Journal of Food Safety and Hygiene
Volume:5 Issue: 3, Summer 2019

COVID-19 is an emerging disease that was caused by SARS-CoV-2. It is a highly contagious disease and we are still learning about how it spreads. Food is an integral part of human culture that its safety is very important during an epidemic. This article reviews the COVID-19 transmission routes especially through food, nutritional recommendations and hygienic and safety requisites for consumption a safe food during the pandemic of the Covid-19 disease. Finally, we conclude that in order to prevent food contamination with coronavirus, personal hygiene, environmental hygiene and food hygiene should be observed during the epidemic period. Also, to reduce the risk of chronic and infectious diseases during the outbreak, well-balanced and a variety of diet is essential to boost the human immune system.

Due to the global disturbance of chemical resurgence in food efforts, Ficus carica leaves had been made to be applied as preservatives to extend the shelf life of perishable foods despite limited information regarding its biosafety. Hence, the need to affirm the safety of this plant in-vivo was studied. Extracts of Ficus carica leaf were mixed with the basal diet of Wistar albino rats and used as feed for one group of Wistar albino rats (treated group) while the second group was fed with sole basal medium to serve as a control. The blood samples of both groups were taken before the rats were subjected to cervical dislocation. Hematological and histological parameters were studied to know the effects of the extracts and in order to justify the usage of plant extracts as preservatives for perishable foods. The hematological parameters of the treated rats were considerably higher than that of the control rats except for the insignificant changes in lymphocytes, basophils and eosinophils. Furthermore, the histological study revealed no sign of lesions in all organs examined from both groups. The adoption of F. carica leaf as preservatives has no contraindication on the organs or blood parameters which thus necessitate that global application should be recommended not only on perishable foods since its resurgence will pose no harm to the consumers.

Bamboo shoot (Dendrocalamus hamiltonii), the young tender and immature culm is being considered as a complete health food due to its high nutritional and bioactive content. Although, freshly harvested bamboo shoots are nutritionally richer; anti-nutritional factors and toxicity in fresh shoots used for consumption are a matter of concern. This study was conducted to evaluate the sub-acute oral toxicity of aqueous extract in shoots of Dendrocalamus hamiltonii. The bamboo shoot extract was administered orally to Balb/c mice at doses of 400, 800 and 1600 mg/kg, bodyweight for 28 days. Results revealed a significant enhancement in the level of reduced glutathione and superoxide dismutase accompanied by a significant reduction in the level of lipid peroxidation. A dose-dependent increase was observed in the activity of glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase while a marked reduction was seen in the activity of enzyme catalase. None of any mortality and behavioral changes was observed. At higher dose (1600 mg/kg, body weight) the level of serum creatinine, serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase and lactate dehydrogenase increased significantly, however, the histo-architecture of liver and kidney was normal. Therefore, it is concluded that the medium-term oral administration of the bamboo shoot extract for 28 days does not cause toxicity.

In September 2018, an outbreak of listeriosis cases in Korea was traced to food involved, using retrospective cohort studies and PFGE analyses. This study aimed to describe the first L.monocytogenes outbreak identified in Korea. We confirmed the presence of Serovar (4c) and virulence genes and evaluated the genetic correlation between isolates by restriction digestion patterns of ApaI and AscI. Based on the epidemiological association, it is presumed that the seasoned crab meat with bean sprouts is contaminated by cross-contamination during the bean sprouts washing (relative risk was 1.24; p-value: 0.0021) and human in Korea, and they possessed virulence genes. Therefore, active laboratory surveillance is necessary to recognize the risk of L. monocytogenes in Korea.

The pervasiveness of antibiotic residues in animal foods undermines the safety and security of consumers. The consequences on human health through the development of antibiotic resistance is a growing disquiet to veterinary, health practitioners and stallholders. This study evaluates the knowledge of farmers in antibiotic usage and the presence of antibiotic residues in chevon (lamb meat) and beef in Sunyani, Ghana. A total of 150 farmers were randomly selected and interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. In addition, 36 samples comprising 18 beef and 18 chevon samples were analyzed for antibiotic residues using a Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. The majority of the farmers kept only goats (30%), practiced the semi-intensive system (96%), had ever experienced infections on their farm (99.3%) and had ever used antibiotics (100%). The farmers used antibiotics mainly for therapeutic purposes (68%), encountered more diarrhea cases (65.3%), and used mostly tetracycline (56.7%) to treat their animals because of its effectiveness (84%). Most of the farmers confirmed they do not have in-depth knowledge of antibiotics (56%), received information about antibiotics mainly from veterinary officers (56%) and bought their antibiotics from veterinary shops/clinics (62.7%). The majority do not observe withdrawal periods (53.3%), were unaware misuse of antibiotics can promote pathogen resistance (76.5%), but knew consumption of antibiotic residues in meat will be harmful to humans (60%). The examination of the beef and chevon samples revealed the presence of amoxicillin, chlortetracycline, ciprofloxacin, danofloxacin, doxycycline, norfloxacin, oxytetracycline, sulfadiazine and tylosine at varying concentrations. Chloramphenicol and metronidazole were not detected in the meat samples. This study revealed that the farmers had limited knowledge in antibiotic usage and some antibiotic residues were present in chevon and beef sold in Sunyani, Ghana.

Foodborne illness is generally caused after the consumption of food contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms. Food contamination often caused by contact with tabletops or food-handling surfaces where the pathogenic microbes are present due to the unhygienic conditions of people working there and the overall environment of the food serving area. In the current study, four areas (local restaurants, fast food shops, university canteens and hospital canteens) were selected for collection of swab samples (per cm2 area) from the tabletops. Five samples from each area were taken for further studies. After microbiological analysis, we found ten different types of bacteria (Esherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Klebsiella oxytoca, Corynebacterium xerosis, Staphylococcus aures, Salmonella spp., Proteus mirabilis, Enterobacter aerogenes, pseudomonas aeruginosa and Alcaligenes fecalis) which are already considered to be pathogenic bacteria causing different health issues in immune-compromised and also in healthy consumers. These bacteria were then subjected to antibiotic sensitivity test using ten antibiotics-Vancomycin (30µg), Cotrimoxazol (30µg), Azithromycin (15µg), Gentamicin (10µg), Amoxycillin (10 µg), Cephradine (30 µg), Ceftriaxone (30 µg), Cefuroxime (30 µg), Cefoxitin (30 µg) and Tetracycline (30 µg). Bacterial isolates collected from university and hospital canteens showed the most resistance towards these antibiotics. Strict maintenance of proper sanitation and hygiene starting from personal aspects to the overall environment of food handling services should be maintained to reduce food contamination and foodborne disease.

Aflatoxins are a group of mycotoxins mostly produced by the fungi called Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus, and Aspergillus nomium. Aflatoxin M1 is the major metabolite of aflatoxin B1 and is a hepatotoxic and carcinogenic toxin. The aim of this study was to determine the level of contamination of cow's milk with aflatoxin M1 in Bafq and Bahabad For this study, samples of raw cow's milk were collected randomly from milk collection centers around the city of Bafq and Bahabad from March to April. The determination of aflatoxin M1 levels was based on the ELISA method. Contamination was observed in 100% of milk samples. According to the results of the study, the rate of contamination with aflatoxin M1 in 43.3% of milk samples was above the acceptable level (50 ng / l) in Iranian national standard. It is concluded that further monitoring of milk production should be carried out in the spring and winter.

Sour Cherry is a delicious horticultural product, which has been widely developed due to the richness of valuable antioxidant and phenolic nutritional properties in the world. This research was conducted to investigate the quantitative properties of phenolic compounds and the antioxidant activity of cherry fruit and compare it in 8 days with light and dark conditions. In this experimental study, cherries were purchased from Tehran fruit market randomly, and they were transferred to the food analysis laboratory. Subsequently, the cherry extract was taken via juicer. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) Cherry juice were measured with a Uv-vis spectrophotometer. every 24 h for 8 days. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS software. The results of this current study showed that the number of antioxidant compounds of cherry extract in brightness and darkness was 1.96 mg/kg and 2.13 mg/kg, respectively, and the flavonoid composition of light and dark condition was 0.15 mg/kg and 0.16 mg/kg, respectively. Light can reduce the antioxidant and flavonoid properties of sour cherry juice. The antioxidant and flavonoid properties of traditional sour cherry juice extracts are sensitive to light conditions.