Journal of Food Safety and Hygiene
Volume:9 Issue: 3, Summer 2023

Food is the most unavoidable substance for contamination. It can be contaminated naturally and unintentionally by toxins. Some of these food contaminants contain nephrotoxins. For this purpose, a narrative review study was performed to identify the types of nephrotoxin found in food. This study was performed with the keywords; nephrotoxin, contamination, pollution, and food. The nephrotoxic toxins consist mainly of three categories of toxins; mycotoxins, heavy metals, and Aristolochic acids. About 70% of the selected studies investigated ochratoxin A (OTA). Evaluation of OTA contamination in baby food and infant formula should be considered. We can mention nickel, lead, and cadmium from the category of nephrotoxic heavy metals in food. Also, from compounds with radionucleotide activity, contamination with uranium was observed. Onions and carrots can be good biomarkers for contaminating an area with Aristolochic acids. Some of the nephrotoxins occurred more than permissible levels. Given that the kidneys are a vital organ of the body, human biomonitoring of nephrotoxins is recommended in countries where food is over the permissible level.

In recent years, the incidence of undesirable heavy metals, pesticide residues and microbial contaminants in fruits and vegetables has caused severe worldwide public health concerns. In this investigation, we intended to investigate the in-vitro effectiveness of a novel herboclean herbal solution in eliminating pesticides, heavy metals and microbes from the fruits and vegetables collected from various markets. The collected fruits and vegetables were immersed separately in a beaker containing an already prepared herboclean herbal solution for 30 min. The efficacy of the herboclean herbal solution in removing the pesticides and heavy metals was studied using Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS), and Inductively Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), respectively. The reduction in microbes was analyzed by the plate count method. From the result, it was clear that the average removal rate of pesticide residues from fruits and vegetables was 89.89±7.21%. In the case of heavy metals average removal rate was 94.74±9.12%. Whereas in the case of microbes, the removal rate was 90.98±8.38% after washing with Herboclean herbal solution. These results clearly demonstrated that the herboclean herbal solution was very effective in eliminating various pesticides, heavy metals and microbial agents from fresh fruits and vegetables without interfering with their integrity or sensorial parameters. Moreover, this is the first report regarding the efficacy of natural herboclean herbal solutions.

Arsenic is an important environmental pollutant with potential cancer-causing effects. It contributes to acute and chronic toxicity depending on the doses or duration of exposure. In this study, we estimated the concentration of total arsenic in different rice brands sold in Uganda, where rice is a staple food. We conducted an experimental study. Different rice brands were obtained from supermarkets and grocery shops, and assessed for arsenic using atomic absorption spectrometry. The concentrations of arsenic in rice were estimated after boiling, washing, or overnight soaking in plenty of water to see if these methods reduce arsenic levels efficiently in food. The concentrations of arsenic in the different rice brands were compared using an unpaired t-test after setting a p-value of ≤0.05 as significant. The G-rice brand had the lowest arsenic levels of 1.4±0.000 ppm and the C-rice brand had the highest levels of 2.4±0.004 ppm. The tap water used to boil, soak and wash the rice brands had much higher arsenic levels of 3.5±0.000 ppm, leading to increased retention of the heavy metal in the rice. Rice brands sold in Kampala city seem to have higher than acceptable arsenic levels. Increased vigilance in terms of routine monitoring for the levels of arsenic in rice and water used during food preparation by the Ugandan food or water safety regulatory authorities is highly recommended.

Listeria is a bacterial genus that is widely distributed in fish and fishery products and is a vehicle for food-borne bacterial infections and intoxications. Listeria innocua, though considered non-pathogenic, is a close relative to L. monocytogenes a known food-borne pathogen. It has been implicated in the transfer of antimicrobial-resistant genes. Therefore, this study investigates the prevalence of Listeria innocua and its antimicrobial susceptibility pattern in seafood found in Badagry, Iyana Ipaja, Liverpool, Makoko and Mushin, Nigeria.  A total of 500 samples comprising of fresh and smoked blue whiting, croaker and shrimps were collected aseptically from retail outlets across Lagos. Culture, biochemical and sugar tests were carried out to identify L. innocua. 16S rRNA gene sequencing was conducted to confirm the isolates as L. innocua. The antimicrobial susceptibility testing was determined by the disk diffusion assay. Out of 500 seafood samples analysed, 36 (7.2%) were positive for Listeria innocua. Raw croaker had the highest occurrence of 13.0%. The antimicrobial susceptibility test revealed that all isolates were resistant to ceftazidime and cloxacillin. However, high sensitivities to ofloxacin (83.3%) and erythromycin (72.2%) were exhibited by the isolates. The recovery of these antimicrobial-resistant Listeria innocua strains in the seafood samples analysed warrants the need for suitable control procedures as this could constitute a great risk to public health.

In recent years, the consumption of fresh products has increased due to the multiple contributions of nutrients and functional properties. This study aims to determine the susceptibility pattern of Staphylococcus aureus in fresh lettuce and assess the food safety practice of vegetable vendors in the Birnin Kebbi metropolis. A total of 28 fresh lettuce samples were collected from various locations (Tudun Wada, Rafin Atiku, Badariya, and Bayan Kara) in the Birnin Kebbi metropolis, chosen randomly from vegetable vendors. A structured questionnaire was utilized to assess food safety practices. S. aureus was isolated and identified using cultural and biochemical characteristics and antibiotic sensitivity was conducted by the Kirby-Baur disk diffusion method. Only 7.14% of the vegetable vendors reported using gloves while handling vegetables. 17.86% reported washing their hands properly after handling waste or garbage. Only 7.14% reported wearing an apron while working. 50% reported properly cleaning the vegetable storage area before storing new products. 14.29% reported washing vegetables after purchasing them from the market, while None of the respondents reported covering their products while selling them. Out of a total of 28 samples tested, 21(75%) were found to be positive for S. aureus. Antibiotic susceptibility pattern of S. aureus showed resistance in Ampicillin (100%), Amoxicillin (28.57%), Tetracycline (17.86%), Rifampicin (39.29%), Chloramphenicol (14.29%), Neomycin (53.57%), Methicillin (89.29%), Cefpodoxime (35.71%) respectively. Furthermore, none of the S. aureus were resistant to Gentamycin. The high occurrence of S. aureus found in fresh lettuce suggests contamination could have occurred before or after harvesting. It is recommended that cleaning and sanitation practices be introduced to enhance the safety and quality of this vegetable.

Contamination of locally formulated herbs with aflatoxins and pathogenic organisms poses major health concerns to humans and animals, especially in recent times when herbal mixtures are on the rise. This study aimed to determine the herbs' microbial profile and aflatoxin level. Two different herbal medicines (malaria and typhoid; each prepared with water and alcohol) were obtained at Itoku market, Ogun-state, Nigeria. The samples were isolated using the serial dilution technique and isolates were identified morphologically. Aflatoxin quantification was done on the herbal samples using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The viable bacteria count ranged from 1.0×105 cfu/g to 20.0×105 cfu/mL with the typhoid herbs prepared with water recording the highest count. The microorganisms obtained in the herbs were confirmed as, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus, Salmonella sp, Proteus sp, Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium chrysogenum, Saccharomyces cerevisae and Fusarium sp. Typhoid herbs prepared with water showed high aflatoxin detection limits of 7.60 μg/mL. The result showed that the locally formulated herbs were highly contaminated with microorganisms and that consumption of the locally formulated herbs with aflatoxin could cause aflatoxicosis.

Food and water supply is important for people's health affected by earthquakes. Food manufacturing areas must be built earthquake-resistant and in accordance with the conditions specified in the legal legislation to provide food security and safety through disasters. A bread and bread varieties business using ovens could be damaged and pose a risk to their neighborhood due to their activities. Production of bread and bread varieties using stone/wood ovens could cause the separation of iron from concrete with the effect of warming and cooling. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of bread and bread varieties businesses located at the entrances of the apartments on the destruction or damage of buildings caused by earthquakes and lack of access to enough safe food. Therefore, the damage to buildings with stone/wood ovens at apartment entrances caused by the earthquake that occurred in Türkiye on 6 February 2023 was evaluated. Some bread producers with ovens that have no independent structures and obtained licenses before the regulation dated 2014, should determine their infrastructural features. Using stove/wood ovens under or at the entrance of the apartments in bakery places could be a risk of causing damage to the column structure. The inspections of bakery places of the municipality and the other authorized organizations must be done more often, and official monitoring should be mandatory for food and environmental safety.