Journal of Food Quality and Hazards Control
Volume:1 Issue: 1, Mar 2014

Foodborne pathogens comprise microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria and parasites that can be transmitted by food and affect public health worldwide. The most common viruses transmitted via food are hepatitis A virus and Norwalk-like caliciviruses. Also, the most common bacteria involved in foodborne illnesses are Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridium perfringens, Salmonella spp, Escherichia coli O157:H7; and the most important parasites that can cause these conditions are Giardia duodenalis, Cryptosporidium parvum, Cyclospora cayetanensis, Toxoplasma gondii, Trichinella spiralis, Taenia saginata and/or solium, Entamoeba histolytica, Anisakis spp. and Diphyllobothrium spp. Because of their eventual small number in the sample, their detection and identification is not always easy. On the other hand, conventional methods like cultures are almost labor intensive, time consuming and costly. Recently, molecular techniques have been developed for rapid, sensitive and specific identification. The most common molecular methods are polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based techniques. In this article, the sensitive and specific molecular tests for routine detection and identification of foodborne pathogens are reviewed.

Aflatoxin M1 is an important mycotoxin frequently found in milk and dairy products. The main objective of this work was to study the stability of AFM1 during production and refrigerated storage of probiotic yogurt. Two kinds of probiotic yogurt were made by cow’s milk artificially contaminated with aflatoxin M1 at a level of 100 ng/l, and fermented to reach pH 4.5. The yogurts were stored at 4 °C for up to 21 days. Analysis of aflatoxin M1 in yogurt was carried out, using immunoaffinity column extraction and liquid chromatography coupled with fluorometric detection. The aflatoxin M1 levels in the probiotic yogurts showed a significant decrease (p<0.05) compared with those initially added to milk. During the refrigerated storage the aflatoxin M1 was lower in‘DELVO-YOG MY 1821’(MY 1821) yogurt than ‘FD-DVS ABY3’ (ABY3), but the difference was not significant (p>0.05). The percentage loss of the initial amount of aflatoxin M1 in milk was estimated at about 41% and 49% by the end of storage for yogurts made by ABY3 and MY1821 yogurt, respectively. Loss of viability of the probiotic bacteria in presence of aflatoxin M1 was strain dependent. Aflatoxin M1 had no remarkable effect on viability of tested bacteria. The probiotic yogurt can reduce the AFM1 content of initial milk during production and storage. More studies are needed to investigate the effectiveness of other mixed probiotic cultures with different composition, to reduce the AFM1 content of milk.

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. 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. 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). 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.

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. 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. 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. 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 consumer's health.

Zearalenone is a mycotoxin compound produced mainly by the Fusarium species of fungi which is present in several types of foods. T he purpose of this study was to determine the zearalenone in raw animal origin food produced in North-West of Iran. From June to December 2012, a total of 210 samples (containing 70 raw milk, 70 meat and 70 liver) were obtained from female buffaloes in the North-West regions of Iran. Samples were analyzed by ELISA method. The zearalenone was found in 92 of the 210 samples (43.80%). Significant differences in the mean values ​​of zearalenone was observed between milk, meat and liver samples (p<0.05). The highest mean level of zearalenone was observed in liver samples (2.37 ±1.18 ng/g), followed by milk (1.34±1.42 ng/ml) and meat (0.79±1.27 ng/g) samples. The overall contamination rate during autumn was significantly more than summer (p<0.05). The results of this study indicate that the occurrence of zearalenone contamination in the buffalo milk, meat and liver samples were low in this region of Iran, most probably because of the uncontaminated feed given to water buffalo. However, it seems that the most practical way to minimizing mycotoxin production and contamination of the food supply, is the development of methods to control their formation, or the development of newer methods to detoxify or decontaminate the affected food.

Bread made ​​from wheat flour is an important source of minerals such as iron and zinc, but its phytic acid content is a contributing factor that can cause decreased absorption of these minerals. This survey aimed to determine phytic acid content in different types of bread and dough consumed in Yazd, Iran. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out in 2013 on 100 samples including 50 samples of bread and 50 ones of dough from Yazd, Iran. After extraction and preparation stages, samples were analyzed by HPLC system to determine phytic acid. The results demonstrated that in 15 samples (30%) of dough and in 9 samples (18%) of breads, phytic acid concentration was more than acceptable level (10 mg/100g). Among the studied breads, Barbari had the lowest (7±1.5 mg/100g) and Lavash (9.8±0.4 mg/100g) had the highest amount of phytic acid. Also, there was an inverted correlation among fermentation time and phytic acid concentrations, especially in Tafton dough (p=0.03) and Barbari (p= 0.005). It is a necessity to offer practical solutions for prevention of anti nutritional effects of phytic acid in bread and dough.

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. Based on our knowledge, this study indicates the first report of molecular identification of S. hirsuta in Iran.