Italian Journal of Food Safety

Norovirus (NOV) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) are human enteric viruses of major concern worldwide. Salad vegetables and molluscan shellfish are highly susceptible to contamination by NOV and HAV and can pose a health threat when consumed raw. The objective of this study was to determine the occurrence of NOV and HAV in lettuce, watercress, tomatoes, and oysters using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and assess the health risks associated with the consumption of these commodities by semiquantitative risk assessment...

Salmonella is one of the main zoonotic agents causing foodborne diseases in Europe. The main reservoirs of the infection are represented by domestic and wild animals, and the infection occurs by direct contact or following the consumption of contaminated food or water. The study aimed to evaluate the presence of Salmonella spp. in food-producing animals and irrigation waters in southern Italy and the serovar distribution. From 2011 to 2021, a total of 473 samples from 6 different animal species (bovine, buffalo, goat, ovine, swine, poultry, and wild boars) and 313 irrigation water samples were collected and analyzed...

In cheese-making, a starter culture composed of adequately chosen lactic acid bacteria (LAB) may be suitable to ensure the rapid acidification of milk, improve textural and sensory characteristics, and avoid pathogen proliferation. In this work, 232 LAB isolates collected from artisanal goat's raw milk cheeses produced in Portugal were evaluated for their antimicrobial capacity (at 10 and 37°C), as well as their acidifying and proteolytic properties. Among the 232 isolates, at least 98% of those isolated in De Man- Rogosa-Sharpe (MRS) agar presented antagonism against Listeria monocytogenes , Salmonella Typhimurium, or Staphylococcus aureus , whereas less than 28...

Dry aging is a process during which meat is stored within maturation chambers at low temperatures and low relative humidity, resulting in improved tenderness and flavor development. The cuts are exposed to the atmosphere by hanging them or setting them on racks in the maturation chamber without any protective packaging. Animals and humans are usually the major sources of bacterial food contamination in the meat industry, but other routes might be involved. Therefore, procedures to reduce or eliminate pathogens from surfaces are crucial for an effective hazard analysis critical control point program in the food industry and other environments...

Atherina boyeri is the primary source of fishing profit in Lake Trasimeno and a common host for Eustrongylides spp. larvae. The presence of Eustrongylides in fish is a public health concern, and effective risk management procedures are necessary to guarantee that infected products do not reach the market. Currently, in the European Union, there is no official sampling plan for fresh fish that defines sample size, inspection methods, and criteria for accepting or rejecting the product. An approach to Eustrongylides risk management is proposed in this study...

Food safety along the supply chain must be safeguarded to protect the public's health from any foodborne disease. Despite the consumption of fish products, scombroid poisoning is not a wellknown occurrence. This study was formulated to evaluate at which stage of the supply chain the increase in the histamine content of dried anchovies ( Stolephorus commersonnii ) occurs. The study showed that histamine substances and Staphylococcus aureus were detected at all stages of the supply chain. It was also found that the concentration of histamine generally increased from the fisherman to the processors and retailers...

Helicobacter pylori is an important and common bacterial pathogen in humans. The accumulated evidence of the existence of H. pylori in water from different environmental sources suggests a water-borne transmission route. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of H. pylori in different water sources used by human populations in Dhamar Governorate, Yemen. 250 samples were randomly collected from the municipal water supply network, wells, and springs. The samples were processed, plated onto modified campy-blood agar, and incubated under microaerobic conditions for 4-10 days...

Fish are good bio-indicators of the health status of the aquatic environment and can be used as biomarkers to assess the aquatic behavior of environmental pollutants, the exposure of aquatic organisms, and the health risk for consumers. Goldfish are a significant bioindicator in the Lake Trasimeno aquatic system (Umbria, Italy). This study aimed to characterize the health status and the chemical and biotic contamination of Lake Trasimeno to define its anthropogenic and natural pressures and the risk associated with consuming its fishery products...

The association of food safety knowledge and climate with gender, education level, length of employment, food safety training, and professional role was measured using a 15-item food safety climate survey and a 20-item food safety questionnaire on a sample of 263 employees from 19 small and medium-sized university canteens in Croatia, Hungary, and Portugal. The relationship between knowledge and climate and the demographic determinants of both variables were examined. Food safety knowledge was inadequate (45...

Acceptance sampling is important for food safety and is a relevant tool at production and official control levels, as it helps decision-making processes and verifies quality and food safety management. Generally, sampling plans are hypothesis tests of products that have been submitted for official appraisal and subsequent acceptance or rejection. The sample size is related to the set level of risk, the acceptable precision, and the tolerable misstatement size; therefore, sample size determination has a crucial role in setting up the accepted level of non-compliance and level of error...

The primary aim of this work is to standardize the procedures for the handling, preparation, and distribution of food and beverages in collective catering within National Police structures. Therefore, its purpose is to offer aid for the assessment and implementation of procedures regarding the catering services activities carried out in canteens and bars located within the National Police areas. A checklist was elaborated to establish criteria and methods to verify these activities, to assess and enhance the effectiveness of the control system, and subsequently, to enable the implementation of any corrective measure, with the aim of ensuring the consumption of healthy food and preventing the occurrence of food-borne diseases as a result...

The cooling applied during the firming and brining processes represents an important production step in mozzarella cheese-making. The temperature fluctuations of the cooling water can negatively affect the hygiene, composition, and quality of mozzarella. Some sustainable cooling systems can minimize this problem by using hot process fluids as heat sources to generate refrigerated energy. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a new cooling system equipped with a water-ammonia absorption chiller (MA) on the characteristics of buffalo mozzarella through a comparative study with products cooled with a traditional ice water chiller (MT)...

The Treaty of Lisbon states that animals are sentient beings. Fish species show physiological differences from terrestrial animals and are slaughtered and killed in a very different context. Many existing commercial killing methods expose fish to extensive suffering over a prolonged period of time, and some of the slaughtering practices they experience can cause pain and distress. This study highlights the limited feasibility of European Council Regulation 1099/09 requirements on welfare when killing cephalopods and crustaceans...

This preliminary study aimed to detect biological and chemical contaminants in vegetables sold in Sicily for human consumption, assess the spread of antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) strains in these foods, and characterize their antimicrobial-resistance genes. A total of 29 fresh and ready-to-eat samples were analyzed. Microbiological analyses were performed for the detection of Salmonella spp. and the enumeration of Enterococci , Enterobacteriaceae , and Escherichia coli . Antimicrobial resistance was assessed by the Kirby-Bauer method, according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines...

The discovery of a pufferfish specimen (Tetraodontidae) inside a frozen cuttlefish, purchased by a fishmonger, and caught in the Eastern Central Atlantic (FAO 34) is reported. The consumer, who reported this case to FishLab (Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa) for investigation, was a student of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pisa. He recognized the Tetraodontidae because he attended practical lessons on fish morphological identification during the course of food inspection and was aware of the risks to human health linked to the Tetrodotoxin (TTX)...

The spread of multidrug resistant (MDR) Salmonella strains, along the poultry supply chain, can represent a relevant threat to human health. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella spp. isolated from poultry meat for human consumption. Between 2019 and 2021, 145 samples were analyzed according to ISO 6579-1:2017. The strains isolated were identified by using biochemical-enzymatic assays and serotyping, according to the Kauffmann-White-Le Minor scheme. The antibiotic susceptibility tests were determined using the Kirby-Bauer method...

The application of an electrochemical (impedance) tool for monitoring Escherichia coli contamination in shellfish was evaluated after 13 months of observation. The primary aim of the present study was to compare the standard most probable number (MPN) and μ-trac 4200 (log imped/100 g) for the assessment of E. coli contamination (log MPN/100 g) in non-depurated bivalve mollusks (BM) from five sampling areas of the Veneto-Emilian coast (Italy) (118 samples). The secondary aim was to evaluate the correlation between E...

Microplastics (μPs) represent an emerging problem for the marine environment given their wide bioavailability for all aquatic organisms, from zooplankton to top predators. This work aimed to evaluate a method of extracting microplastics from the gastrointestinal tract of 122 Sepia officinalis caught from the Adriatic Sea (along Abruzzo region coasts) to measure its quantity in a poorly investigated species. The extraction method used for gastrointestinal content was performed using 10% potassium hydroxide...

Salsiccia sarda or Sardinian fermented sausage is a traditional dry-fermented sausage included in the list of traditional food products of Sardinia (Italy). At the request of some producing plants, the possibility of extending the shelf life of the vacuum-packed product up to 120 days was evaluated. Manufacturing of 90 samples, representing 3 different batches of Sardinian fermented sausage was carried out in two producing plants (A and B). In the packaged product and subsequently every 30 days for four months (T0 , T30 , T60 , T120 ), the following analyses were conducted on all samples: physicochemical characteristics, total aerobic mesophilic count, Enterobacteriaceae count, detection of Listeria monocytogenes , Salmonella spp ...

Except in rare cases, the determination of the shelf-life of food products is left up to the food business operator. The extension of this period, which for years has been the subject of debate among the various actors in the food chain, has become a topic of fundamental importance also following the recent economic/financial, environmental, and health crises, which have had an inevitable impact on consumption and food waste. While there is no requirement to indicate durability for some categories of food products, for example, those not directly intended for consumers, this debate has raised questions and perplexities about the potential re-evaluation of the origin conditions established by the manufacturer, particularly when it comes to maintaining the guarantees for the consumer in terms of health and hygiene...