Behavior of Yersinia enterocolitica in Foods

Yersinia enterocolitica are ubiquitous, being isolated frequently from soil, water, animals, and a variety of foods. They comprise a biochemically heterogeneous group that can survive and grow at refrigeration temperatures. The ability to propagate at refrigeration temperatures is of considerable significance in food hygiene. Virulent strains of Yersinia invade mammalian cells such as HeLa cells in tissue culture. Two chromosomal genes, inv and ail, were identified for cell invasion of mammalian. The pathogen can cause diarrhoea, appendicitis and post-infection arthritis may occur in a small proportion of cases. The most common transmission route of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica is thought to be fecal-oral via contaminated food. Direct person-to-person contact is rare. Occasionally, pathogenic Y. enterocolitica has been detected in vegetables and environmental water; thus, vegetables and untreated water are also potential sources of human yersiniosis. However, the isolation rates of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica have been low, which may be due to the limited sensitivity of the detection methods. To identify other possible transmission vehicles, different food items should be studied more extensively. Many factors related to the epidemiology of Y. enterocolitica, such as sources, transmission routes, and predominating genotypes remain obscure because of the low sensitivity of detection methods

Reducing Transfer of Salmonella and Aerobic Mesophilic Bacteria on Melon Rinds Surfaces to Fresh Juice by Washing With Chlorine: Effect of Waiting Period Before Refrigeration of Prepared Juice

Cantaloupes, honeydew melons and watermelons inoculated with Salmonella cocktail at 4.5, 3.8, and 3.2 log10 CFU/cm2, respectively, were sanitized with 200 ppm chlorine before rinds removal, cutting, and juice preparation. Efficacy of 200 ppm chlorine in reducing transfer of Salmonella, aerobic mesophilic bacteria, yeast and mold, and Pseudomonas from the melon surfaces to freshly prepared fruit juice was investigated including the effect of waiting period before refrigeration of the juices. The melon juice filtrates were refrigerated immediately or stored at room temperature (~22°C) for 3 and 5 h before refrigeration. Average Salmonella bacteria recovered in fresh melon juice prepared from unwashed whole cantaloupes, watermelon and honeydew melons was 1.4, 0.5, and 0.4 log10 CFU/ml, respectively. Juices from unwashed inoculated melons had the highest bacterial populations and storage at an abusive temperature of 10°C led to proliferation. Holding these juices at room temperature for 5 h before refrigeration allowed Salmonella bacteria to increase by 0.5–0.8 log in cantaloupe juice and 0.3–0.5 log in watermelon and honeydew juices. No Salmonella bacteria was determined in fresh juices prepared from melons washed with chlorinated water. The results of this study showed that washing melons with 200 ppm chlorine before juice preparation and immediately refrigerating the juice will minimize the chances of Salmonella proliferation

Addressing Venture Growth in Nigeria Through 'Entrepreneur-Centered' Design: A Framework for Accelerating Entrepreneurship Development Applied to Consumer Brand Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurship has long been seen by many as the key to socioeconomic growth and prosperity across Africa and particularly in Nigeria, where rising unemployment, the need to diversify away from crude oil export, and the high potential that exists across multiple sectors creates the opportunity for local entrepreneurs and their enterprises to be the driving force behind realizing this desired growth and prosperity. Despite this, various initiatives to drive entrepreneurship have been mixed at best, and a lot of commentary has made it clear that current approaches to overcome present barriers and accelerate entrepreneurship have not delivered as intended. In response, this work explores the application of human centered design towards entrepreneurship development in Nigeria by centering the entrepreneur and producing a framework that can be used by other stakeholders to more deeply understand the entrepreneur’s needs and lived experiences, which can then serve as a foundation for more genuine and impact solutions. Through this research, the case is also made for framing this challenge as the responsibility of the entire ecosystem (as opposed to pinning it all on a single entity) and intentionally focusing on venture growth and scale (as opposed to venture creation alone), with the approaches to interviews, persona creation, and need discovery all reflecting this position. A demonstration of this framework is also included with the needs, desires, and experiences of consumer brand entrepreneurs based in Nigeria being explored and surfaced. In this demonstration, additional guidance on how to apply this approach more generally is provided, as well as recommendations on what is truly needed to enable this class of entrepreneurs to take advantage of their unique position to contribute greatly to the nation’s economic development.S.M