Journal of Food Quality and Hazards Control

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Authors: Dr. Ewen Todd

Elsevier has a long history of producing encyclopedias in different aspects of science and medicine, but this four-volume work is the first of its kind in the field of food safety. Such an encyclopedia is meant to cover many related topics within this field, but each cannot be totally comprehensive. I believe the editors, the expert editorial advisory board, and the publisher have got it right when they created this encyclopedia. The fact that it takes four volumes means that the field of food safety is vast and it required many experts from around the world to put together this work. With 280 chapters, the encyclopedia provides the latest scientific information as concise overviews on a broad range of topics, such as: history and basic sciences that support food safety; prevalence, surveillance, and investigation of food borne diseases in six world regions; microbiological and chemical food borne agents; risk analysis; 16 types of traditional and newer food technologies; and food safety management systems to control potential hazards in different commodities by industry and government. Where there is overlap between food safety and other disciples, there is some coverage of those aspects such as nutrition, food science and the environment. The publisher indicates that this encyclopedia should interest a wide range of professionals in industry, government and academia. I believe this is valid. Although the whole encyclopedia is relatively expensive for individuals at over $1000, various chapters can be purchased separately. For instance, for those with a particular concern for possible pathogens or other hazards in one food commodity, they can check the comprehensive index which chapters would be the most useful to them. Most potential purchasers will opt for the electronic-line version. Libraries may obtain the whole set for their readers. As the oversight for the prevention and control of food borne diseases is expanded, especially in international trade, this encyclopedia will become invaluable to quickly explore specific topics and then follow up on the further reading list at the end of each chapter to obtain more information. In the microbiological area, there are over 33 bacterial, 27 parasitic, 10 viral agents and prions covered. There are chapters on natural toxicants (11), environmental contaminants including toxic metals (9), contaminants associated with processing (13), food additives (7), pesticides (7), and veterinary drug residues (7). There are also chapters on nutritional hazards and allergies. There are 30 chapters on the safety of foods and beverages which include discussions on organic food, kosher and halal requirements, and deliberate food adulteration. There are 20 chapters on public health measures of prevention and control, and another 23 chapters on food safety assurance systems for industry. The last section describes institutions involved in food safety, primarily at the international level, such as World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Interestingly, the International Commission for the Microbiological Specification of Foods (ICMSF) does not have a specific chapter but some of its members have contributed to various chapters throughout the encyclopedia. In summary, some of the chapter topics can be accessed in other text books or on-line sources, but there is nothing like this encyclopedia for its comprehensiveness in combining as many food safety related topics as possible less than one source. Some examples of the more unusual chapter topics are: History of food borne disease the Renaissance and Enlightenment; Food safety training and health education; Cost of food borne diseases; Food borne disease in travelers; Toxigenic corynebacteria; African Swine Fever Virus; Biogenic amines; Phthalates; Ectoparasiticides; Food-related choking; Nanotechnology and food safety; Safety of food in vending machines; Safety of Korean fermented foods; Risk governance; Management of biofilm risk; Food safety and ethics; and Global Harmonization Initiative. If you want to expand your knowledge over the whole field of food safety you can look no further than dipping into this encyclopedia.

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Authors: M. Amin Zare1, S.M. Razavi Rohani1, M. Raeisi2*, SH. Javadi Hosseini3, M. Hashemi4

Background: Food borne pathogens are of the main concerns of food producers and con-sumers and Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus create a lot of problems worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate antibacterial effects of monolaurin, sorbic acid and po-tassium sorbate on S. aureus and E. coli at different pH values and NaCl concentrations. Methods: Micro-well dilution assay was used to determine antimicrobial potency of monolaurin, sorbic acid and potassium sorbate. First, stock solutions of each antimicrobial compounds were prepared and then two-fold dilution method was used to obtain final con-centrations of tested antimicrobials. A 96 well microplate was inoculated with different con-centrations of antimicrobials and bacterial inoculums (final inoculums was approximately 5×105 CFU/ml). After incubation, growth of E. coli and S. aureus were evaluated. Statistical analysis was made by the analysis of variance using SPSS software, version 16.0. Results: The MICs of monolaurin, sorbic acid and potassium sorbate were respectively >4000, >5000, >10000 μg/ml for E. coli, and 128, 1250 and 2500 μg/ml for S. aureus. The results showed that all of these compounds had considerable effect on S. aureus while E. coli was less sensitive. It should be noted that, monolaurin had strong antimicrobial effect on E. coli when used in combination with ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, monolaurin and sorbates can be used ef-fectively as food preservative and growth inhibitor of these food borne pathogens. Using NaCl and/or lower pH values may fortify their bacteriostatic effects.

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Authors: A. Golshan Tafti1*, S.H. Peighambardoust2, M.A. Hejazi3, M.H. Moosavy4

Background: Lactic acid bacteria play a key role in sourdough fermentation. Lactobacilli are the most important group of lactic acid bacteria in sourdough. Therefore, the main objec-tive of this study was to identify Lactobacillus strains in Iranian traditional wheat sour-doughs as a basis for further studies on the technological applications in the production of typical breads. Methods: Fourteen traditional sourdough samples were collected from the Southern regions in East-Azarbaijan province of Iran. In all sourdough samples, pH and Total Titratable Acid-ity (TTA) values were determined, and then isolation and identification of Lactobacillus iso-lates were carried out. Results: Most sourdough samples had the pH value of 3.64 to 3.90 and the TTA varied from 16.8 to 19.2 ml of 0.1 N NaOH/10 g sourdough. Isolates were divided into two main groups (group A and group B) using phenotypic characteristics, group B subdivided into eight groups. Overall, 38% of the isolates, which clustered together in group A, were closely re-lated to Lactobacillus paralimentarius, while 27% and 20% of the isolates were closely re-lated to Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus curvatus, respectively. A few isolates were also identified as Lactobacillus agilis and Lactobacillus hilgardii. Conclusion: Lactobacillus paralimentarius, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus curvatus, and the rare presence of Lactobacillus agilis and Lactobacillus hilgardii were identified in Iranian traditional sourdough. These lactobacilli may have potential to be used as starter cultures in the manufacture of sourdough breads with perfect and good quality

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Authors: N. Mollakhalili Meybodi1, M.A. Mohammadifar2*

Background: Emulsions are thermodynamically unstable systems that can be kinetically stable by adding substances known as emulsifiers and/or thickening agents. By respect to the functional properties of gum tragacanth (GT), and its breakage probability during irradiation treatment, the major aim of this study was to investigate the stability of oil in water emulsion in the presence of different doses irradiated GT by respect to its viscosity and viscoelastic properties at constant temperature. Methods: The effect of irradiation treatment was studied on the rheological properties of 10% w/w oil in water emulsions systems containing 0.5% w/w GT that is irradiated at doses of 0, 3, 5 and 10 kGy that are called NIGT, GT 3, GT 5, GT 5 and GT 10, respectively. In order to monitor the effect of irradiation treatment on rheological properties, rheometer has been used. All treatments were performed three times and the data were analyzed using SPSS 16.0. Values were considered to be significantly different if p<0.05. Results: Irradiation treatment affects on rheological properties of GT containing oil in water emulsion both in steady state and oscillatory one. Increasing the irradiation dose up to 10 kGy decreases the consistency index from 1.88 to 0.076 and increases the flow behavior in-dex from 0.42 to 0.764. Irradiation treatment also makes the systems behaves more sol like. It should be noted that these differents are dose dependant. Conclusion: Rheological properties of irradiated GT containing emulsion are dose depend-ant. These changes may be due to the gums structural rearrangement due to irradiation. It is necessary to apply appropriate dose by considering its desirable function.

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Authors: Ahmed M. Alzohairy, PhD

I would like to draw your attention to “Marrara syndrome”, a food borne parasitic infection induced by Lingutula serrata. As we know, the name of Marrara syndrome is originated from Marrara, a popular meal in Sudan prepared form raw liver and lung of sheep or goat. High infection rate of L. serrata in human population of some areas of Sudan is attributed to the consumption of this meal. According to the current scientific database, L. serrata is more prevalent in some African and Asian countries such as Sudan, Lebanon and Iran compared with the other areas of the world. Moreover, consumption of raw or undercooked edible offal is a common habit in some parts of these regions. So, populations of these countries are at relatively high risk of infection. Molecular techniques are the best ways to study this issue. Since molecular epidemiology of L. serrata is still unknown, the reasons for such high prevalence in domestic animals and consequent food of animal origin are not clear yet. On the other hand, it is not still known if the isolated nymphs pertaining to edible offal of different hosts are exactly the same or not. So, it seems that the first step to achieve more scientific information about this question is to study more about molecular epidemiology of the nymphs isolated from edible liver or lung of animals. Therefore, since the L. serrata is a problematic hazard in some African and Asian countries, native researchers should study more about molecular analysis of this food borne parasite.

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Authors: G. Eslami (PhD) 1, A. Zohourtabar 2* (MSc), S.R. Mehrizi 3 (DVM)

Introduction: The main agents of sarcocystosis in cattle as an intermediate host include S. cruzi, S. hominis and S. hirsuta. A sensitive and specific tool such as molecular-based techniques would be necessary to identify the species. Case report: After collection of beef sample from Yazd slaughterhouse, DNA extraction was done with salting out method. The 18SrRNA gene as a specific target gene was used for molecular detection of Sarcocystis spp, then Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphysm (RFLP) analysis identified the speciesusing Rsa and Bfa. Results showed that our designed molecular method could identify S. hirsuta in beef sample. Conclusion: Based on our knowledge, this study indicates the first report of molecular identification of S. hirsuta in Iran.

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Authors: I. Salehi 1 (PhD), M. Ghiasi 2 (MSc), A. Rahmani 3 (PhD), M. Nouri Sepehr 4 (PhD), M. Kiamanesh 5 (BSc),

Introduction: The increasing of population and limited drinking water resources has enhanced the necessity of using bottled water. Many people are now using bottled water because they believe it is a healthful alternative beverage to soft drinks or other bottled beverages. Therefore, the bottled water industry has grown immensely during the past decades. This descriptive cross-sectional study has investigated the quality of bottled water in market and factories of Hamadan province, Iran. Materials and methods: In total, 33 bottled water samples produced in the Hamadan province of Iran, were randomly collected in 2012. The evaluated parameters were nitrate, nitrite, turbidity, Na+, K+, pH, total coliforms and fecal coliforms. The data were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: All the samples meet standard regulations of national standards of Iran and the WHO guidelines. None of the samples, had coliforms or fecal coliforms. The mean values of nitrate, nitrite, turbidity, Na+, K+ and pH parameters were 8.34 mg/l, 0.024 mg/l, 0.38 NTU, 9.36 mg/l, 0.36 mg/l and 8.34, respectively. Conclusion: We found that all measured parameters of bottled water in Hamadan province were within acceptable rang of the national and international standards, and consuming this kind of drinking water would not present any risk to the consumers' health.

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Authors: B. Hajimohammadi 1 (PhD), A. Dehghani 2 (PhD), M. Moghadam Ahmadi 1 (MSc), G. Eslami 3* (PhD),

Introduction: Hamburger is a popular type of fast foods consumed all over the world. Sarcocystis spp. is a zoonotic parasitic pathogen which endangers safety of meat and meat products. The present study describes the prevalence rate of Sarcocystis spp. in hamburgers in Yazd, Iran using PCR-RFLP. Materials and methods: Raw hamburger samples (100 traditional and 90 industrial) from central region of Iran, Yazd were randomly selected. The genomic DNA was extracted using salting out method. Detection and identification of Sarcocystis isolates was performed using PCR-RFLP. Results: The results showed that 77.9% of all tested hamburger samples were infected with Sarcocystis spp. The infection rate in the traditional hamburger (87%) was significantly (p<0.05) higher than the industrial ones (67.8%). The rate of S. cruzi, S. hirsuta and S. hominis in the traditional hamburger samples, was 39%, 61% and 54% respectively; while the rate of S. cruzi, S. hirsuta and S. hominis in the industrial hamburgers was 67.8%, 58.9% and 57.8%. S. cruzi, respectively. The rate was significantly (p<0.05) higher in industrial hamburgers than in the traditional ones. No statistical association was found between percentage of meat content and the rate of contamination in the industrial hamburger (p>0.05). Conclusion: Having zoonotic significance, considerable infestation rate of S. hominis seems to be high in hamburgers of this region of Iran. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first of its own kind carried out in hamburger samples in Iran.