larger than 100 mg/kg). The developed analytical methods were suitable to detect the illicit management of fishery products with hydrogen peroxide; they resulted as sensitive, selective, and robust

Effect of Digestarom® Dietary Supplementation on the Reproductive Performances of Rabbit Does: Preliminary Results

The study investigated the effect of Digestarom® dietary supplementation on the reproductive performances of rabbit does. Pannon Ka (maternal line) multiparous does were randomly divided into two dietary groups since insemination and fed ad libitum. In the first group (n=51), rabbit does were fed with a commercial diet (C), whereas in the other group (n=52) they received the same diet supplemented with 300 mg/kg of Digestarom® (D). The experiment lasted for two reproductive cycles (kindling 1=K1; kindling 2=K2). Body weight of does and litter size (kits born total, alive, stillborn) were recorded at kindling. Litter size and litter weight were registered at 7, 14, 21 days of age after nursing, and the average individual weight of kits was calculated. Kits' mortality was recorded daily. At K1, rabbit does performances were unaffected by dietary treatments. During K2, D does were significantly lighter than C ones (P<0.05) and displayed a lower kindling rate (P<0.05). Digestarom® did not improve the reproductive performance of rabbit does. They seemed to dislike the D diet in K1 and such behavior could have led to the negative results in K2. Further studies should focus on feed acceptance, dose-dependent effect, physiological adaptation and in vivo oxidative status of does. Finally, several consecutive reproductive cycles are recommended to test the efficacy of new feed supplements

Evaluation of the use of serological and bacteriological investigation for monitoring and controlling Salmonella in Italian pig herds

At the European level the control of foodborne diseases is defined by the new zoonoses legislation (Directive 20031991EC and Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003), which points out the necessity to establish surveillance programmes for zoonotic agents in animal populations. Recently Commission Decision 2006/6681EC concerning a baseline study on the prevalence of Salmonella in slaughter pigs has been published. Many different strategies have been developed and applied by EU Member States in order to Implement momtoring and/or control programmes for Salmonella in pigs; these strategies are mamly based on bacteriological analysis (performed on caecal content, ileo caecal lymph nodes or carcass swabs collected at slaughterhouse) and/or on serological analysis (mainly performed on meat juice obtained from diaphragm muscle)

Black soldier fly as dietary protein source for broiler quails: apparent digestibility, excreta microbial load, feed choice, performance, carcass and meat traits

In order to expand with validated scientific data the limited knowledge regarding the potential application of insects as innovative feed ingredients for poultry, the present study tested a partial substitution of soya bean meal and soya bean oil with defatted black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae meal (H) in the diet for growing broiler quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) on growth performance, mortality, nutrients apparent digestibility, microbiological composition of excreta, feed choice, carcass and meat traits. With this purpose, a total of 450 10-day-old birds were allocated to 15 cages (30 birds/cage) and received three dietary treatments: a Control diet (C) and two diets (H1 and H2) corresponding to 10% and 15% H inclusion levels, respectively (H substituted 28.4% soya bean oil and 16.1% soya bean meal for H1, and 100% soya bean oil and 24.8% soya bean meal for H2, respectively). At 28 days of age, quails were slaughtered, carcasses were weighed, breast muscles were then excised from 50 quails/treatment, weighed, and ultimate pH (pHu) and L*, a*, b* colour values were measured. Breast muscles were then cooked to assess cooking loss and meat toughness. For the digestibility trial, a total of 15 28-day-old quails were assigned to the three feeding groups. The excreta samples were subjected to chemical and microbiological analysis. The same 15 quails were then simultaneously provided with C and H2 diets for a 10-day feed choice trial. Productive performance, mortality and carcass traits were in line with commercial standards and similar in all experimental groups. With the exception of ether extract digestibility, which was lower in H1 group compared with C and H2 (P=0.0001), apparent digestibility of dry matter, CP, starch and energy did not differ among treatments. Microbial composition of excreta was also comparable among the three groups. Feed choice trial showed that quails did not express a preference toward C or H2 diets. Breast meat weight and yield did not differ among C, H1 and H2 quails. Differently, the inclusion of H meal reduced meat pHu compared with C. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that H. illucens larvae meal can partially replace conventional soya bean meal and soya bean oil in the diet for growing broiler quails, thus confirming to be a promising insect protein source for the feed industry. Further research to assess the impact of H meal on intestinal morphology as well as on meat quality and sensory profile would be of utmost importance

Effects of home-made boiling of bovine raw milk on its microbiological quality

The consumption of raw milk in Italy is allowed only "after boiling". The aim of this research was to bet-ter understand how the heat treatment of raw milk performed at home by consumers assures their mi-crobiological safety. 50 samples of raw milk (each sample 500 ml) provided to consumers who regularly buy raw milk from self-service automatic vending machines were followed from delivery till to after do-mestic heat treatment. Heating was performed by consumers according to their habits. The 50 samples were exposed to different heat treatments of which the mildest was at 68.5 °C and the most intense was at 97.8 °C before switching off. The average of temperatures used was 89.5 °C and the mode was 93.2 °C. According to the different parameters of heat treatment observed, 35 samples of raw milk and 35 samples of heated milk were selected for microbiological and process indicator analyses. Total Microbial Count (TMC), total and fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus loads were determined. E. coli was isolated only from one sample of raw milk. No B. cereus nor S. aure-us were found in all samples. After heat treatment, 4 samples showed a residual TMC ranging between 1,7 CFU/ml and 3,2 CFU/ml, whilst the count of total and fecal coliforms were irrelevant. The test for alkaline phosphatase has showed negative in all samples of heated milk, while the test of lactoperoxi-dase was positive in 3 samples. Results indicated that the microbiological risk attributable to the consumption of home heated raw milk is low, if the consumer applies regularly a good heating process

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of diagnostic methods in adult food allergy

Food allergy has an increasing prevalence in the general population and in Italy concerns 8 % of people with allergies. The spectrum of its clinical manifestations ranges from mild symptoms up to potentially fatal anaphylactic shock. A number of patients can be diagnosed easily by the use of first- and second-level procedures (history, skin tests and allergen specific IgE). Patients with complex presentation, such as multiple sensitizations and pollen-food syndromes, frequently require a third-level approach including molecular diagnostics, which enables the design of a component-resolved sensitization profile for each patient. The use of such techniques involves specialists' and experts' skills on the issue to appropriately meet the diagnostic and therapeutic needs of patients. Particularly, educational programs for allergists on the use and interpretation of molecular diagnostics are needed