Journal of Food Safety and Hygiene
Volume:9 Issue: 1, Winter 2023

The meat industry has a greater responsibility to meet consumer's expectations and demands due to the industry's expansion, the state of global trade, stringent laws, and consumer awareness. The meat industry needs a tool to address the better quality and guarantee a safer product for consumers because it is linked to human health risks such as pathogens, drug residues, pesticide residues, toxins, contaminants and heavy metals. Biosensor is the latest detection technology in the fast-growing industry including food sector due to its ability to increase the detection specificity, decrease the time of analysis, apply on a large scale and reduce the resource requirement as in the molecular methods. Food quality, food component, food packaging, pathogen, food allergens, drug residues, contaminants and sensory analysis of food can be detected quickly using biosensors. Biosensor can be an important monitoring and controlling tool in food chain from farm to fork in the near future. Although the application of biosensors has advanced significantly, more research is still required, especially to make the majority of laboratory experiments already published on the commercial  market.

Cowpea, a major source of food in Ghana is known for its nutritional benefits and is highly recommended for consumption to tackle malnutrition. Its production and distribution however are faced with challenges such as fungal and mycotoxin contamination. The aim of this study was to assess aflatoxin levels of common cowpea varieties in the Nima and Agbogbloshie markets and to explore if these levels fall within the acceptable consumption ranges. The aflatoxin levels of all the procured samples were analyzed following the Reveal Q+ protocol. All the samples analyzed contained aflatoxin at levels ranging from 2.1 to 12.6 ppb. Red beans cowpea variety from Nima market had the highest mean aflatoxin concentration (9.1 ppb) while Agbogbloshie Red beans variety had the lowest mean aflatoxin concentration (3.6 ppb). There was no significant difference between the aflatoxin level of both markets (p = 0.610) nor was there a significant difference between the aflatoxin levels in the cowpea varieties (p = 0.950). The results revealed in this study compromise food safety and could lead to serious health implications for consumers. Authorities in charge of food ensuring safety must provide important education and training to food crop vendors which will gradually lead to the total elimination of fungi and aflatoxin in food crops. Also, there should be periodic checks on the condition of cowpea and cowpea products in markets to boost food safety.

A targeted food safety training program for street food handlers is very essential to provide safe food for consumers. An in-depth assessment of knowledge and specific food safety practices of vendors is a prerequisite for incorporating a novel approach in training programs. The present study is a cross-sectional study conducted on 400 street food vendors (Panipuri-150, Bhelpuri-150, Fruit juice vendors-50, Chinese fast food-50) in south Indian city-Hyderabad, by stratified random sampling technique from 5 zones. A validated pre-tested questionnaire was administered by interview mode, and practices were recorded through the observational checklist. Scores have been allotted for a knowledge-based questionnaire with 18 items of which 5 are exclusive on knowledge and 13 questions on knowledge and subsequent practices recorded via observation checklist with different weights. Among all the street vendors, panipuri vendors (20.5±1.94) secured high scores andbhelpuri vendors (14.04±1.20) secured the least scores for knowledge whereas practice scores were relatively the same for all types of vendors. The average percentage for knowledge (17.40±3.56) scores was 68.1% and for practices (8.28±2.54) 38% for all the vendors. Very few vendors know the importance of practices like separating raw from cooked foods (22%), cooking food thoroughly (21.7%), and safe storage of cooked food (8.5%). Only about 13.7% of vendors thought that it is important to use soap for washing hands and only 4 % of the vendors practiced. The present study helps in identifying knowledge and knowledge-practice gaps in street food vendors for developing targeted food safety training programs.

Although the food chain industry is regarded as a crucial component of the economy of many developing nations because it creates jobs and offers easily available cooked meals at relatively lower prices, there have been significant worries about the quality and safety of street foods. The goal of the study is to evaluate how well food vendors adhere to hygiene standards on the University of Ghana campus. A qualitative approach was used. Thirty-one food vendors and 2 grounds and environmental health services officers were selected using purposive sampling. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. According to the study's findings, a larger percentage of food vendors did not exhibit healthy food handling habits. Although there are organised pieces of training for food vendors, these pieces of training are insufficient to provide them with all the necessary information. to ensure food safety practices. To increase the degree of food safety, a comprehensive food safety policy and guidelines, regular training programmes and effective monitoring should be a priority for all stakeholders.

Escherichia coli and Salmonella sp. are two primary pathogens because they are indicators of hygiene for food safety and may be at high risk of foodborne illness. This study aims to determine the prevalence of Escherichia coli and Salmonella sp. in traditional markets sold in East Barito Regency as food safety monitors. Chicken breast samples were taken from chicken traders in traditional markets in East Barito Regency. Test for the presence of Escherichia coli and Salmonella sp. using MC MediaPad was conducted. The presence of Escherichia coli and Salmonella sp. was detected 20% and 6.67% in chicken sold in traditional markets in East Barito Regency, respectively. With the presence of Escherichia coli and Salmonella sp., it is necessary to increase traders'
awareness regarding hygiene and sanitation.

The objective of this study is to determine the effect of mango leaves in preserving the varied concentrations of metals (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus) present in two tomato varieties in Sokoto, Nigeria. After the application of different mango leaves extracts in the postharvest preservation of Daneka tomato fruits in a randomized control design, and atomic absorption spectrophotometry of macro elements; the most elevated concentrations noticed significant difference at (p<0.05) were revealed in potassium (1.20±0.002 to 3.00±0.001 ppm), and calcium (1.27±0.003 to 2.15±0.002 ppm). The lower levels of metals noticed upon storage under mango leaves are revealed by phosphorus (1.10±0.002 to1.37±0.002 ppm), and sodium (0.90±0.001 to 1.30±0.001 ppm); and the least was revealed by magnesium (0.61±0.001 to 0.86±0.001 ppm). The different concentrations of elements upon addition of mango leaves in the postharvest preservation of UTC tomatoes in Sokoto, Nigeria show, the elevated concentrations revealed by phosphorus (2.5±0.001 to 3.8±0.004 ppm), potassium (2.00±0.001 to 2.99±0.001 ppm), and magnesium (1.01±0.001 to 2.59±0.001 ppm). The lower concentrations were observed in calcium (1.34±0.001 to 1.70±0.001 ppm), and sodium (0.55±0.005 to 1.80±0.002 ppm). The mango leaves possessed potential to preserve the Na, K, Ca, Mg, and P levels in tomatoes; thus could serve as cheap, accessible, and sustainable preservative in the state when improved.