An overview of histamine and other biogenic amines in fish and fish products

The occurrence of biogenic amines in fish is directly associated with microorganisms with decarboxylase activity. These compounds are generally detoxified by oxidases in the intestinal tract of humans, but some conditions, such as alcohol consumption, enzyme deficiency, or monoamino-oxidase antidepressant use, can make their intake by food dangerous. Due to its toxicity, histamine is a unique biogenic amine with regulatory limits for fishery products. This review focuses on biogenic amines in fish, with a detailed picture of the number of alert notifications or intoxication events reported in the last years. The favoring conditions for their formation, as well as the main preventive and control measures to ensure public health, are also reviewed

Factors Influencing Consumers’ Attitude Towards Biopreservatives

Biopreservatives have received considerable attention in recent years as natural alternatives to synthetic preservatives. This seems to be a response to an increased demand for natural and organic foods. This study investigates the potential market for products enriched with biopreservatives in Italy. Data were collected from a sample of Italian consumers (N = 479) using a web‐based survey. The main results indicate that 64% of respondents declared themselves to be willing to consume biopreservatives only if they replaced synthetic preservatives. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to reduce the number of variables. The factorial scores of the components obtained from PCA were used for a Cluster Analysis related to consumers’ perceptions about biopreservatives. Moreover, the survey highlights that the respondents had positive opinions about biopreservatives, although they showed difficulty in perceiving the exact meaning of the term. The study could provide useful implications for food manufacturers and facilitate the design of marketing strategies for foods enriched with biopreservative

Volatile compounds produced in wine by Colombian wildSaccharomyces cerevisiae strains

Some tropicalSaccharomyces cerevisiae strains, isolated fromChampus, a traditional Colombian low alcoholic fermented beverage, were characterised in order to select yeasts for aroma improvement in wine. H2S production, volatile acidity, β-glucosidase activity, higher alcoholesters and terpenes production were evaluated in this study. These tropical strains were characterised by a considerable production of ethyl hexanoate, 2-phenylethanol, 2-phenylethyl acetate, and geraniol, detected by SPME-GC-MS. Odor activity values were calculated to analyse the effects of yeasts strains on wine aroma, resulting in six distinctive wine groups, as evidenced by discriminant analysis. These results suggest thatSaccharomyces strains isolated fromChampus can be an important source for new tropical yeast biotypes with potential winemaking applications, producing a wide range of aroma compounds

A survey of Saccharomyces populations associated with wine fermentations from the Apulia region (South Italy)

The aim of this paper was to investigate the genetic and phenotypic characteristics of yeasts isolated from samples of grape musts collected from four different areas of Apulia region. The 68 yeast isolates were identified asSaccharomyces cerevisiae by PCR-RFLP of 5.8S-ITS region of the rRNA gene. Individual isolates were differentiated by RAPD-PCR and AFLP. The following oenological traits were studied: fermentation power, resistance to cycloheximide, alcohol and SO2, formation of SO2 and H2S, β-glucosidase activity, and production of biogenic amines and secondary compounds. Many phenotypes were common to several yeasts isolated from the four different areas, such as high SO2 resistance and fermentation power. In addition, someS. cerevisiae isolates showed a β-glucosidase activity and others had a high resistance to cycloheximide. All the strains formed biogenic amines. Solid Phase Microextraction was used to determine secondary compounds produced in wine by the single yeast cultures

Biogenic Amines in Meat and Meat Products: A Review of the Science and Future Perspectives

Biogenic amines (BAs) can be found in a wide range of meat and meat products, where they are important as an index for product stability and quality, but also for their impact on public health. This review analyzes the scientific evidence gathered so far on the presence and role of biogenic amines in meat and meat products, also considering the effect of technological conditions on BAs accumulation or decrease. The data provided can be useful for developing solutions to control BAs formation during the shelf-life, for example by novel starters for dry cured products, as well as by packaging technologies and materials for fresh meats. Further research, whose trends are reviewed in this paper, will fill the knowledge gaps, and allow us to protect such perishable products along the distribution chain and in the home environment

Unraveling the Antimicrobial Effectiveness of Coridothymus capitatus Hydrolate against Listeria monocytogenes in Environmental Conditions Encountered in Foods: An In Vitro Study

The increased resistance of bacteria to antimicrobials, as well as the growing interest in innovative and sustainable alternatives to traditional food additives, are driving research towards the use of natural food preservatives. Among these, hydrolates (HYs) have gained attention as "mild" alternatives to conventional antimicrobial compounds. In this study, the response of L. monocytogenes ATCC 7644 exposed to increasing concentrations of Coridothymus capitatus HY (CHY) for 1 h at 37 °C was evaluated by means of Phenotype Microarray, modelling the kinetic data obtained by inoculating control and treated cells into GEN III microplates, after CHY removal. The results revealed differences concerning the growth dynamics in environmental conditions commonly encountered in food processing environments (different carbon sources, pH 6.0, pH 5.0, 1-8% NaCl). More specifically, for treated cells, the lag phase was extended, the growth rate was slowed down and, in most cases, the maximum concentration was diminished, suggesting the persistence of stress even after CHY removal. Confocal Laser Scanner Microscopy evidenced a diffuse aggregation and suffering of the treated cells, as a response to the stress encountered. In conclusion, the treatment with HY caused a stressing effect that persisted after its removal. The results suggest the potential of CHY application to control L. monocytogenes in food environments

Bioactive micro-constituents of ackee arilli (Blighia sapida K.D. Koenig)

Abstract: Ackee (Blighia sapida K. D. Koenig) is an exotic fruit widely consumed in the Caribbean countries. While there is extensive research on the presence of hypoglycin A, other bioactive compounds have not been studied. We identified and quantified the changes in bioactive molecules (total phenol, ascorbic acid, hypoglycin A, squalene, D: A-Friedooleanan-7-ol, (7.alpha.), and oleic acid), antioxidant potential, and volatile compounds during two stages of ripe. A clear reduction in hypoglycin A, ascorbic acid, and total polyphenols during the maturation process were observed. On the contrary, oleic acid, squalene, and D: A-Friedooleanan-7-ol, (7.alpha.) contents increased about 12, 12, and 13 times, respectively with advancing maturity. These bioactive molecules were positively correlated with radical scavenging (DDPH and ABTS). Solid phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography coupled mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis revealed more than 50 compounds with 3-penten-2-one and hexanal as the major compounds in the fully ripe stage. The results suggested that ripe ackee arilli could serve as an appreciable source of natural bioactive micro-constituents

salmonella enterica control in stick carrots through incorporation of coriander seeds essential oil in sustainable washing treatments

Chemical disinfectants represent one of the commonly used practice in minimal processed vegetables food-chain. However, the scarce safety and sustainability of these agents force food industry to move toward more sustainable "green washing solutions". Among the latter, while the application of plant derivates for the control of several pathogens is already well-known, specific information on the potential anti-Salmonella activity of Coriandrum sativum seeds derivates are still limited and were therefore investigated in this study. In detail, Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimal Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of different coriander seed derivates (i.e. essential oil, hydrosol and ethanolic extract) were determined by broth dilution against six Salmonella enterica strains isolated from fresh and minimally processed fruits and vegetables. Only the essential oil (EO) was effective in vitro with strain-dependent results. In addition, when mixed in co-culture, the strains were more sensitive to the essential oil treatment. Chemical investigations allowed to define (s)-(+)-linalool as major compound, and to underline interesting phenolic content with correlated antioxidant capacity. A cocktail of three strains of different serovars was selected and employed for a preliminary in situ trial on stick carrots. The obtained results allowed to establish that the application of coriander seed EO at concentrations of 5 µL mL-1 was able to reduce and contain the growth of the Salmonella cocktail up to 24 hours at 10°C. Good sensory evaluation results were obtained by applying this EO concentration as washing treatment, especially in terms of color parameter. Further studies should be undertaken to emphasize the upstream activity, improving the formulation or exploiting a combined effect with other sanitizers or treatments (e.g. physical treatments). The present study contributes to the knowledge on coriander derivates activity against Salmonella spp. and on the potential application as sustainable washing treatment in removing this pathogen from fresh cut carrots