China has experienced a series of high-profile food safety scandals in the past few years that seriously challenged public confidence in the domestic food industry. Much attention has been paid to ...Chinese government's food regulatory and inspection systems. Scant research, however, has been devoted to analyzing Chinese consumers' food safety concerns. This study interviewed 2092 Chinese consumers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an, Jinan, and Harbin and used the Conditional Logit model, Mixed Logit model, and the Latent Class model to analyze consumer preferences and marginal willingness to pay (WTP) for selected food safety attributes of Fuji apple products. We identified three consumer segments: certification-oriented (65.9%), price and origin-oriented (19.1%), and not interested (15.0%). Results reveal that Chinese consumers, in general, are willing to pay a premium for selected food safety attributes. Consumers' perceptual and attitudinal factors and socio-demographic characteristics are used to determine the sources of preference heterogeneity. Marginal analysis is also conducted to estimate the response of the model and selectione'd probability to potential policy levels, such as increasing the perception of food safety and the trust on labeling and traceability information to improve the evaluation of food safety.
•Conduct a discrete choice experiment in five cities across China.•Identify three consumer segments but most consumers are certification-oriented.•Find consumers valuate the government certification most.•Conclude region of origin and price are major attributes of consumer choices.•Suggest simplifying labeling application and specific information program.
Obscure hazards and insufficient knowledge regarding foodborne threats make food safety an important issue. Foodborne threats can disrupt markets and can lead to substantial economic losses for ...everyone from farm input traders to customers. The food industry is increasing its efforts to enhance food safety throughout the world. Researchers have redirected their focus toward food science to conform to the issues and find feasible solutions. A variety of conventional and novel techniques have been assessed to solve food safety-related problems. However, certain of these techniques adversely affect the quality of the food, the nutrients it contains and its organoleptic properties. This review highlights the effectiveness of decontamination techniques and discusses several successful combinations of thermal and non-thermal technologies. This review also examines the effects of food processing technologies on nutrients and organoleptic properties.
The working group “Food technology and safety” of the DFG Senate Commission on Food Safety (SKLM) advises on new technologies concerning food processing. Treatment with plasma is a newly developed ...process, which is currently used only on a pilot scale in Europe. The novel plasma treatment technology is experimentally applied to consumer goods. There are also potential applications in the food sector, e.g. to inactivate microorganisms on food surfaces. There is still insufficient information on concomitant physical and chemical processes and changes induced in the food. On May 25th 2012, the SKLM issued a first statement on plasma treatment of foods in German. The English version was agreed on December 14th 2012.
Antimicrobial resistance leads to failure of clinical antimicrobial therapy, and has raised urgent global public health concern. Humans can acquire antimicrobial resistance from drugs through the ...food chain or the environment (contaminated water, air, soil, or manure). While antimicrobials have been regular supplements in animal feed that maintain health and improve productivity of livestock, their over-use in feeding forage has led to a rise in antibacterial resistance. This review summarizes the current use of antimicrobials in livestock, the harmful effects of antimicrobial resistance, and the comprehensive combat measures.
•Antimicrobial abuse has become a serious problem.•Antimicrobial resistance poses a major threat to animal and human health.•Antibiotic growth promoters must be banned.
Hypoglycin A (HGA), methylenecyclopropylglycine (MCPrG), hypoglycin B (HGB), and γ-glutamyl-α-(methylenecyclopropyl) glycine (γ-glutamyl-MCPrG) are secondary plant metabolites occurring in sycamore ...maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) as well as several other Sapindaceae (e.g., Blighia sapida). By interfering with energy metabolism, they may cause severe intoxication in humans and other species. However, to date, there is not enough data available concerning the intake, metabolism, or excretion of sycamore maple toxins in dairy cows. In May 2022, five cows were observed over four days, when they had first access to a pasture with two sycamore maples. Grazing of their seedlings that grew numerously in between the pasture plants was monitored by direct observation. Milk samples were drawn both from individual cows and from the bulk tank. Spontaneous urine samples were collected from all cows on day 3 after access to the pasture. Seedlings (100 g) were sampled on the pasture and analyzed, together with milk and urine samples, for sycamore toxins and their metabolites using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry. Cows ingested sycamore seedlings while grazing. Values of HGA in milk were below the limit of quantification. However, metabolites of HGA and MCPrG were detected in individual milk samples already at the end of the first day of grazing. Urine samples of all five cows showed higher concentrations of conjugated HGA and MCPrG metabolites than in milk. Observations suggest that dairy cows may have a low susceptibility toward sycamore maple toxins. However, whether this could be attributed to foregut fermenting species in general requires further elucidation.
Climate change constitutes a complex challenge posing an urgent threat to our planet and life and creating an entirely different way of conceptualising the world and our chances to provide safe food ...within it. There are currently numerous studies dealing with the potential effect of increased temperature, extreme weather events and cascading events on food safety and subsequently human health. In contrast to food safety, the available data on the impact of climate change on food quality, including food spoilage, are very limited.
This paper presents an overview of the potential impact of climate change on both food safety and microbial spoilage at various stages of the food chain. Among the different hazards related to climate change, mycotoxin and marine biotoxin contamination, environmental residuals derived from various anthropogenic activities and zoonosis diseases are identified as climatic-driven emerging risks to human life and discussed further in this paper. Global warming is projected to affect all microorganisms, including spoilage bacteria and fungi. Hence, this paper also discusses the potential increased risk of microbial spoilage for bulk dried foods and non-refrigerated processed foods which could be high susceptible to climate change in relation to growth of spoilage organisms.
The paper concludes that climate change requires multidisciplinary approaches to gain in-depth knowledge and identify potential emerging risks. In addition, this paper goes beyond food safety and addresses an overlooked aspect of climate change, namely the microbiological spoilage of foods that may require a high level of preparedness by both the food industry and policy makers.
•Τhe potential impact of climate change on food safety and food spoilage is reviewed.•The most important climatic-driven emerging risks are discussed.•Climate change may promote pathogens proliferation and foodborne diseases outbreaks.•Spoilage bacteria and fungi are expected to be affected due to climate change.•Non-refrigerated foods are the most susceptible to spoilage due to climate change.
The working group “Food Technology and Safety” of the DFG Senate Commission on Food Safety (SKLM) deals with new technologies which are being developed or used to treat foods. Ohmic heating is a new ...process for heating food by means of direct application of current to the food. Compared to conventional heating methods, this process can achieve shorter heating times while avoiding hot surfaces and can reduce temperature gradients. The electrical, thermophysical and rheological properties of the products play an important role in achieving uniform heating. In addition to the product parameters, process parameters such as the current frequency used, the electrode material and the geometry of the treatment chamber are also relevant.
On June 22nd 2015, the SKLM issued an assessment of the process for Ohmic heating of food in German. The English version was issued on December 14th, 2015. The objective of this statement was to describe the state of the research, to draw attention to critical points in the application and science-based further development of the process, and to define the need for research.
As with conventional heating, the effectiveness of ohmic heating as a preservation process depends on reaching and maintaining a certain temperature at each point of the food for a sufficient period of time to inactivate microorganisms. The physicochemical product properties are extremely important for achieving heating conditions that are as uniform as possible. Because the electric field strengths applied are low, mainly thermal effects come into play. However, some studies discuss potential additional synergistic or non-thermal inactivation effects of the electric field. As with other processing methods, the structure and concentration of ingredients and contaminants in foods may be altered during ohmic heating. Besides the thermal effects of ohmic heating, it is also necessary to pay attention to potential electrochemical reactions at the contact surface between electrodes and food as well as potential non-thermal effects of the electric field, depending on the process conditions. Therefore, process control becomes particularly important to prevent such effects, which are sometimes undesirable.
Compared to conventional heating methods, the primary requirement in evaluating ohmic heating is a standardised means of acquiring the process control parameters. This includes, first and foremost, a space- and time-resolved temperature measurement that takes into account the product and electric field properties. It is absolutely necessary to carry out systematic studies while paying attention to the comparability with respect to product and process parameters as well as the system design. Consequently, the existing gaps in the data records are in part due to the insufficient comparability of the available studies.
Moreover, it is necessary to analyze thermal and non-thermal as well as additional process-induced changes in the food and its ingredients. This applies particularly to the effect on the potential allergenicity of the food components.
Thermal and non-thermal effects can be studied in a differentiated manner in simulation models. This is regarded as a promising approach for providing a model-like description of combination processes and for optimising process conditions as well.
•Assessment of the process of Ohmic heating for treatment of foods.•Description of the state of the research and critical points in the application.•Definition of need for further development and research.
Food safety and quality is a major political topic due to numbers of deaths and hospitalizations all over the world due to food contamination, due to the increasing concern of consumers with public ...health related issues, due to increasing complexity of internationalization of food chains, along with the stronger sanitary standards set for international trade. Many constraints can explain the delays in the establishment of measures to prevent and control of food contaminants throughout the food value chains. Therefore, the availability of simplified tools that can be used to mitigate food safety hazards in low- and middle-income countries is a high priority internationally. The proposal addressed in this manuscript is to use the existing knowledge in local universities, private companies, citizen's organizations and to translate its proposals and scientific/technical advices to the national authorities, in a low cost manner. This translation is done by what is described here as Collective Expertise. Collective Expertise, can be a very powerful way to develop local strategies to solve problems and face the challenges of food safety and food security.
•Analysis of the situation of food safety in low- and middle-income countries.•Proposal of collective expertise to analyse the food safety hazards.•Creation of food safety expertise in low- and middle-income countries.
Recent advances in electrochemical biosensors for pathogen detection are reviewed. Electrochemical biosensors for pathogen detection are broadly reviewed in terms of transduction elements, ...biorecognition elements, electrochemical techniques, and biosensor performance. Transduction elements are discussed in terms of electrode material and form factor. Biorecognition elements for pathogen detection, including antibodies, aptamers, and imprinted polymers, are discussed in terms of availability, production, and immobilization approach. Emerging areas of electrochemical biosensor design are reviewed, including electrode modification and transducer integration. Measurement formats for pathogen detection are classified in terms of sample preparation and secondary binding steps. Applications of electrochemical biosensors for the detection of pathogens in food and water safety, medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and bio-threat applications are highlighted. Future directions and challenges of electrochemical biosensors for pathogen detection are discussed, including wearable and conformal biosensors, detection of plant pathogens, multiplexed detection, reusable biosensors for process monitoring applications, and low-cost, disposable biosensors.
•Comprehensive review of electrochemical biosensor-based pathogen detection.•Review of emerging electrodes for transduction of pathogen binding via electrochemical methods.•Discussion of emerging electrochemical biosensor designs, including flexible and wearable form factors.•Highlight of electrochemical biosensors for coronavirus detection.
Bacteria assigned to the genus Weissella are Gram-positive, catalase-negative, non-endospore forming cells with coccoid or rod-shaped morphology (Collins et al., 1993; Björkroth et al., 2009, 2014) ...and belong to the group of bacteria generally known as lactic acid bacteria. Phylogenetically, the Weissella belong to the Firmicutes, class Bacilli, order Lactobacillales and family Leuconostocaceae (Collins et al., 1993). They are obligately heterofermentative, producing CO2 from carbohydrate metabolism with either d(-)-, or a mixture of d(-)- and l(+)- lactic acid and acetic acid as major end products from sugar metabolism. To date, there are 19 validly described Weissella species known. Weissella spp. have been isolated from and occur in a wide range of habitats, e.g., on the skin and in the milk and feces of animals, from saliva, breast milk, feces and vagina of humans, from plants and vegetables, as well as from a variety of fermented foods such as European sourdoughs and Asian and African traditional fermented foods. Thus, apart from a perceived technical role of certain Weissella species involved in such traditional fermentations, specific Weissella strains are also receiving attention as potential probiotics, and strain development of particularly W. cibaria strains is receiving attention because of their high probiotic potential for controlling periodontal disease. Moreover, W. confusa and W. cibaria strains are known to produce copius amounts of novel, non-digestible oligosaccharides and extracellular polysaccharides, mainly dextran. These polymers are receiving increased attention for their potential application as prebiotics and for a wide range of industrial applications, predominantly for bakeries and for the production of cereal-based fermented functional beverages. On the detrimental side, strains of certain Weissella species, e.g., of W. viridescens, W. cibaria and W. confusa, are known as opportunistic pathogens involved in human infections while strains of W. ceti have been recently recongnized as etiological agent of "weissellosis," which is a disease affecting farmed rainbow trouts. Bacteria belonging to this species thus are important both from a technological, as well as from a medical point of view, and both aspects should be taken into account in any envisaged biotechnological applications.
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