Journal of Nutrition, Fasting and Health
Volume:7 Issue: 4, Autumn 2019

Olivier salad is one of the most common cold fast foods in our country that is nutritious because of its various ingredients, so it is susceptible to bacterial contamination. This study aimed to evaluate the chemical and microbial quality of Olivier salads that were sold in Mashhad groceries.  In this study, 26 samples from two types of Olivier salad (Chicken (17 samples) and Meat (9 samples) were collected from the local markets. Samples were transferred to the laboratory in cold flasks and then microbial (coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp, clostridium perfringens , mold, and yeast), and chemical quality (levels of potassium sorbate, potassium benzoate, and benzoate alone) were evaluated  based on the Iran national standard No. 17813 and. 17813-a-1, respectively.  Chemical tests in the samples showed no significant difference between the amounts of potassium sorbate, potassium benzoat, and benzoate alone (P>0.05) in different samples. Of the total samples, 7.7% (2/26) and 23.07% (6/26) of the Olivier salad samples were contaminated with Salmonella and Escherichia coli, respectively. Staphylococcus aureus was negative in all of the samples.  Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus have particular importance in food contaminations. Lack of hygiene during production, contamination of raw materials, and elevation of storage temperature are  critical factors for the increased level of contamination. So control and monitoring of the food chain is necessary.

The present study aimed to assess the effect of Arctium lappa extract inoculated with Lactobacillus plantarum probiotic bacteria on fermented salted cabbage. In addition, the microbial, chemical, and sensory properties and survival experiment of the bacteria were evaluated during storage.  Lactobacillus plantarum was used as a probiotic species in fermented cabbage. The effects of various levels of salt (1% and 1.5%) and Burdock extract (2 and 4 mg/ml) were evaluated and compared with control samples (without the dandruff extract) with the inoculation of Lactobacillus plantarum probiotic bacteria as the starter.  Increased concentration of the Arctium lappa extract and minimum concentration of salts led to the significant reduction of yeasts and aerobic mesophyll (1.5% salt and 4 mg/ml of the herbal extract). On the other hand, decreased concentration of salt and increased concentration of the Arctium lappa extract led to the increased viability of Lactobacillus, and the maximum survival of Lactobacillus plantarum was observed in the treatment with 1% salt and 4 mg/ml of the extract on day 21.  According to the results, using Lactobacillus plantarum as the starter, along with salt and the Arctium lappa extract, could improve the microbial control of the fermentation process, while increasing the production of lactic acid and improving the acidity of the saline of salty cabbage.

An area of increasing demands, these years, is the fabrication of antimicrobial and antioxidant edible materials used for monitoring food-related bacterial illnesses mostly responsible for the contamination of raw foodstuffs. The goal of this work was to use the polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) enriched with garlic extract to control Listeria monocytogenes (LM) and Staphylococcus aureus (SA) in fresh sheep meat over chilled temperature condition for one week.  The obtained minced meat were divided into 100 g portions, inoculated with 7 log CFU/g SAandLM, aseptically packed in designated PVP containing garlic extract at concentrations of 0, 0.25 and 0.5%, and transferred into the sterile polyethylene bag. All samples were stored at refrigerated temperature for one week.  Based on our findings, the PVP enriched with garlic extract (0.25 and 0.5%) could decrease the counts of LM and SAup to 2.30-2.82 and 2.51-1.36 log CFU/g, respectively (P < 0.05).  The findings of the current work indicated that PVP containing garlic extract at concentrations of 0.25 and 0.5% had inhibitory effects againstLM and SAin raw sheep meat.

Consumption of appropriate amount of probiotic microorganisms via food products have health benefits on the host. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in research on the characterization and verification potential use of probiotic films in food industry. The aim of the current study was to investigate in vitro antimicrobial property of probiotic carboxymethyl cellulose-sodium caseinate (CMC-SC) films containing Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. reuteri and Bifidobacterium bifidum against Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli O157:H7. 

Preparation of CMC-SC composite films were conducted based on casting method. The in vitro antibacterial property of CMC-SC films was evaluated using agar disk diffusion and broth micro-dilution methods. 

Antimicrobial property of probiotic films (diameter inhibition zone and log differences in population, respectively) were as follow: S. aureus (2.13-5.65 mm and -0.79 - -3.82) > L. monocytogenes (1.76-5.32 mm and -0.65 - -3.34) > S. typhimurium (2.13-4.33 mm and -0.34 - -2.79) > E. coli O157:H7 (1.88-3.86 mm and -0.18 - -2.62). The best antimicrobial property against aforementioned bacterial pathogens was found for film supplemented with L. acidophilus + L. reuteri + B. bifidum. 

It can be concluded that incorporation of some probiotic strains into edible films resulted in excellent antimicrobial property against S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, S. typhimurium and E. coli O157:H7 and probably solve safety related issue in food industry.

Different species of Pseudomonas bacteria are found in abundance in environment. Although they are weak pathogens, they have great importance in food hygiene and human health because they are psychrotrophic bacteria, can grow and proliferate at refrigerated temperatures, and can produce proteolytic and lipolytic enzymes. 

In this study, the simultaneous effect of different doses of microwave radiation and different concentrations of salt and lactic acid on Pseudomonas aeruginosa inoculated onto veal meat pieces. For this purpose, 108 samples were evaluated in 9 treatments on days 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 during chilled storage in -4⁰ C. The control group was treated with distilled water. The bacterial count was done in Pseudomonas Agar medium and that showed that different concentrations of acid, salt, and microwave exposure time and their interactions had a significant effect on the mean logarithm number of bacteria during the refrigerating period. 

In this study, the interaction between microwave radiation, organic acid and salt cause to more reduction in the count of bacteria than the control group. There was a significant difference between the number of bacteria under acid and salt treatments and the control group (p<0.001)In this study, by controlling the effect of salt concentration and microwave duration, using 2.5 and 5% lactic acid led to reduce the logarithm of the bacteria during the refrigeration  period in comparison with the acid-free samples (P<0.001) and as well as, 5% acid significantly decrease the logarithm of the number of bacteria during the refrigeration  period compared to the samples treated with 2.5% acid (P <0.001). Also, by controlling the impact of the concentration if the acid and microwave duration, using 4 and 6% salt significantly decrease the logarithm of the number of bacteria during the refrigeration period compared to non-salty samples (p <0.001). Samples containing of 6% and 4% salt did not indicate a significant difference in the logarithm of the number of bacteria during the refrigeration period (p = 0.89). Also, the microwave duration of 9 s (65 °C) significantly decreases the logarithm of the bacteria compared to 7 (55 °C), 5 (45 °C) and 3 s (30 °C) (P <0.001). Also, using lactic acid (5%) and salt (6%) the microwave duration was reduced from 9 s (65 °C) to 5 s (45 °C) in order to complete elimination of bacteria. The results were analyzed by mixed repeated measure ANOVA (SPSS version 21). 

In summary, the results of this study showed that the use of organic acid, salt, and microwave irradiation on pseudomonas aeruginosa, which was inoculated into meat parts during storage in the refrigerator, reduced the bacterial count during this period. In this study, the combination of microwave radiation, organic acid and salt concentration caused a greater reduction in bacteria count compared to the control group, and there was a significant difference between the bacterial count when each these three factors were used comparing with control group.

Intelligent packaging is a type of packaging which could control the environment around the food and inform consumers about food condition. The objective of present research was to design a simple pH-sensitive label in chicken package which show the spoilage by changing its color. The Bromocresol green, a pH-sensitive color indicator, has been used to detect chicken spoilage and attached to the inner side of the package. The analysis including chemical (pH and TVBN), microbial and sensory analysis were done at the intervals of 0, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 10 days storage at 4 °C. The TVB-N was 19 mg/100g in the first day and measured 29 mg/100 g on the 8th day and 46 mg/100g of on the last day, respectively. According to achieved results, the changes of BCG color due to chicken spoilage were detectable by naked eye. The bacterial count was about 6.62 Log10CFU/g. On the last day, the indicator’s color became blue and the total count reached about 7.20 Log10CFU/g. There was a significant relationship between Total Volatile Nitrogen Base (TVBN), pH, microbial and sensory analysis in all studied samples with the changes in indicator’s color during storage. Due to increase in TVBN during storage, the Bromocresol Green (BCG) indicator’s color changed from yellow to blue. Thus, the BCG indicator can be employed as an inexpensive and simple label to show the freshness of chicken meat.

Due to development of dairy industries, consumption of Doogh in Iran as a functional fermented beverage is increasing. On the other hand in case of using the preservatives to reduce the microbial contamination in Doogh may rising the risk of chronic diseases during long time. In this study, the protective effect of natamycin as preservative on microbial population in Iranian Doogh at different storing temperatures extensively investigated. 

Microbial analyses included total count of microorganisms, population of fungi (mold and yeast), coliforms, Escherichia coli, coagulase positive staphylococci, and lactic acid bacteria on Doogh samples were extensively evaluated. 

Microbial population in Doogh samples stored at 4 °C in both treatments )with and without natamycin( was less when compare to samples stored at 25 °C and 35 °C during the shelf life period. At 25 °C, natamycin was able to significantly (P <0.05) control the growth of the wide range of microorganisms, while at 35 °C, by presence of natamycin the microbial contaminants in the majority of cases were significantly increased (P <0.05). 

According to the findings, it can be concluded that paying attention to the microbial quality of raw milk, heat treatment and cooling system during transportation, environmental hygienic conditions, as well as the storage condition of the final product at refrigerated temperatures by food retailers and consumers can effectively reduce the microbial population of Doogh and preventing the spoilage.

Getting enough vitamin D and Calcium is important in keeping bones healthy and reducing the risk of developing osteopenia or osteoporosis.

Two types of calcium salts and vitamin D3 were used as core materials in modified starch microcapsules. The effect of sonication process and formulation on physicochemical properties of emulsion and final spray dried powder was investigated.

The results suggested applying ultra-sound homogenization in 80% of maximum power for 3 min were optimum process condition to fabricate emulsions. 16 different emulsion formulations were prepared and their physicochemical properties were studied. All emulsions had narrow size distribution and more than 79% encapsulation efficiency. According to particle size and encapsulation efficiency two formulations were selected and further characterized. Both calcium carbonate and stearate containing microcapsules had more than 89% encapsulation efficiency and their particle size were 2 and 2.5 μm, respectively. 70% of vitamin D preserved during 8 month in encapsulated form.

The results indicated that vitamin D3 and calcium co-encapsulated microcapsules can be used to prolong the stability and improve the solubility of vitamin D3 for food applications.