Puffer fish and its consumption: to eat or not to eat?

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Food Reviews International on 25 July 2015, available online."This systematic review was done to examine the substantial increase in the number of intoxication cases in puffer fish associated with tetrodotoxin. In the past 5 years, 430 cases of intoxication and 52 deaths associated with puffer fish have been reported worldwide. It has also been verified that puffer fish have migrated to different regions, which has led to a negative environmental impact. Based on the information obtained herein, consumption of puffer fish should be legally limited, although it still remains very popular in several regions with negative social and economic impacts.

Identification of the risk factors associated with cheese production to implement the hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) system on cheese farms

© 2016. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"The purpose of this paper was to evaluate, by statistical analyses, risk factors on cheese farms that can influence the microbial contamination of their products. Various assessment tools, such as cheese production questionnaires, food handlers’ knowledge testing, and hygiene assessment system surveys, were used on 39 cheese farms on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain. The microbiological status of 773 raw milk and cheese samples from the cheese farms was assessed by enumerating total viable counts and 4 pathogens: Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella spp. The results revealed that the highest contamination by Staph. aureus (4.39%, >105 cfu/ mL) was found in milk, and the highest contamination by E. coli (5.18%, >103 cfu/mL) was found in cheese. Very few samples (0.52%) were contaminated by L. monocytogenes or Salmonella spp. The factors associated with any tested microorganism were “handling,” “knowledge,” and “type of milk.” Subsequently, multidimensional logistic analysis for contamination by E. coli showed an independent association for factors “cleaning and disinfection test” and “type of milk.” The probability of total aerobic contamination of milk increased with lower hygiene assessment system survey scores. These results emphasize the need to apply and maintain good hygiene practices, and to study risk factors to prevent contamination and bacterial growth. Further research is required in other areas with different cheese farm types to reinforce the validity of these results.

Microbial Growth Models in Gilthead Sea Bream (Sparus Aurata) Stored in Ice

"This study analyzes microbiological changes in whole, ungutted farmed gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) stored for an 18-day period in ice using traditional methods for mesophilic aerobic bacteria, psychrotrophic, Pseudomonas spp., Aeromonas spp., Shewanella putrefaciens, Enterobacteriaceae, sulphide-reducing Clostridium (Clostridia), and Photobacterium phosphoreum in muscle, skin, and gills, evaluating their seasonal differentiation. Two different statistical models were used to analyze microbiological growth. Simultaneously, physicochemical parameters such as the temperature, pH, biological oxygen demand (BOD5), total dissolved solids, salinity, ammonia nitrogen, and total phosphorus content of growing waters were analyzed. The results showed that by the end of the storage time, specific spoilage bacteria (SSB) such as Pseudomonas spp., Aeromonas spp. and S. putrefaciens as H2S-producing bacteria were dominant in sea bream harvested in temperate water in the Canary Islands. Muscle tissue had least contamination, followed by skin and gills. The values of the analyzed seawater parameters were constant during the four seasons, except that the temperature showed a small difference between winter and summer. Seasonal effects were observed among the fish analyzed, suggesting that the lower levels of contamination detected in winter may have been due to the slight difference observed in water temperature in that season.

Microbiological evolution of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) in Canary Islands during ice storage

The final publication is available at Springer.This study analyses the microbiological changes with traditional methods for total mesophilic aerobic, psychrotrophic, Aeromonas sp., Pseudomonas sp., Shewanella putrefaciens, Enterobacteriaceae, sulfide-reducers Clostridium and Photobacterium phosphoreum in muscle, skin and gills of whole ungutted gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) stored in ice during 18 days. The muscle tissue showed the minor grade of contamination, followed by the skin and the gills, with statistic significance (p < 0.001). The most prominent microorganisms in the different tissues and at the end of the storage were Pseudomonas sp. (7.76, 10.11 and 10.40 log CFU/g), Aeromonas sp. (7.49, 8.24 and 9.02 log CFU/g) and S. putrefaciens. (8.05, 7.49 and 8.05 log CFU/g) in sea bream harvested in the temperate water of the Canary Islands. The results obtained from this study can contribute to the improvement of microbiological knowledge of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) by determining the evolution of microorganisms responsible for spoilage and their counts in different tissues such as muscle, skin, and gills during iced storage

Vending: Food safety evaluation through models of hygiene assessment system and checklist

Poster presented at the CEFood Congress 201

An Anatomical Study Using Computed Tomography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, and Rhinoscopy of the Nasal Cavity of Domestic Cat (<i>Felis silvestris catus</i> L.) and Big Cats: Lion (<i>Panthera leo leo</i> L.), Leopard (<i>Panthera pardus kotiya</i> L.), and Cheetah (<i>Acinonyx jubatus jubatus</i> S.)

The objective of this work was to study the normal anatomy of the nasal cavity of the three species of big cats (leopard, lion, and cheetah) compared to the domestic cat through the use of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and rhinoscopy. Computed tomography allowed us to clearly visualize the entire bony and cartilaginous framework that supports the nasal cavity. Magnetic resonance imaging permitted better visualization of the soft tissues of this cavity. On the other hand, rhinoscopy enabled the direct visualization of the mucosa of the vestibule and nasal cavity, which is very useful in the diagnosis of masses or foreign bodies. Furthermore, with this technique, it has been possible to observe several small orifices from the nasolacrimal duct, the pharyngeal auditory tube, and the lateral nasal gland. Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and rhinoscopy are useful tools in analysis of the anatomical characteristics of the nasal cavity in these species