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Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria: Prevalence and Control—Volume II

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A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2024) | Viewed by 16408

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Chunlei Shi

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Guest Editor

MOST-USDA Joint Research Center for Food Safety, School of Agriculture and Biology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Interests: detection and subtyping of foodborne pathogenic bacteria; prevalence; persistence and stress survival of foodborne pathogenic bacteria on food chain from farm to table
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Shimo Kang

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Guest Editor

CAS Key Laboratory of Nutrition, Metabolism and Food Safety, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
Interests: antimcrobial alternatives; stress response; antibiofilm
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Foodborne pathogenic bacteria threaten the safety of the food system from the farm to our tables. In order to enhance the safety of our food system, the first step is to understand how the food system has been and could still be contaminated by pathogenic bacteria, such as pathogenic Escherichia coli, non-typhoidal Salmonella, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and other emerging and re-emerging pathogenic bacteria. On the other hand, we also need to understand how these bacteria can survive different processing and preservation steps in the food system. Nowadays, biofilm formation and antimicrobial resistance can be considered to explain the mechanisms for the bacteria’s survival. However, gaps in our knowledge still exist. Once basic information is acquired, we will be able to prevent and control the contamination of foodborne pathogenic bacteria.

Dr. Chunlei Shi
Dr. Shimo Kang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

biofilm
antimicrobial resistance
stress response
cross contamination
risk assessment
antimicrobial alternatives
antibiofilm

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 1364 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of the Microbial Quality of Hermetia illucens Larvae for Animal Feed and Human Consumption: Study of Different Type of Rearing Substrates

by Lenaïg Brulé, Boris Misery, Guillaume Baudouin, Xin Yan, Côme Guidou, Christophe Trespeuch, Camille Foltyn, Valérie Anthoine, Nicolas Moriceau, Michel Federighi and Géraldine Boué

Foods 2024, 13(10), 1587; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13101587 - 20 May 2024

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Abstract

In the context of climate change and depletion of natural resources, meeting the growing demand for animal feed and human food through sufficient, nutritious, safe, and affordable sources of protein is becoming a priority. The use of Hermetia illucens, the black soldier fly (BSF), has emerged as a strategy to enhance the circularity of the agri-food chain, but its microbiological safety remains a concern. The aim of the present study was to systematically review available data on the microbiological quality of BSF and to investigate the impact of using four different rearing substrates including classic options allowed by the EU regulation (cereals, fruits, vegetables) and options not allowed by EU regulations regarding vegetable agri-food (co-products, food at shelf life, and meat). A total of 13 studies were collected and synthesized, including 910 sample results, while 102 new sample results were collected from the present experiments in three farms. Both datasets combined revealed a high level of contamination of larvae, potentially transmitted through the substrate. The main pathogenic bacteria identified were Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, Cronobacter spp., Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and Staphylococcus aureus coagulase-positive, while Campylobacter spp. and Listeria monocytogenes were not detected. Any of these four substrates were excluded for their use in insect rearing; however, safety concerns were confirmed and must be managed by the operators of the sector using microbial inactivation treatment after the harvest of the larvae in order to propose safe products for the market. The results obtained will guide the definition of the control criteria and optimize the following manufacturing steps. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria: Prevalence and Control—Volume II)

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19 pages, 6076 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of the PhoP/PhoQ System on the Regulation of Multi-Stress Adaptation Induced by Acid Stress in Salmonella Typhimurium

by Xu Gao, Jina Han, Lixian Zhu, George-John E. Nychas, Yanwei Mao, Xiaoyin Yang, Yunge Liu, Xueqing Jiang, Yimin Zhang and Pengcheng Dong

Foods 2024, 13(10), 1533; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13101533 - 15 May 2024

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Abstract

Acidic stress in beef cattle slaughtering abattoirs can induce the acid adaptation response of in-plant contaminated Salmonella. This may further lead to multiple resistance responses threatening public health. Therefore, the acid, heat, osmotic and antibiotic resistances of Salmonella typhimurium (ATCC14028) were evaluated after a 90 min adaption in a pH = 5.4 “mild acid” Luria–Bertani medium. Differences in such resistances were also determined between the ∆phoP mutant and wild-type Salmonella strains to confirm the contribution of the PhoP/PhoQ system. The transcriptomic differences between the acid-adapted and ∆phoP strain were compared to explore the role of the PhoP/Q two-component system in regulating multi-stress resistance. Acid adaptation was found to increase the viability of Salmonella to lethal acid, heat and hyperosmotic treatments. In particular, acid adaptation significantly increased the resistance of Salmonella typhimurium to Polymyxin B, and such resistance can last for 21 days when the adapted strain was stored in meat extract medium at 4 °C. Transcriptomics analysis revealed 178 up-regulated and 274 down-regulated genes in the ∆phoP strain. The Salmonella infection, cationic antimicrobial peptide (CAMP) resistance, quorum sensing and two-component system pathways were down-regulated, while the bacterial tricarboxylic acid cycle pathways were up-regulated. Transcriptomics and RT-qPCR analyses revealed that the deletion of the phoP gene resulted in the down-regulation of the expression of genes related to lipid A modification and efflux pumps. These changes in the gene expression result in the change in net negative charge and the mobility of the cell membrane, resulting in enhanced CAMP resistance. The confirmation of multiple stress resistance under acid adaptation and the transcriptomic study in the current study may provide valuable information for the control of multiple stress resistance and meat safety. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria: Prevalence and Control—Volume II)

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18 pages, 1347 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Prevalence of Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes, and Population Levels of Food Safety Indicator Microorganisms in Retail Raw Chicken Meat and Ready-To-Eat Fresh Leafy Greens Salads Sold in Greece

by Dimitra Kostoglou, Maria Simoni, Georgios Vafeiadis, Nikolaos-Marios Kaftantzis and Efstathios Giaouris

Foods 2023, 12(24), 4502; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12244502 - 16 Dec 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5992

Abstract

The presence of microbial pathogens in foods compromises their safety resulting in foodborne illnesses, public health disorders, product recalls, and economic losses. In this work, 60 samples of chilled raw chicken meat and 40 samples of packaged ready-to-eat (RTE) fresh leafy greens salads, sold in Greek retail stores (butchers and supermarkets), were analyzed for the presence of three important foodborne pathogenic bacteria, i.e., Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes, following the detection protocols of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). In parallel, the total aerobic plate count (APC), Enterobacteriaceae, total coliforms, Escherichia coli, and staphylococci were also enumerated as hygiene (safety) indicator organisms. When present, representative typical colonies for each pathogen were biochemically verified, following the ISO guidelines. At the same time, all the Campylobacter isolates from chicken (n = 120) were identified to the species level and further phylogenetically discriminated through multiplex and repetitive sequence-based (rep) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods, respectively. Concerning raw chicken, Campylobacter spp. were recovered from 54 samples (90.0%) and Salmonella spp. were recovered from 9 samples (15.0%), while L. monocytogenes was present in 35 samples (58.3%). No Campylobacter was recovered from salads, and Salmonella was present in only one sample (2.5%), while three salads were found to be contaminated with L. monocytogenes (7.5%). The 65% of the Campylobacter chicken isolates belonged to C. jejuni, whereas the rest, 35%, belonged to C. coli. Alarmingly, APC was equal to or above 10⁶ CFU/g in 53.3% and 95.0% of chicken and salad samples, respectively, while the populations of some of the other safety indicators were in some cases also high. In sum, this study unravels high occurrence percentages for some pathogenic and food safety indicator microorganisms in raw chicken meat and RTE fresh leafy greens salads sold in Greek retail, highlighting the need for more extensive microbiological control throughout the food production chain (from the farm/field to the market). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria: Prevalence and Control—Volume II)

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14 pages, 1462 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effectiveness of Bacteriophages against Biofilm-Forming Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli In Vitro and on Food-Contact Surfaces

by Divya Jaroni, Pushpinder Kaur Litt, Punya Bule and Kaylee Rumbaugh

Foods 2023, 12(14), 2787; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12142787 - 22 Jul 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1292

Abstract

(1) Background: Formation of biofilms on food-contact surfaces by Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) can pose a significant challenge to the food industry, making conventional control methods insufficient. Targeted use of bacteriophages to disrupt these biofilms could reduce this problem. Previously isolated and characterized bacteriophages (n = 52) were evaluated against STEC biofilms in vitro and on food-contact surfaces. (2) Methods: Phage treatments (9 logs PFU/mL) in phosphate-buffered saline were used individually or as cocktails. Biofilms of STEC (O157, O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145) were formed in 96-well micro-titer plates (7 logs CFU/mL; 24 h) or on stainless steel (SS) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) coupons (9 logs CFU/cm²; 7 h), followed by phage treatment. Biofilm disruption was measured in vitro at 0, 3, and 6 h as a change in optical density (A₅₉₅). Coupons were treated with STEC serotype-specific phage-cocktails or a 21-phage cocktail (3 phages/serotype) for 0, 3, 6, and 16 h, and surviving STEC populations were enumerated. (3) Results: Of the 52 phages, 77% showed STEC biofilm disruption in vitro. Serotype-specific phage treatments reduced pathogen population within the biofilms by 1.9–4.1 and 2.3–5.6 logs CFU/cm², while the 21-phage cocktail reduced it by 4.0 and 4.8 logs CFU/cm² on SS and HDPE, respectively. (4) Conclusions: Bacteriophages can be used to reduce STEC and their biofilms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria: Prevalence and Control—Volume II)

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Review

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25 pages, 418 KiB

Open AccessReview

Comprehensive Review on the Biocontrol of Listeria monocytogenes in Food Products

by Leontina Grigore-Gurgu, Florentina Ionela Bucur, Octavian Augustin Mihalache and Anca Ioana Nicolau

Foods 2024, 13(5), 734; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13050734 - 28 Feb 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1430

Abstract

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen that causes listeriosis, a group of human illnesses that appear more frequently in countries with better-developed food supply systems. This review discusses the efficacy of actual biocontrol methods combined with the main types of food involved in illnesses. Comments on bacteriophages, lactic acid bacteria, bacteriocins, essential oils, and endolysins and derivatives, as main biological antilisterial agents, are made bearing in mind that, using them, food processors can intervene to protect consumers. Both commercially available antilisterial products and solutions presented in scientific papers for mitigating the risk of contamination are emphasized. Potential combinations between different types of antilisterial agents are highlighted for their synergic effects (bacteriocins and essential oils, phages and bacteriocins, lactic acid bacteria with natural or synthetic preservatives, etc.). The possibility to use various antilisterial biological agents in active packaging is also presented to reveal the diversity of means that food processors may adopt to assure the safety of their products. Integrating biocontrol solutions into food processing practices can proactively prevent outbreaks and reduce the occurrences of L. monocytogenes-related illnesses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria: Prevalence and Control—Volume II)

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17 pages, 3514 KiB

Open AccessReview

Bongkrekic Acid and Burkholderia gladioli pathovar cocovenenans: Formidable Foe and Ascending Threat to Food Safety

by Dong Han, Jian Chen, Wei Chen and Yanbo Wang

Foods 2023, 12(21), 3926; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12213926 - 26 Oct 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5423

Abstract

Bongkrekic acid (BKA) poisoning, induced by the contamination of Burkholderia gladioli pathovar cocovenenans, has a long-standing history of causing severe outbreaks of foodborne illness. In recent years, it has emerged as a lethal food safety concern, presenting significant challenges to public health. This review article highlights the recent incidents of BKA poisoning and current research discoveries on the pathogenicity of B. gladioli pv. cocovenenans and underlying biochemical mechanisms for BKA synthesis. Moreover, the characterization of B. gladioli pv. cocovenenans and the identification of the bon gene cluster provide a crucial foundation for developing targeted interventions to prevent BKA accumulation in food matrices. The prevalence of the bon gene cluster, which is the determining factor distinguishing B. gladioli pv. cocovenenans from non-pathogenic B. gladioli strains, has been identified in 15% of documented B. gladioli genomes worldwide. This finding suggests that BKA poisoning has the potential to evolve into a more prevalent threat. Although limited, previous research has proved that B. gladioli pv. cocovenenans is capable of producing BKA in diverse environments, emphasizing the possible food safety hazards associated with BKA poisoning. Also, advancements in detection methods of both BKA and B. gladioli pv. cocovenenans hold great promise for mitigating the impact of this foodborne disease. Future studies focusing on reducing the threat raised by this vicious foe is of paramount importance to public health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria: Prevalence and Control—Volume II)

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