Assessment of the microbiological safety of salad vegetables from different Restaurants in Ilam

Vegetables, used in preparing salads, are most important part of the diet. These materials are often irrigated by untreated urban wastewater. Wastewater, contaminated with ova of parasites, bacteria and protozoa, are used as fertilizers and it can cause a variety of infectious diseases. The purpose of this study is detection of microbial contamination of salad used in Ilam’s restaurants.In this study, 42 samples were collected from all restaurants placed in Ilam city and transferred to the laboratory. Brilliant Green Medium, Trypton water and Coax reagent used for detection of Escherichia coli. Water broth, Selenit systein, Tetrationat, Salmonella-shigella agar and Briliant green was used for identification of salmonella. For detection of Enterococcus, KF agar medium containing a diphenyl Tetrazolium chloride was used. Sabro dextrose agar medium (SDA) was used for detection of mold and yeast and wet mount and concentration methods used for parasitology investigations. The results of this study indicate that about 66.66% of samples were infected with Enterococcus, 69% had E. coli contamination and 83.33% of samples were contaminated with yeast. Samples were negative for presence of Salmonella and mold (mold not more than 103). Parasites contamination of samples was (4 cases) 9.5% for Giardia lamblia, (10 cases) 23.8% for Taenia eggs, 31% (13 cases) for Hymenolepis nana 16.6% (7 cases) for Entamoeba coli. The results of this study showed that salads are contaminated with infectious agent and the use of appropriate disinfectants and washing the vegetables used in salad preparation is essential for controlling infectious diseases

Evaluation of microbial contamination of ready-to-eat foods (pizza, frankfurters, sausages) in the city of Ilam

Background: Today in the world, disease resulting from food is considered one of the most important problems in public health. This study aimed to determine the bacterial contamination of ready-to-eat foods, i.e. fast food, in Ilam city. Methods: In this cross-sectional, analytical study, 270 samples of ready-to-eat food, including pizza, frankfurters, and sausages, were randomly collected and tested for contamination with Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Shigella sonnei, Salmonella arizonae, and Enterococcus faecalis. After examination, the collected data was analyzed using SPSS 20 software and logistic regression. Results: From a total of 270 samples of ready-to-eat food, 27.77% was contaminated with E. coli, 21.48% with S. aureus, 13.33% with S. sonnei, 14.44% with S. arizonae, and 5.9% with E. faecalis. The results showed higher rates of E. coli and S. aureus contamination in pizza, frankfurters, and sausages. Also, a higher percentage of frankfurters were contaminated with microbial species than pizza or sausages. There were significant differences in microbial contamination rates (P < 0.05) among the three groups of food. In addition, factors such as indicators (health, sanitation, and lack of hygiene), age, gender, and education level of the operating staff had no effect on the results. Conclusion: Based on the results, it can be concluded that bacterial contamination of ready-to-eat foods is significantly high in the city of Ilam; therefore, it is suggested that the examination of food in various stages of production and distribution can help reduce bacterial contamination, and training for the operators of shopping centers’ ready-to-eat food shops and controlling pathogens are essential

Carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks of metal(oid)s in tap water from Ilam city, Iran

One of the most important pathways for exposure to metals is drinking water ingestion. Chronic or acute exposure to metals can endanger the health of the exposed population, and hence, estimation of human health risks is crucial. In the current study for the first time, the concentrations of Mercury (Hg), Arsenic (As), Zinc (Zn), Lead (Pb) and Cobalt (Co) in 120 collected tap water samples (2015, July–November) from Ilam city, Iran were investigated using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Also, the metal-induced carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic risks for consumers exposed to tap drinking water were calculated. The average (range) concentrations of Hg, Zn, As, Pb and Co were defined as 0.40 ± 0.10 μg/L (ND-0.9 μg/L), 5014 ± 5707 μg/L (2900.00–5668.33 μg/L), 21.008 ± 2.876 μg/L (3.5–62 μg/L), 30.38 ± 5.56 μg/L (6–87 μg/L), and 11.34 ± 1.61 μg/L (0.1–50 μg/L), respectively. Average concentrations of all examined metals were significantly higher than WHO and national standard recommended limits. The ranking order of metals concentrations in the tap drinking water was Zn > Pb > As > Co > Hg. Except for Hg and Co, at least one age group consumers were at considerable non-carcinogenic risks induced by Zn, As and Pb [Target Hazard Quotient (THQ > 1)]. The rank order of age groups consumers based on THQ and Incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) was1–9 years > 20 + years > 10–19 years. The calculated ILCR for As in all age groups were higher than 10−3 value. All age groups of consumers in Ilam city, especially infants (< 1 years) and children (1–10 years), are at considerable non-carcinogenic and carcinogenesis risk

Removal of phosphate from aqueous solutions using modified activated carbon prepared from agricultural waste (Populous caspica): Optimization, kinetic, isotherm, and thermodynamic studies

Activated carbon was successfully prepared from Populous caspica wood by a thermochemical reduction method and modified by grafting amine groups. In the batch tests, pH, initial phosphate concentration, reaction time, and adsorbent dose were evaluated to remove phosphate (PO43–) from the aqueous phase. The response surface method was chosen to study the composition effect of independent input factors and one dependent output response (removal efficiency). The p-value (2.2 × 10−16), F-value (116.6), R2 (multiple: 0.9774, adjusted: 0.97), and lack of fit (0.167) indicated that the reduced quadratic model is highly significant for the phosphate removal using aminated activated carbon. The maximum efficiency removal of phosphate (92.76%) was obtained at pH, initial phosphate concentrations, contact time, and adsorbent dose of 3, 10 mg L–1, 60 min, and 90 mg L–1, respectively. The adsorption data fitted well with the Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Therefore, the intraparticle diffusion was the dominant adsorption mechanism but it was not the sole rate controlling step. In addition, regeneration process with five repetitions of regeneration cycles showed high desorption efficiencies and slight loss of spent adsorbent initial adsorption capacity. Thus, the results recommended that modified activated carbon prepared from agricultural waste (P. caspica) could properly remove phosphate from aqueous solution