Antiradical and antimicrobial properties of fermented red chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) by-products

Discarded leaves of red chicory (Radicchio \u201cRosso di Chioggia\u201d IGP) were fermented with one Saccharomyces yeast and four lactic acid bacteria chosen on the basis of their ability to grow on plant material without any need of supplements. Antiradical and antimicrobial activities of the resulting products were assessed. Among the strains tested, Lactobacillus plantarum and L. hilgardii gave the best performances and also provided fermented substrates with antiradical and antimicrobial activities. In particular the latter compounds were found only in fermented samples, confirming that the choice of appropriate microorganisms for fermentation could be useful when the aim is to target specific functional foods starting from by-products or waste material

The analysis of food samples for the presence of Genetically Modified Organisms - User Manual

The User Manual - background information and didactical guide for the participants attending the training courses on ‘The analysis of Food Samples for the Presence of Genetically Modified Organisms’ organised by the Joint Reseach Centre - provides the theoretical and detaied practical information on the methodologies and protocols for GMO detection used during the training. Structured in 12 Sessions, it covers a wide variety of techniques for the detection, identification, characterisation, and quantification of GMO.JRC.F.7-Knowledge for Health and Consumer Safet

Eksperimentalni pristupi za identifikaciju prirodne populacije laktokoka izolirane iz tradicionalnih mliječnih proizvoda

Indigenous lactic acid bacteria contribute to the taste and flavour of traditional dairy products. Therefore, the traditional dairy products might be an interesting reservoir of indigenous lactococcal strains responsible for development of the specific flavour compounds. Consequently, characterized indigenous isolates might be used as a starter culture. The development of molecular techniques provides a new perspective for characterization of the “new lactococcal” strains. However, there is no unique approach suggested for molecular characterization of the indigenous strains associated with the traditional products. The aim of this review is to provide an insight into varieties of experimental approaches applied for molecular characterization of indigenous lactococci associated with traditional dairy products.Autohtona populacija bakterija mliječne kiseline prisutna u tradicionalnim mliječnim proizvodima utječe na njihove specifične organoleptičke osobine. Zato tradicionalni mliječni proizvodi također predstavljaju značajan izvor za izolaciju sojeva laktokoka koji potencijalno mogu biti primijenjeni i kao mljekarska kultura. Razvoj molekularnih metoda otvara nove mogućnosti u karakterizaciji novih sojeva laktokoka. Međutim, ne postoji jedinstveni mikrobiološki i molekularni pristup za identifikaciju prirodne populacije laktokoka prisutne u tradicionalnim mliječnim proizvodima. Cilj ovog rada bio je prikazati mikrobiološke i molekularne eksperimentalne pristupe korištene za identifikaciju prirodne populacije laktokoka tradicionalnih mliječnih proizvoda

Towards plant species identification in complex samples: a bioinformatics pipeline for the identification of novel nuclear barcode candidates

Monitoring of the food chain to fight fraud and protect consumer health relies on the availability of methods to correctly identify the species present in samples, for which DNA barcoding is a promising candidate. The nuclear genome is a rich potential source of barcode targets, but has been relatively unexploited until now. Here, we show the development and use of a bioinformatics pipeline that processes available genome sequences to automatically screen large numbers of input candidates, identifies novel nuclear barcode targets and designs associated primer pairs, according to a specific set of requirements. We applied this pipeline to identify novel barcodes for plant species, a kingdom for which the currently available solutions are known to be insufficient. We tested one of the identified primer pairs and show its capability to correctly identify the plant species in simple and complex samples, validating the output of our approach.JRC.I.3-Molecular Biology and Genomic

Bioraznolikost mikrobnih konzorcija izoliranih iz tradicionalnog svježeg ovčjeg sira Karakačanski skakutanac

The aim of this study was to assess the structure of indigenous microbial community associated with traditional fresh sheep cheese Karakačanski skakutanac and to preserve autochthonous microbial consortia. Eleven cheeses were sampled during production season (April-September) and subjected to microbiological analysis. Bacterial DNA was isolated by Maxwell®16 DNA system from 99 microbial consortia harvested from three culture media (M17, Rogosa, CATC) on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd day of the cheese shelf life. The extracted bulk DNA (n = 99) was used as a template for PCR-ARDRA and PCR-DGGE analysis. There were no dramatic shifts in the bacterial number and structure of the microbial consortia harvested on the 1st, 2nd or 3rd day of the cheese shelf life neither during period of sampling. Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis reached the number of 107-108 CFU g-1, while Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides, Enterococcus faecalis, and Lactobacillus versmoldensis were identified only at lower dilutions (10-2 - 10-3). This first polyphasic microbiological-molecular study of the Karakačanski skakutanac indicated the main LAB representatives associated with the cheese. Obtained autochthonous microbial consortia present a valuable pool of strains for further genetic and functional characterizations.Cilj ovog rada bio je analizirati strukturu mikrobnih konzorcija tradicionalnog svježeg ovčjeg sira Karakačanski skakutanac. Jedanaest sireva sakupljeno je tijekom sezone proizvodnje od travnja do rujna. Mikrobni konzorciji sakupljeni su sa 3 hranjive podloge (M17, Rogosa, CATC) od 11 sireva nakon prvog, drugog, i trećeg dana proizvodnje. Mikrobna DNA je izolirana iz 99 konzorcija, te korištena u PCR-ARDRA i PCR-DGGE analizi. Nije bilo promjene u strukturi mikrobnih konzorcija sakupljenih prvog, drugog i trećeg dana nakon proizvodnje, niti tijekom sezone. Utvrđena je dominantnost populacije Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis (107-108 CFU g-1), dok su ostale vrste bakterija mliječne kiseline, Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides, Enterococcus faecalis i Lactobacillus versmoldensis, identificirane samo na nižim razrjeđenjima (10-2-10-3). Ova prva mikrobiološko- molekularna analiza tradicionalnog sira Karakačanski skakutanac omogućila je uvid u strukturu njegove specifične mikrobne populacije. Sakupljeni mikrobni konzorciji predstavljaju značajan izvor sojeva za daljnju genetsku i funkcionalnu karakterizaciju

Enhancing fish species identification using novel markers and emerging technologies

Establishing an efficient traceability framework for fish products is crucial for consumer protection and fisheries management and conservation. This is well reflected in the EU legislation. The EU general food law emphasizes strongly that European citizens must have access to safe and wholesome food of the highest standard. Consumer protection is supported by a stringent traceability concept as stipulated in Regulation (EC) 178/2002. This notion is also expressed in the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) basic regulation (EU) 1380/2013, according to which fishing and aquaculture must be environmentally, economically and socially sustainable while providing a source of healthy food for all EU citizens. Under the CFP the need for traceability is not exclusively raised in the context of consumer protection, but also as a necessary component for fisheries control and enforcement in Regulation (EU) 1224/2009 and in the context of the EU’s ambitious strategy to fight Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing under the remit of Regulation (EC) 1005/2008. Recent scientific advances, particularly in the fields of genetics and genomics, have led to the development of novel and improved technologies, and efforts are under way to harness their potential for the species identification of unknown fish samples or products. This report reviews these efforts, describing the technologies and the early results obtained for fish product traceability. Each of these technologies have the potential to fill some specific existing gaps, although they come with their own individual set of disadvantages. Understanding those and monitoring progress is thus crucial for their proper integration in existing traceability frameworks.JRC.F.7-Knowledge for Health and Consumer Safet

Technical Note on the quality of DNA sequencing for the molecular characterisation of genetically modified plants

As part of the risk assessment (RA) requirements for genetically modified (GM) plants, according to Regulation (EU) No 503/2013 and the EFSA guidance on the RA of food and feed from GM plants (EFSA GMO Panel 2011), applicants need to perform a molecular characterisation of the DNA sequences inserted in the GM plant genome. This Technical Note to the applicants puts together requirements and recommendations for the quality assessment of the methodology, analysis and reporting when DNA sequencing is used for the molecular characterisation of GM plants. In particular, it applies to the use of Sanger sequencing and next-generation sequencing for the characterisation of the inserted genetic material and its flanking regions at each insertion site, the determination of the copy number of all detectable inserts and the analysis of the genetic stability of the inserts. This updated document replaces the EFSA 2018 Technical Note and reflects the current knowledge in scientific-technical methods for generating and verifying, in a standardised manner, DNA sequencing data in the context of RA of GM plants. It does not take into consideration the verification and validation of the detection method which remains under the remit of the Joint Research Centre (JRC)

The Human Gut Microbiota: Overview and analysis of the current scientific knowledge and possible impact on healthcare and well-being

Recent years have seen a fast increase in the analytical capacity to read genetic information and in the ability to understand the link between the genetic information and the functioning of organisms. This has increased the scientific knowledge in previously underexploited fields. One example is the human microbiota and the understanding of the vital role that the microbiota plays in the physiological and psychological human health status and well-being. Brain degenerative diseases like Alzheimer and Parkinson are, for example, now considered to be linked to abnormalities in the functioning of the human gut microbiota. This understanding may have revolutionary impact on (personal) healthcare but this promise has not yet been fully recognized by the general public or the policy community and for example today, microbiota-related policy interventions are mostly restricted to the marketing and health claims of possible probiotic foods and food supplements. As the JRC is holding the responsibility for the knowledge management of health-related scientific information for policy, we present and discuss here the most recent information available on the vital role of the human gut microbiota and the associated opportunities for human health and well-being. This report provides the state-of-the-art of scientific progress and details how we are only starting to learn its importance for human health, food and chemicals safety, as well as for our protection against environmental stressors. We also indicate why and how the human gut microbiota is going to have an impact on healthcare, nutrition and well-being and how this may change the way we assess the risks of the food, drugs and chemicals we are in contact with.JRC.F.7-Knowledge for Health and Consumer Safet

Assessment of genetically modified maize DP4114 × MON 89034 × MON 87411 × DAS‐40278‐9 and subcombinations, for food and feed uses, under Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 (application EFSA GMO‐NL‐2020‐171)

Genetically modified maize DP4114 × MON 89034 × MON 87411 × DAS-40278-9 was developed by crossing to combine four single events: DP4114, MON 89034, MON 87411 and DAS-40278-9. The GMO Panel previously assessed the four single maize events and two of the subcombinations and did not identify safety concerns. No new data on the single maize events or the assessed subcombinations were identified that could lead to modification of the original conclusions on their safety. The molecular characterisation, comparative analysis (agronomic, phenotypic and compositional characteristics) and the outcome of the toxicological, allergenicity and nutritional assessment indicate that the combination of the single maize events and of the newly expressed proteins in the four-event stack maize does not give rise to food and feed safety and nutritional concerns. Therefore, no post-market monitoring of food/feed is considered necessary. In the case of accidental release of viable four-event stack maize grains into the environment, this would not raise environmental safety concerns. The GMO Panel assessed the likelihood of interactions among the single events in eight of the maize subcombinations not previously assessed and concludes that these are expected to be as safe as the single events, the previously assessed subcombinations and the four-event stack maize. The post-market environmental monitoring plan and reporting intervals are in line with the intended uses of maize DP4114 × MON 89034 × MON 87411 × DAS-40278-9. Post-market monitoring of food/feed is not considered necessary. The GMO Panel concludes that the four-event stack maize and its subcombinations are as safe as its non-GM comparator and the tested non-GM maize varieties with respect to potential effects on human and animal health and the environment