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Sample records for microbial food cultures

  1. The Legal Status of Microbial Food Cultures in the European Union

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Herody, Caroline; Soyeux, Y; Hansen, Egon Bech

    2010-01-01

    The production of fermented foods is one of the oldest food processing technologies known to man. Since the dawn of civilisation, methods for the fermentation of milks, meats, fish and vegetables have been used to produce safe foods with distinctive organoleptic properties. Microbial food cultures...... (MFC) with a technological impact on food are called “starter cultures”. They may be present as natural microflora in the food, or as a result of the intentional addition of the microorganisms in an industrial food fermentation process. MFC that are used for their beneficial effect on consumers’ health...... are called probiotics. Probiotics are always intentionally added to the food as they have been carefully selected and studied to guarantee that they provide a proven beneficial effect to consumers. They may be used in both fermented and non-fermented foods such as food supplements. This paper aims to provide...

  2. Constraint-based modeling in microbial food biotechnology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rau, Martin H.

    2018-01-01

    Genome-scale metabolic network reconstruction offers a means to leverage the value of the exponentially growing genomics data and integrate it with other biological knowledge in a structured format. Constraint-based modeling (CBM) enables both the qualitative and quantitative analyses of the reconstructed networks. The rapid advancements in these areas can benefit both the industrial production of microbial food cultures and their application in food processing. CBM provides several avenues for improving our mechanistic understanding of physiology and genotype–phenotype relationships. This is essential for the rational improvement of industrial strains, which can further be facilitated through various model-guided strain design approaches. CBM of microbial communities offers a valuable tool for the rational design of defined food cultures, where it can catalyze hypothesis generation and provide unintuitive rationales for the development of enhanced community phenotypes and, consequently, novel or improved food products. In the industrial-scale production of microorganisms for food cultures, CBM may enable a knowledge-driven bioprocess optimization by rationally identifying strategies for growth and stability improvement. Through these applications, we believe that CBM can become a powerful tool for guiding the areas of strain development, culture development and process optimization in the production of food cultures. Nevertheless, in order to make the correct choice of the modeling framework for a particular application and to interpret model predictions in a biologically meaningful manner, one should be aware of the current limitations of CBM. PMID:29588387

  3. Antifungal Microbial Agents for Food Biopreservation-A Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leyva Salas, Marcia; Mounier, Jérôme; Valence, Florence; Coton, Monika; Thierry, Anne; Coton, Emmanuel

    2017-07-08

    Food spoilage is a major issue for the food industry, leading to food waste, substantial economic losses for manufacturers and consumers, and a negative impact on brand names. Among causes, fungal contamination can be encountered at various stages of the food chain (e.g., post-harvest, during processing or storage). Fungal development leads to food sensory defects varying from visual deterioration to noticeable odor, flavor, or texture changes but can also have negative health impacts via mycotoxin production by some molds. In order to avoid microbial spoilage and thus extend product shelf life, different treatments-including fungicides and chemical preservatives-are used. In parallel, public authorities encourage the food industry to limit the use of these chemical compounds and develop natural methods for food preservation. This is accompanied by a strong societal demand for 'clean label' food products, as consumers are looking for more natural, less severely processed and safer products. In this context, microbial agents corresponding to bioprotective cultures, fermentates, culture-free supernatant or purified molecules, exhibiting antifungal activities represent a growing interest as an alternative to chemical preservation. This review presents the main fungal spoilers encountered in food products, the antifungal microorganisms tested for food bioprotection, and their mechanisms of action. A focus is made in particular on the recent in situ studies and the constraints associated with the use of antifungal microbial agents for food biopreservation.

  4. Next-generation approaches to the microbial ecology of food fermentations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicholas A. Bokulich1,2,3 & David A. Mills1,2,3*

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Food fermentations have enhanced human health since the dawnof time and remain a prevalent means of food processing andpreservation. Due to their cultural and nutritional importance,many of these foods have been studied in detail using moleculartools, leading to enhancements in quality and safety. Furthermore,recent advances in high-throughput sequencing technologyare revolutionizing the study of food microbial ecology,deepening insight into complex fermentation systems. Thisreview provides insight into novel applications of selectmolecular techniques, particularly next-generation sequencingtechnology, for analysis of microbial communities in fermentedfoods. We present a guideline for integrated molecular analysis offood microbial ecology and a starting point for implementingnext-generation analysis of food systems.

  5. Microbial safety of foods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bandekar, J.R.

    2013-01-01

    Despite advances in hygiene, consumer knowledge and food treatment and processing, food-borne diseases have become one of the most widespread public health problems in the world to-day. About two thirds of all outbreaks are traced to microbial contaminated food - one of the most hazardous being Clostridium botulinum, E. coli 0157: H7 and Salmonella. The pathogens can be introduced in the food products anywhere in the food chain and hence it is of prime important to have microbial vigilance in the entire food chain. WHO estimates that food-borne and water-borne diarrhoeal diseases taken together kill about 2.2 million people annually. The infants, children, elderly and immune-compromised people are particularly susceptible to food-borne diseases. Unsafe food causes many acute and life-long diseases, ranging from diarrhoeal diseases to various forms of cancer. A number of factors such as emergence of new food-borne pathogens, development of drug resistance in the pathogens, changing life style, global trade of food etc. are responsible for the continued persistence of food-borne diseases. Due to consumer demand, a number of Ready-To-Eat (RTE) minimally processed foods are increasingly marketed. However, there is increased risk of food-borne diseases with these products. The food-borne disease outbreaks due to E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and Campylobacter are responsible for recall of many foods resulting in heavy losses to food industry. The development of multi drug resistant pathogens due to indiscriminate use of antibiotics is also a major problem. Food Technology Division of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has been working on food-borne bacterial pathogens particularly Salmonella, Campylobacter, Vibrio and Aeromonas species, their prevalence in export quality seafood as well in foods sold in retail market such as poultry, fish, sprouts and salads. These pathogens from Indian foods have been characterized for the presence of virulence genes

  6. Starter cultures for cereal based foods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandt, Markus J

    2014-02-01

    Fermented cereals play a significant role in human nutrition in all parts of the world where cereals grow. These fermentations are started spontaneously or there have been traditional techniques developed in order to keep starter cultures for these processes alive. With the growing impact of industrial microbiology during 20th century this traditional starter culture propagation was replaced often, especially in the dairy industry, by the use of pure, frozen or freeze-dried cultures grown on microbial media. In contrast to the production of ethanol from cereals, in sourdough a pasteurization step before inoculation is avoided due to gelatinization of starch and inactivation of endogenous enzymes. Therefore cultures must be competitive to the relatively high microbial load of the cereal raw materials and well adapted to the specific ecology determined by the kind of cereal and the process conditions. Less adapted cultures could be used, but then the process of back-slopping of cultures is limited. Although cereal fermentations take the biggest volume among fermented foods, only for sourdoughs commercial cultures are available. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Flow cytometric analysis of microbial contamination in food industry technological lines--initial study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Józwa, Wojciech; Czaczyk, Katarzyna

    2012-04-02

    Flow cytometry constitutes an alternative for traditional methods of microorganisms identification and analysis, including methods requiring cultivation step. It enables the detection of pathogens and other microorganisms contaminants without the need to culture microbial cells meaning that the sample (water, waste or food e.g. milk, wine, beer) may be analysed directly. This leads to a significant reduction of time required for analysis allowing monitoring of production processes and immediate reaction in case of contamination or any disruption occurs. Apart from the analysis of raw materials or products on different stages of manufacturing process, the flow cytometry seems to constitute an ideal tool for the assessment of microbial contamination on the surface of technological lines. In the present work samples comprising smears from 3 different surfaces of technological lines from fruit and vegetable processing company from Greater Poland were analysed directly with flow cytometer. The measured parameters were forward and side scatter of laser light signals allowing the estimation of microbial cell contents in each sample. Flow cytometric analysis of the surface of food industry production lines enable the preliminary evaluation of microbial contamination within few minutes from the moment of sample arrival without the need of sample pretreatment. The presented method of fl ow cytometric initial evaluation of microbial state of food industry technological lines demonstrated its potential for developing a robust, routine method for the rapid and labor-saving detection of microbial contamination in food industry.

  8. A Microbial Assessment Scheme to measure microbial performance of Food Safety Management Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacxsens, L; Kussaga, J; Luning, P A; Van der Spiegel, M; Devlieghere, F; Uyttendaele, M

    2009-08-31

    A Food Safety Management System (FSMS) implemented in a food processing industry is based on Good Hygienic Practices (GHP), Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles and should address both food safety control and assurance activities in order to guarantee food safety. One of the most emerging challenges is to assess the performance of a present FSMS. The objective of this work is to explain the development of a Microbial Assessment Scheme (MAS) as a tool for a systematic analysis of microbial counts in order to assess the current microbial performance of an implemented FSMS. It is assumed that low numbers of microorganisms and small variations in microbial counts indicate an effective FSMS. The MAS is a procedure that defines the identification of critical sampling locations, the selection of microbiological parameters, the assessment of sampling frequency, the selection of sampling method and method of analysis, and finally data processing and interpretation. Based on the MAS assessment, microbial safety level profiles can be derived, indicating which microorganisms and to what extent they contribute to food safety for a specific food processing company. The MAS concept is illustrated with a case study in the pork processing industry, where ready-to-eat meat products are produced (cured, cooked ham and cured, dried bacon).

  9. Microbial food safety - modeling and applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Microbial food safety is a key issue for the food processing industry, and enhancing food safety is everyone’s responsibility from food producers to consumers. Financial losses to the economy due to foodborne illness are in the billions of dollars, annually. Foodborne illness can be caused by patho...

  10. Modeling of microbial quality of food

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zwietering, M.

    1993-01-01

    In this thesis it is shown that predictive modeling is a promising tool in food research, to be used to optimize food chains. Various models are developed and validated to be used to describe microbial growth in foods.

    A tool is developed to discriminate between different models and

  11. The Influences of Western Food Culture on Contemporary Chinese Food Culture

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    张林

    2017-01-01

    Food, an essential prerequisite for existence, plays an irreplaceable role in the development of society and in the progress of human beings. Chinese food culture has a long and bril iant history, but under the huge impacts of the western civilization, it has been greatly influenced. From these study, the positive influences of the western food culture on the contemporary Chinese food culture can be clearly seen, which also have promoted the diverse developments of Chinese dietary culture.

  12. Management of microbial food safety in Arab countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamleh, Rabih; Jurdi, Mey; Annous, Bassam A

    2012-11-01

    Microbial food safety remains a major economic and public health concern in Arab countries. Over the past several years, many of these countries have attempted to revise and upgrade food quality control and surveillance programs; however, these systems vary in scope and effectiveness. This review addresses the major reported foodborne outbreaks and multidrug resistance of pathogenic microorganisms isolated from food products. Major foodborne pathogens of concern included Brucella spp., Clostridium botulinum, fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus. Measures for managing microbial food hazards based on a comprehensive risk analysis also are proposed.

  13. Applications of Microbial Enzymes in Food Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Binod Parameswaran

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The use of enzymes or microorganisms in food preparations is an age-old process. With the advancement of technology, novel enzymes with wide range of applications and specificity have been developed and new application areas are still being explored. Microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast and fungi and their enzymes are widely used in several food preparations for improving the taste and texture and they offer huge economic benefits to industries. Microbial enzymes are the preferred source to plants or animals due to several advantages such as easy, cost-effective and consistent production. The present review discusses the recent advancement in enzyme technology for food industries. A comprehensive list of enzymes used in food processing, the microbial source of these enzymes and the wide range of their application are discussed.

  14. Combining microbial cultures for efficient production of electricity from butyrate in a microbial electrochemical cell

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miceli, Joseph F.; Garcia-Peña, Ines; Parameswaran, Prathap; Torres, César I.; Krajmalnik-Brown, Rosa

    2014-01-01

    Butyrate is an important product of anaerobic fermentation; however, it is not directly used by characterized strains of the highly efficient anode respiring bacteria (ARB) Geobacter sulfurreducens in microbial electrochemical cells. By combining a butyrate-oxidizing community with a Geobacter rich culture, we generated a microbial community which outperformed many naturally derived communities found in the literature for current production from butyrate and rivaled the highest performing natural cultures in terms of current density (~11 A/m2) and Coulombic efficiency (~70%). Microbial community analyses support the shift in the microbial community from one lacking efficient ARB in the marine hydrothermal vent community to a community consisting of ~80% Geobacter in the anode biofilm. This demonstrates the successful production and adaptation of a novel microbial culture for generating electrical current from butyrate with high current density and high Coulombic efficiency, by combining two mixed micro bial cultures containing complementing biochemical pathways. PMID:25048958

  15. Impact of microbial distributions on food safety

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bassett, J.; Jackson, T.; Jewell, K.; Jongenburger, I.; Zwietering, M.H.

    2010-01-01

    This document discusses mechanisms impacting on physical distributions of microorganisms in foods, characteristics and suitability of frequency distributions employed to model microbial distributions, and the impact of both physical and frequency distributions on illness risk and food safety

  16. Microbial cultures in open globe injuries in southern India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Arvind; Srinivasan, Renuka; Kaliaperumal, Subashini; Setia, Sajita

    2007-07-01

    To determine the risk factors leading to positive intraocular culture in patients with open globe injury. A prospective interventional study involving 110 eyes of 110 patients of more than 15 years of age, presenting with open globe injury, was undertaken. Emergency repair of the injured globe was done. Prolapsed intraocular tissue or aqueous humour was sent for microbial work up before repair. In endophthalmitis cases intravitreal antibiotics were given according to the antimicrobial sensitivity. Chi-square and logistic regression analysis were used to determine the risk factors. Fifty-six patients showed microbial contamination. Bacteria were cultured in 42 patients and fungi in 14 patients. Nineteen patients developed endophthalmitis, of which 18 patients showed microbial growth initially. In univariate analysis, initial visual acuity (8 mm, P 72 h, P 8 mm, P = 0.013) were associated with increased risk of positive microbial culture. Six patients had intraocular foreign body but were culture negative. Age, gender, site of injury and presence of cataract did not significantly affect the culture positivity. Microbial contamination is a risk factor for the development for endophthalmitis. Despite the high frequency of microbial contamination, it develops only in few cases. Systemic antibiotics, virulence of the organism and host factors play a role in the manifestation of endophthalmitis. Prophylaxis with intraocular antibiotics should be strongly considered in cases with poor vision at presentation, larger corneoscleral laceration, delayed surgical intervention and uveal tissue or vitreous prolapse.

  17. Flow cytometric analysis of microbial contamination in food industry technological lines – initial study

    OpenAIRE

    Katarzyna Czaczyk; Wojciech Juzwa

    2012-01-01

    Background. Flow cytometry constitutes an alternative for traditional methods of microorganisms identifi cation and analysis, including methods requiring cultivation step. It enables the detection of pathogens and other microorganisms contaminants without the need to culture microbial cells meaning that the sample (water, waste or food e.g. milk, wine, beer) may be analysed directly. This leads to a signifi cant reduction of time required for analysis allowing monitoring of production process...

  18. Exploration of Food Culture in Kisumu: A Socio-Cultural Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fredrick Argwenge Odede

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Increasingly food culture in the context of socio-cultural dimension is becoming important for sustainable urban development. In the last four years food festivals have been held in Kisumu attracting several interests both from within and without the City. The Kisumu fish night event of 2013 marked the melting point of food culture in Kisumu. This paper thus explores the noble intention of integrating food culture in Kisumu as a socio-cultural capital for the advancement of City sustainable development agenda. To an agrarian society, life is about food from its production, the processing/preservation up to the consumption or the sharing. People connect to their cultural or ethnic background through similar food patterns.  People from different cultural backgrounds eat different foods leading to the question: Are Luos in Kisumu defined by their own food culture? This study further investigated the mode of production, and storage of food resources, examined food cuisines of the Luo community in Kisumu, and assessed the food habits, practices and beliefs associated with food cuisines, as well as, the nutritional and socio-cultural values of Luo cuisines. The research employed qualitative methods of data collection such as interviews, observation, focused group discussion and photography using purposive and snowball sampling technique. Content analysis was used to draw general universal statements in thematic areas with respect to the research objectives. The study revealed that Luo community in Kisumu has a food culture laced with rich cultural practices, rituals and societal norms that defines them as a distinct cultural identity but interacts with other cultural groups in the metropolitan city of Kisumu. Further, the study confirms that indeed food culture is vital for sustainable development of urban centre granted that Kisumu largely evolved as urban centre for exchange of goods for food.

  19. The United States Culture Collection Network (USCCN): Enhancing Microbial Genomics Research through Living Microbe Culture Collections

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boundy-Mills, Kyria; Hess, Matthias; Bennett, A. Rick; Ryan, Matthew; Kang, Seogchan; Nobles, David; Eisen, Jonathan A.; Inderbitzin, Patrik; Sitepu, Irnayuli R.; Torok, Tamas; Brown, Daniel R.; Cho, Juliana; Wertz, John E.; Mukherjee, Supratim; Cady, Sherry L.

    2015-01-01

    The mission of the United States Culture Collection Network (USCCN; http://usccn.org) is “to facilitate the safe and responsible utilization of microbial resources for research, education, industry, medicine, and agriculture for the betterment of human kind.” Microbial culture collections are a key component of life science research, biotechnology, and emerging global biobased economies. Representatives and users of several microbial culture collections from the United States and Europe gathered at the University of California, Davis, to discuss how collections of microorganisms can better serve users and stakeholders and to showcase existing resources available in public culture collections. PMID:26092453

  20. Microbial community analysis of perchlorate-reducing cultures growing on zero-valent iron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Son, Ahjeong; Schmidt, Carl J.; Shin, Hyejin; Cha, Daniel K.

    2011-01-01

    Anaerobic microbial mixed cultures demonstrated its ability to completely remove perchlorate in the presence of zero-valent iron. In order to understand the major microbial reaction in the iron-supported culture, community analysis comprising of microbial fatty acids and polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) techniques was performed for perchlorate reducing cultures. Analysis of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) and subsequent principal component analysis (PCA) showed clear distinctions not only between iron-supported perchlorate reducing culture and seed bacteria, but also among perchlorate-reducing cultures receiving different electron donors. The DGGE pattern targeting the chlorite dismutase (cld) gene showed that iron-supported perchlorate reducing culture is similar to hydrogen-fed cultures as compared to acetate-fed culture. The phylogenetic tree suggested that the dominant microbial reaction may be a combination of the autotrophic and heterotrophic reduction of perchlorate. Both molecular and chemotaxonomic experimental results support further understanding in the function of zero-valent iron as an adequate electron source for enhancing the microbial perchlorate reduction in natural and engineered systems.

  1. Microbial community analysis of perchlorate-reducing cultures growing on zero-valent iron

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Son, Ahjeong, E-mail: ason@auburn.edu [Department of Civil Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849 (United States); Schmidt, Carl J. [Department of Animal and Food Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 (United States); Shin, Hyejin [Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849 (United States); Cha, Daniel K. [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 (United States)

    2011-01-30

    Anaerobic microbial mixed cultures demonstrated its ability to completely remove perchlorate in the presence of zero-valent iron. In order to understand the major microbial reaction in the iron-supported culture, community analysis comprising of microbial fatty acids and polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) techniques was performed for perchlorate reducing cultures. Analysis of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) and subsequent principal component analysis (PCA) showed clear distinctions not only between iron-supported perchlorate reducing culture and seed bacteria, but also among perchlorate-reducing cultures receiving different electron donors. The DGGE pattern targeting the chlorite dismutase (cld) gene showed that iron-supported perchlorate reducing culture is similar to hydrogen-fed cultures as compared to acetate-fed culture. The phylogenetic tree suggested that the dominant microbial reaction may be a combination of the autotrophic and heterotrophic reduction of perchlorate. Both molecular and chemotaxonomic experimental results support further understanding in the function of zero-valent iron as an adequate electron source for enhancing the microbial perchlorate reduction in natural and engineered systems.

  2. Regional food culture and development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wahlqvist, Mark L; Lee, Meei-Shyuan

    2007-01-01

    Food culture is most influenced by the locality of its origin, which will have been one of food acquisition and processing by various means. It is generally agreed, and is the basis of much United Nations, especially Food and Agriculture Organisation strategic development policy, that successful agriculture, horticulture and aquaculture along with fishing, underpin economically viable and healthy communities with their various food cultures. We also know that this must be in tandem with maternal literacy and operational health care systems. These elements are best represented on a regional basis. There is a growing consumer interest in knowing where one's food comes from as a measure of "food integrity". However, food production alone can be a precarious business and relate to a lesser or greater extent to local food culture and to trade, which may be complementary or at-odds with each other. Likewise, the local food culture may have its strengths and weaknesses as far as its ability to meet nutritional and health needs is concerned. Local food production may be restricted because of geographical or socio-economic conditions which preclude food diversity, although this may be compensated for by trade. Where food adequacy and diversity is compromised, and soils poor, various macronutrient, micronutrient (from animals and plants) and phytonutrient (nutritionally-advantageous food component from plants) deficiencies may be in evidence. These food system problems may be intertwined with food culture--for example, "rice-based and water-soluble vitamin poor"; "few animal-derived foods like meat, fish, eggs and milk with associated low calcium, vitamin D, Vitamin B12 and long chain n-3 fatty acid intakes"; "low fruit and vegetable intake with limited carotenoids and other phytonutrients". Geo-satellite surveillance and mapping as identifying such "hot spots": for regional food problems, as well as hot spots where most of the world's biodiversity is found (1.4 % of land on

  3. ADSA Foundation Scholar Award: Trends in culture-independent methods for assessing dairy food quality and safety: emerging metagenomic tools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeung, Marie

    2012-12-01

    Enhancing the quality and safety of dairy food is critical to maintaining the competitiveness of dairy products in the food and beverage market and in reinforcing consumer confidence in the dairy industry. Raw milk quality has a significant effect on finished product quality. Several microbial groups found in raw milk have been shown to adversely affect the shelf life of pasteurized milk. Current microbiological criteria used to define milk quality are based primarily on culture-dependent methods, some of which are perceived to lack the desired sensitivity and specificity. To supplement traditional methods, culture-independent methods are increasingly being used to identify specific species or microbial groups, and to detect indicator genes or proteins in raw milk or dairy products. Some molecular subtyping techniques have been developed to track the transmission of microbes in dairy environments. The burgeoning "-omics" technologies offer new and exciting opportunities to enhance our understanding of food quality and safety in relation to microbes. Metagenomics has the potential to characterize microbial diversity, detect nonculturable microbes, and identify unique sequences or other factors associated with dairy product quality and safety. In this review, fluid milk will be used as the primary example to examine the adequacy and validity of conventional methods, the current trend of culture-independent methods, and the potential applications of metagenomics in dairy food research. Copyright © 2012 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Phytase Production and Development of an Ideal Dephytinization Process for Amelioration of Food Nutrition Using Microbial Phytases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, Jinender; Singh, Bijender

    2017-04-01

    Development of an ideal process for reduction of food phytates using microbial phytases is a demanding task by all food and feed industries all over the world. Phytase production by Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis JJBS250 isolated from soil sample was optimized in submerged fermentation using statistical tools. Among all the culture variables tested, sucrose, sodium phytate and Tween-80 were identified as the most significant variables using the Placket-Burman design. Further optimization of these variables resulted in a 6.79-fold improvement in phytase production (7170 U/L) as compared to unoptimized medium. Supplementation of microbial phytases (fungal and bacterial) resulted in improved bioavailability of nutritional components with the concomitant liberation of inorganic phosphorus, reducing sugar, soluble protein and amino acids, thus mitigating anti-nutritional properties of phytic acid.

  5. Modelling microbial interactions and food structure in predictive microbiology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Malakar, P.K.

    2002-01-01

    Keywords: modelling, dynamic models, microbial interactions, diffusion, microgradients, colony growth, predictive microbiology.

    Growth response of microorganisms in foods is a complex process. Innovations in food production and preservation techniques have resulted in adoption of

  6. Evaluation of the microbial safety of child food of animal origin in Greece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liandris, Emmanouil; Gazouli, Maria; Taka, Styliani; Andreadou, Margarita; Vaiopoulou, Anna; Tzimotoudis, Nikolaos; Kasampalidis, Ioannis; Mpaseas, Dionysis; Fyliousis, George; Poltronieri, Palmiro; Poltrionieri, Palmiro; Cook, Nigel; Ikonomopoulos, John

    2014-03-01

    Foodborne illness is a major cause of morbidity and mortality especially for children, even in the developed world. The aim of this study was to assess the microbial safety of food of animal origin intended for consumption by children in Greece. Sampling involved 8 categories of retail products and was completed with a collection of 850 samples. These were tested by PCR and/or culture for Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter spp., Escherichia coli O157, Salmonella spp., Cronobacter sakazakii, Brucella spp., and Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis (MAP). The number of positive results recorded collectively for the pathogens under investigation over the total number of samples tested was 3.52% and 0.12% by PCR and culture, respectively. The most frequently detected pathogen was enterohemorrhagic E. coli (1.29%) followed by Brucella (0.82%) and Listeria (0.82%). DNA belonging to MAP was detected in 0.35% of samples, which was also the percentage of positivity recorded for Campylobacter. The percentage for Salmonella was 0.12%. It can be concluded from the results that there is no indication of noncompliance for the tested food samples. However, detection of DNA belonging to pathogens that are transmissible to humans through food is indicative that constant vigilance regarding food safety is an absolute necessity. © 2014 Institute of Food Technologists®

  7. Evolutionary engineering to enhance starter culture performance in food fermentations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bachmann, Herwig; Pronk, Jack T; Kleerebezem, Michiel; Teusink, Bas

    2015-04-01

    Microbial starter cultures are essential for consistent product quality and functional properties such as flavor, texture, pH or the alcohol content of various fermented foods. Strain improvement programs to achieve desired properties in starter cultures are diverse, but developments in next-generation sequencing lead to an increased interest in evolutionary engineering of desired phenotypes. We here discuss recent developments of strain selection protocols and how computational approaches can assist such experimental design. Furthermore the analysis of evolved phenotypes and possibilities with complex consortia are highlighted. Studies carried out with mainly yeast and lactic acid bacteria demonstrate the power of evolutionary engineering to deliver strains with novel phenotypes as well as insight into underlying mechanisms. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Microbial conversion of food wastes for biofertilizer production with thermophilic lipolytic microbes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tsai, Shu-Hsien; Yang, Shang-Shyng [Institute of Microbiology and Biochemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, (Taiwan); Liu, Ching-Piao [Department of Biological Science and Technology, Meiho Institute of Technology, Pingtung 91201, (Taiwan)

    2007-05-15

    Food waste is approximately one quarter of the total garbage in Taiwan. To investigate the feasibility of microbial conversion of food waste to multiple functional biofertilizer, food waste was mixed with bulking materials, inoculated with thermophilic and lipolytic microbes and incubated at 50{sup o}C in a mechanical composter. Microbial inoculation enhanced the degradation of food wastes, increased the total nitrogen and the germination rate of alfalfa seed, shortened the maturity period and improved the quality of biofertilizer. In food waste inoculated with thermophilic and lipolytic Brevibacillus borstelensis SH168 for 28 days, total nitrogen increased from 2.01% to 2.10%, ash increased from 24.94% to 29.21%, crude fat decreased from 4.88% to 1.34% and the C/N ratio decreased from 18.02 to 17.65. Each gram of final product had a higher population of thermophilic microbes than mesophilic microbes. Microbial conversion of food waste to biofertilizer is a feasible and potential technology in the future to maintain the natural resources and to reduce the impact on environmental quality. (author)

  9. Metagenomic approach reveals microbial diversity and predictive microbial metabolic pathways in Yucha, a traditional Li fermented food.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jiachao; Wang, Xiaoru; Huo, Dongxue; Li, Wu; Hu, Qisong; Xu, Chuanbiao; Liu, Sixin; Li, Congfa

    2016-08-31

    Yucha is a typical traditional fermented food of the Li population in the Hainan province of China, and it is made up of cooked rice and fresh fish. In the present study, metagenomic approach and culture-dependent technology were applied to describe the diversity of microbiota and identify beneficial microbes in the Yucha. At the genus level, Lactobacillus was the most abundant genus (43.82% of the total reads), followed by Lactococcus, Enterococcus, Vibrio, Weissella, Pediococcus, Enterobacter, Salinivibrio, Acinetobacter, Macrococcus, Kluyvera and Clostridium; this result was confirmed by q-PCR. PCoA based on Weighted UniFrac distances showed an apparent clustering pattern for Yucha samples from different locations, and Lactobacillus sakei, Lactobacillus saniviri and Staphylococcus sciuri represented OTUs according to the major identified markers. At the microbial functional level, it was observed that there was an enrichment of metabolic functional features, including amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism, which implied that the microbial metabolism in the Yucha samples tended to be vigorous. Accordingly, we further investigated the correlation between the predominant microbes and metabolic functional features. Thirteen species of Lactobacillus (147 strains) were isolated, and Lactobacillus plantarum (60 isolates) and Lactobacillus pentosus (34 isolates) were isolated from every sample.

  10. Solving Microbial Spoilage Problems in Processed Foods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clavero, Rocelle

    This chapter surveys common microbial food spoilage processes. The chapter is organized by food products and includes sections addressing spoilage in meat, poultry, fish; dairy products (milk, butter, cheese); beverage products; bakery products; canned foods; fruit and confectionery products; and emulsions. It addresses the isolation and identification of spoilage organisms and provides several case studies as examples. It introduces various organisms responsible for spoilage including Gram-positive lactic acid bacteria, Gram-negative aerobic bacteria, yeasts, molds, and fungal contaminants. Throughout the chapter, attention is given to when, where, and how spoilage organisms enter the food processing chain. Troubleshooting techniques are suggested. The effect (or lack of effect) of heating, dehydration, pH change, cooling, and sealing on various organisms is explained throughout. The chapter contains four tables that connect specific organisms to various spoilage manifestations in a variety of food products.

  11. Microbial Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles in Different Culture Media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Ke; Jung, Samuel; Park, Kyu-Hwan; Kim, Young-Rok

    2018-01-31

    Microbial biosynthesis of metal nanoparticles has been extensively studied for the applications in biomedical sciences and engineering. However, the mechanism for their synthesis through microorganism is not completely understood. In this study, several culture media were investigated for their roles in the microbial biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The size and morphology of the synthesized AgNPs were analyzed by UV-vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform-infrared (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The results demonstrated that nutrient broth (NB) and Mueller-Hinton broth (MHB) among tested media effectively reduced silver ions to form AgNPs with different particle size and shape. Although the involved microorganism enhanced the reduction of silver ions, the size and shape of the particles were shown to mainly depend on the culture media. Our findings suggest that the growth media of bacterial culture play an important role in the synthesis of metallic nanoparticles with regard to their size and shape. We believe our findings would provide useful information for further exploration of microbial biosynthesis of AgNPs and their biomedical applications.

  12. Micro-Food Web Structure Shapes Rhizosphere Microbial Communities and Growth in Oak

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hazel R. Maboreke

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The multitrophic interactions in the rhizosphere impose significant impacts on microbial community structure and function, affecting nutrient mineralisation and consequently plant performance. However, particularly for long-lived plants such as forest trees, the mechanisms by which trophic structure of the micro-food web governs rhizosphere microorganisms are still poorly understood. This study addresses the role of nematodes, as a major component of the soil micro-food web, in influencing the microbial abundance and community structure as well as tree growth. In a greenhouse experiment with Pedunculate Oak seedlings were grown in soil, where the nematode trophic structure was manipulated by altering the proportion of functional groups (i.e., bacterial, fungal, and plant feeders in a full factorial design. The influence on the rhizosphere microbial community, the ectomycorrhizal symbiont Piloderma croceum, and oak growth, was assessed. Soil phospholipid fatty acids were employed to determine changes in the microbial communities. Increased density of singular nematode functional groups showed minor impact by increasing the biomass of single microbial groups (e.g., plant feeders that of Gram-negative bacteria, except fungal feeders, which resulted in a decline of all microorganisms in the soil. In contrast, inoculation of two or three nematode groups promoted microbial biomass and altered the community structure in favour of bacteria, thereby counteracting negative impact of single groups. These findings highlight that the collective action of trophic groups in the soil micro-food web can result in microbial community changes promoting the fitness of the tree, thereby alleviating the negative effects of individual functional groups.

  13. A Comparative Study between Chinese and Western Food Culture in Cross-cultural Communication

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    焦体霞

    2014-01-01

    The differences of food culture play an important role in cross-cultural communication. Learn the cultural rooted causes of food culture between Chinese and Western countries, will promote mutual understanding between people and enjoy different feelings different foods brings, enhance cultural exchange, complement and integration.

  14. Metabolic modelling of polyhydroxyalkanoate copolymers production by mixed microbial cultures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reis Maria AM

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background This paper presents a metabolic model describing the production of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA copolymers in mixed microbial cultures, using mixtures of acetic and propionic acid as carbon source material. Material and energetic balances were established on the basis of previously elucidated metabolic pathways. Equations were derived for the theoretical yields for cell growth and PHA production on mixtures of acetic and propionic acid as functions of the oxidative phosphorylation efficiency, P/O ratio. The oxidative phosphorylation efficiency was estimated from rate measurements, which in turn allowed the estimation of the theoretical yield coefficients. Results The model was validated with experimental data collected in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR operated under varying feeding conditions: feeding of acetic and propionic acid separately (control experiments, and the feeding of acetic and propionic acid simultaneously. Two different feast and famine culture enrichment strategies were studied: (i either with acetate or (ii with propionate as carbon source material. Metabolic flux analysis (MFA was performed for the different feeding conditions and culture enrichment strategies. Flux balance analysis (FBA was used to calculate optimal feeding scenarios for high quality PHA polymers production, where it was found that a suitable polymer would be obtained when acetate is fed in excess and the feeding rate of propionate is limited to ~0.17 C-mol/(C-mol.h. The results were compared with published pure culture metabolic studies. Conclusion Acetate was more conducive toward the enrichment of a microbial culture with higher PHA storage fluxes and yields as compared to propionate. The P/O ratio was not only influenced by the selected microbial culture, but also by the carbon substrate fed to each culture, where higher P/O ratio values were consistently observed for acetate than propionate. MFA studies suggest that when mixtures of

  15. Atmospheric plasma processes for microbial inactivation: food applications and stress response in Listeria monocytogenes

    OpenAIRE

    Gozzi, Giorgia

    2015-01-01

    This PhD thesis is focused on cold atmospheric plasma treatments (GP) for microbial inactivation in food applications. In fact GP represents a promising emerging technology alternative to the traditional methods for the decontamination of foods. The objectives of this work were to evaluate: - the effects of GP treatments on microbial inactivation in model systems and in real foods; - the stress response in L. monocytogenes following exposure to different GP treatments. As far as t...

  16. Microchemostat - microbial continuous culture in a polymer-based, instrumented microbioreactor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Z.; Bocazzi, P.; Choi, H. G.

    2006-01-01

    -based microbioreactor system integrated with optical density (OD), pH, and dissolved oxygen (DO) real-time measurements for continuous cultivation of microbial cells. Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells are continuously cultured in a 150 mL, membrane-aerated, well-mixed microbioreactor fed by a pressure-driven flow......In a chemostat, microbial cells reach a steady state condition at which cell biomass production, substrates and the product concentrations remain constant. These features make continuous culture a unique and powerful tool for biological and physiological research. We present a polymer...

  17. Starter Cultures: Uses in the Food Industry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Egon Bech

    2014-01-01

    Starter cultures are preparations of microorganisms serving as inoculants for the production of fermented foods. The production of cheese, yogurt, fermented milk, wine, sauerkraut, hams, and sausages occurs through the use of starter cultures that are consistent, predictable, and safe. The cultures...... provide the food products with a multitude of properties. Acidification of the food matrix is a primary property in a large number of food fermentations. Acidification activity often will be used to define packaging size and the unit of activity, whereas other characteristics differentiate a culture from...

  18. Understanding Korean food culture from Korean paintings

    OpenAIRE

    Hae Kyung Chung; Kyung Rhan Chung; Hung Ju Kim

    2016-01-01

    Background: In Korea, there are many traditional foods that have developed along with the country's rich history. In addition, various food cultures have developed through agricultural traditions, ritual ceremonies, and the sharing of affection. Paintings, works of calligraphy, and music demonstrate some of these cultural characteristics of Korean foods. Further research and analysis of Korean food culture using these data sources is currently underway. Methods: This paper focuses on the c...

  19. Microbial ecology and starter culture technology in coffee processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vinícius de Melo Pereira, Gilberto; Soccol, Vanete Thomaz; Brar, Satinder Kaur; Neto, Ensei; Soccol, Carlos Ricardo

    2017-09-02

    Coffee has been for decades the most commercialized food product and most widely consumed beverage in the world, with over 600 billion cups served per year. Before coffee cherries can be traded and processed into a final industrial product, they have to undergo postharvest processing on farms, which have a direct impact on the cost and quality of a coffee. Three different methods can be used for transforming the coffee cherries into beans, known as wet, dry, and semi-dry methods. In all these processing methods, a spontaneous fermentation is carried out in order to eliminate any mucilage still stuck to the beans and helps improve beverage flavor by microbial metabolites. The microorganisms responsible for the fermentation (e.g., yeasts and lactic acid bacteria) can play a number of roles, such as degradation of mucilage (pectinolytic activity), inhibition of mycotoxin-producing fungi growth, and production of flavor-active components. The use of starter cultures (mainly yeast strains) has emerged in recent years as a promising alternative to control the fermentation process and to promote quality development of coffee product. However, scarce information is still available about the effects of controlled starter cultures in coffee fermentation performance and bean quality, making it impossible to use this technology in actual field conditions. A broader knowledge about the ecology, biochemistry, and molecular biology could facilitate the understanding and application of starter cultures for coffee fermentation process. This review provides a comprehensive coverage of these issues, while pointing out new directions for exploiting starter cultures in coffee processing.

  20. On the Eastern and Western Cultures as Reflected in Differences in Food Culture

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    黄卓; 张海南

    2015-01-01

    When talking about differences between Eastern and Western culture,we should first think of the eating cultural differences.There are many differences in Eastern and Western food cultures,in this paper it will introduce the different food concepts,the different eating goals,the different eating habits,etc.A comparison study of Chinese and Western food culture still makes sense through the analysis of cultural differences between Chinese and Western food,we can understand their own cultural traditions in China and the West.At the same time it is able to carry out improvement and innovation of Chinese culture.Throughout the comparisons,coupled with the differences of the concept of Western food culture,objects,methods,ownership and nature,it studies these differences,identifies areas for mastery of the place,promotes cultural exchange.Thus it enables China to the world,and to make the world know China better.

  1. On the Eastern and Western Cultures as Reflected in Differences in Food Culture

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    黄卓; 张海南

    2015-01-01

    When talking about differences between Eastern and Western culture,we should first think of the eating cultural differences.There are many differences in Eastern and Western food cultures,in this paper it will introduce the different food concepts,the different eating goals,the different eating habits,etc. A comparison study of Chinese and Western food culture still makes sense through the analysis of cultural differences between Chinese and Western food,we can understand their own cultural traditions in China and the West.At the same time it is able to carry out improvement and innovation of Chinese culture. Throughout the comparisons,coupled with the differences of the concept of Western food culture,objects,methods,ownership and nature,it studies these differences,identifies areas for mastery of the place,promotes cultural exchange.Thus it enables China to the world,and to make the world know China better.

  2. Lipid recovery from a vegetable oil emulsion using microbial enrichment cultures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tamis, J.; Sorokin, D.Y.; Jiang, Y.; Van Loosdrecht, M.C.M.; Kleerebezem, R.

    2015-01-01

    Background Many waste streams have a relatively high vegetable oil content, which is a potential resource that should be recovered. Microbial storage compound production for the recovery of lipids from lipid-water emulsions with open (unsterilized) microbial cultures was investigated in a sequencing

  3. Microbial food web dynamics along a soil chronosequence of a glacier forefield

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Esperschütz

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Microbial food webs are critical for efficient nutrient turnover providing the basis for functional and stable ecosystems. However, the successional development of such microbial food webs and their role in "young" ecosystems is unclear. Due to a continuous glacier retreat since the middle of the 19th century, glacier forefields have expanded offering an excellent opportunity to study food web dynamics in soils at different developmental stages. In the present study, litter degradation and the corresponding C fluxes into microbial communities were investigated along the forefield of the Damma glacier (Switzerland. 13C-enriched litter of the pioneering plant Leucanthemopsis alpina (L. Heywood was incorporated into the soil at sites that have been free from ice for approximately 10, 60, 100 and more than 700 years. The structure and function of microbial communities were identified by 13C analysis of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA and phospholipid ether lipids (PLEL. Results showed increasing microbial diversity and biomass, and enhanced proliferation of bacterial groups as ecosystem development progressed. Initially, litter decomposition proceeded faster at the more developed sites, but at the end of the experiment loss of litter mass was similar at all sites, once the more easily-degradable litter fraction was processed. As a result incorporation of 13C into microbial biomass was more evident during the first weeks of litter decomposition. 13C enrichments of both PLEL and PLFA biomarkers following litter incorporation were observed at all sites, suggesting similar microbial foodwebs at all stages of soil development. Nonetheless, the contribution of bacteria, especially actinomycetes to litter turnover became more pronounced as soil age increased in detriment of archaea, fungi and protozoa, more prominent in recently deglaciated terrain.

  4. Starter Culture Selection for Making Chinese Sesame-Flavored Liquor Based on Microbial Metabolic Activity in Mixed-Culture Fermentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Qun; Ling, Jie

    2014-01-01

    Selection of a starter culture with excellent viability and metabolic activity is important for inoculated fermentation of traditional food. To obtain a suitable starter culture for making Chinese sesame-flavored liquor, the yeast and bacterium community structures were investigated during spontaneous and solid-state fermentations of this type of liquor. Five dominant species in spontaneous fermentation were identified: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Pichia membranaefaciens, Issatchenkia orientalis, Bacillus licheniformis, and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. The metabolic activity of each species in mixed and inoculated fermentations of liquor was investigated in 14 different cocultures that used different combinations of these species. The relationships between the microbial species and volatile metabolites were analyzed by partial least-squares (PLS) regression analysis. We found that S. cerevisiae was positively correlated to nonanal, and B. licheniformis was positively associated with 2,3-butanediol, isobutyric acid, guaiacol, and 4-vinyl guaiacol, while I. orientalis was positively correlated to butyric acid, isovaleric acid, hexanoic acid, and 2,3-butanediol. These three species are excellent flavor producers for Chinese liquor. Although P. membranaefaciens and B. amyloliquefaciens were not efficient flavor producers, the addition of them alleviated competition among the other three species and altered their growth rates and flavor production. As a result, the coculture of all five dominant species produced the largest amount of flavor compounds. The result indicates that flavor producers and microbial interaction regulators are important for inoculated fermentation of Chinese sesame-flavored liquor. PMID:24814798

  5. Perceived impact of Nepalese food and food culture in diabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sapkota, Sujata; Brien, Jo-Anne E; Gwynn, Josephine; Flood, Victoria; Aslani, Parisa

    2017-06-01

    Consuming a healthy diet forms an important component of diabetes management; however, adhering to a healthy diet is challenging. Dietary behaviour is often guided by socio-cultural, environmental and emotional factors, and not necessarily by physical and nutritional needs. This study explored Nepalese patients' perceptions of the impact of diet, diet management requirement for diabetes and how Nepalese food culture in particular influenced diet management. Interviews were conducted with Nepalese participants with type 2 diabetes in Sydney and Kathmandu; and data was thematically analysed. Diet was recognized as a cause of, and a key treatment modality, in diabetes. Besides doctors, participants in Nepal received a large amount of dietary information from the community. Dietary changes formed a major component of lifestyle modifications adopted after diagnosis, and mostly consisted of removal of foods with added sugar and foods with high total sugar content from the diet, and a reduction in overall quantity of foods consumed. Perceived dietary restriction requirements created social and emotional discomfort to patients. Most participants perceived the Nepalese food culture as a barrier to effective diet management. Meals high in carbohydrates, limited food choices, and food preparation methods were identified as barriers, particularly in Nepal. In Australia, participants reported greater availability and easier access to appropriate food, and healthier cooking options. The socio-cultural aspects of food behaviour, mainly, food practices during social events were identified as significant barriers. Although diet was acknowledged as an important component of diabetes care, and most adopted changes in their diet post-diagnosis, effective and sustained changes were difficult to achieve. Future public health campaigns and education strategies should focus on improving diet knowledge, awareness of food options for diabetes, and effective dietary management. Copyright

  6. Perception in Chinese VS Reason in British food culture

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    何姗; 张佳佳

    2013-01-01

    In some condition, food culture is considered as the most important way to improve their living standard. Because food is the fundamental of every human activity, food has been carved into the culture area. The study of food culture is a per-fect key to open the door of cross cultural understanding.

  7. Recent advances in molecular techniques to study microbial communities in food-associated matrices and processes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Justé, A.; Thomma, B.P.H.J.; Lievens, B.

    2008-01-01

    In the last two decades major changes have occurred in how microbial ecologists study microbial communities. Limitations associated with traditional culture-based methods have pushed for the development of culture-independent techniques, which are primarily based on the analysis of nucleic acids.

  8. Microbial analysis of meat and meat products sold in fast food ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The present study was carried out to investigate the rate of microbial contamination of ready-to-eat meat and meat products sold in different fast food restaurants in Aba. This study was carried out between June and August, 2015. Samples were collected aseptically from five fast food restaurants using sterile polythene bags.

  9. Microbial contaminants of cultured Hibiscus cannabinus and Telfaria ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Nine microbial contaminants comprising of five bacteria and four fungi species were isolated from Hibiscus cannabinus and Telfaria occidentalis cultured tissues. The rate of occurrence of bacteria isolates was higher than that of fungi. The bacterial isolates includes Pseudomonas syringae pv phaseolicoli, Bacillus ...

  10. Microbial Food-Web Drivers in Tropical Reservoirs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domingues, Carolina Davila; da Silva, Lucia Helena Sampaio; Rangel, Luciana Machado; de Magalhães, Leonardo; de Melo Rocha, Adriana; Lobão, Lúcia Meirelles; Paiva, Rafael; Roland, Fábio; Sarmento, Hugo

    2017-04-01

    Element cycling in aquatic systems is driven chiefly by planktonic processes, and the structure of the planktonic food web determines the efficiency of carbon transfer through trophic levels. However, few studies have comprehensively evaluated all planktonic food-web components in tropical regions. The aim of this study was to unravel the top-down controls (metazooplankton community structure), bottom-up controls (resource availability), and hydrologic (water residence time) and physical (temperature) variables that affect different components of the microbial food web (MFW) carbon stock in tropical reservoirs, through structural equation models (SEM). We conducted a field study in four deep Brazilian reservoirs (Balbina, Tucuruí, Três Marias, and Funil) with different trophic states (oligo-, meso-, and eutrophic). We found evidence of a high contribution of the MFW (up to 50% of total planktonic carbon), especially in the less-eutrophic reservoirs (Balbina and Tucuruí). Bottom-up and top-down effects assessed through SEM indicated negative interactions between soluble reactive phosphorus and phototrophic picoplankton (PPP), dissolved inorganic nitrogen, and heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF). Copepods positively affected ciliates, and cladocerans positively affected heterotrophic bacteria (HB) and PPP. Higher copepod/cladoceran ratios and an indirect positive effect of copepods on HB might strengthen HB-HNF coupling. We also found low values for the degree of uncoupling (D) and a low HNF/HB ratio compared with literature data (mostly from temperate regions). This study demonstrates the importance of evaluating the whole size spectrum (including microbial compartments) of the different planktonic compartments, in order to capture the complex carbon dynamics of tropical aquatic ecosystems.

  11. Nordic food culture – A historical perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Amilien, Virginie

    2013-01-01

    Henry Notaker is a well- known Norwegian historian, specialist of books and articles about food, culture and history. He has got awards for journalism on food history, he was responsible for TV series about food and history in the 1990’s, and he is currently teaching in food history at the universities in Bergen and Agder and at Akershus University College (courses on food culture). Henry Notaker is a member of the editorial board of the scientific journal Food & History. He has published alm...

  12. A moveable feast: Contemporary relational food cultures emerging from local food networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Kane, Gabrielle

    2016-10-01

    Although the globalised food system delivers unparalleled food variety and quantity to most in the developed world it also disconnects consumers from where, how and by whom food is grown. This change in the food system has resulted in an acceptance of an anonymous and homogeneous food supply, which has contributed to over-consumption and the rise in diet-related diseases. 'Nutritionism' responds to this issue by maintaining that a 'healthy diet' can be achieved by consuming the correct balance of energy and nutrients, but with limited success. Yet, some food cultures can moderate the effects of the environmental drivers of increasing global obesity rates. This paper draws on this premise and presents an alternative eco-dietetic response, exploring people's meaning-making of food and food culture through local food networks. This research used narrative inquiry methodology and purposive sampling to gather stories through focus group conversations. Twenty people attended focus groups comprised of food procurers from one of three local food networks in the Canberra region: community gardens, a modified Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and farmers' markets. The findings showed that those using local food networks enjoyed a 'contemporary relational food culture' that highlighted the importance of people, place and time, in their visceral experiences of food. The community gardeners made meaning of food through their connections to the earth and to others. The farmers' market and CSA food procurers valued the seasonal, local and ethical food produced by their beloved farmer(s). This paper provides qualitative evidence that local food networks enable people to enjoy multi-dimensional relationships to food. Further research is required to examine whether experiencing a contemporary relational food culture can lead to improved health outcomes for people and the planet. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Hydrothermal treatment for inactivating some hygienic microbial indicators from food waste-amended animal feed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Yiying; Chen, Ting; Li, Huan

    2012-07-01

    To achieve the hygienic safety of food waste used as animal feed, a hydrothermal treatment process of 60-110 degrees C for 10-60 min was applied on the separated food waste from a university canteen. Based on the microbial analysis of raw waste, the inactivation of hygienic indicators of Staphylococcus aureus (SA), total coliform (TC), total aerobic plate counts (TPC), and molds and yeast (MY) were analyzed during the hydrothermal process. Results showed that indicators' concentrations were substantially reduced after hydrothermal treatment, with a greater reduction observed when the waste was treated with a higher temperature and pressure and a longer ramping time. The 110 degrees C hydrothermal treatment for 60 min was sufficient to disinfect food waste as animal feed from the viewpoint of hygienic safety. Results obtained so far indicate that hydrothermal treatment can significantly decrease microbial indicators' concentrations but does not lead to complete sterilization, because MY survived even after 60 min treatment at 110 degrees C. The information from the present study will contribute to the microbial risk control of food waste-amended animal feed, to cope with legislation on food or feed safety.

  14. Applications Research of Microbial Ecological Preparation in Sea Cucumber Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Jiahui; Wang, Guangyu

    2017-12-01

    At present, micro ecological preparation is widely applied in aquaculture with good effect. The application of micro ecological preparation in sea cucumber culture can effectively improve the economic benefits. The micro ecological preparation can play the role of inhibiting harmful bacteria, purifying water quality and saving culture cost in the process of sea cucumber culture. We should select appropriate bacteria, guarantee stable environment and use with long-term in the applications of microbial ecological preparation in sea cucumber culture to obtain good effects.

  15. Microbial source tracking: a tool for identifying sources of microbial contamination in the food chain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Ling-Lin; Li, Jian-Rong

    2014-01-01

    The ability to trace fecal indicators and food-borne pathogens to the point of origin has major ramifications for food industry, food regulatory agencies, and public health. Such information would enable food producers and processors to better understand sources of contamination and thereby take corrective actions to prevent transmission. Microbial source tracking (MST), which currently is largely focused on determining sources of fecal contamination in waterways, is also providing the scientific community tools for tracking both fecal bacteria and food-borne pathogens contamination in the food chain. Approaches to MST are commonly classified as library-dependent methods (LDMs) or library-independent methods (LIMs). These tools will have widespread applications, including the use for regulatory compliance, pollution remediation, and risk assessment. These tools will reduce the incidence of illness associated with food and water. Our aim in this review is to highlight the use of molecular MST methods in application to understanding the source and transmission of food-borne pathogens. Moreover, the future directions of MST research are also discussed.

  16. Microbial biosurfactants as additives for food industries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campos, Jenyffer Medeiros; Stamford, Tânia Lúcia Montenegro; Sarubbo, Leonie Asfora; de Luna, Juliana Moura; Rufino, Raquel Diniz; Banat, Ibrahim M

    2013-01-01

    Microbial biosurfactants with high ability to reduce surface and interfacial surface tension and conferring important properties such as emulsification, detergency, solubilization, lubrication and phase dispersion have a wide range of potential applications in many industries. Significant interest in these compounds has been demonstrated by environmental, bioremediation, oil, petroleum, food, beverage, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries attracted by their low toxicity, biodegradability and sustainable production technologies. Despite having significant potentials associated with emulsion formation, stabilization, antiadhesive and antimicrobial activities, significantly less output and applications have been reported in food industry. This has been exacerbated by uneconomical or uncompetitive costing issues for their production when compared to plant or chemical counterparts. In this review, biosurfactants properties, present uses and potential future applications as food additives acting as thickening, emulsifying, dispersing or stabilising agents in addition to the use of sustainable economic processes utilising agro-industrial wastes as alternative substrates for their production are discussed. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  17. Novel co-culture plate enables growth dynamic-based assessment of contact-independent microbial interactions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas J Moutinho

    Full Text Available Interactions between microbes are central to the dynamics of microbial communities. Understanding these interactions is essential for the characterization of communities, yet challenging to accomplish in practice. There are limited available tools for characterizing diffusion-mediated, contact-independent microbial interactions. A practical and widely implemented technique in such characterization involves the simultaneous co-culture of distinct bacterial species and subsequent analysis of relative abundance in the total population. However, distinguishing between species can be logistically challenging. In this paper, we present a low-cost, vertical membrane, co-culture plate to quantify contact-independent interactions between distinct bacterial populations in co-culture via real-time optical density measurements. These measurements can be used to facilitate the analysis of the interaction between microbes that are physically separated by a semipermeable membrane yet able to exchange diffusible molecules. We show that diffusion across the membrane occurs at a sufficient rate to enable effective interaction between physically separate cultures. Two bacterial species commonly found in the cystic fibrotic lung, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Burkholderia cenocepacia, were co-cultured to demonstrate how this plate may be implemented to study microbial interactions. We have demonstrated that this novel co-culture device is able to reliably generate real-time measurements of optical density data that can be used to characterize interactions between microbial species.

  18. To what extent do food preferences explain the trophic position of heterotrophic and mixotrophic microbial consumers in a Sphagnum peatland?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jassey, Vincent E J; Meyer, Caroline; Dupuy, Christine; Bernard, Nadine; Mitchell, Edward A D; Toussaint, Marie-Laure; Metian, Marc; Chatelain, Auriel P; Gilbert, Daniel

    2013-10-01

    Although microorganisms are the primary drivers of biogeochemical cycles, the structure and functioning of microbial food webs are poorly studied. This is the case in Sphagnum peatlands, where microbial communities play a key role in the global carbon cycle. Here, we explored the structure of the microbial food web from a Sphagnum peatland by analyzing (1) the density and biomass of different microbial functional groups, (2) the natural stable isotope (δ(13)C and δ(15)N) signatures of key microbial consumers (testate amoebae), and (3) the digestive vacuole contents of Hyalosphenia papilio, the dominant testate amoeba species in our system. Our results showed that the feeding type of testate amoeba species (bacterivory, algivory, or both) translates into their trophic position as assessed by isotopic signatures. Our study further demonstrates, for H. papilio, the energetic benefits of mixotrophy when the density of its preferential prey is low. Overall, our results show that testate amoebae occupy different trophic levels within the microbial food web, depending on their feeding behavior, the density of their food resources, and their metabolism (i.e., mixotrophy vs. heterotrophy). Combined analyses of predation, community structure, and stable isotopes now allow the structure of microbial food webs to be more completely described, which should lead to improved models of microbial community function.

  19. Comment on Chinese food culture

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    马欣

    2014-01-01

    <正>Enjoying all kinds of food can be the most important issue in China,Chinese people love to have nice food and to study them,after a few thousand years,food have become the most important part of China and has gradually formed a unique culture.There is a saying,food is the paramount necessity of people(民以食为天),however,in China,people are not eating only when they

  20. Microbial production of antioxidant food ingredients via metabolic engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Yuheng; Jain, Rachit; Yan, Yajun

    2014-04-01

    Antioxidants are biological molecules with the ability to protect vital metabolites from harmful oxidation. Due to this fascinating role, their beneficial effects on human health are of paramount importance. Traditional approaches using solvent-based extraction from food/non-food sources and chemical synthesis are often expensive, exhaustive, and detrimental to the environment. With the advent of metabolic engineering tools, the successful reconstitution of heterologous pathways in Escherichia coli and other microorganisms provides a more exciting and amenable alternative to meet the increasing demand of natural antioxidants. In this review, we elucidate the recent progress in metabolic engineering efforts for the microbial production of antioxidant food ingredients - polyphenols, carotenoids, and antioxidant vitamins. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Fast-food Culture and Americans’Outlooks on Life

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    易婧

    2014-01-01

    Fast-food is always the one of the main culture in America just like it has been known. It is not only very important in Americans’lives, but can reflect some of their outlooks on life. This thesis gives an analysis of reflection of Americans ’out-looks on life in fast-food culture. Five types of Americans’outlooks on life have been surveyed:working hard and playing hard, optimism and open-mindedness, treating the time as the life, self-independence and believing the equality. Beginning with the introduction of the emergence and development of fast-food culture in America, the thesis brings why the fast-food can be pop-ularized among Americans to light. Consequently, we can find that some of the Americans ’outlooks on life can be consistent with their fast-food culture.This thesis will be divided into four parts. The first part is the introduction and the last conclusion. The focus of this thesis is laid on the two middle parts which first display the five types of Americans ’outlooks on life, then give the analysis of the reflection in fast-food culture. This thesis attempts to explore the Americans ’outlooks on life. Although by the thesis we can not learn about a nation completely, we still know some aspects of their outlooks on life from fast-food culture.

  2. Microbial links and element flows in nested detrital food-webs.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pokarzhevskii, A.D.; van Straalen, N.M.; Zaboev, D.P.; Zaitsev, A.S.

    2003-01-01

    Microbial links are obligate in any food chain in soil, because detritivorous animals derive essential amino acids and other resources from microorganisms. To degrade recalcitrant substrates such as cellulose, soil animals do not produce their own cellulase, but they use cellulases derived from gut

  3. Production of wax esters via microbial oil synthesis from food industry waste and by-product streams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papadaki, Aikaterini; Mallouchos, Athanasios; Efthymiou, Maria-Nefeli; Gardeli, Chryssavgi; Kopsahelis, Nikolaos; Aguieiras, Erika C G; Freire, Denise M G; Papanikolaou, Seraphim; Koutinas, Apostolis A

    2017-12-01

    The production of wax esters using microbial oils was demonstrated in this study. Microbial oils produced from food waste and by-product streams by three oleaginous yeasts were converted into wax esters via enzymatic catalysis. Palm oil was initially used to evaluate the influence of temperature and enzyme activity on wax ester synthesis catalysed by Novozyme 435 and Lipozyme lipases using cetyl, oleyl and behenyl alcohols. The highest conversion yields (up to 79.6%) were achieved using 4U/g of Novozyme 435 at 70°C. Transesterification of microbial oils to behenyl and cetyl esters was achieved at conversion yields up to 87.3% and 69.1%, respectively. Novozyme 435 was efficiently reused for six and three cycles during palm esters and microbial esters synthesis, respectively. The physicochemical properties of microbial oil derived behenyl esters were comparable to natural waxes. Wax esters from microbial oils have potential applications in cosmetics, chemical and food industries. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Production of microbial biomass protein by sequential culture fermentation of Arachniotus sp., and Candida utilis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmed, S.; Ahmad, F.; Hashmi, A.S.

    2010-01-01

    Sequential culture fermentation by Arachniotus sp. at 35 deg. C for 72 h and followed by Candida utilis fermentation at 35 deg. C for 72 h more resulted in higher production of microbial biomass protein. 6% (w/v) corn stover, 0.0075% CaCl/sub 2/.2H/sub 2/O, 0.005% MgSO/sub 4/.7H/sub 2/O, 0.01% KH/sub 2/PO/sub 4/, C:N ratio of 30:1 and 1% molasses gave higher microbial biomass protein production by the sequential culture fermentation of Arachniotus sp., and C. utilis. The mixed microbial biomass protein produced in the 75-L fermentor contained 16.41%, 23.51%, 10.9%, 12.11% and 0.12% true protein, crude protein, crude fiber, ash and RNA content, respectively. The amino acid profile of final mixed microbial biomass protein showed that it was enriched with essential amino acids. Thus, the potential utilization of corn stover can minimize the cost for growth of these microorganisms and enhance microbial biomass protein production by sequential culture fermentation. (author)

  5. Brief Probein to Differences Between Chinese and Western Food Cultures

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    青岛大学音乐学院,山东 青岛 266000

    2016-01-01

    Because of the differences in environment and products, different cultures may be formed in east and west, the social characteristics of material and spiritual life integrated embodiment through Chinese and west food cultures. The author focuses on analysis and comparison in cross-cultural differences of diet idea, diet object and way of eating in China and western countries, the deep-seated causation which induces the differences in food cultures is revealed. Under the background of western economic and cultural integration, communication in food cultures increased, which will certain accelerate Chinese food cultures developed and spread al over the world.

  6. A Comparison of Food in the Chinese and Western Cultures

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    钮贵芳

    2005-01-01

    <正>Foods cultures are so deeply rooted in Chinese culture that almost everything of Chinese people’s lives is more or less related to them. In the west, foods also have a very important role in people s lives. However, foods in Chinese culture and western culture are different in a few aspects. This paper aims to look into the similarities and differences of the foods in two cultures and tries to give a brief discussion on their differences.

  7. Determinants for conducting food safety culture research

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nyarugwe, Shingai P.; Linnemann, Anita; Hofstede, Gert Jan; Fogliano, Vincenzo; Luning, Pieternel A.

    2016-01-01

    Background Foodborne outbreaks continue to occur regardless of existing food safety measures indicating the shortcomings of these measures to assure food safety. This has led to the recognition of food safety culture as a key contributory factor to the food safety performance of food

  8. Effect of starter cultures on microbial and physicochemical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    sunny

    2014-10-22

    Oct 22, 2014 ... 1Research Unity, Food and Science Technologies–UR 04 AGR02, High Food Industries School of Tunisia, 58 Avenue .... The mixture of each batch was stuffed into artificial ..... Effects of starter cultures and additives on.

  9. Oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica culture with synthetic and food waste-derived volatile fatty acids for lipid production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Ruiling; Li, Zifu; Zhou, Xiaoqin; Cheng, Shikun; Zheng, Lei

    2017-01-01

    The sustainability of microbial lipids production from traditional carbon sources, such as glucose or glycerol, is problematic given the high price of raw materials. Considerable efforts have been directed to minimize the cost and find new alternative carbon sources. Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are especially attractive raw materials, because they can be produced from a variety of organic wastes fermentation. Therefore, the use of volatile fatty acids as carbon sources seems to be a feasible strategy for cost-effective microbial lipid production. Lipid accumulation in Y. lipolytica using synthetic and food waste-derived VFAs as substrates was systematically compared and evaluated in batch cultures. The highest lipid content obtained with acetic, butyric, and propionic acids reached 31.62 ± 0.91, 28.36 ± 0.74, and 28.91 ± 0.66%, respectively. High concentrations of VFA inhibited cell growth in the following order: butyric acid > propionic acid > acetic acid. Within a 30-day experimental period, Y. lipolytica could adapt up to 20 g/L acetic acid, whereas the corresponding concentration of propionic acid and butyric acid were 10 and 5 g/L, respectively. Cultures on a VFA mixture showed that the utilization of different types of VFA by Y. lipolytica was not synchronized but rather performed in a step-wise manner. Although yeast fermentation is an exothermic process, and the addition of VFA will directly affect the pH of the system by increasing environmental acidity, cultures at a cultivation temperature of 38 °C and uncontrolled pH demonstrated that Y. lipolytica had high tolerance in the high temperature and acidic environment when a low concentration (2.5 g/L) of either synthetic or food waste-derived VFA was used. However, batch cultures fed with food fermentate yielded lower lipid content (18.23 ± 1.12%) and lipid productivity (0.12 ± 0.02 g/L/day). The lipid composition obtained with synthetic and food waste-derived VFA was similar to

  10. Gamma-irradiation induced mutagenesis on some microbial strains of interest in food biotechnologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferdes, O.S.; Ferdes, M.; Dumitru, E.; Mencinicopschi, G.

    1993-01-01

    In this paper there were presented the results concerning gamma-ray effects on some microbial strains which are of interest in food biotechnologies. The irradiations are performed to a Co-60 source, under several condition, at dose rates between 0.1-2.0 kGy/h and in a dose range between 0.1-20.0 kGy. The microbial strains are of Bacillus subtilis, Aspergillus niger, Mucor pusillus and Monascus rubens from IFC collection. There were established the survival curves and the optimum irradiation doses for mutagenic effects. There were isolated, analysed and characterised some mutant strains, with better properties in obtaining food enzymes and pigments. (orig.)

  11. [New approach for managing microbial risks in food].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Augustin, Jean-Christophe

    2015-01-01

    The aim of the food legislation is to ensure the protection of human health. Traditionally, the food legislation requires food business operators to apply good hygiene practices and specific procedures to control foodborne pathogens. These regulations allowed reaching a high level of health protection. The improvement of the system will require risk-based approaches. Firstly, risk assessment should allow the identification of high-risk situations where resources should be allocated for a better targeting of risk management. Then, management measures should be adapted to the health objective. In this approach, the appropriate level of protection is converted intofood safety and performance objectives on the food chain, i.e., maximum microbial contamination to fulfil the acceptable risk level. When objectives are defined, the food business operators and competent authorities can identify control options to comply with the objectives and establish microbiological criteria to verify compliance with these objectives. This approach, described for approximately 10 years, operative thanks to the development of quantitative risk assessment techniques, is still difficult to use in practical terms since it requires a commitment of competent authorities to define the acceptable risk and needs also the implementation of sometimes complex risk models.

  12. Cultural specificity in food choice - The case of ethnography in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freedman, Irith

    2016-01-01

    Previous studies examining food choice from a cross-cultural perspective were based primarily on quantitative research using the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ). This study suggests ethnography as a complementary research method in cross-cultural food choice studies. While use of the FCQ resulted in findings of cultural differences in food choice processes, within a preliminary motive list, ethnography allows the exploration of new, possibly culture-specific motives for food choice. Moreover, ethnography allows a deeper understanding of the cultural background of food choice processes in a studied culture. Using Japan as a case study, this research demonstrates the use of ethnography to argue that variety is a primary motive for food choice in contemporary Japanese culture. Variety is hence regarded here as a part of a larger food culture attribute, an "adventurous palate," which can also provide a background for previous FCQ findings (Prescott, Young, O'neill, Yau, & Stevens, 2002). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Microbial behavior and changes in food constituents during fermentation of Japanese sourdoughs with different rye and wheat starting materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujimoto, Akihito; Ito, Keisuke; Itou, Madoka; Narushima, Noriko; Ito, Takayuki; Yamamoto, Akihisa; Hirayama, Satoru; Furukawa, Soichi; Morinaga, Yasushi; Miyamoto, Takahisa

    2018-01-01

    Sourdough is a food item made by kneading grain flour and water together and allowing fermentation through the action of lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillales) and yeast. Typically, Japanese bakeries make sourdough with rye flour, wheat flour, malt extract, and water and allow spontaneous fermentation for 6 days. We compared the microbial behavior and food components, such as organic acids, sugars, and free amino acids, of sourdoughs made using two different rye and wheat flours during the 6-day fermentation period. Comparisons were made for two types of rye and wheat flours, using different production sites and different milling, distribution, and storage conditions. The microbial count was evaluated using different culture media. All sourdough types showed a significant increase in lactic acid levels on fermentation day 2 and a decrease in free amino acid levels on day 4. Low overall lactic acid production and little fluctuation in sugar levels occurred in sourdough made from French ingredients. For sourdough made from Japanese ingredients, sugar levels (chiefly glucose, sucrose, and maltose) declined on fermentation day 1, increased on day 2, and declined by day 5. With the French ingredients, no yeast cells were detected until day 3, and many acid precursors of sourdough flavor components were detected. Yet with the Japanese ingredients, 10 6 /g yeast cells were detected on days 3-5, as well as sourdough-flavor esters and alcohols. Differences in raw material quality affected the microbial behavior and changes in food constituents during the fermentation process and, consequently, the sourdough flavor. Copyright © 2017 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Cultural Differences on Food between China and America

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    罗仕容

    2017-01-01

    "You are what you eat." Nutrition experts often use this saying to promote better eating habits. What we put in our mouths does become a part of us. But we can look at this statement another way. What we eat reflects who we are——as people and as a culture. Thus food culture has become a special cultural phenomenon. Under this phenomenon, people in different countries have different concepts of food, share different food structures and enjoy different flavors and styles of dishes.

  15. Understanding Korean food culture from Korean paintings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hae Kyung Chung

    2016-03-01

    Conclusion: Beyond the basic value of food in maximizing nutrients and energy, Korean food culture has developed distinctive cultural characteristics through more than 5,000 years of agricultural history. Although the genre paintings analyzed in this paper are limited to a certain era, this paper will serve as a milestone in providing direction for future studies.

  16. Chinese-American foods : Geography, culture and tourism

    OpenAIRE

    Lew, Alan A.

    2016-01-01

    Food is a major way that Chinese, and other ethnic groups, engage with their cultural heritage. Behavioral perspectives from tourism studies give insight into the range of food neophyllics (love of new foods) and food neophobics (fear of new foods), as well as the role of authenticity in food experiences. Three general types of Chinese food are identified in the US: Chinese American (restaurant) Food, Real Chinese (restaurant) Food, and American Born Chinese (home) Food. Traditional Chinese A...

  17. Reproducible analyses of microbial food for advanced life support systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petersen, Gene R.

    1988-01-01

    The use of yeasts in controlled ecological life support systems (CELSS) for microbial food regeneration in space required the accurate and reproducible analysis of intracellular carbohydrate and protein levels. The reproducible analysis of glycogen was a key element in estimating overall content of edibles in candidate yeast strains. Typical analytical methods for estimating glycogen in Saccharomyces were not found to be entirely aplicable to other candidate strains. Rigorous cell lysis coupled with acid/base fractionation followed by specific enzymatic glycogen analyses were required to obtain accurate results in two strains of Candida. A profile of edible fractions of these strains was then determined. The suitability of yeasts as food sources in CELSS food production processes is discussed.

  18. Functional implications of the microbial community structure of undefined mesophilic starter cultures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smid, E.J.; Erkus, O.; Spus, M.; Wolkers-Rooijackers, J.C.M.; Alexeeva, S.V.; Kleerebezem, M.

    2014-01-01

    This review describes the recent advances made in the studies of the microbial community of complex and undefined cheese starter cultures. We report on work related to the composition of the cultures at the level of genetic lineages, on the presence and activity of bacteriophages and on the

  19. Microbial behaviour and cross contamination between cargoes in containerized transportation of food

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Abban, Stephen

    Transportation is central to the global food and feed supply chain. Thus issues of safety, especially cross contamination with pathogens during food transit should be important in food handling operations. A large proportion of the worlds’ food cargo is moved using intermodal cargo containers...... chain, its role in food safety cannot be ignored. Unfortunately not much effort has been put, scientifically, into understanding the role of the various features of the transportation links in food cross contamination (compared to studies for homes, processing factories and farm yards). The PhD project...... has attempted to shed light on containerized food transport and some of its important attributes as regards hygiene and cross contamination. The overall aim of the study was to ‘identify possible microbial hazards and ways of cross contamination during containerized transportation of foods...

  20. The language of cheese-ripening cultures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gori, Klaus; Jespersen, Lene

    2010-01-01

    Microbial interactions are of importance for the establishment and growth of cheese ripening cultures. An interesting aspect of microbial interactions is cell-cell communication, often referred to as quorum sensing; the process in which micro-organisms communicate with signalling molecules and co......-ordinate gene expression in a cell density dependent manner. Little is known about quorum sensing in foods. However, as quorum sensing is expected to be a general phenomenon in micro-organisms, it is likely to be of importance for micro-organisms in foods. An example of a food product where quorum sensing could...... be of importance is surface ripened cheeses. The present review focuses on our findings on quorum sensing systems in cheese ripening cultures. The main focus is on the group of bacterial non-species-specific signalling molecules referred to as autoinducer-2 (AI-2) in smear bacteria as well as alcohol...

  1. Dispersed oil disrupts microbial pathways in pelagic food webs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortmann, Alice C; Anders, Jennifer; Shelton, Naomi; Gong, Limin; Moss, Anthony G; Condon, Robert H

    2012-01-01

    Most of the studies of microbial processes in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill focused on the deep water plume, and not on the surface communities. The effects of the crude oil and the application of dispersants on the coastal microbial food web in the northern Gulf of Mexico have not been well characterized even though these regions support much of the fisheries production in the Gulf. A mesocosm experiment was carried out to determine how the microbial community off the coast of Alabama may have responded to the influx of surface oil and dispersants. While the addition of glucose or oil alone resulted in an increase in the biomass of ciliates, suggesting transfer of carbon to higher trophic levels was likely; a different effect was seen in the presence of dispersant. The addition of dispersant or dispersed oil resulted in an increase in the biomass of heterotrophic prokaryotes, but a significant inhibition of ciliates, suggesting a reduction in grazing and decrease in transfer of carbon to higher trophic levels. Similar patterns were observed in two separate experiments with different starting nutrient regimes and microbial communities suggesting that the addition of dispersant and dispersed oil to the northern Gulf of Mexico waters in 2010 may have reduced the flow of carbon to higher trophic levels, leading to a decrease in the production of zooplankton and fish on the Alabama shelf.

  2. Measurement of Food Safety Culture using Survey and Maturity Profiling Tools

    OpenAIRE

    Jespersen, Lone; Griffiths, Mansel; Maclaurin, Tanya; Chapman, Ben; Wallace, Carol A.

    2016-01-01

    Organizational culture is defined by dimensions and characteristics that can be used to measure food safety culture in food manufacturing through a food safety maturity model. Maturity models from quality, health care, and information technology have been used since early 1970 and this work presents a novel food safety culture maturity model with five capability areas and food safety pinpointed behaviours specific to functions and levels in a food manufacturing company. A survey tool linked t...

  3. Anti-microbial polymer films for food packaging: Poster at the 3rd International Symposium on Food Packaging: Ensuring the Safety, Quality and Traceability of Foods, 17-19 November 2004, Barcelona, Spain

    OpenAIRE

    Sandmeier, D.; Kensbock, E.

    2004-01-01

    Anti-microbial fitted polymers can protect the surface of food from unwanted microorganisms like bacteria, yeast and mould or prevent or suppress their growth. This type of active packaging contributes to a better quality and shelf life. Today the extended use of polymers offers new possibilities to construct anti-microbial packaging materials. There are two different mechanisms of anti-microbial fitted films, surface fixed anti-microbial groups or release of active agents. Based on the relea...

  4. Culture-dependent and -independent investigations of microbial diversity on urinary catheters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xu, Yijuan; Moser, Claus Ernst; Abu Al-Soud, Waleed

    2012-01-01

    Catheter-associated urinary tract infection is caused by bacteria, which ascend the catheter along its external or internal surface to the bladder and subsequently develop into biofilms on the catheter and uroepithelium. Antibiotic-treated bacteria and bacteria residing in biofilm can be difficult...... to culture. In this study we used culture-based and 16S rRNA gene-based culture-independent methods (fingerprinting, cloning, and pyrosequencing) to determine the microbial diversity of biofilms on 24 urinary catheters. Most of the patients were catheterized for...

  5. Contemporary Minangkabau food culture in West Sumatra, Indonesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipoeto, N I; Mmedsci; Agus, Z; Oenzil, F; Masrul, M; Wattanapenpaiboon, N

    2001-01-01

    Diet has a strong relationship with food culture and changes in it are likely to be involved in the pathogenesis of newly emergent degenerative diseases. To obtain in-depth opinions about the food culture of Minangkabau people, focus group discussions were conducted in a Minangkabau region, represented by four villages in West Sumatra, Indonesia, from January to March 1999. The members of the discussion groups were principally women aged from 35 to 82 years old. Minangkabau culture is matriarchal and matrilineal which accounts for female gender dominants in the discussions. Rice, fish, coconut and chilli are the basic ingredients of the Minangkabau meals. Meat, especially beef and chicken, is mainly prepared for special occasions; pork is not halal and therefore not eaten by Muslim Minangkabau people; and for reasons of taste preference and availability, lamb, goat and wild game are rarely eaten. However, rendang, a popular meat dish, has been identified as one of the Minangkabau food culture characteristic dishes. Vegetables are consumed daily. Fruit is mainly seasonal, although certain kinds of fruit, such as banana, papaya and citrus, can be found all year around. Coconut has an important role in Minangkabau food culture and is the main source of dietary fat. While almost all food items consumed by the Minangkabau can be cooked with coconut milk, fried food with coconut oil is considered to be a daily basic food. Desiccated coconut is also used as a food ingredient on about a weekly basis and in snack foods almost every day. Although there have been no changes in food preparation and there is a slight difference in taste preference between the young and the old generations, there has been a dramatic shift in food preferences, which is reflected in the changing percentage of energy consumed over the past 15 years. The traditional combination of rice, fish and coconut in Minangkabau culture goes back hundreds of years, long before the emergence of the degenerative

  6. Food and Health: Individual, Cultural, or Intellectual Matters?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Coff, Christian Eyde; Nordström, Karin; Jönsson, Håkan

    2013-01-01

    In personalized nutrition, food is a tool for good health, implying an instrumental relationship between food and health. Food receives a secondary value, whilehealth would appear to be a descriptive biological concept.This article gives an introduction to cultural understandings of food and health...... of personalized nutrition is likely dependent upon the ability to integrate thescientific approach with everyday cultural, emotional, ethical, and sensual understandings of food. Health theories can be divided into two principal rival types—biostatistical and holistic. Biostatistical focuses on survival...... with high levels of vital goals benefit more easily. To reach beyond these groups is likely difficult.This potential injustice should be balanced with global preventive medical programs....

  7. Culture-dependent and -independent approaches establish the complexity of a PAH-degrading microbial consortium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vinas, M.; Sabate, J.; Solanas, A.M. [Barcelona Univ., Barcelona (Spain). Dept. of Microbiology; Guasp, C.; Lalucat, J. [Illes Balears Univ., Palma de Mallorca (Spain). Dept. of Biology

    2005-11-15

    Microbial consortia are used in the decontamination of polluted environmental sites. A microbial consortium obtained by batch enrichment culture is a closed system with controlled conditions in which micro-organisms with a potentially high growth rate are selected and become dominant. The aim of this study was to identify the members of consortium AM, in which earlier batch enrichment work had shown high biodegradation rates of the aromatic fraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH). The AM consortium was obtained by sequential enrichment in liquid culture with a PAH mixture of 3- and 4- ringed PAHs as the sole source of carbon and energy. The consortium was examined using a triple approach method based on various cultivation strategies, denaturing gradient electrophoresis (DGGE) and the screening of 16S and 18S rRNA gene clone libraries. Eleven different sequences by culture-dependent techniques and 7 by both DGGE and clone libraries were obtained, yielding 19 different microbial components. Proteobacteria were the dominant group, representing 83 per cent of the total, while the Cytophaga-Flexibactor-Bacteroides group (CFB) was 11 per cent, and Ascomycota fungi were 6 per cent. It was determined that {beta}-Proteobacteria were predominant in the DGGE and clone library methods, whereas they were a minority in culturable strains. The highest diversity and number of noncoincident sequences was achieved by the cultivation method that showed members of the {alpha},{beta}, and {gamma}-Proteobacteria, CFB bacterial group, and Ascomycota fungi. Only 6 of the 11 strains isolated showed PAH-degrading capability. The bacterial strain (AMS7) and the fungal strain (AMF1) achieved the greatest PAH depletion. Results indicated that polyphasic assessment is necessary for a proper understanding of the composition of a microbial consortium. It was concluded that microbial consortia are more complex than previously realized. 54 refs., 3 tabs., 3 figs.

  8. Microbial transformation of citral by Penicillium sp..

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esmaeili, Akbar; Tavassoli, Afsaneh

    2010-01-01

    Thymol is present in the essential oils from herbs and spices, such as thyme. It is produced by these plant species as a chemical defense against phytopathogenic microorganisms. Therefore, this compound has attracted great attention in food industry, i.e., it has been used as a natural preservative in foods such as cheese to prevent fungal growth. Previous studies concerning the biotransformation of nerol by Penicillium sp. and microbial transformation of citral by sporulated surface cultures method (SSCM) of Penicillium digitatum have been reported. The objective of this research was to study the pathway involved during biotransformation of citral by Penicillium sp. using two methods. The culture preparation was done using different microbial methods and incubation periods to obtain Penicillium for citral biotransformation. The biotransformation products were identified by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS). A comparison of the two methods showed that SSCM was more effective, its major products were thymol (21.5 %), geranial (18.6 %) and nerol (13.7 %). LM produced only one compound — thymol — with a low efficiency.

  9. Benzoate-driven dehalogenation of chlorinated ethenes in microbial cultures from a contaminated aquifer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bunge, M.; Kleikemper, J.; Miniaci, C.; Duc, L.; Muusse, M.G.; Zeyer, J. [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich (Switzerland). Inst. of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, Soil Biology; Hause, G. [Halle-Wittenberg Univ., Halle (Germany). Biocenter

    2007-10-15

    Microbial dehalogenation of tetrachloroethene (PCE) and cis-dichloroethene (cis-DCE) was studied in cultures from a continuous stirred tank reactor initially inoculated with aquifer material from a PCE-contaminated site. Cultures amended with hydrogen and acetate readily dechlorinated PCE and cis-DCE; however, this transformation was incomplete and resulted in the accumulation of chlorinated intermediates and only small amounts of ethene within 60 days of incubation. Conversely, microbial PCE and cis-DCE dechlorination in cultures with benzoate and acetate resulted in the complete transformation to ethene within 30 days. Community fingerprinting by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) revealed the predominance of phylotypes closely affiliated with Desulfitobacterium, Dehalococcoides, and Syntrophus species. The Dehalococcoides culture VZ, obtained from small whitish colonies in cis-DCE dechlorinating agarose cultures, revealed an irregular cell diameter between 200 and 500 nm, and a spherical or biconcave disk-shaped morphology. These organisms were identified as responsible for the dechlorination of cis-DCE to ethene in the PCE-dechlorinating consortia, operating together with the Desulfitobacterium as PCE-to-cis-DCE dehalogenating bacterium and with a Syntrophus species as potential hydrogen-producing partner in cultures with benzoate. (orig.)

  10. Functional implications of the microbial community structure of undefined mesophilic starter cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smid, Eddy J; Erkus, Oylum; Spus, Maciej; Wolkers-Rooijackers, Judith C M; Alexeeva, Svetlana; Kleerebezem, Michiel

    2014-08-29

    This review describes the recent advances made in the studies of the microbial community of complex and undefined cheese starter cultures. We report on work related to the composition of the cultures at the level of genetic lineages, on the presence and activity of bacteriophages and on the population dynamics during cheese making and during starter culture propagation. Furthermore, the link between starter composition and starter functionality will be discussed. Finally, recent advances in predictive metabolic modelling of the multi-strain cultures will be discussed in the context of microbe-microbe interactions.

  11. Dispersed oil disrupts microbial pathways in pelagic food webs.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alice C Ortmann

    Full Text Available Most of the studies of microbial processes in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill focused on the deep water plume, and not on the surface communities. The effects of the crude oil and the application of dispersants on the coastal microbial food web in the northern Gulf of Mexico have not been well characterized even though these regions support much of the fisheries production in the Gulf. A mesocosm experiment was carried out to determine how the microbial community off the coast of Alabama may have responded to the influx of surface oil and dispersants. While the addition of glucose or oil alone resulted in an increase in the biomass of ciliates, suggesting transfer of carbon to higher trophic levels was likely; a different effect was seen in the presence of dispersant. The addition of dispersant or dispersed oil resulted in an increase in the biomass of heterotrophic prokaryotes, but a significant inhibition of ciliates, suggesting a reduction in grazing and decrease in transfer of carbon to higher trophic levels. Similar patterns were observed in two separate experiments with different starting nutrient regimes and microbial communities suggesting that the addition of dispersant and dispersed oil to the northern Gulf of Mexico waters in 2010 may have reduced the flow of carbon to higher trophic levels, leading to a decrease in the production of zooplankton and fish on the Alabama shelf.

  12. Methylmercury enters an aquatic food web through acidophilic microbial mats in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyd, Eric S; King, Susan; Tomberlin, Jeffery K; Nordstrom, D Kirk; Krabbenhoft, David P; Barkay, Tamar; Geesey, Gill G

    2009-04-01

    Microbial mats are a visible and abundant life form inhabiting the extreme environments in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), WY, USA. Little is known of their role in food webs that exist in the Park's geothermal habitats. Eukaryotic green algae associated with a phototrophic green/purple Zygogonium microbial mat community that inhabits low-temperature regions of acidic (pH approximately 3.0) thermal springs were found to serve as a food source for stratiomyid (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) larvae. Mercury in spring source water was taken up and concentrated by the mat biomass. Monomethylmercury compounds (MeHg(+)), while undetectable or near the detection limit (0.025 ng l(-1)) in the source water of the springs, was present at concentrations of 4-7 ng g(-1) dry weight of mat biomass. Detection of MeHg(+) in tracheal tissue of larvae grazing the mat suggests that MeHg(+) enters this geothermal food web through the phototrophic microbial mat community. The concentration of MeHg(+) was two to five times higher in larval tissue than mat biomass indicating MeHg(+) biomagnification occurred between primary producer and primary consumer trophic levels. The Zygogonium mat community and stratiomyid larvae may also play a role in the transfer of MeHg(+) to species in the food web whose range extends beyond a particular geothermal feature of YNP.

  13. Food fermentations: Microorganisms with technological beneficial use

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bourdichon, François; Casaregola, Serge; Farrokh, Choreh

    2012-01-01

    Microbial food cultures have directly or indirectly come under various regulatory frameworks in the course of the last decades. Several of those regulatory frameworks put emphasis on “the history of use”, “traditional food”, or “general recognition of safety”. Authoritative lists of microorganism......, legumes, cereals, beverages, and vinegar). We have also reviewed and updated the taxonomy of the microorganisms used in food fermentations in order to bring the taxonomy in agreement with the current standing in nomenclature....... cultures in practical use. However, as the focus mainly was on commercially available dairy cultures, there was an unmet need for a list with a wider scope. We present an updated inventory of microorganisms used in food fermentations covering a wide range of food matrices (dairy, meat, fish, vegetables...

  14. Contrasting response to nutrient manipulation in Arctic mesocosms are reproduced by a minimum microbial food web model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larsen, Aud; Egge, Jorun K; Nejstgaard, Jens C; Di Capua, Iole; Thyrhaug, Runar; Bratbak, Gunnar; Thingstad, T Frede

    2015-03-01

    A minimum mathematical model of the marine pelagic microbial food web has previously shown to be able to reproduce central aspects of observed system response to different bottom-up manipulations in a mesocosm experiment Microbial Ecosystem Dynamics (MEDEA) in Danish waters. In this study, we apply this model to two mesocosm experiments (Polar Aquatic Microbial Ecology (PAME)-I and PAME-II) conducted at the Arctic location Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. The different responses of the microbial community to similar nutrient manipulation in the three mesocosm experiments may be described as diatom-dominated (MEDEA), bacteria-dominated (PAME-I), and flagellated-dominated (PAME-II). When allowing ciliates to be able to feed on small diatoms, the model describing the diatom-dominated MEDEA experiment give a bacteria-dominated response as observed in PAME I in which the diatom community comprised almost exclusively small-sized cells. Introducing a high initial mesozooplankton stock as observed in PAME-II, the model gives a flagellate-dominated response in accordance with the observed response also of this experiment. The ability of the model originally developed for temperate waters to reproduce population dynamics in a 10°C colder Arctic fjord, does not support the existence of important shifts in population balances over this temperature range. Rather, it suggests a quite resilient microbial food web when adapted to in situ temperature. The sensitivity of the model response to its mesozooplankton component suggests, however, that the seasonal vertical migration of Arctic copepods may be a strong forcing factor on Arctic microbial food webs.

  15. FoodMicrobionet: A database for the visualisation and exploration of food bacterial communities based on network analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parente, Eugenio; Cocolin, Luca; De Filippis, Francesca; Zotta, Teresa; Ferrocino, Ilario; O'Sullivan, Orla; Neviani, Erasmo; De Angelis, Maria; Cotter, Paul D; Ercolini, Danilo

    2016-02-16

    Amplicon targeted high-throughput sequencing has become a popular tool for the culture-independent analysis of microbial communities. Although the data obtained with this approach are portable and the number of sequences available in public databases is increasing, no tool has been developed yet for the analysis and presentation of data obtained in different studies. This work describes an approach for the development of a database for the rapid exploration and analysis of data on food microbial communities. Data from seventeen studies investigating the structure of bacterial communities in dairy, meat, sourdough and fermented vegetable products, obtained by 16S rRNA gene targeted high-throughput sequencing, were collated and analysed using Gephi, a network analysis software. The resulting database, which we named FoodMicrobionet, was used to analyse nodes and network properties and to build an interactive web-based visualisation. The latter allows the visual exploration of the relationships between Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) and samples and the identification of core- and sample-specific bacterial communities. It also provides additional search tools and hyperlinks for the rapid selection of food groups and OTUs and for rapid access to external resources (NCBI taxonomy, digital versions of the original articles). Microbial interaction network analysis was carried out using CoNet on datasets extracted from FoodMicrobionet: the complexity of interaction networks was much lower than that found for other bacterial communities (human microbiome, soil and other environments). This may reflect both a bias in the dataset (which was dominated by fermented foods and starter cultures) and the lower complexity of food bacterial communities. Although some technical challenges exist, and are discussed here, the net result is a valuable tool for the exploration of food bacterial communities by the scientific community and food industry. Copyright © 2015. Published by

  16. European food cultures in a macro and micro perspective: Implications for the marketing of Asian food products

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Askegaard, Søren; Ludvigsen, Hanne H.

    This article origines as part of a Danish national food research program: Market-based Process and Product Innovation in the Food Sector (MAPP), presenting some of the results of a project concerning the cultural dimension of food consumption. Two questions of importance to Asian (with special...... attention to South East Asian) food producers and marketers are explored. First: To which extent can Asian food manufacturers consider Europe one single market? And second: Do change processes in the European food cultures faclitate adoption of more Asian food products in the coming years? Of course...... homogenoues export markets but ingeneral confirms the heterogeneity of the European fo cultures. Since these data did not contain specific information about our second question, the inclusion of Asian food products in European diets, we have investigated certain food consumption trends from a micro...

  17. Culture as Advertisement: A Synoptic Survey of Fast Food and Family Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burd, Gene

    Exploring the idea that urban culture has changed food sharing practices and, in effect, produced a cultural "advertisement" in the marketing and selling of the fast food franchise, this paper discusses the commercial replication of community and the communion of food sharing in this new fast food culture. Following an introduction that…

  18. Microbial community dynamics in thermophilic undefined milk starter cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parente, Eugenio; Guidone, Angela; Matera, Attilio; De Filippis, Francesca; Mauriello, Gianluigi; Ricciardi, Annamaria

    2016-01-18

    Model undefined thermophilic starter cultures were produced from raw milk of nine pasta-filata cheesemaking plants using a selective procedure based on pasteurization and incubation at high temperature with the objective of studying the microbial community dynamics and the variability in performances under repeated (7-13) reproduction cycles with backslopping. The traditional culture-dependent approach, based on random isolation and molecular characterization of isolates was coupled to the determination of pH and the evaluation of the ability to produce acid and fermentation metabolites. Moreover, a culture-independent approach based on amplicon-targeted next-generation sequencing was employed. The microbial diversity was evaluated by 16S rRNA gene sequencing (V1-V3 regions), while the microdiversity of Streptococcus thermophilus populations was explored by using novel approach based on sequencing of partial amplicons of the phosphoserine phosphatase gene (serB). In addition, the occurrence of bacteriophages was evaluated by qPCR and by multiplex PCR. Although it was relatively easy to select for a community dominated by thermophilic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) within a single reproduction cycle, final pH, LAB populations and acid production activity fluctuated over reproduction cycles. Both culture-dependent and -independent methods showed that the cultures were dominated by either S. thermophilus or Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis or by both species. Nevertheless, subdominant mesophilic species, including lactococci and spoilage organisms, persisted at low levels. A limited number of serB sequence types (ST) were present in S. thermophilus populations. L. delbrueckii and Lactococcus lactis bacteriophages were below the detection limit of the method used and high titres of cos type S. thermophilus bacteriophages were detected in only two cases. In one case a high titre of bacteriophages was concurrent with a S. thermophilus biotype shift in the culture

  19. The role of food culture and marketing activity in health disparities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Jerome D; Crockett, David; Harrison, Robert L; Thomas, Kevin D

    2012-11-01

    Marketing activities have attracted increased attention from scholars interested in racial disparities in obesity prevalence, as well as the prevalence of other preventable conditions. Although reducing the marketing of nutritionally poor foods to racial/ethnic communities would represent a significant step forward in eliminating racial disparities in health, we focus instead on a critical-related question. What is the relationship between marketing activities, food culture, and health disparities? This commentary posits that food culture shapes the demand for food and the meaning attached to particular foods, preparation styles, and eating practices, while marketing activities shape the overall environment in which food choices are made. We build on prior research that explores the socio-cultural context in which marketing efforts are perceived and interpreted. We discuss each element of the marketing mix to highlight the complex relationship between food culture, marketing activities, and health disparities. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Fast Food As An Actual Form Of Modern Gastronomic Culture

    OpenAIRE

    Irina V. Sokhan

    2014-01-01

    This article analyzes the actual gastronomic practice of fast food. Traditional gastronomic culture is undergoing transformations in the modern world. New gastronomic scares are developing that are related to an inability to predict ingredients in consumed foods. Fast food is neutral on the basis of ethnic gastronomic cultures and is becoming a prevailing eating style. As opposed to fast food, alternative gastronomic practices are becoming more essential. They bear a relation to the establish...

  1. Survey of physicochemical characteristics and microbial contamination in selected food locally vended in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nonga, Hezron Emmanuel; Ngowi, Helena Aminiel; Mdegela, Robinson Hammerthon; Mutakyawa, Eliud; Nyahinga, Gabriel Busungu; William, Robert; Mwadini, Mtumwa Mohd

    2015-11-26

    Raw milk, raw fruit juice and raw fish are enriched with essential nutrients for human diet but are prone to microbial contamination along the value chain. This cross sectional study was conducted to assess physicochemical characteristics and microbial quality of raw milk, fruit juice and fish from food vendors in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania. The physicochemical assessment of food samples was done by smell, colour, presence of debris, turbidity, consistence, pH and clot on alcohol test. Hygiene of food containers, personnel and the vending environment was also assessed. Qualitative and quantitative microbial assessment of food was done using standard laboratory protocols as described by Tanzania Bureau of Standards and International Systems of Standards. Raw milk sold in Morogoro was of poor quality since was adulterated with water, contained sediments and clotted on alcohol test. Up to 63 % of the milk samples were contaminated with Escherichia coli and 60 % had higher total viable count (TVC) than the recommended values. Raw fruit juice was stored in dirty containers and sold under unhygienic environment. Seventy-three percent of juice samples had TVC beyond the recommendations while E. coli contamination rate was 63.3 %. The raw fish samples had started spoiling as depicted through sensory evaluation. E. coli contamination rate was 55 % and that of Campylobacter jejuni was 0.5 %. The mean TVC of raw fish was 8.1 (Log cfu/g) and 96.2 % of the fish samples had TVC beyond the recommended limits of 5.0 Log cfu/g. The physicochemical characteristics of food vended in Morogoro Municipality were of poor quality. The food had high bacterial contaminations. This situation poses health risks to the public and losses to food vendors due to spoilage. Stakeholders in food value chain should be educated on safe production and good hygienic practices. Routine quality and safety assessment of locally vended food, inspection of selling premises and regular health check-up of

  2. Ways of life analysis and food culture

    OpenAIRE

    Land, Birgit

    1994-01-01

    Executive Summary 1. People's food patterns are among other things influenced by their social environments. Analysing the relationship between the social environment and food culture is an important lead in trying to derive consumer objectives directed towards the food sector. 2. The way of life typology proposed by Højrup may be a useful device for analysing how the social environment impacts food patterns. Højrup proposes three ways of life: the independent way of life, the wage-earner way ...

  3. Formation of industrial mixed culture biofilm in chlorophenol cultivated medium of microbial fuel cell

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassan, Huzairy; Jin, Bo; Dai, Sheng; Ngau, Cornelius

    2016-11-01

    The formation of microbial biofilm while maintaining the electricity output is a challenging topic in microbial fuel cell (MFC) studies. This MFC critical factor becomes more significant when handling with industrial wastewater which normally contains refractory and toxic compounds. This study explores the formation of industrial mixed culture biofilm in chlorophenol cultivated medium through observing and characterizing microscopically its establishment on MFC anode surface. The mixed culture was found to develop its biofilm on the anode surface in the chlorophenol environment and established its maturity and dispersal stages with concurrent electricity generation and phenolic degradation. The mixed culture biofilm engaged the electron transfer roles in MFC by generating current density of 1.4 mA/m2 and removing 53 % of 2,4-dichlorophenol. The results support further research especially on hazardous wastewater treatment using a benign and sustainable method.

  4. Experimental Investigation Of Microbially Induced Corrosion Of Test Samples And Effect Of Self-assembled Hydrophobic Monolayers. Exposure Of Test Samples To Continuous Microbial Cultures, Chemical Analysis, And Biochemical Studies

    CERN Document Server

    Laurinavichius, K S

    1998-01-01

    Experimental Investigation Of Microbially Induced Corrosion Of Test Samples And Effect Of Self-assembled Hydrophobic Monolayers. Exposure Of Test Samples To Continuous Microbial Cultures, Chemical Analysis, And Biochemical Studies

  5. Food's cultural geographies: texture, creativity, and publics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cook, I.; Jackson, P.; Hayes-Conroy, A.; Abrahamsson, S.; Sandover, R.; Sheller, M.; Henderson, H.; Hallett, L.; Imai, S.; Maye, D.; Hill, A.; Johnson, N.; Schein, R.; Winders, J.

    2013-01-01

    This chapter is about emerging cultural geographies of food. It is the result of a collaborative blog-to-paper process that led to an experimental, fragmented, dialogic text. Food is often researched precisely because it can help to vividly animate tensions between the small and intimate realms of

  6. Autochthonous and allochthonous contributions of organic carbon to microbial food webs in Svalbard fjords

    OpenAIRE

    Holding, J.M.; Duarte, C.M.; Delgado-Huertas, A.; Soetaert, K.; Vonk, J.E.; Agusti, S.; Wassmann, P.; Middelburg, J.

    2017-01-01

    Rising temperatures in the Arctic Ocean are causing sea ice and glaciers to melt at record breaking rates, which has consequences for carbon cycling in the Arctic Ocean that are yet to be fully understood. Microbial carbon cycling is driven by internal processing of in situ produced organic carbon (OC), however recent research suggests that melt water from sea ice and glaciers could introduce an allochthonous source of OC to the microbial food web with ramifications for the metabolic balance ...

  7. Abundance and biomass responses of microbial food web components to hydrology and environmental gradients within a floodplain of the River Danube.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palijan, Goran

    2012-07-01

    This study investigated the relationships of time-dependent hydrological variability and selected microbial food web components. Samples were collected monthly from the Kopački Rit floodplain in Croatia, over a period of 19 months, for analysis of bacterioplankton abundance, cell size and biomass; abundance of heterotrophic nanoflagellates and nanophytoplankton; and concentration of chlorophyll a. Similar hydrological variability at different times of the year enabled partition of seasonal effects from hydrological changes on microbial community properties. The results suggested that, unlike some other studies investigating sites with different connectivity, bacterioplankton abundance, and phytoplankton abundance and biomass increased during lentic conditions. At increasing water level, nanophytoplankton showed lower sensitivity to disturbance in comparison with total phytoplankton biomass: this could prolong autotrophic conditions within the floodplain. Bacterioplankton biomass, unlike phytoplankton, was not impacted by hydrology. The bacterial biomass less affected by hydrological changes can be an important additional food component for the floodplain food web. The results also suggested a mechanism controlling bacterial cell size independent of hydrology, as bacterial cell size was significantly decreased as nanoflagellate abundance increased. Hydrology, regardless of seasonal sucession, has the potential to structure microbial food webs, supporting microbial development during lentic conditions. Conversely, other components appear unaffected by hydrology or may be more strongly controlled by biotic interactions. This research, therefore, adds to understanding on microbial food web interactions in the context of flood and flow pulses in river-floodplain ecosystems.

  8. Culture-Dependent and -Independent Methods Capture Different Microbial Community Fractions in Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Soils

    OpenAIRE

    Stefani, Franck O. P.; Bell, Terrence H.; Marchand, Charlotte; de la Providencia, Ivan E.; El Yassimi, Abdel; St-Arnaud, Marc; Hijri, Mohamed

    2015-01-01

    Bioremediation is a cost-effective and sustainable approach for treating polluted soils, but our ability to improve on current bioremediation strategies depends on our ability to isolate microorganisms from these soils. Although culturing is widely used in bioremediation research and applications, it is unknown whether the composition of cultured isolates closely mirrors the indigenous microbial community from contaminated soils. To assess this, we paired culture-independent (454-pyrosequenci...

  9. Culture, Environment, and Food to Prevent Vitamin A Deficiency ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Culture, Environment, and Food to Prevent Vitamin A Deficiency. Book cover Culture, Environment, and Food to Prevent Vitamin A Deficiency. Auteur(s) : H.V. Kuhnlein and G.H. Pelto. Maison(s) d'édition : INFDC, IDRC. 1 janvier 1997. ISBN : Out of print. 220 pages. e-ISBN : 1552504409. Téléchargez le PDF · Téléchargez ...

  10. Aesthetics of Korean foods: The symbol of Korean culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hae-Kyung Chung

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Advances in transportation and communication have broken down critical barriers within the global economy, pushing us towards a more unified world. In keeping with this trend, processes of communication, transportation, and production are becoming increasingly standardized, mechanized, and automated. Yet as this global era of uniformity progresses, people and individuals will inevitably encounter identity confusion. Numerous individuals, ethnicities, nationalities, and countries around the world are working to counteract such identity confusion. As globalization progresses, groups and nationalities that fail to preserve their identities will dwindle and become absorbed by stronger entities. Therefore, many societies are investing great efforts into rediscovering and revamping their indigenous traditions, cultures, and customs. When travelers visit another country, one of the simplest avenues for them to experience the local culture is food. Unlike other cultural elements, many of which have become diluted because of globalization, native cuisines are still perceived as retaining the traditions, uniqueness, and diversity of individual cultures. It is more important than ever for people and countries to expand and preserve their respective cultural currencies. In this respect, taking a cultural approach to Korean cuisine is a fascinating and meaningful endeavor. In light of the recent publication of a few articles dealing with the symbolic significance and meaning behind Korean cuisine, an effort to compile a list of the distinctive cultural properties of Korean food seems vital. Furthermore, presenting the aesthetics of Korean food through a method that integrates science and culture is a very significant task. The authors of this paper firmly believe in its potential to advance the globalization of Korean food.

  11. Metabolic Profiling of Food Protective Cultures by in vitro NMR Spectroscopy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ebrahimi, Parvaneh

    Food spoilage is of major concern to the food industry, because it leads to considerable economic losses, a deteriorated environmental food-print, and to possible public health hazards. In order to limit food spoilage, research on the preservation of food products has always received particular......-called protective cultures) has unexploited potential to inhibit the growth of pathogenic microorganisms and enhance the shelf life of the final food product. In order to apply biopreservation in food products effectively, detailed knowledge on the metabolism of protective cultures is required. The present Ph......D project is mainly focused on the application of in vitro NMR spectroscopy for studying the metabolism of protective cultures. As an important part of this work, an analytical protocol was developed for realtime in vitro NMR measurements of bacterial fermentation, which includes guidelines from the sample...

  12. Development of biocontrol agents from food microbial isolates for controlling post-harvest peach brown rot caused by Monilinia fructicola.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Ting; Schneider, Karin E; Li, Xiu-Zhen

    2008-08-15

    An unconventional strategy of screening food microbes for biocontrol activity was used to develop biocontrol agents for controlling post-harvest peach brown rot caused by Monilinia fructicola. Forty-four microbial isolates were first screened for their biocontrol activity on apple fruit. Compared with the pathogen-only check, seven of the 44 isolates reduced brown rot incidence by >50%, including four bacteria: Bacillus sp. C06, Lactobacillus sp. C03-b and Bacillus sp. T03-c, Lactobacillus sp. P02 and three yeasts: Saccharomyces delbrueckii A50, S. cerevisiae YE-5 and S. cerevisiae A41. Eight microbial isolates were selected for testing on peaches by wound co-inoculation with mixtures of individual microbial cultures and conidial suspension of M. fructicola. Only two of them showed significant biocontrol activity after five days of incubation at 22 degrees C. Bacillus sp. C06 suppressed brown rot incidence by 92% and reduced lesion diameter by 88% compared to the pathogen-only check. Bacillus sp.T03-c reduced incidence and lesion diameter by 40% and 62%, respectively. The two isolates were compared with Pseudomonas syringae MA-4, a biocontrol agent for post-harvest peach diseases, by immersing peaches in an aliquot containing individual microbial isolates and the pathogen conidia. Treatments with isolates MA-4, C06 and T03-c significantly controlled brown rot by 91, 100, and 100% respectively. However, only isolates MA-4 and C06 significantly reduced brown rot by 80% and 15%, respectively when bacterial cells alone were applied. On naturally infected peaches, both the bacterial culture and its cell-free filtrate of the isolate C06 significantly controlled peach decay resulting in 77 and 90% reduction, respectively, whereas the treatment using only the bacterial cells generally had no effect. Isolate C06 is a single colony isolate obtained from a mesophilic cheese starter, and has been identified belonging to Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. The results have clearly

  13. Bourdieu's Cultural Capital in Relation to Food Choices: A Systematic Review of Cultural Capital Indicators and an Empirical Proof of Concept.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlijn B M Kamphuis

    Full Text Available Unhealthy food choices follow a socioeconomic gradient that may partly be explained by one's 'cultural capital', as defined by Bourdieu. We aim 1 to carry out a systematic review to identify existing quantitative measures of cultural capital, 2 to develop a questionnaire to measure cultural capital for food choices, and 3 to empirically test associations of socioeconomic position with cultural capital and food choices, and of cultural capital with food choices.We systematically searched large databases for the key-word 'cultural capital' in title or abstract. Indicators of objectivised cultural capital and family institutionalised cultural capital, as identified by the review, were translated to food choice relevant indicators. For incorporated cultural capital, we used existing questionnaires that measured the concepts underlying the variety of indicators as identified by the review, i.e. participation, skills, knowledge, values. The questionnaire was empirically tested in a postal survey completed by 2,953 adults participating in the GLOBE cohort study, The Netherlands, in 2011.The review yielded 113 studies that fulfilled our inclusion criteria. Several indicators of family institutionalised (e.g. parents' education completed and objectivised cultural capital (e.g. possession of books, art were consistently used. Incorporated cultural capital was measured with a large variety of indicators (e.g. cultural participation, skills. Based on this, we developed a questionnaire to measure cultural capital in relation to food choices. An empirical test of the questionnaire showed acceptable overall internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha of .654; 56 items, and positive associations between socioeconomic position and cultural capital, and between cultural capital and healthy food choices.Cultural capital may be a promising determinant for (socioeconomic inequalities in food choices.

  14. Translation of the Chinese Menu from the Perspective of Food Culture

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    汪平心

    2015-01-01

    Chinese food culture is similar to a pearl shinning in this era of globalization.Due to a higher frequency of cross-cultural communication than ever before,people from western countries show increasing interests in Chinese cuisine.Therefore,a standardized translation of the Chinese menu plays a more indispensible role in grasping the precise understanding of Chinese food names for foreign diners.From a cultural perspective,this paper primarily discusses various differences between Chinese and Western food cultures,and provides major translation principles and tips of the Chinese menu so as to arrive at a standardized translation as clearly and accessibly as possible.

  15. Translation of the Chinese Menu from the Perspective of Food Culture

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    汪平心

    2015-01-01

    Chinese food culture is similar to a pearl shinning in this era of globalization. Due to a higher frequency of cross-cultural communication than ever before, people from western countries show increasing interests in Chinese cuisine. Therefore, a standardized translation of the Chinese menu plays a more indispensible role in grasping the precise understanding of Chinese food names for foreign diners. From a cultural perspective, this paper primarily discusses various differences between Chinese and Western food cultures, and provides major translation principles and tips of the Chinese menu so as to arrive at a standardized translation as clearly and accessibly as possible.

  16. The impact of anticyclonic mesoscale structures on microbial food webs in the Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christaki, U.; van Wambeke, F.; Lefevre, D.; Lagaria, A.; Prieur, L.; Pujo-Pay, M.; Grattepanche, J.-D.; Colombet, J.; Psarra, S.; Dolan, J. R.; Sime-Ngando, T.; Conan, P.; Weinbauer, M. G.; Moutin, T.

    2011-01-01

    The abundance and activity of the major members of the heterotrophic microbial community - from viruses to ciliates - were studied along a longitudinal transect across the Mediterranean Sea in the summer of 2008. The Mediterranean Sea is characterized by a west to the east gradient of deepening of DCM (deep chlorophyll maximum) and increasing oligotrophy reflected in gradients of heterotrophic microbial biomass and production. However, within this longitudinal trend, hydrological mesoscale features exist and likely influence microbial dynamics. We show here the importance of mesoscale structures by a description of the structure and function of the microbial food web through an investigation of 3 geographically distant eddies within a longitudinal transect. Three selected sites each located in the center of an anticyclonic eddy were intensively investigated: in the Algero-Provencal Basin (St. A), the Ionian Basin (St. B), and the Levantine Basin (St. C). The 3 geographically distant eddies showed the lowest values of the different heterotrophic compartments of the microbial food web, and except for viruses in site C, all stocks were higher in the neighboring stations outside the eddies. During our study the 3 eddies showed equilibrium between GCP (Gross Community Production) and DCR (Dark Community Respiration); moreover, the west-east (W-E) gradient was evident in terms of heterotrophic biomass but not in terms of production. Means of integrated PPp values were higher at site B (~190 mg C m-2 d-1) and about 15% lower at sites A and C (~160 mg C m-2 d-1). Net community production fluxes were similar at all three stations exhibiting equilibrium between gross community production and dark community respiration.

  17. Biodeterioration of epoxy resin: a microbial survey through culture-independent and culture-dependent approaches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pangallo, Domenico; Bučková, Maria; Kraková, Lucia; Puškárová, Andrea; Šaková, Nikoleta; Grivalský, Tomaš; Chovanová, Katarina; Zemánková, Milina

    2015-02-01

    During the 20th century, synthetic polymers were greatly used in the field of art. In particular, the epoxy resins were used for both conservation and for creating sculptures. The biodeterioration of these polymers has not been adequately studied. The aim of this investigation was to examine the microflora responsible for the deterioration of an epoxy statue exposed to outdoor conditions. Fungal and bacterial microflora were isolated from the art object, clustered by fluorescence-ITS (internal transcribed spacer), identified by ITS and 16S rRNA sequencing and tested for their lipolytic abilities by three agar assays. Different algal, bacterial, cyanobacterial and fungal clone libraries were constructed. The surrounding airborne microflora was analyzed using culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches. The results indicated the presence, on the statue surface, of an interesting and differentiate microbial community composed of rock-inhabiting members, algal photobionts (Trebouxia spp., Chloroidium ellipsoideum and Chlorella angustoellipsoidea), Cyanobacteria (Leptolyngbya sp., Phormidium sp., Cylindrospermum stagnale, Hassallia byssoidea and Geitlerinema sp.), black yeasts related to the species Friedmanniomyces endolithicus, Pseudotaeniolina globosa, Phaeococcomyces catenatus and Catenulostroma germanicum and several plant-associated fungi. This investigation provides new information on the potential microfloral inhabitants of epoxy resin discovering a new ecological niche, occupied mainly by several members of rock-colonizing microbial species. © 2014 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. On Chinese Collectivism and American Individualism in Food Culture

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    YANG Qing-chao

    2016-01-01

    The thesis analysis Chinese collectivism and American individualism mainly from food culture. The thesis has four parts. The first part expounds the two different values' concept.The second part analysis the two different values in detail from the way of cooking, diet style, dietary ideas and different types of payment through comparison. Chinese pay attention to season-ing,while America natural taste in the way of preparing;Chinese diet style is group dining system , while American diet style is individual dining system ; Chinese dietary idea is emotional, while American dietary idea is rational; Chinese like my treat, American like go Dutch. The third part expounds the reasons of different values reflected in the two food culture. And it analysis the main reason from four part above mentioned in detail. The fourth part expounds that the paper aims at letting us learn about two countries’deep-structure culture hidden in food culture. And then we can keep the communication open.

  19. Microbial dynamics in anaerobic enrichment cultures degrading di-n-butyl phthalic acid ester

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Trably, Eric; Batstone, Damien J.; Christensen, Nina

    2008-01-01

    losses were observed in the sterile controls (20-22%), substantial DBP biodegradation was found in the enrichment cultures (90-99%). In addition, significant population changes were observed. The dominant bacterial species in the DBP-degrading cultures was affiliated to Soehngenia saccharolytica...... in enrichment cultures degrading phthalic acid esters under methanogenic conditions. A selection pressure was applied by adding DBP at 10 and 200 mg L(-1) in semi-continuous anaerobic reactors. The microbial dynamics were monitored using single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP). While only limited abiotic...

  20. Studying Microbial Mat Functioning Amidst "Unexpected Diversity": Methodological Approaches and Initial Results from Metatranscriptomes of Mats Over Diel cycles, iTags from Long Term Manipulations, and Biogeochemical Cycling in Simplified Microbial Mats Constructed from Cultures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bebout, B.; Bebout, L. E.; Detweiler, A. M.; Everroad, R. C.; Lee, J.; Pett-Ridge, J.; Weber, P. K.

    2014-12-01

    Microbial mats are famously amongst the most diverse microbial ecosystems on Earth, inhabiting some of the most inclement environments known, including hypersaline, dry, hot, cold, nutrient poor, and high UV environments. The high microbial diversity of microbial mats makes studies of microbial ecology notably difficult. To address this challenge, we have been using a combination of metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, iTags and culture-based simplified microbial mats to study biogeochemical cycling (H2 production, N2 fixation, and fermentation) in microbial mats collected from Elkhorn Slough, Monterey Bay, California. Metatranscriptomes of microbial mats incubated over a diel cycle have revealed that a number of gene systems activate only during the day in Cyanobacteria, while the remaining appear to be constitutive. The dominant cyanobacterium in the mat (Microcoleus chthonoplastes) expresses several pathways for nitrogen scavenging undocumented in cultured strains, as well as the expression of two starch storage and utilization cycles. Community composition shifts in response to long term manipulations of mats were assessed using iTags. Changes in community diversity were observed as hydrogen fluxes increased in response to a lowering of sulfate concentrations. To produce simplified microbial mats, we have isolated members of 13 of the 15 top taxa from our iTag libraries into culture. Simplified microbial mats and simple co-cultures and consortia constructed from these isolates reproduce many of the natural patterns of biogeochemical cycling in the parent natural microbial mats, but against a background of far lower overall diversity, simplifying studies of changes in gene expression (over the short term), interactions between community members, and community composition changes (over the longer term), in response to environmental forcing.

  1. Electric energy production from food waste: Microbial fuel cells versus anaerobic digestion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xin, Xiaodong; Ma, Yingqun; Liu, Yu

    2018-05-01

    A food waste resourceful process was developed by integrating the ultra-fast hydrolysis and microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for energy and resource recovery. Food waste was first ultra-fast hydrolyzed by fungal mash rich in hydrolytic enzymes in-situ produced from food waste. After which, the separated solids were readily converted to biofertilizer, while the liquid was fed to MFCs for direct electricity generation with a conversion efficiency of 0.245 kWh/kg food waste. It was estimated that about 192.5 million kWh of electricity could be produced from the food waste annually generated in Singapore, together with 74,390 tonnes of dry biofertilizer. Compared to anaerobic digestion, the proposed approach was more environmentally friendly and economically viable in terms of both electricity conversion and process cost. It is expected that this study may lead to the paradigm shift in food waste management towards ultra-fast concurrent recovery of resource and electricity with zero-solid discharge. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Differences between Chinese and American Language Cultures from the Aspect of Food Culture

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    唐桂真

    2012-01-01

    IntroductionFood culture is the sum of human dietary behavior,conception,technology and its products.It shows human natural choiceand dietary way of life that is suited to special geographical environment and humane environment through common practice.Cultural differences between

  3. Ways of life analysis and food culture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Land, Birgit

    Executive Summary 1. People's food patterns are among other things influenced by their social environments. Analysing the relationship between the social environment and food culture is an important lead in trying to derive consumer objectives directed towards the food sector. 2. The way of life...... typology proposed by Højrup may be a useful device for analysing how the social environment impacts food patterns. Højrup proposes three ways of life: the independent way of life, the wage-earner way of life, and the career-bound way of life. He relates these types to empirical observation by qualitative...

  4. Bioremediation of oil-contaminated soil using Candida catenulata and food waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joo, Hung-Soo; Ndegwa, Pius M.; Shoda, Makoto; Phae, Chae-Gun

    2008-01-01

    Even though petroleum-degrading microorganisms are widely distributed in soil and water, they may not be present in sufficient numbers to achieve contaminant remediation. In such cases, it may be useful to inoculate the polluted area with highly effective petroleum-degrading microbial strains to augment the exiting ones. In order to identify a microbial strain for bioaugmentation of oil-contaminated soil, we isolated a microbial strain with high emulsification and petroleum hydrocarbon degradation efficiency of diesel fuel in culture. The efficacy of the isolated microbial strain, identified as Candida catenulata CM1, was further evaluated during composting of a mixture containing 23% food waste and 77% diesel-contaminated soil including 2% (w/w) diesel. After 13 days of composting, 84% of the initial petroleum hydrocarbon was degraded in composting mixes containing a powdered form of CM1 (CM1-solid), compared with 48% of removal ratio in control reactor without inoculum. This finding suggests that CM1 is a viable microbial strain for bioremediation of oil-contaminated soil with food waste through composting processes. - Enhancement on degradation ability of petroleum hydrocarbon by the microbial strain in the composting process with food waste

  5. Microbial ecology of the hive and pollination landscape: bacterial associates from floral nectar, the alimentary tract and stored food of honey bees (Apis mellifera).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Kirk E; Sheehan, Timothy H; Mott, Brendon M; Maes, Patrick; Snyder, Lucy; Schwan, Melissa R; Walton, Alexander; Jones, Beryl M; Corby-Harris, Vanessa

    2013-01-01

    Nearly all eukaryotes are host to beneficial or benign bacteria in their gut lumen, either vertically inherited, or acquired from the environment. While bacteria core to the honey bee gut are becoming evident, the influence of the hive and pollination environment on honey bee microbial health is largely unexplored. Here we compare bacteria from floral nectar in the immediate pollination environment, different segments of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) alimentary tract, and food stored in the hive (honey and packed pollen or "beebread"). We used cultivation and sequencing to explore bacterial communities in all sample types, coupled with culture-independent analysis of beebread. We compare our results from the alimentary tract with both culture-dependent and culture-independent analyses from previous studies. Culturing the foregut (crop), midgut and hindgut with standard media produced many identical or highly similar 16S rDNA sequences found with 16S rDNA clone libraries and next generation sequencing of 16S rDNA amplicons. Despite extensive culturing with identical media, our results do not support the core crop bacterial community hypothesized by recent studies. We cultured a wide variety of bacterial strains from 6 of 7 phylogenetic groups considered core to the honey bee hindgut. Our results reveal that many bacteria prevalent in beebread and the crop are also found in floral nectar, suggesting frequent horizontal transmission. From beebread we uncovered a variety of bacterial phylotypes, including many possible pathogens and food spoilage organisms, and potentially beneficial bacteria including Lactobacillus kunkeei, Acetobacteraceae and many different groups of Actinobacteria. Contributions of these bacteria to colony health may include general hygiene, fungal and pathogen inhibition and beebread preservation. Our results are important for understanding the contribution to pollinator health of both environmentally vectored and core microbiota, and the

  6. Perceptions of the Slow Food Cultural Trend among the Youth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lelia Voinea

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available As they become increasingly aware of the importance of healthy eating and of the serious food imbalance caused by the overconsumption of industrial, ultra-processed and superorganoleptic food, consumers are now beginning to turn their attention to food choices guaranteeing both individual health and also of the environment . Thus, in recent years we are witnessing the rise of a cultural trend ‒ Slow Food. Slow Food has become an international movement that advocates for satisfying culinary pleasure, protects biological and cultural diversity, spread taste education, links "green" producers to consumers and believes that gastronomy intersects with politics, agriculture and ecology. Slow Food proposes a holistic approach to food problem, where the economic, sociocultural and environmental aspects are interlinked, being pursued as part of an overall strategy. In order to highlight the manner in which the principles of this cultural trend are perceived by the representatives of the new generation of consumers in Romania, exploratory research marketing was conducted among the students in the second year of the master’s program Quality Management, Expertise and Consumer Protection, from the Faculty of Business and Tourism from the Buchares t University of Economic Studies . The results of this research have shown an insufficient knowledge of Slow Food phenomenon and, especially, the Slow Food network activity in Romania. To show that the Slow Food type of food is a healthier option towards which the future consumer demand should be guided, especially those belonging to the younger generation, an antithetical comparative analysis of the nutritional value of two menus was performed: a suggestive one for the Slow Food feeding style and other one, specific to the fast food style. Slow Food style was considered antithetical to the fast food because many previous studies have shown a preference of the young for the fast-food type products, despite the

  7. Characterization of microbial compositions in a thermophilic chemostat of mixed culture fermentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Fang; Yang, Jing-Hua; Dai, Kun; Chen, Yun; Li, Qiu-Rong; Gao, Fa-Ming; Zeng, Raymond J

    2016-02-01

    The microbial community compositions of a chemostat enriched in a thermophilic (55 °C) mixed culture fermentation (MCF) for hydrogen production under different operational conditions were revealed in this work by integrating denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), Illumina Miseq high-throughput sequencing, and 16S rRNA clone library sequencing. The results showed that the community structure of the enriched cultures was relatively simple. Clones close to the genera of Thermoanaerobacter and/or Bacillus mainly dominated the bacteria. And homoacetogens and archaea were washed out and not detected even by Illumina Miseq high-throughput sequencing which supported the benefit for hydrogen production. On the other hand, the results revealed that the metabolic shift was clearly associated with the change of dominated bacterial groups. The effects of hydrogen partial pressure (PH2) and pH from 4.0 to 5.5 on the microbial compositions were not notable and Thermoanaerobacter was dominant, thus, the metabolites were also not changed. While Bacillus, Thermoanaerobacter and Propionispora hippei dominated the bacteria communities at neutral pH, or Bacillus and Thermoanaerobacter dominated at high influent glucose concentrations, consequently the main metabolites shifted to acetate, ethanol, propionate, or lactate. Thereby, the effect of microbial composition on the metabolite distribution and shift shall be considered when modeling thermophilic MCF in the future.

  8. Food culture in the home environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    B. F. De Wit, John; Stok, Marijn; Smolenski, Derek J.

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Overweight epidemics, including among children and adolescents, are fuelled by contemporary obesogenic environments. Recent research and theory highlight the importance of socio-cultural factors in mitigating adverse impacts of the abundance of food in high-income countries. The current...... study examines whether family meal culture shapes young people's eating behaviors and self-regulation. METHODS: Young people aged 10-17 years were recruited through schools in four European countries: the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and the United Kingdom. A total of 2,764 participants (mean age 13...... associated with young people's eating behaviors, as was self-regulation. Significant indirect effects of family meal culture were also found, through self-regulation. CONCLUSIONS: Results confirm that family meal culture, encompassing values as well as practices, shapes young people's eating behaviors...

  9. Prospects for the use of plant cell cultures in food biotechnology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davies, Kevin M; Deroles, Simon C

    2014-04-01

    Plant cell cultures can offer continuous production systems for high-value food and health ingredients, independent of geographical or environmental variations and constraints. Yet despite many improvements in culture technologies, cell line selection, and bioreactor design, there are few commercial successes. This is principally due to the culture yield and market price of food products not being sufficient to cover the plant cell culture production costs. A better understanding of the underpinning biological mechanisms that control the target metabolite biosynthetic pathways may allow the metabolic engineering of cell lines to provide for economically competitive product yields. However, uncertainty around the regulatory and public acceptance of products derived from engineered cell cultures presents a barrier to the uptake of the technology by food product companies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Culture-Dependent and -Independent Methods Capture Different Microbial Community Fractions in Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Soils.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Franck O P Stefani

    Full Text Available Bioremediation is a cost-effective and sustainable approach for treating polluted soils, but our ability to improve on current bioremediation strategies depends on our ability to isolate microorganisms from these soils. Although culturing is widely used in bioremediation research and applications, it is unknown whether the composition of cultured isolates closely mirrors the indigenous microbial community from contaminated soils. To assess this, we paired culture-independent (454-pyrosequencing of total soil DNA with culture-dependent (isolation using seven different growth media techniques to analyse the bacterial and fungal communities from hydrocarbon-contaminated soils. Although bacterial and fungal rarefaction curves were saturated for both methods, only 2.4% and 8.2% of the bacterial and fungal OTUs, respectively, were shared between datasets. Isolated taxa increased the total recovered species richness by only 2% for bacteria and 5% for fungi. Interestingly, none of the bacteria that we isolated were representative of the major bacterial OTUs recovered by 454-pyrosequencing. Isolation of fungi was moderately more effective at capturing the dominant OTUs observed by culture-independent analysis, as 3 of 31 cultured fungal strains ranked among the 20 most abundant fungal OTUs in the 454-pyrosequencing dataset. This study is one of the most comprehensive comparisons of microbial communities from hydrocarbon-contaminated soils using both isolation and high-throughput sequencing methods.

  11. Culture-Dependent and -Independent Methods Capture Different Microbial Community Fractions in Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Soils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stefani, Franck O P; Bell, Terrence H; Marchand, Charlotte; de la Providencia, Ivan E; El Yassimi, Abdel; St-Arnaud, Marc; Hijri, Mohamed

    2015-01-01

    Bioremediation is a cost-effective and sustainable approach for treating polluted soils, but our ability to improve on current bioremediation strategies depends on our ability to isolate microorganisms from these soils. Although culturing is widely used in bioremediation research and applications, it is unknown whether the composition of cultured isolates closely mirrors the indigenous microbial community from contaminated soils. To assess this, we paired culture-independent (454-pyrosequencing of total soil DNA) with culture-dependent (isolation using seven different growth media) techniques to analyse the bacterial and fungal communities from hydrocarbon-contaminated soils. Although bacterial and fungal rarefaction curves were saturated for both methods, only 2.4% and 8.2% of the bacterial and fungal OTUs, respectively, were shared between datasets. Isolated taxa increased the total recovered species richness by only 2% for bacteria and 5% for fungi. Interestingly, none of the bacteria that we isolated were representative of the major bacterial OTUs recovered by 454-pyrosequencing. Isolation of fungi was moderately more effective at capturing the dominant OTUs observed by culture-independent analysis, as 3 of 31 cultured fungal strains ranked among the 20 most abundant fungal OTUs in the 454-pyrosequencing dataset. This study is one of the most comprehensive comparisons of microbial communities from hydrocarbon-contaminated soils using both isolation and high-throughput sequencing methods.

  12. Triangulation and the importance of establishing valid methods for food safety culture evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jespersen, Lone; Wallace, Carol A

    2017-10-01

    The research evaluates maturity of food safety culture in five multi-national food companies using method triangulation, specifically self-assessment scale, performance documents, and semi-structured interviews. Weaknesses associated with each individual method are known but there are few studies in food safety where a method triangulation approach is used for both data collection and data analysis. Significantly, this research shows that individual results taken in isolation can lead to wrong conclusions, resulting in potentially failing tactics and wasted investments. However, by applying method triangulation and reviewing results from a range of culture measurement tools it is possible to better direct investments and interventions. The findings add to the food safety culture paradigm beyond a single evaluation of food safety culture using generic culture surveys. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  13. Bourdieu’s Cultural Capital in Relation to Food Choices: A Systematic Review of Cultural Capital Indicators and an Empirical Proof of Concept

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamphuis, Carlijn B. M.; Jansen, Tessa; Mackenbach, Johan P.; van Lenthe, Frank J.

    2015-01-01

    Objective Unhealthy food choices follow a socioeconomic gradient that may partly be explained by one’s ‘cultural capital’, as defined by Bourdieu. We aim 1) to carry out a systematic review to identify existing quantitative measures of cultural capital, 2) to develop a questionnaire to measure cultural capital for food choices, and 3) to empirically test associations of socioeconomic position with cultural capital and food choices, and of cultural capital with food choices. Design We systematically searched large databases for the key-word ‘cultural capital’ in title or abstract. Indicators of objectivised cultural capital and family institutionalised cultural capital, as identified by the review, were translated to food choice relevant indicators. For incorporated cultural capital, we used existing questionnaires that measured the concepts underlying the variety of indicators as identified by the review, i.e. participation, skills, knowledge, values. The questionnaire was empirically tested in a postal survey completed by 2,953 adults participating in the GLOBE cohort study, The Netherlands, in 2011. Results The review yielded 113 studies that fulfilled our inclusion criteria. Several indicators of family institutionalised (e.g. parents’ education completed) and objectivised cultural capital (e.g. possession of books, art) were consistently used. Incorporated cultural capital was measured with a large variety of indicators (e.g. cultural participation, skills). Based on this, we developed a questionnaire to measure cultural capital in relation to food choices. An empirical test of the questionnaire showed acceptable overall internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha of .654; 56 items), and positive associations between socioeconomic position and cultural capital, and between cultural capital and healthy food choices. Conclusions Cultural capital may be a promising determinant for (socioeconomic inequalities in) food choices. PMID:26244763

  14. Application of microbial transglutaminase in meat foods: A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santhi, D; Kalaikannan, A; Malairaj, P; Arun Prabhu, S

    2017-07-03

    Microbial transglutaminase (MTG) is an enzyme isolated from a variant of Streptomyces mobaraensis that forms covalent cross-links between protein molecules. Studies are being conducted since last two decades on utilization of MTG in meat foods to improve their characteristics, such as gelation, water-binding, emulsion stability, purge loss, cooking loss, etc. MTG is one of the important topics of interest in meat processing industry due to its advantages in practical utilization and commercial exploitation. This review will discuss about the overall applications of MTG in manipulating the functional properties of meat and meat products by means of various processes such as restructuring, value addition, etc.

  15. Deciphering Diversity Indices for a Better Understanding of Microbial Communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Bo-Ra; Shin, Jiwon; Guevarra, Robin; Lee, Jun Hyung; Kim, Doo Wan; Seol, Kuk-Hwan; Lee, Ju-Hoon; Kim, Hyeun Bum; Isaacson, Richard

    2017-12-28

    The past decades have been a golden era during which great tasks were accomplished in the field of microbiology, including food microbiology. In the past, culture-dependent methods have been the primary choice to investigate bacterial diversity. However, using cultureindependent high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes has greatly facilitated studies exploring the microbial compositions and dynamics associated with health and diseases. These culture-independent DNA-based studies generate large-scale data sets that describe the microbial composition of a certain niche. Consequently, understanding microbial diversity becomes of greater importance when investigating the composition, function, and dynamics of the microbiota associated with health and diseases. Even though there is no general agreement on which diversity index is the best to use, diversity indices have been used to compare the diversity among samples and between treatments with controls. Tools such as the Shannon- Weaver index and Simpson index can be used to describe population diversity in samples. The purpose of this review is to explain the principles of diversity indices, such as Shannon- Weaver and Simpson, to aid general microbiologists in better understanding bacterial communities. In this review, important questions concerning microbial diversity are addressed. Information from this review should facilitate evidence-based strategies to explore microbial communities.

  16. The binning of metagenomic contigs for microbial physiology of mixed cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strous, Marc; Kraft, Beate; Bisdorf, Regina; Tegetmeyer, Halina E

    2012-01-01

    So far, microbial physiology has dedicated itself mainly to pure cultures. In nature, cross feeding and competition are important aspects of microbial physiology and these can only be addressed by studying complete communities such as enrichment cultures. Metagenomic sequencing is a powerful tool to characterize such mixed cultures. In the analysis of metagenomic data, well established algorithms exist for the assembly of short reads into contigs and for the annotation of predicted genes. However, the binning of the assembled contigs or unassembled reads is still a major bottleneck and required to understand how the overall metabolism is partitioned over different community members. Binning consists of the clustering of contigs or reads that apparently originate from the same source population. In the present study eight metagenomic samples from the same habitat, a laboratory enrichment culture, were sequenced. Each sample contained 13-23 Mb of assembled contigs and up to eight abundant populations. Binning was attempted with existing methods but they were found to produce poor results, were slow, dependent on non-standard platforms or produced errors. A new binning procedure was developed based on multivariate statistics of tetranucleotide frequencies combined with the use of interpolated Markov models. Its performance was evaluated by comparison of the results between samples with BLAST and in comparison to existing algorithms for four publicly available metagenomes and one previously published artificial metagenome. The accuracy of the new approach was comparable or higher than existing methods. Further, it was up to a 100 times faster. It was implemented in Java Swing as a complete open source graphical binning application available for download and further development (http://sourceforge.net/projects/metawatt).

  17. The binning of metagenomic contigs for microbial physiology of mixed cultures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marc eStrous

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available So far, microbial physiology has dedicated itself mainly to pure cultures. In nature, cross feeding and competition are important aspects of microbial physiology and these can only be addressed by studying complete communities such as enrichment cultures. Metagenomic sequencing is a powerful tool to characterize such mixed cultures. In the analysis of metagenomic data, well established algorithms exist for the assembly of short reads into contigs and for the annotation of predicted genes. However, the binning of the assembled contigs or unassembled reads is still a major bottleneck and required to understand how the overall metabolism is partitioned over different community members. Binning consists of the clustering of contigs or reads that apparently originate from the same source population.In the present study eight metagenomic samples originating from the same habitat, a laboratory enrichment culture, were sequenced. Each sample contained 13-23 Mb of assembled contigs and up to eight abundant populations. Binning was attempted with existing methods but they were found to produce poor results, were slow, dependent on non-standard platforms or produced errors. A new binning procedure was developed based on multivariate statistics of tetranucleotide frequencies combined with the use of interpolated Markov models. Its performance was evaluated by comparison of the results between samples with BLAST and in comparison to exisiting algorithms for four publicly available metagenomes and one previously published artificial metagenome. The accuracy of the new approach was comparable or higher than existing methods. Further, it was up to a hunderd times faster. It was implemented in Java Swing as a complete open source graphical binning application available for download and further development (http://sourceforge.net/projects/metawatt.

  18. Cultural relevance of a fruit and vegetable food frequency questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paisley, Judy; Greenberg, Marlene; Haines, Jess

    2005-01-01

    Canada's multicultural population poses challenges for culturally competent nutrition research and practice. In this qualitative study, the cultural relevance of a widely used semi-quantitative fruit and vegetable food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was examined among convenience samples of adults from Toronto's Cantonese-, Mandarin-, Portuguese-, and Vietnamese-speaking communities. Eighty-nine participants were recruited through community-based organizations, programs, and advertisements to participate in semi-structured interviews moderated in their native language. Data from the interviews were translated into English and transcribed for analysis using the constant comparative approach. Four main themes emerged from the analysis: the cultural relevance of the foods listed on the FFQ, words with multiple meanings, the need for culturally appropriate portion-size prompts, and the telephone survey as a Western concept. This research highlights the importance of investing resources to develop culturally relevant dietary assessment tools that ensure dietary assessment accuracy and, more important, reduce ethnocentric biases in food and nutrition research and practice. The transferability of findings must be established through further research.

  19. Culturally-Based Communication about Health, Eating, and Food: Development and validation of the CHEF scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hubbard, Rebecca R; Palmberg, Allison; Lydecker, Janet; Green, Brooke; Kelly, Nichole R; Trapp, Stephen; Bean, Melanie K

    2016-01-01

    Ethnic minority populations in the United States are disproportionately affected by obesity. To address this disparity, research has begun to investigate the role of culture, ethnicity, and experiences with racism on food choices and health interventions. The aim of the current study was to develop and evaluate a new scale measuring the extent to which individuals' culture, as they perceive it, influences perceptions of food-related health messages. A diverse sample of 422 college students responded to the item pool, as well as surveys on race-related stress, self-efficacy in making healthy food choices, ethnic identity, and social support for health-related behaviors. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses produced a five-factor model: Connection (the extent to which food connected individuals with their culture), Authority (beliefs that health care providers were familiar with individuals' cultural foods), Unhealthy Food Perceptions (beliefs that individuals' cultural foods were perceived as unhealthy), Healthy Food Perceptions (beliefs that others perceive individuals' cultural foods to be healthy), and Social Value (the extent to which social relationships are improved by shared cultural food traditions). Authority and Healthy Food Perceptions were related to individuals' confidence in their ability to make healthy food choices. Authority was inversely correlated with negative coping with racism-related events. Ethnic identity was significantly correlated with all but Unhealthy Food Perceptions. Race/ethnicity differences were identified for Healthy Food Perceptions, Unhealthy Food Perceptions, Social Value, Connection, but not Authority. Applications and suggestions for further research using the Culturally-based Communication about Health, Eating, and Food (CHEF) Scale are proposed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Effect of feeding mode and dilution on the performance and microbial community population in anaerobic digestion of food waste.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jong-Hun; Kumar, Gopalakrishnan; Yun, Yeo-Myeong; Kwon, Joong-Chun; Kim, Sang-Hyoun

    2018-01-01

    The effect of feeding mode and dilution was studied in anaerobic digestion of food waste. An upflow anaerobic digester with a settler was fed at six different organic loading rates (OLRs) from 4.6 to 8.6kgCOD/m 3 /d for 200days. The highest methane productivity of 2.78LCH 4 /L/d was achieved at 8.6kgCOD/m 3 /d during continuous feeding of diluted FW. Continuous feeding of diluted food waste showed more stable and efficient performance than stepwise feeding of undiluted food waste. Sharp increase in propionate concentration attributed towards deterioration of the digester performances in stepwise feeding of undiluted food waste. Microbial communities at various OLRs divulged that the microbial distribution in the continuous feeding of diluted food waste was not significantly perturbed despite the increase of OLR up to 8.6kgCOD/m 3 /d, which was contrast to the unstable distribution in stepwise feeding of undiluted food waste at 6.1kgCOD/m 3 /d. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Microbial diversity of a Camembert-type cheese using freeze-dried Tibetan kefir coculture as starter culture by culture-dependent and culture-independent methods.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Mei

    Full Text Available The biochemical changes occurring during cheese ripening are directly and indirectly dependent on the microbial associations of starter cultures. Freeze-dried Tibetan kefir coculture was used as a starter culture in the Camembert-type cheese production for the first time. Therefore, it's necessary to elucidate the stability, organization and identification of the dominant microbiota presented in the cheese. Bacteria and yeasts were subjected to culture-dependent on selective media and culture-independent polymerase chain reaction (PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE analysis and sequencing of dominant bands to assess the microbial structure and dynamics through ripening. In further studies, kefir grains were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM methods. A total of 147 bacteria and 129 yeasts were obtained from the cheese during ripening. Lactobacillus paracasei represents the most commonly identified lactic acid bacteria isolates, with 59 of a total of 147 isolates, followed by Lactococcus lactis (29 isolates. Meanwhile, Kazachstania servazzii (51 isolates represented the mainly identified yeast isolate, followed by Saccharomyces cerevisiae (40 isolates. However, some lactic acid bacteria detected by sequence analysis of DGGE bands were not recovered by plating. The yeast S. cerevisiae and K. servazzii are described for the first time with kefir starter culture. SEM showed that the microbiota were dominated by a variety of lactobacilli (long and curved cells growing in close association with a few yeasts in the inner portion of the grain and the short lactobacilli were observed along with yeast cells on the exterior portion. Results indicated that conventional culture method and PCR-DGGE should be combined to describe in maximal detail the microbiological composition in the cheese during ripening. The data could help in the selection of appropriate commercial starters for Camembert-type cheese.

  2. Microbial Diversity of a Camembert-Type Cheese Using Freeze-Dried Tibetan Kefir Coculture as Starter Culture by Culture-Dependent and Culture-Independent Methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mei, Jun; Guo, Qizhen; Wu, Yan; Li, Yunfei

    2014-01-01

    The biochemical changes occurring during cheese ripening are directly and indirectly dependent on the microbial associations of starter cultures. Freeze-dried Tibetan kefir coculture was used as a starter culture in the Camembert-type cheese production for the first time. Therefore, it's necessary to elucidate the stability, organization and identification of the dominant microbiota presented in the cheese. Bacteria and yeasts were subjected to culture-dependent on selective media and culture-independent polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis and sequencing of dominant bands to assess the microbial structure and dynamics through ripening. In further studies, kefir grains were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) methods. A total of 147 bacteria and 129 yeasts were obtained from the cheese during ripening. Lactobacillus paracasei represents the most commonly identified lactic acid bacteria isolates, with 59 of a total of 147 isolates, followed by Lactococcus lactis (29 isolates). Meanwhile, Kazachstania servazzii (51 isolates) represented the mainly identified yeast isolate, followed by Saccharomyces cerevisiae (40 isolates). However, some lactic acid bacteria detected by sequence analysis of DGGE bands were not recovered by plating. The yeast S. cerevisiae and K. servazzii are described for the first time with kefir starter culture. SEM showed that the microbiota were dominated by a variety of lactobacilli (long and curved) cells growing in close association with a few yeasts in the inner portion of the grain and the short lactobacilli were observed along with yeast cells on the exterior portion. Results indicated that conventional culture method and PCR-DGGE should be combined to describe in maximal detail the microbiological composition in the cheese during ripening. The data could help in the selection of appropriate commercial starters for Camembert-type cheese. PMID:25360757

  3. Microbial diversity of a Camembert-type cheese using freeze-dried Tibetan kefir coculture as starter culture by culture-dependent and culture-independent methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mei, Jun; Guo, Qizhen; Wu, Yan; Li, Yunfei

    2014-01-01

    The biochemical changes occurring during cheese ripening are directly and indirectly dependent on the microbial associations of starter cultures. Freeze-dried Tibetan kefir coculture was used as a starter culture in the Camembert-type cheese production for the first time. Therefore, it's necessary to elucidate the stability, organization and identification of the dominant microbiota presented in the cheese. Bacteria and yeasts were subjected to culture-dependent on selective media and culture-independent polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis and sequencing of dominant bands to assess the microbial structure and dynamics through ripening. In further studies, kefir grains were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) methods. A total of 147 bacteria and 129 yeasts were obtained from the cheese during ripening. Lactobacillus paracasei represents the most commonly identified lactic acid bacteria isolates, with 59 of a total of 147 isolates, followed by Lactococcus lactis (29 isolates). Meanwhile, Kazachstania servazzii (51 isolates) represented the mainly identified yeast isolate, followed by Saccharomyces cerevisiae (40 isolates). However, some lactic acid bacteria detected by sequence analysis of DGGE bands were not recovered by plating. The yeast S. cerevisiae and K. servazzii are described for the first time with kefir starter culture. SEM showed that the microbiota were dominated by a variety of lactobacilli (long and curved) cells growing in close association with a few yeasts in the inner portion of the grain and the short lactobacilli were observed along with yeast cells on the exterior portion. Results indicated that conventional culture method and PCR-DGGE should be combined to describe in maximal detail the microbiological composition in the cheese during ripening. The data could help in the selection of appropriate commercial starters for Camembert-type cheese.

  4. The effect of microbial starter composition on cassava chips fermentation for the production of fermented cassava flour

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kresnowati, M. T. A. P.; Listianingrum, Zaenudin, Ahmad; Trihatmoko, Kharisrama

    2015-12-01

    The processing of cassava into fermented cassava flour (fercaf) or the widely known as modified cassava flour (mocaf) presents an alternative solution to improve the competitiveness of local foods and to support national food security. However, the mass production of fercaf is being limited by several problems, among which is the availability of starter cultures. This paper presents the mapping of the effect of microbial starter compositions on the nutritional content of fercaf in order to obtain the suitable nutritional composition. Based on their enzymatic activities, the combination of Lactobacillus plantarum, Bacillus subtilis, and Aspergillus oryzae were tested during the study. In addition, commercial starter was also tested. During the fermentation, the dynamics in microbial population were measured as well as changes in cyanogenic glucoside content. The microbial starter composition was observed to affect the dynamics in microbial populationcynaogenic glucoside content of the produced fercaf. In general, steady state microbial population was reached within 12 hours of fermentation. Cyanogenic glucoside was observed to decrease along the fermentation.

  5. The maturing of microbial ecology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Thomas M

    2006-09-01

    A.J. Kluyver and C.B. van Niel introduced many scientists to the exceptional metabolic capacity of microbes and their remarkable ability to adapt to changing environments in The Microbe's Contribution to Biology. Beyond providing an overview of the physiology and adaptability of microbes, the book outlined many of the basic principles for the emerging discipline of microbial ecology. While the study of pure cultures was highlighted, provided a unifying framework for understanding the vast metabolic potential of microbes and their roles in the global cycling of elements, extrapolation from pure cultures to natural environments has often been overshadowed by microbiologists inability to culture many of the microbes seen in natural environments. A combination of genomic approaches is now providing a culture-independent view of the microbial world, revealing a more diverse and dynamic community of microbes than originally anticipated. As methods for determining the diversity of microbial communities become increasingly accessible, a major challenge to microbial ecologists is to link the structure of natural microbial communities with their functions. This article presents several examples from studies of aquatic and terrestrial microbial communities in which culture and culture-independent methods are providing an enhanced appreciation for the microbe's contribution to the evolution and maintenance of life on Earth, and offers some thoughts about the graduate-level educational programs needed to enhance the maturing field of microbial ecology.

  6. Evaluation of microbial dynamics during post-consumption food waste composting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Awasthi, Sanjeev Kumar; Wong, Jonathan W C; Li, Jiao; Wang, Quan; Zhang, Zengqiang; Kumar, Sunil; Awasthi, Mukesh Kumar

    2018-03-01

    The objective of present study was to evaluate the efficacy of bacterial consortium to boost the microbial population and enzyme activities during post-consumption food waste (PCFWs) composting. Three treatments of PCFWs mixed with saw dust and 10% zeolite (dry weight basis) was design, where treatments T-2 and T-3 were applied with two distinctive bacterial consortium, respectively, while T-1 was served as control. The results showed that total aerobic proteolytic, amylolytic, cellulolytic, oil degrading and total aerobic bacteria populations were significantly higher in treatment T2 and T3 than T1. Consequently, the selected hydrolytic enzymes were also higher in T2 and T3 than T1, whose apparently gave the interesting information about rate of decomposition and end product stability. Furthermore, T2 and T3 showed significant correlations between the enzymatic activities and microbial population with other physico-chemical parameters. Based on germination assays and CO 2 -C evolution rate, T2 and T3 were considered phytotoxic free and highly stable final compost on day 56. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Rotifer fecundity in relation to components of microbial food web in a eurotrophic reservoir

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Devetter, Miloslav; Seďa, Jaromír

    2003-01-01

    Roč. 504, - (2003), s. 167-175 ISSN 0018-8158. [Reservoir Limnology and Water Quality /4./. České Budějovice, 12.08.2002-16.08.2002] Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z6017912 Keywords : rotifers * microbial food web Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 0.720, year: 2003

  8. [Food habits and culture factors in pregnant adolescents].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrera-Suárez, Claudia Carolina; Vásquez-Garibay, Edgar M; Romero-Velarde, Enrique; Romo-Huerta, Hiliana P; García De Alba García, Javier E; Troyo-Sanromán, Rogelio

    2008-03-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify the food habits of pregnant adolescents and their perception about which, of her cultural concepts, have higher influence. 54 subjects between 12 and 19 years old from Guadalajara City were included and socioeconomic, dietetic data, as food frequency consumption and cultural concepts about feeding were also explored. Chi square was used for identifying association between variables. The fat intake was lower in late vs. Early and middle stage of adolescence (57 vs. 71 g/d, p = 0.05). The iron, calcium and zinc intake was also deficient in the early/middle stage; meanwhile, the folic acid consumption was very low in the late stage of adolescence. Corn tortillas were the most consumed cereal and food (93-96%); junk food and sodas (62 and 55%) prevailed in the early/middle stage. About local costumes, "tacos", "pozole" and burgers were the most referred (74.1%). They also mentioned that fat (36.7%), junk food (30%), chili (26.7%), sodas (23.3%), processed meals (26.7%) and salt (10%) were harmful. They also believed that vegetables (77%), fruits (60 %), milk (21%), broths (17%), and meat (12.5%) were beneficial; and, 96% considered that chicken and bean broths were nutritious (myth). There were some prohibited foods (taboos) during pregnancy: chili (48%), junk food (20%), and salt (16%). Prejudices were more common among later adolescents (60.9%) (p = 0.03). The erratic food habits and the conceptual confusion of these adolescents cause a low intake of nutrients and place them in a nutritional risk.

  9. Temporal variability of the microbial food web (viruses to ciliates under the influence of the Black Sea Water inflow (N. Aegean, E. Mediterranean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. GIANNAKOUROU

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Τhe entire pelagic microbial food web was studied during the winter-spring period in the frontal area of the North Aegean Sea. Abundance of viruses, heterotrophic bacteria, cyanobacteria, auto- and hetero-trophic flagellates, and ciliates, as well as bacterial production, were measured at three stations (MD1, MD2, MD3 situated along a N-S transect between the area directly influenced by the inflowing Black Sea water and the area covered by the Levantine water. Samples were collected in December 2009, and January, March, April, and May 2011. Station MD1 exhibited the highest values of abundance and integrated biomass of all microbial groups and bacterial production during all months, and MD3 the lowest. Bacteria dominated the total integrated biomass at all stations and months, followed by cyanobacteria, auto-, hetero-trophic flagellates and ciliates. On a temporal scale, the microbial food web was less important in March as all microbial parameters at all stations showed the lowest values. After the phytoplankton bloom in March, the heterotrophic part of the microbial food web (mainly strongly increased, though the intensity of the phenomenon was diminished from North to South. Pico-sized plankton was found to be heterotrophic whereas nanoplankton was autotrophic. It seems that the influence of the Black Sea water on station MD1, permanent throughout the study period of early winter to late spring, was reflected in all microbial populations studied, and produced a more productive pelagic food web system, with potential consequences for the upper trophic levels.

  10. Cultures of Food and Gastronomy in Mughal and post-Mughal India

    OpenAIRE

    Narayanan, Divya

    2015-01-01

    This dissertation is an interdisciplinary and transcultural study of food cultures in Mughal and post-Mughal India between the sixteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries. Using historical as well as anthropological tools of analysis, and drawing on a variety of documentary and manuscript sources in Persian, English and Hindi, it seeks to unravel various facets of the linkages between food, society and culture in the regions of the Indian subcontinent under the political sway or cultural influence...

  11. European food cultures in a macro and micro perspective: Implications for the marketing of Asian food products

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Askegaard, Søren; Ludvigsen, Hanne H.

    1996-01-01

    Executive summary 1. This paper was presented at the First Asia-Pacific Conference of the Association for Consumer Research in Singapore, June 1994. It was an invited paper for a special session on food research. The invitation asked us to explain "the relevance of some of our MAPP research...... change processes in the European food culture facilitate adoption of more Asian food products in the coming years? 4. Our contribution to an answer to the first question is based on interviews concerning food consumption with 20,000 consumers in 16 European countries. The data suggest ways of clustering...... different European countries and regions to more homogeneous export markets but in general confir heterogeneity of the European food cultures. 5. Since these data did not contain specific information about our second question, the inclusion of Asian food products in European diets, we have investigated...

  12. Electrochemically Driven Fermentation of Organic Substrates with Undefined Mixed Microbial Cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villano, Marianna; Paiano, Paola; Palma, Enza; Miccheli, Alfredo; Majone, Mauro

    2017-08-10

    Growing scientific interest in mixed microbial culture-based anaerobic biotechnologies for the production of value-added chemicals and fuels from organic waste residues requires a parallel focus on the development and implementation of strategies to control the distribution of products. This study examined the feasibility of an electrofermentation approach, based on the introduction of a polarized (-700 mV vs. the standard hydrogen electrode) graphite electrode in the fermentation medium, to steer the product distribution during the conversion of organic substrates (glucose, ethanol, and acetate supplied as single compounds or in mixtures) by undefined mixed microbial cultures. In batch experiments, the polarized electrode triggered a nearly 20-fold increase (relative to open circuit controls) in the yield of isobutyrate production (0.43±0.01 vs. 0.02±0.02 mol mol -1 glucose) during the anaerobic fermentation of the ternary mixture of substrates, without adversely affecting the rate of substrate bioconversion. The observed change in the fermentative metabolism was most likely triggered by the (potentiostatic) regulation of the oxidation-reduction potential of the reaction medium rather than by the electrode serving as an electron donor. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  13. Evaluation of microbial diversity in the pilot-scale beer brewing process by culture-dependent and culture-independent method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takahashi, M; Kita, Y; Kusaka, K; Mizuno, A; Goto-Yamamoto, N

    2015-02-01

    In the brewing industry, microbial management is very important for stabilizing the quality of the product. We investigated the detailed microbial community of beer during fermentation and maturation, to manage beer microbiology in more detail. We brewed a beer (all-malt) and two beerlike beverages (half- and low-malt) in pilot-scale fermentation and investigated the microbial community of them using a next-generation sequencer (454 GS FLX titanium), quantitative PCR, flow cytometry and a culture-dependent method. From 28 to 88 genera of bacteria and from 9 to 38 genera of eukaryotic micro-organisms were detected in each sample. Almost all micro-organisms died out during the boiling process. However, bacteria belonging to the genera Acidovorax, Bacillus, Brevundimonas, Caulobacter, Chryseobacterium, Methylobacterium, Paenibacillus, Polaromonas, Pseudomonas, Ralstonia, Sphingomonas, Stenotrophomonas, Tepidimonas and Tissierella were detected at the early and middle stage of fermentation, even though their cell densities were low (below approx. 10(3) cells ml(-1) ) and they were not almost detected at the end of fermentation. We revealed that the microbial community of beer during fermentation and maturation is very diverse and several bacteria possibly survive during fermentation. In this study, we revealed the detailed microbial communities of beer using next-generation sequencing. Some of the micro-organisms detected in this study were found in beer brewing process for the first time. Additionally, the possibility of growth of several bacteria at the early and middle stage of fermentation was suggested. © 2014 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  14. The Senegal Project: A Cultural Foods Unit for Middle School Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Diane

    2011-01-01

    The Senegal Project is the culminating project in a unit on cultural foods in an 8th grade family and consumer sciences (FCS) course. Initially, students take a quick world tour by studying and cooking foods from Mexico, Italy, China, and India followed by a "more depth and less breadth" study of Senegal, a country with a culture vastly…

  15. A defined co-culture of Geobacter sulfurreducens and Escherichia coli in a membrane-less microbial fuel cell.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bourdakos, Nicholas; Marsili, Enrico; Mahadevan, Radhakrishnan

    2014-04-01

    Wastewater-fed microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are a promising technology to treat low-organic carbon wastewater and recover part of the chemical energy in wastewater as electrical power. However, the interactions between electrochemically active and fermentative microorganisms cannot be easily studied in wastewater-fed MFCs because of their complex microbial communities. Defined co-culture MFCs provide a detailed understanding of such interactions. In this study, we characterize the extracellular metabolites in laboratory-scale membrane-less MFCs inoculated with Geobacter sulfurreducens and Escherichia coli co-culture and compare them with pure culture MFCs. G. sulfurreducens MFCs are sparged to maintain anaerobic conditions, while co-culture MFCs rely on E. coli for oxygen removal. G. sulfurreducens MFCs have a power output of 128 mW m(-2) , compared to 63 mW m(-2) from the co-culture MFCs. Analysis of metabolites shows that succinate production in co-culture MFCs decreases current production by G. sulfurreducens and that the removal of succinate is responsible for the increased current density in the late co-culture MFCs. Interestingly, pH adjustment is not required for co-culture MFCs but a base addition is necessary for E. coli MFCs and cultures in vials. Our results show that defined co-culture MFCs provide clear insights into metabolic interactions among bacteria while maintaining a low operational complexity. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Microbial pollution indicators and culturable heterotrophic bacteria in a Mediterranean area (Southern Adriatic Sea Italian coasts)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stabili, L.; Cavallo, R. A.

    2011-05-01

    In the present study we evaluated the degree of microbial water pollution along the coast line between Brindisi and Santa Maria di Leuca (Southern Adriatic Sea) as well as the culturable heterotrophic bacteria abundances and biodiversity in relation to the microbiological quality of the water. A total of 3773 colonies were isolated, subcultured and identified by several morphological, cultural and biochemical methods including the standardized API 20 E and API 20 NE tests. Along the examined coastal tract the microbial pollution indicators were always below the tolerance limits for bathing waters defined by the CEE directive, suggesting a good sanitary quality. Concerning culturable heterotrophic bacteria, different temporal density trends were observed in the four sites in relation to their geographical position. A positive relationship between the bacterial abundances and the temperature was observed in S. Cataldo and Otranto. The culturable bacterial community was mainly composed of the genera Aeromonas, Pseudomonas, Photobacterium and Flavobacterium. The Enterobacteriaceae family represented a conspicuous component of the bacterial community too. Bacilli were predominant among the Gram-positive bacteria. Of interest is the isolation of yeasts (2% at the surface and 1% at the bottom) taking into account their capability of biodegradation of various materials. Because of the low level of microbial pollution recorded, our results are indicative of the natural variation and diversity of the culturable bacterial community in such an oligotrophic ecosystem and could represent a good point of comparison with other ecosystems as well as a baseline for long term studies aimed to evaluate the effects of environmental fluctuations and human impacts on this aspect of biodiversity in coastal areas.

  17. Microbial ecology of the hive and pollination landscape: bacterial associates from floral nectar, the alimentary tract and stored food of honey bees (Apis mellifera.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirk E Anderson

    Full Text Available Nearly all eukaryotes are host to beneficial or benign bacteria in their gut lumen, either vertically inherited, or acquired from the environment. While bacteria core to the honey bee gut are becoming evident, the influence of the hive and pollination environment on honey bee microbial health is largely unexplored. Here we compare bacteria from floral nectar in the immediate pollination environment, different segments of the honey bee (Apis mellifera alimentary tract, and food stored in the hive (honey and packed pollen or "beebread". We used cultivation and sequencing to explore bacterial communities in all sample types, coupled with culture-independent analysis of beebread. We compare our results from the alimentary tract with both culture-dependent and culture-independent analyses from previous studies. Culturing the foregut (crop, midgut and hindgut with standard media produced many identical or highly similar 16S rDNA sequences found with 16S rDNA clone libraries and next generation sequencing of 16S rDNA amplicons. Despite extensive culturing with identical media, our results do not support the core crop bacterial community hypothesized by recent studies. We cultured a wide variety of bacterial strains from 6 of 7 phylogenetic groups considered core to the honey bee hindgut. Our results reveal that many bacteria prevalent in beebread and the crop are also found in floral nectar, suggesting frequent horizontal transmission. From beebread we uncovered a variety of bacterial phylotypes, including many possible pathogens and food spoilage organisms, and potentially beneficial bacteria including Lactobacillus kunkeei, Acetobacteraceae and many different groups of Actinobacteria. Contributions of these bacteria to colony health may include general hygiene, fungal and pathogen inhibition and beebread preservation. Our results are important for understanding the contribution to pollinator health of both environmentally vectored and core microbiota

  18. Enriched cultures of lactic acid bacteria from selected Zimbabwean fermented food and medicinal products with potential as therapy or prophylaxis against yeast infections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alec Chabwinja

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To investigate the antifungal activity of crude cultures of putative strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB from a selection of Zimbabwean traditional and commercial food/ medicinal products against yeasts (strains of environmental isolates of Candida albicans and Rhodotorula spp.. Methods: Cultures of putative LAB from our selection of fermented products were enriched in de Man, Rogosa and Sharpe and isolated on de Man, Rogosa and Sharpe agar. Results: The crude microbial cultures from the products that showed high antifungal activities (zone of inhibition, mm were as follows: supernatant-free microbial pellet (SFMP from an extract of Melia azedarach leaves [(27.0 ± 2.5 mm] > cell-free culture supernatants (CFCS from Maaz Dairy sour milk and Mnandi sour milk [approximately (26.0 ± 1.8/2.5 mm] > CFCS and SFMP from Amansi hodzeko [(25.0 ± 1.5 mm] > CFCS from Parinari curatellifolia fruit [(24.0 ± 1.5 mm], SFMP from Parinari curatellifolia fruit [(24.0 ± 1.4 mm] and SFMP from mahewu [(20.0 ± 1.5 mm]. These cultures also showed high tolerance to acidic conditions (pH 4.0 and pH 5.0. However, culture from WAYA LGG (shown elsewhere to harbour antimicrobial activities showed no antifungal activity. The LAB could have inhibited yeasts by either competitive exclusion or the release of antimicrobial metabolites. Conclusions: Our cultures of LAB from a selection of Zimbabwean fermented products, especially Ziziphus mauritiana and fermented milk products have great potential for use as antifungal probiotics against yeast infections. Studies are ongoing to determine the exact mechanisms that are employed by the putative LAB to inhibit Candida albicans.

  19. Psycho-Socio-Cultural Determinants of Food Choice: A Qualitative Study on Adults in Social and Cultural Context of Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haghighian Roudsari, Arezoo; Vedadhir, Abouali; Amiri, Parisa; Kalantari, Naser; Omidvar, Nasrin; Eini-Zinab, Hassan; Hani Sadati, Seyed Mohammad

    2017-10-01

    Objective: Food choice is a process through which people think, feel, and eat food. It does not only influence individuals' health and well-being, families and communities, but also it has an effect on regional, national, and global levels. This qualitative study was conducted to explore perceptions and lived experiences of Tehran adult residents on psychological, social and cultural determinants of food choice. Method: In this qualitative design, we recruited 33 adults aged 30 to 64 years from various districts of Tehran, capital of Iran, and we explored how people make decisions about food choice in practice and shape their perception, attitude, and eating practices. An individual in-depth semi-structured interview guide included major questions with follow-up probes was used to explore participants' current and past eating habits from childhood to adulthood, dietary change at different life courses, and effective psychological state on food selection in different seasons. Results: This study revealed that food choice in the studied adults (30-64 years old) was widely influenced by psychological, social, and cultural determinants, which can be categorized into 5 main themes: cultural context and patterns; social Structure and norms; information resources and media; household and family structure; and nutrition transition. Conclusion: The findings clarified the importance of social and cultural contexts, which influence the food choice of adults in a metropolis like Tehran. Many of these concepts are contextualized from childhood. These findings could serve as guideline to design socio-culturally appropriate strategies and improve dietary behaviors of Iranians.

  20. From cultured to uncultured genome sequences: metagenomics and modeling microbial ecosystems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garza, Daniel R; Dutilh, Bas E

    2015-11-01

    Microorganisms and the viruses that infect them are the most numerous biological entities on Earth and enclose its greatest biodiversity and genetic reservoir. With strength in their numbers, these microscopic organisms are major players in the cycles of energy and matter that sustain all life. Scientists have only scratched the surface of this vast microbial world through culture-dependent methods. Recent developments in generating metagenomes, large random samples of nucleic acid sequences isolated directly from the environment, are providing comprehensive portraits of the composition, structure, and functioning of microbial communities. Moreover, advances in metagenomic analysis have created the possibility of obtaining complete or nearly complete genome sequences from uncultured microorganisms, providing important means to study their biology, ecology, and evolution. Here we review some of the recent developments in the field of metagenomics, focusing on the discovery of genetic novelty and on methods for obtaining uncultured genome sequences, including through the recycling of previously published datasets. Moreover we discuss how metagenomics has become a core scientific tool to characterize eco-evolutionary patterns of microbial ecosystems, thus allowing us to simultaneously discover new microbes and study their natural communities. We conclude by discussing general guidelines and challenges for modeling the interactions between uncultured microorganisms and viruses based on the information contained in their genome sequences. These models will significantly advance our understanding of the functioning of microbial ecosystems and the roles of microbes in the environment.

  1. Evaluation of microbial contamination of ready-to-eat foods (pizza, frankfurters, sausages in the city of Ilam

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akbar Eslami

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: Today in the world, disease resulting from food is considered one of the most important problems in public health. This study aimed to determine the bacterial contamination of ready-to-eat foods, i.e. fast food, in Ilam city. Methods: In this cross-sectional, analytical study, 270 samples of ready-to-eat food, including pizza, frankfurters, and sausages, were randomly collected and tested for contamination with Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Shigella sonnei, Salmonella arizonae, and Enterococcus faecalis. After examination, the collected data was analyzed using SPSS 20 software and logistic regression. Results: From a total of 270 samples of ready-to-eat food, 27.77% was contaminated with E. coli, 21.48% with S. aureus, 13.33% with S. sonnei, 14.44% with S. arizonae, and 5.9% with E. faecalis. The results showed higher rates of E. coli and S. aureus contamination in pizza, frankfurters, and sausages. Also, a higher percentage of frankfurters were contaminated with microbial species than pizza or sausages. There were significant differences in microbial contamination rates (P < 0.05 among the three groups of food. In addition, factors such as indicators (health, sanitation, and lack of hygiene, age, gender, and education level of the operating staff had no effect on the results. Conclusion: Based on the results, it can be concluded that bacterial contamination of ready-to-eat foods is significantly high in the city of Ilam; therefore, it is suggested that the examination of food in various stages of production and distribution can help reduce bacterial contamination, and training for the operators of shopping centers’ ready-to-eat food shops and controlling pathogens are essential.

  2. Evaluation of microbial contamination of ready-to-eat foods (pizza, frankfurters, sausages in the city of Ilam

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akbar Eslami

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Today in the world, disease resulting from food is considered one of the most important problems in public health. This study aimed to determine the bacterial contamination of ready-to-eat foods, i.e. fast food, in Ilam city. Methods: In this cross-sectional, analytical study, 270 samples of ready-to-eat food, including pizza, frankfurters, and sausages, were randomly collected and tested for contamination with Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Shigella sonnei, Salmonella arizonae, and Enterococcus faecalis. After examination, the collected data was analyzed using SPSS 20 software and logistic regression. Results: From a total of 270 samples of ready-to-eat food, 27.77% was contaminated with E. coli, 21.48% with S. aureus, 13.33% with S. sonnei, 14.44% with S. arizonae, and 5.9% with E. faecalis. The results showed higher rates of E. coli and S. aureus contamination in pizza, frankfurters, and sausages. Also, a higher percentage of frankfurters were contaminated with microbial species than pizza or sausages. There were significant differences in microbial contamination rates (P < 0.05 among the three groups of food. In addition, factors such as indicators (health, sanitation, and lack of hygiene, age, gender, and education level of the operating staff had no effect on the results. Conclusion: Based on the results, it can be concluded that bacterial contamination of ready-to-eat foods is significantly high in the city of Ilam; therefore, it is suggested that the examination of food in various stages of production and distribution can help reduce bacterial contamination, and training for the operators of shopping centers’ ready-to-eat food shops and controlling pathogens are essential.

  3. Effect of increasing total solids contents on anaerobic digestion of food waste under mesophilic conditions: performance and microbial characteristics analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Yi

    Full Text Available The total solids content of feedstocks affects the performances of anaerobic digestion and the change of total solids content will lead the change of microbial morphology in systems. In order to increase the efficiency of anaerobic digestion, it is necessary to understand the role of the total solids content on the behavior of the microbial communities involved in anaerobic digestion of organic matter from wet to dry technology. The performances of mesophilic anaerobic digestion of food waste with different total solids contents from 5% to 20% were compared and the microbial communities in reactors were investigated using 454 pyrosequencing technology. Three stable anaerobic digestion processes were achieved for food waste biodegradation and methane generation. Better performances mainly including volatile solids reduction and methane yield were obtained in the reactors with higher total solids content. Pyrosequencing results revealed significant shifts in bacterial community with increasing total solids contents. The proportion of phylum Chloroflexi decreased obviously with increasing total solids contents while other functional bacteria showed increasing trend. Methanosarcina absolutely dominated in archaeal communities in three reactors and the relative abundance of this group showed increasing trend with increasing total solids contents. These results revealed the effects of the total solids content on the performance parameters and the behavior of the microbial communities involved in the anaerobic digestion of food waste from wet to dry technologies.

  4. Effect of Increasing Total Solids Contents on Anaerobic Digestion of Food Waste under Mesophilic Conditions: Performance and Microbial Characteristics Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Jingwei; Dai, Xiaohu

    2014-01-01

    The total solids content of feedstocks affects the performances of anaerobic digestion and the change of total solids content will lead the change of microbial morphology in systems. In order to increase the efficiency of anaerobic digestion, it is necessary to understand the role of the total solids content on the behavior of the microbial communities involved in anaerobic digestion of organic matter from wet to dry technology. The performances of mesophilic anaerobic digestion of food waste with different total solids contents from 5% to 20% were compared and the microbial communities in reactors were investigated using 454 pyrosequencing technology. Three stable anaerobic digestion processes were achieved for food waste biodegradation and methane generation. Better performances mainly including volatile solids reduction and methane yield were obtained in the reactors with higher total solids content. Pyrosequencing results revealed significant shifts in bacterial community with increasing total solids contents. The proportion of phylum Chloroflexi decreased obviously with increasing total solids contents while other functional bacteria showed increasing trend. Methanosarcina absolutely dominated in archaeal communities in three reactors and the relative abundance of this group showed increasing trend with increasing total solids contents. These results revealed the effects of the total solids content on the performance parameters and the behavior of the microbial communities involved in the anaerobic digestion of food waste from wet to dry technologies. PMID:25051352

  5. Effect of increasing total solids contents on anaerobic digestion of food waste under mesophilic conditions: performance and microbial characteristics analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yi, Jing; Dong, Bin; Jin, Jingwei; Dai, Xiaohu

    2014-01-01

    The total solids content of feedstocks affects the performances of anaerobic digestion and the change of total solids content will lead the change of microbial morphology in systems. In order to increase the efficiency of anaerobic digestion, it is necessary to understand the role of the total solids content on the behavior of the microbial communities involved in anaerobic digestion of organic matter from wet to dry technology. The performances of mesophilic anaerobic digestion of food waste with different total solids contents from 5% to 20% were compared and the microbial communities in reactors were investigated using 454 pyrosequencing technology. Three stable anaerobic digestion processes were achieved for food waste biodegradation and methane generation. Better performances mainly including volatile solids reduction and methane yield were obtained in the reactors with higher total solids content. Pyrosequencing results revealed significant shifts in bacterial community with increasing total solids contents. The proportion of phylum Chloroflexi decreased obviously with increasing total solids contents while other functional bacteria showed increasing trend. Methanosarcina absolutely dominated in archaeal communities in three reactors and the relative abundance of this group showed increasing trend with increasing total solids contents. These results revealed the effects of the total solids content on the performance parameters and the behavior of the microbial communities involved in the anaerobic digestion of food waste from wet to dry technologies.

  6. Evaluating the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule Standard for Microbial Quality of Agricultural Water for Growing Produce

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Havelaar, Arie H; Vazquez, Kathleen M; Topalcengiz, Zeynal; Muñoz-Carpena, Rafael; Danyluk, Michelle D

    2017-01-01

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has defined standards for the microbial quality of agricultural surface water used for irrigation. According to the FDA produce safety rule (PSR), a microbial water quality profile requires analysis of a minimum of 20 samples for Escherichia coli over 2 to

  7. Perceptions of the Slow Food Cultural Trend among the Youth

    OpenAIRE

    Lelia Voinea; Anca Atanase; Ion Schileru

    2016-01-01

    As they become increasingly aware of the importance of healthy eating and of the serious food imbalance caused by the overconsumption of industrial, ultra-processed and superorganoleptic food, consumers are now beginning to turn their attention to food choices guaranteeing both individual health and also of the environment . Thus, in recent years we are witnessing the rise of a cultural trend ‒ Slow Food. Slow Food has become an international movement that advocates for satisfying culinary pl...

  8. Optimization of an effective growth medium for culturing probiotic bacteria for applications in strict vegetarian food products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manju Pathak

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: This study aimed to modify de Man Rogosa Sharpe culture medium (termed MRS for selective cultivation of probiotics strain for the consumption by the strictly vegetarian human population. Vegetarian probiotic foods by definition must be free from all animal-derived ingredients. This not only includes the product ingredients but the probiotic inoculum as well. Probiotic starter cultures are traditionally grown and stored in media containing milk or meatderived ingredients. The presence of these ingredients makes the probiotic cell concentrates unsuitable for use in vegetarian products and thus creates the need for a growth medium which isfree from animal-derived ingredients. Present study investigated the growth of a strain of Lactobacillus lactis in MRS. The present invention relates in general to a bacterial culture media,and more specifically a complex microbial culture media, based on plant seed powder extract in place of animal extract for probiotic bacterial growth.Methods: Lactobacillus lactis, a probiotic, was grown in standard MRS culture medium as well as in our various test media (TM containing various vegetal source in place of beef extract, yeast extract and peptone as in case of MRS. The inoculated culture mediums were incubated at 37C for 72 hours and growth of probiotic is recorded at regular intervals. The growth was recorded as Colony Forming Units (CFUs.Results: The best growth of probiotic is observed in TM 2. TM 2 is the leguminous seed extract. Starter culture mediums for probiotics or other bacteria primarily contain protein from animal source. The possibility of using vegetal protein from TM 2 extract in place of peptones and meat extract for the nitrogen supplementation of culture media for the growth of lactic acid bacteria has been demonstrated.Functional Foods in Health and Disease 2012, 2(10:369-378 Conclusion: The absolute vegetarian culture medium containing TM 2 is better than standard MRS for the

  9. Bioremediation of oil-contaminated soil using Candida catenulata and food waste.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joo, Hung-Soo; Ndegwa, Pius M; Shoda, Makoto; Phae, Chae-Gun

    2008-12-01

    Even though petroleum-degrading microorganisms are widely distributed in soil and water, they may not be present in sufficient numbers to achieve contaminant remediation. In such cases, it may be useful to inoculate the polluted area with highly effective petroleum-degrading microbial strains to augment the exiting ones. In order to identify a microbial strain for bioaugmentation of oil-contaminated soil, we isolated a microbial strain with high emulsification and petroleum hydrocarbon degradation efficiency of diesel fuel in culture. The efficacy of the isolated microbial strain, identified as Candida catenulata CM1, was further evaluated during composting of a mixture containing 23% food waste and 77% diesel-contaminated soil including 2% (w/w) diesel. After 13 days of composting, 84% of the initial petroleum hydrocarbon was degraded in composting mixes containing a powdered form of CM1 (CM1-solid), compared with 48% of removal ratio in control reactor without inoculum. This finding suggests that CM1 is a viable microbial strain for bioremediation of oil-contaminated soil with food waste through composting processes.

  10. Growth of microbial mixed cultures under anaerobic, alkaline conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wenk, M.

    1993-09-01

    Cement and concrete are the most important engineered barrier materials in a repository for low- and intermediate-level waste and thus represent the most significant component of the total disposal inventory. Based on the chemical composition of the concrete used in the repository and the groundwater fluxes in the modelled host rock, it is to be expected that the pH in the near vicinity of the repository could exceed a value of 10.5 for more than a million years. The groundwater in the repository environment also has a limited carbon concentration. Since microorganisms will be present in a repository and can even find suitable living conditions within the waste itself, investigations were carried out in order to establish the extent to which microbial activity is possible under the extreme conditions of the repository near-field. For the investigations, alkalophilic cultures were enriched from samples from alkaline habitats and from Valanginian Marl. Anaerobic bacteria with fermentative, sulfate-reducing and methanogenic metabolism were selected. The growth and activity of the mixed cultures were studied under alkaline conditions and the dependence on pH and carbon concentration determined. All the mixed cultures investigated are alkalophilic. The optimum growth range for the cultures is between pH 9.0 and pH 10.0. The activity limit for the fermentative mixed culture is at pH 12, for the sulfate-reducers at pH 11 and for the methanogens at pH 10.5. Given the limited supply of carbon, the mixed cultures can only grow under slightly alkaline conditions. Only the fermentative cultures are capable of surviving with limited carbon supply at pH 13. (author) 24 figs., 18 tabs., 101 refs

  11. Past and present practices of the Malay food heritage and culture in Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohd Nazri Abdul Raji

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Malay heritage varies from north to south; however, there are various similarities and differences. Essentially, Malay heritage food is influenced by a myriad of cultures, such as Arab, Indian, Chinese, Siamese, Javanese, Minangkabau, and others. Different regions in Malaysia are known for their unique or signature dishes, such as beef rendang, laksa, nasi lemak, and tapai. Indeed, it is noted that Malay food is identical in terms of its spiciness. This can be seen from the prepreparation, methods of cooking, and availability and use of prominent ingredients, such as local aromatic herbs and spices. This article highlights the regional Malay food, past and present practices of Malay food culture, and characteristics of Malay food. In addition, this article also discusses the different occasions and table etiquette practices among Malay communities. The reported findings are expected to contribute to the literature on food culture, specifically in Malay heritage food.

  12. A bio-cultural approach to the study of food choice: The contribution of taste genetics, population and culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Risso, Davide S; Giuliani, Cristina; Antinucci, Marco; Morini, Gabriella; Garagnani, Paolo; Tofanelli, Sergio; Luiselli, Donata

    2017-07-01

    The study of food choice, one of the most complex human traits, requires an integrated approach that takes into account environmental, socio-cultural and biological diversity. We recruited 183 volunteers from four geo-linguistic groups and highly diversified in terms of both genetic background and food habits from whom we collected genotypes and phenotypes tightly linked to taste perception. We confirmed previous genetic associations, in particular with stevioside perception, and noted significant differences in food consumption: in particular, broccoli, mustard and beer consumption scores were significantly higher (Adjusted P = 0.02, Adjusted P diversity and cultural aspects in taste perception and food consumption. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  13. Food culture of faith communities and potential impact on childhood obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Opalinski, Andra S; Dyess, Susan M; Gropper, Sareen S

    2017-09-01

    To explore the food culture within faith communities (FC) in order to examine the consumption of away-from-home foods, and to provide an evidence base for the future development of healthy away-from-home meal initiatives though FCs. A qualitative descriptive design informed by an ethnographic method of free listing was utilized. A purposive sample of 34 FC leaders from seven distinct FCs participated in this study. The top five salience scores for five research questions are considered in detail. Of note, food is provided at multiple FC events including at worship time and Bible or group study, but also as part of school, youth programming, and special events. The purposes of serving food were reported to be not only for modes of entertainment and fellowship but also for promoting attendance and providing basic nutrition needs. Professionals practicing in public health, faith community nursing, or in community health nursing are apt to engage in focused dialogues regarding the multidimensional health problem of childhood obesity. This research study directs nurses to consider food culture as a dimension of importance, especially within FCs. Appreciating FC food culture is important because many families engage in the settings for years, decades, and possibly a life span. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. Detection of microbial biofilms on food processing surfaces: hyperspectral fluorescence imaging study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jun, Won; Kim, Moon S.; Chao, Kaunglin; Lefcourt, Alan M.; Roberts, Michael S.; McNaughton, James L.

    2009-05-01

    We used a portable hyperspectral fluorescence imaging system to evaluate biofilm formations on four types of food processing surface materials including stainless steel, polypropylene used for cutting boards, and household counter top materials such as formica and granite. The objective of this investigation was to determine a minimal number of spectral bands suitable to differentiate microbial biofilm formation from the four background materials typically used during food processing. Ultimately, the resultant spectral information will be used in development of handheld portable imaging devices that can be used as visual aid tools for sanitation and safety inspection (microbial contamination) of the food processing surfaces. Pathogenic E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella cells were grown in low strength M9 minimal medium on various surfaces at 22 +/- 2 °C for 2 days for biofilm formation. Biofilm autofluorescence under UV excitation (320 to 400 nm) obtained by hyperspectral fluorescence imaging system showed broad emissions in the blue-green regions of the spectrum with emission maxima at approximately 480 nm for both E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella biofilms. Fluorescence images at 480 nm revealed that for background materials with near-uniform fluorescence responses such as stainless steel and formica cutting board, regardless of the background intensity, biofilm formation can be distinguished. This suggested that a broad spectral band in the blue-green regions can be used for handheld imaging devices for sanitation inspection of stainless, cutting board, and formica surfaces. The non-uniform fluorescence responses of granite make distinctions between biofilm and background difficult. To further investigate potential detection of the biofilm formations on granite surfaces with multispectral approaches, principal component analysis (PCA) was performed using the hyperspectral fluorescence image data. The resultant PCA score images revealed distinct contrast between

  15. Effects of pH and microbial composition on odour in food waste composting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sundberg, Cecilia; Yu, Dan; Franke-Whittle, Ingrid; Kauppi, Sari; Smårs, Sven; Insam, Heribert; Romantschuk, Martin; Jönsson, Håkan

    2013-01-01

    A major problem for composting plants is odour emission. Slow decomposition during prolonged low-pH conditions is a frequent process problem in food waste composting. The aim was to investigate correlations between low pH, odour and microbial composition during food waste composting. Samples from laboratory composting experiments and two large scale composting plants were analysed for odour by olfactometry, as well as physico-chemical and microbial composition. There was large variation in odour, and samples clustered in two groups, one with low odour and high pH (above 6.5), the other with high odour and low pH (below 6.0). The low-odour samples were significantly drier, had lower nitrate and TVOC concentrations and no detectable organic acids. Samples of both groups were dominated by Bacillales or Actinobacteria, organisms which are often indicative of well-functioning composting processes, but the high-odour group DNA sequences were similar to those of anaerobic or facultatively anaerobic species, not to typical thermophilic composting species. High-odour samples also contained Lactobacteria and Clostridia, known to produce odorous substances. A proposed odour reduction strategy is to rapidly overcome the low pH phase, through high initial aeration rates and the use of additives such as recycled compost. PMID:23122203

  16. Comparative analysis of microbial community of novel lactic acid fermentation inoculated with different undefined mixed cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Shaobo; Gliniewicz, Karol; Mendes-Soares, Helena; Settles, Matthew L; Forney, Larry J; Coats, Erik R; McDonald, Armando G

    2015-03-01

    Three undefined mixed cultures (activated sludge) from different municipal wastewater treatment plants were used as seeds in a novel lactic acid fermentation process fed with potato peel waste (PPW). Anaerobic sequencing batch fermenters were run under identical conditions to produce predominantly lactic acid. Illumina sequencing was used to examine the 16S rRNA genes of bacteria in the three seeds and fermenters. Results showed that the structure of microbial communities of three seeds were different. All three fermentation products had unique community structures that were dominated (>96%) by species of the genus Lactobacillus, while members of this genus constituted undefined mixed cultures were robust and resilient, which provided engineering prospects for the microbial utilization of carbohydrate wastes to produce lactic acid. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Teaching the Psychology of Food and Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cargill, Kima

    2007-01-01

    Increasingly, psychologists practicing as clinicians, researchers, and educators are concerned about nutrition, obesity, dieting, and body image. This article describes the development and teaching of an interdisciplinary undergraduate class on the Psychology of Food and Culture. I describe the course philosophy and curriculum as well as make…

  18. Application of culture-dependent and culture-independent methods for the identification of Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens in microbial consortia present in kefir grains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamet, Maria Fernanda; Londero, Alejandra; Medrano, Micaela; Vercammen, Elisabeth; Van Hoorde, Koenraad; Garrote, Graciela L; Huys, Geert; Vandamme, Peter; Abraham, Analía G

    2013-12-01

    The biological and technological characteristics of kefiran as well as its importance in grain integrity led us to analyze the microbial kefir grain consortium with focus on Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens. The presence of L. kefiranofaciens in the nine kefir grains studied was demonstrated by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. By culture dependent methods applying a methodology focused on the search of this species, 22 isolates with typical morphology were obtained and identified applying a combination of SDS-PAGE of whole cell proteins, (GTG)5-PCR and sequence analysis of the housekeeping gene encoding the α-subunit of bacterial phenylalanyl-tRNA synthase (pheS). This polyphasic approach allowed the reliable identification of 11 L. kefiranofaciens, 5 Lactobacillus paracasei, 4 Lactobacillus kefiri and 2 Lactobacillus parakefiri isolates. Isolated L. kefiranofaciens strains produced polysaccharide in strain-dependent concentrations and EPS produced by them also differed in the degree of polymerization. The isolation and accurate identification of L. kefiranofaciens is relevant taking into account the important role of this microorganism in the grain ecosystem as well as its potential application as starter in food fermentations. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Worldview of health and food in the Guambiana culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nancy Janneth Molano-Tobar

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The indigenous culture in Colombia represents a set of historical memories, where their customs reveal the evolution of their own culture, being health and food important aspects from different contexts. Objective: To demonstrate the worldview of health and food processes in the Guambiana indigenous culture. Materials and methods: A qualitative study with an ethnographic approach was conducted with in-depth interview techniques to 12 representatives of the community established by the indigenous Cabildo. Results: The following 3 categories emerged from the investigative process: a The ancestral culture, our inheritance and pride B the health mediated by nature C The feeding focus of survival and change. Conclusions: The Guambiano people manifest a cultural richness that is evidenced from their ancestors in language and clothing, which is a form of identity. In the same sense, health is conceived as the balance of them and nature, which gives them not only the possibility of healing of the diseases from the millennial knowledge of the healers, but also Mother Earth offers them the possibility of feeding and preserving health, despite the linking of external customs.

  20. Carbon transfer in herbivore- and microbial loop-dominated pelagic food webs in the southern Barents Sea during spring and summer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Laender, F.; Oevelen, D. van; Soetaert, K.; Middelburg, J.J.

    2010-01-01

    We compared carbon budgets between a herbivore-dominated and a microbial loopdominated food web and examined the implications of food web structure for fish production. We used the southern Barents Sea as a case study and inverse modelling as an analysis method. In spring, when the system was

  1. The Cultural Interpretation of Food Images in the Joy luck Club

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    童安剑

    2014-01-01

    The Joy Luck Club employs a wide range of images, which embody the complicated and profound Chinese culture and eastern philosophy, to highlight the cultural conflicts and fusion within and beyond the narrations. Foods, an important image to interpret Chinese culture, have been discussed to show the cultural conflicts and the final reconciliation.

  2. Long-term high-solids anaerobic digestion of food waste: Effects of ammonia on process performance and microbial community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Xuya; Zhang, ShangYi; Li, Lei; Zhao, Xiaofei; Ma, Yao; Shi, Dezhi

    2018-04-22

    A long-term high solids anaerobic digestion of food waste was conducted to identify microbial mechanisms of ammonia inhibition during digestion and to clarify correlations between ammonia accumulation, microbial community dynamics (diversity, composition, and interactions), and process stability. Results show that the effects of ammonia on process performance and microbial community were indirectly caused by volatile fatty acid accumulation. Excess free ammonia blocked acetate metabolism, leading to process instability. Accumulated acetate caused feedback inhibition at the acetogenesis stage, which resulted in considerable accumulation of propionate, valerate, and other long-chain fatty acids. This high concentration of volatile fatty acids reduced the abundance of syntrophic acetogenic bacteria and allowed hydrolytic fermentative bacteria to dominate. The normally interactive and orderly metabolic network was broken, which further exacerbated the process instability. These results improve the understanding of microbial mechanisms which contribute to process instability and provide guidance for the microbial management of anaerobic digesters. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Difference of microbial community stressed in artificial pit muds for Luzhou-flavour liquor brewing revealed by multiphase culture-independent technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, L; Zhou, R; Niu, M; Zheng, J; Wu, C

    2015-11-01

    Artificial pit muds (APMs) is produced by peats, aged pit muds, yellow and black clays etc. and is one of essential factors for Luzhou-flavour liquor production. The microbial community of APMs significantly influence the quality of Luzhou-flavour liquor. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in bacterial, archaeal and fungal community of APMs, starters and materials. Multiphase culture-independent technology were employed in this study, including nested PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (nested PCR-DGGE), phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA), phospholipid ether lipids (PLEL) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis. Results suggested that the microbial diversity significantly changed under environmental stress and different culture patterns during APMs cultivation. The dominant bacteria in APMs mainly fell into Clostridiales, Lactobacillales, Bacteroidales and Rhizobiales, Archaea affiliated with Methanomicrobiales and Methanosarcinales, and fungi belonged to Saccharomycetales and Eurotiales. Furthermore, the microbial community structures of APMs cultured by ground pile pattern were more similar with that of aged pit muds, meanwhile, the relative bands intensities of microbes, which are the main contributors for liquor brewing, increased with the culture times. Not only the niche selection and biogeochemical properties of APMs, but also the mutual collaboration and constraint between different microbes may result in enriching different liquor-brewing microbes into APMs. APM cultivation technology was necessary to promote enriching functional liquor-brewing microbes into APMs. These results may facilitate understanding the microbial succession during APMs manufacture. © 2015 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  4. Food safety culture assessment using a comprehensive mixed-methods approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nyarugwe, Shingai P.; Linnemann, Anita; Nyanga, Loveness K.; Fogliano, Vincenzo; Luning, Pieternel A.

    2018-01-01

    Food safety challenges are a global concern especially in emerging economies, which are in the midst of developmental changes. The challenges are directly or indirectly related to the behaviour and decision-making of personnel, and to an organisation's food safety culture. This study evaluated the

  5. Potential use of nuclear irradiation technology for the microbial industry in Malaysia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raja, P.; Isyanti, I.

    2002-01-01

    The potential application of irradiation is numerous. The process seems technically feasible for sterilization of medical devices, pharmaceutical products, foods, cosmetics, packaging materials, scientific laboratory materials like petri dishes, growth media, complying with phytosanitary requirements for fruit and vegetables etc. An awareness of biofertilizer or microbial product has established itself to be a significant part of food production and consumption internationally as well as in Malaysia. People are discovering organic agriculture can serve their need for safe quality food, environment conservation and social accountability. One of the major technical constraints of viable microbial or biofertilizer product production is contaminated free carrier materials. In order to develop the good microbial product, we are practicing the gamma irradiation on our carrier materials and successfully established the product. The different carrier materials were packed and used 25 kGy Cobalt-60 source (JS 8900, SINAGAMA, MINT) for sterilization and simultaneously the materials were sterilized in steam. The cultured Trichoderma virile and T harzianum were mixed with sterilized carrier and observed the colony formin. unit (CFU) on regular intervals. The results showed the efficient colony forming unit on both sterilization method of materials. However, the nuclear irradiation is more cost effective and time saving than steam method. (Author)

  6. The role of lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus sp yel133) from beef in inhibiting of microbial contaminants on various fillers of starter culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yunilas; Mirwandhono, E.

    2018-02-01

    The role of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) on the starter culture can be seen from the ability to grow and suppress the growth of microbial contaminants (fungi). The research aimed to investigate the role of LAB (Lactobacillus sp YEL133) in inhibiting microbial contaminants (fungi) on starter cultures of various fillers. The materials used in this research was Lactobacillus sp YEL133 from beef and various fillers (rice flour, corn starch and wheat flour). The research methods used completely randomized design (CRD) with 3 treatments and 4 replications. The treatments of this research was P1(rice flour), P2 (corn starch) and P3 (wheat flour) that inoculated with Lactobacillus sp YEL133. Parameters which is observed such as: growth of lactic acid bacteria, total microbes and total fungi as microbial contaminants. The results showed that the starter culture with a filler material of rice flour produce lactic acid bacteria and microbes were highly significant (P wheat flour, as well as able to suppress the growth of microbial contaminants (fungi). The conclusion of the research is the use Lactobacillus sp YEL133 can suppress the growth of fungi on the starter culture using rice flour.

  7. An Autonomous System for Experimental Evolution of Microbial Cultures: Test Results Using Ultraviolet-C Radiation and Escherichia Coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouandji, Cynthia; Wang, Jonathan; Arismendi, Dillon; Lee, Alonzo; Blaich, Justin; Gentry, Diana

    2017-01-01

    At its core, the field of microbial experimental evolution seeks to elucidate the natural laws governing the history of microbial life by understanding its underlying driving mechanisms. However, observing evolution in nature is complex, as environmental conditions are difficult to control. Laboratory-based experiments for observing population evolution provide more control, but manually culturing and studying multiple generations of microorganisms can be time consuming, labor intensive, and prone to inconsistency. We have constructed a prototype, closed system device that automates the process of directed evolution experiments in microorganisms. It is compatible with any liquid microbial culture, including polycultures and field samples, provides flow control and adjustable agitation, continuously monitors optical density (OD), and can dynamically control environmental pressures such as ultraviolet-C (UV-C) radiation and temperature. Here, the results of the prototype are compared to iterative exposure and survival assays conducted using a traditional hood, UV-C lamp, and shutter system.

  8. Salmonella source attribution based on microbial subtyping

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barco, Lisa; Barrucci, Federica; Olsen, John Elmerdahl

    2013-01-01

    Source attribution of cases of food-borne disease represents a valuable tool for identifying and prioritizing effective food-safety interventions. Microbial subtyping is one of the most common methods to infer potential sources of human food-borne infections. So far, Salmonella microbial subtyping...... source attribution through microbial subtyping approach. It summarizes the available microbial subtyping attribution models and discusses the use of conventional phenotypic typing methods, as well as of the most commonly applied molecular typing methods in the European Union (EU) laboratories...

  9. Electrospinning of microbial polyester for cell culture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kwon, Oh Hyeong [Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, 1 Yangho-dong, Gumi, Gyeongbuk 730-701 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Ik Sang [Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, 1 Yangho-dong, Gumi, Gyeongbuk 730-701 (Korea, Republic of); Ko, Young-Gwang [Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, 1 Yangho-dong, Gumi, Gyeongbuk 730-701 (Korea, Republic of); Meng, Wan [Department of Polymer Science, Kyungpook National University, 1370 Sankyuk-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu 702-701 (Korea, Republic of); Jung, Kyung-Hye [Department of Polymer Science, Kyungpook National University, 1370 Sankyuk-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu 702-701 (Korea, Republic of); Kang, Inn-Kyu [Department of Polymer Science, Kyungpook National University, 1370 Sankyuk-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu 702-701 (Korea, Republic of); Ito, Yoshihiro [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology, KSP East 309, Sakado 3-2-1, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki 213-0012 (Japan)

    2007-03-01

    Biodegradable and biocompatible poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), a copolymer of microbial polyester, was fabricated as a nanofibrous mat by electrospinning. The specific surface area and the porosity of electrospun PHBV nanofibrous mat were determined. When the mechanical properties of flat film and electrospun PHBV nanofibrous mats were investigated, both the tensile modulus and strength of electrospun PHBV were less than those of cast PHBV film. However, the elongation ratio of nanofiber mat was higher than that of the cast film. The structure of electrospun nanofibers using PHBV-trifluoroethanol solutions depended on the solution concentrations. When x-ray diffraction patterns of bulk PHBV before and after electrospinning were compared, the crystallinity of PHBV was not significantly affected by the electrospinning process. Chondrocytes adhered and grew on the electrospun PHBV nanofibrous mat better than on the cast PHBV film. Therefore, the electrospun PHBV was considered to be suitable for cell culture.

  10. Culturable microbial groups and thallium-tolerant fungi in soils with high thallium contamination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jialong; Zou, Xiao; Ning, Zengping; Sun, Min; Peng, Jingquan; Xiao, Tangfu

    2012-12-15

    Thallium (Tl) contamination in soil exerts a significant threat to the ecosystem health due to its high toxicity. However, little is known about the effect of Tl on the microbial community in soil. The present study aimed at characterizing the culturable microbial groups in soils which experience for a long time high Tl contamination and elevated Hg and As. The contamination originates from As, Hg and Tl sulfide mineralization and the associated mining activities in the Guizhou Province, Southwest China. Our investigation showed the existence of culturable bacteria, filamentous fungi and actinomyces in long-term Tl-contaminated soils. Some fungal groups grow in the presence of high Tl level up to 1000 mg kg⁻¹. We have isolated and identified nine Tl-tolerant fungal strains based on the morphological traits and ITS analysis. The dominant genera identified were Trichoderma, Penicillium and Paecilomyces. Preliminary data obtained in this study suggested that certain microbes were able to face high Tl pollution in soil and maintain their metabolic activities and resistances. The highly Tl-tolerant fungi that we have isolated are potentially useful in the remediation of Tl-contaminated sites. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Microbial Contamination of the Food Materials for Manufacturing Korean Laver Roll (Kimbab) and the Effect of Gamma Irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hong, S.P.; Kim, Y.H.; Lee, N.Y.; Jo, C.U.; Byun, M.W.

    2004-01-01

    Microbial contamination of ready-to-eat ingredients for Kimbab manufacturing and the effect of irradiation to reduce the microbial contamination of the products were investigated. Among 9 food items tested, there were no viable cells in the ham, seasoned and cooked beef, imitation crab leg, fried egg, and seasoned burdoc. Cucumber, surimi gel, and seasoned and blanched spinach were counted at 5.07±0.97, 3.50±0.14, and 5.41±0.51 log CFU/g, respectively

  12. Mechanistic and kinetic aspects of microbial inactivation in food irradiation processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tukenmez, I.

    2004-01-01

    Full text: A proper reaction mechanism was searched by analyzing the inactivation processes of microorganisms during food irradiation by ionizing radiation. By employing transition-state theory, it was assumed that the overall inactivation process involves a reversible sub-lethal stress and repair reactions to form reversibly injured cell or sensitized cell, which then undergoes irreversible injury leading to dead cell. A shoulder in low dose range in survival kinetics was associated with the repair process. Depending on the postulated mechanism, kinetic model equations were derived. The kinetics of cell inactivation by irradiation was expressed as depending on irradiation dose. By using experimental data in the developed model the inactivation parameters including threshold dose, radiation yield, decimal reduction dose and minimum sterilization dose were evaluated and microbial inactivation by irradiation was simulated by using the numerical values of the parameters. Developed model and model parameters may be used for the process control and the assessment of product quality in radiation preservation of food

  13. Molecular ecology of microbial mats

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bolhuis, H.; Cretoiu, M.S.; Stal, L.J.

    2014-01-01

    Phototrophic microbial mats are ideal model systems for ecological and evolutionary analysis of highly diverse microbial communities. Microbial mats are small-scale, nearly closed, and self-sustaining benthic ecosystems that comprise the major element cycles, trophic levels, and food webs. The steep

  14. An Exploratory Study Linking Turkish Regional Food with Cultural Destinations

    OpenAIRE

    Mehmet Ergul; Colin Johnson; Ali Sukru Cetinkaya; Jale Boga Robertson

    2011-01-01

    Food and tourism may be considered as two interrelated elements that bring people and cultures together on many different occasions. Research indicates that food could be viewed as a peak touristic experience and a major tourist attraction. The main purpose of this paper is to identify and evaluate the significance of food tourism for Turkey and to create a number of innovative regional food related itineraries that would be replicable. Four main results emerged from the analysis of the inter...

  15. Analysis of microbial community variation during the mixed culture fermentation of agricultural peel wastes to produce lactic acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Shaobo; Gliniewicz, Karol; Gerritsen, Alida T; McDonald, Armando G

    2016-05-01

    Mixed cultures fermentation can be used to convert organic wastes into various chemicals and fuels. This study examined the fermentation performance of four batch reactors fed with different agricultural (orange, banana, and potato (mechanical and steam)) peel wastes using mixed cultures, and monitored the interval variation of reactor microbial communities with 16S rRNA genes using Illumina sequencing. All four reactors produced similar chemical profile with lactic acid (LA) as dominant compound. Acetic acid and ethanol were also observed with small fractions. The Illumina sequencing results revealed the diversity of microbial community decreased during fermentation and a community of largely lactic acid producing bacteria dominated by species of Lactobacillus developed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by microbial consortia enriched from three soils using two different culture media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Manli; Chen, Liming; Tian, Yongqiang; Ding, Yi; Dick, Warren A.

    2013-01-01

    A consortium composed of many different bacterial species is required to efficiently degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in oil-contaminated soil. We obtained six PAH-degrading microbial consortia from three oil-contaminated soils using two different isolation culture media. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and sequence analyses of amplified 16s rRNA genes confirmed the bacterial community was greatly affected by both the culture medium and the soil from which the consortia were enriched. Three bacterial consortia enriched using malt yeast extract (MYE) medium showed higher degradation rates of PAHs than consortia enriched using Luria broth (LB) medium. Consortia obtained from a soil and then added back to that same soil was more effective in degrading PAHs than adding, to the same soil, consortia isolated from other, unrelated soils. This suggests that inoculum used for bioremediation should be from the same, or very similar nearby soils, as the soil that is actually being bioremediated. -- Highlights: •Six PAH-degrading microbial consortia were isolated from three oil-contaminated soils. •The bacterial community by 16s rRNA genes was affected by culture media and source soil. •Inoculum should be from the same or similar soil as the soil being bioremediated. -- Bioremediation of oil-contaminated soils was most effective when using inoculum of microbial consortia from the same or similar soil as the soil being bioremediated

  17. Characterization of microbial community in the two-stage process for hydrogen and methane production from food waste

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chu, Chun-Feng [School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Ebie, Yoshitaka [National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba 305-8506 (Japan); Xu, Kai-Qin [National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba 305-8506 (Japan); State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072 (China); Li, Yu-You [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579 (Japan); Inamori, Yuhei [Faculty of Symbiotic Systems Science, Fukushima University, Fukushima 960-1296 (Japan)

    2010-08-15

    The structure of a microbial community in the two-stage process for H{sub 2} and CH{sub 4} production from food waste was investigated by a molecular biological approach. The process was a continuous combined thermophilic acidogenic hydrogenesis and mesophilic (RUN1) or thermophilic (RUN2) methanogenesis with recirculation of the digested sludge. A two-phase process suggested in this study effectively separate H{sub 2}-producing bacteria from methanogenic archaea by optimization of design parameters such as pH, hydraulic retention time (HRT) and temperature. Galore microbial diversity was found in the thermophilic acidogenic hydrogenesis, Clostridium sp. strain Z6 and Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum were considered to be the dominant thermophilic H{sub 2}-producing bacteria. The hydrogenotrophic methanogens were inhibited in thermophilic methanogenesis, whereas archaeal rDNAs were higher in the thermophilic methanogenesis than those in mesophilic methanogenesis. The yields of H{sub 2} and CH{sub 4} were in equal range depending on the characteristics of food waste, whereas effluent water quality indicators were different obviously in RUN1 and RUN2. The results indicated that hydrolysis and removal of food waste were higher in RUN2 than RUN1. (author)

  18. Cultural, socioeconomic and nutritional determinants of functional food consumption patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mullie, P; Guelinckx, I; Clarys, P; Degrave, E; Hulens, M; Vansant, G

    2009-11-01

    The aim of our research was to describe cultural, socioeconomic and nutritional determinants associated with functional food consumption. Cross-sectional design in 5000 military men. Using mailed questionnaires, the functional food consumption frequency was recorded. Margarines fortified with phytosterols or phytostanols were used on a daily basis by 26.3% of the responders. Only 4.7% took a daily portion of probiotics, whereas 14.0% consumed one or more portions of nuts a week. One man out of three consumed one cup of tea daily, whereas 10.2% consumed one glass of red wine daily. Three or more portions of fruit a day were consumed by 19.1%, and two or more portions of vegetables a day by 26.6%. Only 12.3% consumed a portion of fatty fish weekly. After adjustment for age, body mass index, physical activity, use of vitamin supplements, smoking, marital status, cultural background, educational and income level, the daily consumption of fortified margarines increased with age. The consumption of fermented dairy products increased with physical activity and with the use of vitamin supplements. The consumption of fortified margarines, nuts, tea and fatty fish was strongly influenced by cultural background, with higher consumptions for Flemish-speaking men compared with French-speaking persons. Daily consumption of red wine was higher in French-speaking men and in higher educated men. Finally, functional food consumption was associated with a healthy dietary pattern. Age, physical activity, level of education, use of vitamin supplements and cultural background are predictors of functional food consumption patterns.

  19. A finely tuned symphony of factors modulates the microbial food web of a freshwater reservoir in spring

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šimek, Karel; Nedoma, Jiří; Znachor, Petr; Kasalický, Vojtěch; Jezbera, Jan; Horňák, Karel; Seďa, Jaromír

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 59, č. 5 (2014), s. 1477-1492 ISSN 0024-3590 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA13-00243S Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : microbial food web * freshwater reservoir * limnology Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology Impact factor: 3.794, year: 2014

  20. Socio-Cultural Impediments to Food Security in South-East Agro ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Against the background of the precarious food security situation in parts of Africa, this paper highlights aspects of Nigeria's culture that impinge on agricultural practice and food habits and consequently, undermine efforts to achieve the agrarian and rural development policy objectives of the federal and state governments of ...

  1. Multi-Cultural Competency-Based Vocational Curricula. Food Service. Multi-Cultural Competency-Based Vocational/Technical Curricula Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hepburn, Larry; Shin, Masako

    This document, one of eight in a multi-cultural competency-based vocational/technical curricula series, is on food service. This program is designed to run 24 weeks and cover 15 instructional areas: orientation, sanitation, management/planning, preparing food for cooking, preparing beverages, cooking eggs, cooking meat, cooking vegetables,…

  2. Unraveling microbial ecology of industrial-scale Kombucha fermentations by metabarcoding and culture-based methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coton, Monika; Pawtowski, Audrey; Taminiau, Bernard; Burgaud, Gaëtan; Deniel, Franck; Coulloumme-Labarthe, Laurent; Fall, Abdoulaye; Daube, Georges; Coton, Emmanuel

    2017-05-01

    Kombucha, historically an Asian tea-based fermented drink, has recently become trendy in Western countries. Producers claim it bears health-enhancing properties that may come from the tea or metabolites produced by its microbiome. Despite its long history of production, microbial richness and dynamics have not been fully unraveled, especially at an industrial scale. Moreover, the impact of tea type (green or black) on microbial ecology was not studied. Here, we compared microbial communities from industrial-scale black and green tea fermentations, still traditionally carried out by a microbial biofilm, using culture-dependent and metabarcoding approaches. Dominant bacterial species belonged to Acetobacteraceae and to a lesser extent Lactobacteriaceae, while the main identified yeasts corresponded to Dekkera, Hanseniaspora and Zygosaccharomyces during all fermentations. Species richness decreased over the 8-day fermentation. Among acetic acid bacteria, Gluconacetobacter europaeus, Gluconobacter oxydans, G. saccharivorans and Acetobacter peroxydans emerged as dominant species. The main lactic acid bacteria, Oenococcus oeni, was strongly associated with green tea fermentations. Tea type did not influence yeast community, with Dekkera bruxellensis, D. anomala, Zygosaccharomyces bailii and Hanseniaspora valbyensis as most dominant. This study unraveled a distinctive core microbial community which is essential for fermentation control and could lead to Kombucha quality standardization. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  3. 'Tasteful' cosmopolitanism - food, consumption and cultural distinction in an ethnic greengrocer in Copenhagen

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Neergaard, Maja de

    Based on an ethnographic study in a Lebanese greengrocer in Nørrebro in central Copenhagen, the paper asks about the nature of everyday cosmopolitan culture, as it gets performed through food consumption. The field study shows examples of a transcultural multi-culture among both customers and staff...... shows examples of how middleclass cosmopolitan food consumption can indeed be regarded as means of white middleclass cultural distinction. The argument is, that even if everyday cosmopolitanism does, on the one hand, allow for diversity training and the diminishing of cultural difference it might also...

  4. Bioelectricity generation using two chamber microbial fuel cell treating wastewater from food processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mansoorian, Hossein Jafari; Mahvi, Amir Hossein; Jafari, Ahmad Jonidi; Amin, Mohammad Mehdi; Rajabizadeh, Ahmad; Khanjani, Narges

    2013-05-10

    Electricity generation from microbial fuel cells which treat food processing wastewater was investigated in this study. Anaerobic anode and aerobic cathode chambers were separated by a proton exchange membrane in a two-compartment MFC reactor. Buffer solutions and food industry wastewater were used as electrolytes in the anode and cathode chambers, respectively. The produced voltage and current intensity were measured using a digital multimeter. Effluents from the anode compartment were tested for COD, BOD5, NH3, P, TSS, VSS, SO4 and alkalinity. The maximum current density and power production were measured 527mA/m(2) and 230mW/m(2) in the anode area, respectively, at operation organic loading (OLR) of 0.364g COD/l.d. At OLR of 0.182g COD/l.d, maximum voltage and columbic efficiency production were recorded 0.475V and 21%, respectively. Maximum removal efficiency of COD, BOD5, NH3, P, TSS, VSS, SO4 and alkalinity were 86, 79, 73, 18, 68, 62, 30 and 58%, respectively. The results indicated that catalysts and mediator-less microbial fuel cells (CAML-MFC) can be considered as a better choice for simple and complete energy conversion from the wastewater of such industries and also this could be considered as a new method to offset wastewater treatment plant operating costs. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. An Overview on Novel Microbial Determination Methods in Pharmaceutical and Food Quality Control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahboob Nemati

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Traditional microbiological methods tend to be labor-intensive and time-consuming. Rapid and novel methods in microbiological tests provide more sensitive, precise and reproducible results compared with conventional methods. In microbiology, the most rapid testing methods belong to the field of biotechnology such as PCR, ELISA, ATP bioluminescence and etc. Nevertheless impedance microbiology, biosensors and analytical procedures to determine microbial constituents are of significance. The present review article was conducted using internet databases and related scientific literatures and articles that provide information on developments in the rapid methods in microbiology. The main focus is on the application of rapid methods in microbial quality control of pharmaceutical products. Reviewed literature showed that rapid methods and automation in microbiology is an advanced area for studying and applying of improved methods in the early detection, and characterization of microorganisms and their products in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industrials as well as environmental monitoring and clinical applications. It can be concluded that rapid methods and automation in microbiology should continue as potent and efficient technologies to develop the novel tests to be performed in the future because of the ever-increasing concerns about the safety of food and pharmaceutical products. However the main issues to be considered are the scale up of developed methods and the regulatory requirements.

  6. Microbial culture collections as pillars for promoting fungal diversity, conservation and exploitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sette, Lara Durães; Pagnocca, Fernando Carlos; Rodrigues, André

    2013-11-01

    Fungi are a diverse group of organisms with an overall global number of 1.5M up to 3.3M species on Earth. Besides their ecological roles as decomposers, fungi are important in several aspects of applied research. Here, we review how culture collections may promote the knowledge on diversity, conservation and biotechnological exploitation of fungi. The impact of fungi diversity on biotechnological studies is discussed. We point out the major roles of microbial repositories, including fungal preservation, prospecting, identification, authentication and supply. A survey on the World Data Center for Microorganisms (WDCM) powered by the World Federation for Culture Collections and on the Genetic Heritage Management Council (CGEN) database revealed that 46 Brazilian culture collections registered in these databases are dedicate to preserving fungi. Most of these culture collections are located in the Southeast of Brazil. This scenario also demonstrates that Brazil has many collections focused on fungal strains, but the lack of up-to-date information in WDCM as well as of a solid national platform for culture collections registration do not allow accurate assessment of fungal preservation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Carbon transfer in a herbivore- and microbial loop-dominated pelagic food webs in the southern Barents Sea during spring and summer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Laender, F.; Van Oevelen, D.; Soetaert, K.E.R.; Middelburg, J.J.

    2010-01-01

    We compare carbon budgets between a herbivore-dominated and a microbial loop-dominated food web and examine the implications of food web structure for fish production. We use the southern Barents Sea as a case study and inverse modelling as an analysis method. In spring, when the system was

  8. Effect of changing temperature on anaerobic hydrogen production and microbial community composition in an open-mixed culture bioreactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Karadag, Dogan; Puhakka, Jaakko A. [Department of Chemistry and Bioengineering, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere (Finland)

    2010-10-15

    The temperature effect (37-65 C) on H{sub 2} production from glucose in an open-mixed culture bioreactor using an enrichment culture from a hot spring was studied. The dynamics of microbial communities was investigated by polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). At 45 and 60 C the H{sub 2} production was the highest i.e. 1.71 and 0.85 mol H{sub 2}/mol glucose, respectively. No H{sub 2} was produced at temperatures 50 and 55 C. At 37-45 C, H{sub 2} production was produced by butyrate type fermentation while fermentation mechanism changed to ethanol type at 60 C. Clostridium species were dominant at 37-45 C while at 50-55 C and 60 C the culture was dominated by Bacillus coagulans and Thermoanaerobacterium, respectively. In the presence of B. Coagulans the metabolism was directed to lactate production. The results show that the mixed culture had two optima for H{sub 2} production and that the microbial communities and metabolic patterns promptly changed according to changing temperatures. (author)

  9. Spontaneous Food Fermentations and Potential Risks for Human Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vittorio Capozzi

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Fermented foods and beverages are a heterogeneous class of products with a relevant worldwide significance for human economy, nutrition and health for millennia. A huge diversity of microorganisms is associated with the enormous variety in terms of raw materials, fermentative behavior and obtained products. In this wide microbiodiversity it is possible that the presence of microbial pathogens and toxic by-products of microbial origin, including mycotoxins, ethyl carbamate and biogenic amines, are aspects liable to reduce the safety of the consumed product. Together with other approaches (e.g., use of preservatives, respect of specific physico-chemical parameters, starter cultures technology has been conceived to successfully dominate indigenous microflora and to drive fermentation to foresee the desired attributes of the matrix, assuring quality and safety. Recent trends indicate a general return to spontaneous food fermentation. In this review, we point out the potential risks for human health associated with uncontrolled (uninoculated food fermentation and we discuss biotechnological approaches susceptible to conciliate fermented food safety, with instances of an enhanced contribution of microbes associated to spontaneous fermentation.

  10. Microbial composition of the Korean traditional food "kochujang" analyzed by a massive sequencing technique.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nam, Young-Do; Park, So-lim; Lim, Seong-Il

    2012-04-01

    Kochujang is a traditional Korean fermented food that is made with red pepper, glutinous rice, salt, and soybean. Kochujang is fermented by naturally occurring microorganisms through which it obtains various health-promoting properties. In this study, the bacterial diversities of 9 local and 2 commercial brands of kochujang were analyzed with a barcoded pyrosequencing technique targeting the hyper-variable regions V1/V2 of the 16S rRNA gene. Through the analysis of 13524 bacterial pyrosequences, 223 bacterial species were identified, most of which converged on the phylum Firmicutes (average 93.1%). All of the kochujang samples were largely populated (>90.9% of abundance) by 12 bacterial families, and Bacillaceae showed the highest abundance in all but one sample. Bacillus subtilis and B. licheniformis were the most dominant bacterial species and were broadly distributed among the kochujang samples. Each sample contained a high abundance of region-specific bacterial species, such as B. sonorensis, B. pumilus, Weissella salipiscis, and diverse unidentified Bacillus species. Phylotype- and phylogeny-based community comparison analysis showed that the microbial communities of the two commercial brands were different from those of the local brands. Moreover, each local brand kochujang sample had region-specific microbial community reflecting the manufacturing environment. © 2012 Institute of Food Technologists®

  11. Is food-related lifestyle (FRL) able to reveal food consumption patterns in non-western cultural environments? Its adaptation and application in urban China

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grunert, Klaus G.; Perrea, Toula; Zhou, Yanfeng

    Research related to food-related behaviour in China is still scarce, one reason being the fact that food consumption patterns in East Asia do not appear to be easily analyzed by models originating in Western cultures. The objective of the present work is to examine the ability of the Food Related...... for the conceptual meaningfulness and applicability of FRL in non-Western food culture environments, when appropriately adapted....

  12. Microbial quality of food available to populations of differing socioeconomic status.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koro, Marlen E; Anandan, Shivanthi; Quinlan, Jennifer J

    2010-05-01

    Low SES has been shown to be linked to poorer-quality diets, decreased consumption of fresh produce, and an increased reliance on small retail stores. The objective of this research was to determine if there is a difference in the microbial quality and potential safety of food available to low-SES versus high-SES populations at the retail level. Aerobic plate count (APC); yeast and mold counts (Y & M); and total coliforms were determined in ready-to-eat (RTE) greens, pre-cut watermelon, broccoli, strawberries, cucumbers, milk, and orange juice and compared among products purchased in stores in low- versus those purchased in high-SES neighborhoods between June 2005 and September 2006. APC, fecal coliforms, and E. coli in ground beef and the presence of Salmonella and Campylobacter in chicken were also compared. Results showed higher microbial loads on produce from markets in low-SES areas. Significant differences observed included (1) APC and Y&M in RTE greens, (2) APC and Y&M in strawberries, and (3) YMCs in cucumbers. No difference was detected in the level of pathogens in raw meat and poultry; however, the APC in ground beef available in high-SES markets was significantly higher compared with that found in low-SES markets. The results presented here indicate that populations of low SES may be more likely to experience produce of poorer microbial quality, which may have an impact on both the appeal and potential safety of the produce. 2010 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Do European Standard Disinfectant tests truly simulate in-use microbial and organic soiling conditions on food preparation surfaces?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, B; Morin, V N; Rödger, H-J; Holah, J; Bird, C

    2010-04-01

    The results from European standard disinfectant tests are used as one basis to approve the use of disinfectants in Europe. The design of these laboratory-based tests should thus simulate as closely as possible the practical conditions and challenges that the disinfectants would encounter in use. No evidence is available that the organic and microbial loading in these tests simulates actual levels in the food service sector. Total organic carbon (TOC) and total viable count (TVC) were determined on 17 visibly clean and 45 visibly dirty surfaces in two restaurants and the food preparation surfaces of a large retail store. These values were compared to reference values recovered from surfaces soiled with the organic and microbial loading, following the standard conditions of the European Surface Test for bactericidal efficacy, EN 13697. The TOC reference values for clean and dirty conditions were higher than the data from practice, but cannot be regarded as statistical outliers. This was considered as a conservative assessment; however, as additional nine TOC samples from visibly dirty surfaces were discarded from the analysis, as their loading made them impossible to process. Similarly, the recovery of test organisms from surfaces contaminated according to EN 13697 was higher than the TVC from visibly dirty surfaces in practice; though they could not be regarded as statistical outliers of the whole data field. No correlation was found between TVC and TOC in the sampled data, which re-emphasizes the potential presence of micro-organisms on visibly clean surfaces and thus the need for the same degree of disinfection as visibly dirty surfaces. The organic soil and the microbial burden used in EN disinfectant standards represent a realistic worst-case scenario for disinfectants used in the food service and food-processing areas.

  14. The gourmet ape: evolution and human food preferences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krebs, John R

    2009-09-01

    This review explores the relation between evolution, ecology, and culture in determining human food preferences. The basic physiology and morphology of Homo sapiens sets boundaries to our eating habits, but within these boundaries human food preferences are remarkably varied, both within and between populations. This does not mean that variation is entirely cultural or learned, because genes and culture may coevolve to determine variation in dietary habits. This coevolution has been well elucidated in some cases, such as lactose tolerance (lactase persistence) in adults, but is less well understood in others, such as in favism in the Mediterranean and other regions. Genetic variation in bitter taste sensitivity has been well documented, and it affects food preferences (eg, avoidance of cruciferous vegetables). The selective advantage of this variation is not clear. In African populations, there is an association between insensitivity to bitter taste and the prevalence of malaria, which suggests that insensitivity may have been selected for in regions in which eating bitter plants would confer some protection against malaria. Another, more general, hypothesis is that variation in bitter taste sensitivity has coevolved with the use of spices in cooking, which, in turn, is thought to be a cultural tradition that reduces the dangers of microbial contamination of food. Our evolutionary heritage of food preferences and eating habits leaves us mismatched with the food environments we have created, which leads to problems such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.

  15. A novel process-based model of microbial growth: self-inhibition in Saccharomyces cerevisiae aerobic fed-batch cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazzoleni, Stefano; Landi, Carmine; Cartenì, Fabrizio; de Alteriis, Elisabetta; Giannino, Francesco; Paciello, Lucia; Parascandola, Palma

    2015-07-30

    Microbial population dynamics in bioreactors depend on both nutrients availability and changes in the growth environment. Research is still ongoing on the optimization of bioreactor yields focusing on the increase of the maximum achievable cell density. A new process-based model is proposed to describe the aerobic growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cultured on glucose as carbon and energy source. The model considers the main metabolic routes of glucose assimilation (fermentation to ethanol and respiration) and the occurrence of inhibition due to the accumulation of both ethanol and other self-produced toxic compounds in the medium. Model simulations reproduced data from classic and new experiments of yeast growth in batch and fed-batch cultures. Model and experimental results showed that the growth decline observed in prolonged fed-batch cultures had to be ascribed to self-produced inhibitory compounds other than ethanol. The presented results clarify the dynamics of microbial growth under different feeding conditions and highlight the relevance of the negative feedback by self-produced inhibitory compounds on the maximum cell densities achieved in a bioreactor.

  16. Social inequality in adolescents' healthy food intake: the interplay between economic, social and cultural capital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Clercq, Bart; Abel, Thomas; Moor, Irene; Elgar, Frank J; Lievens, John; Sioen, Isabelle; Braeckman, Lutgart; Deforche, Benedicte

    2017-04-01

    Current explanations of health inequalities in adolescents focus on behavourial and economic determinants and rarely include more meaningful forms of economic, cultural, and social capital. The aim of the study was to investigate how the interplay between capitals constitutes social inequalities in adolescent healthy food intake. Data were collected in the 2013/14 Flemish Health Behavior among School-aged Children (HBSC) survey, which is part of the international WHO HBSC survey. The total sample included 7266 adolescents aged 12-18. A comprehensive set of 58 capital indicators was used to measure economic, cultural and social capital and a healthy food index was computed from a 17-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to assess the consumption frequency of healthy food within the overall food intake. The different forms of capital were unequally distributed in accordance with the subdivisions within the education system. Only half of the capital indicators positively related to healthy food intake, and instead 17 interactions were found that both increased or reduced inequalities. Cultural capital was a crucial component for explaining inequalities such that social gradients in healthy food intake increased when adolescents participated in elite cultural practices ( P economic, cultural and social capital may both increase or reduce healthy food intake inequalities in adolescents. Policy action needs to take into account the unequal distribution of these resources within the education system. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

  17. Socio-cultural and economic factors affecting food consumption patterns in the Arab countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musaiger, A O

    1993-04-01

    Several factors have been found to determine the dietary habits of the people in the Arab world. Food consumption pattern has dramatically changed in some Arab countries as a result of sudden increase in income from oil revenue. It is believed that food subsidy policy has adversely affected the food habits in the Gulf states by encouraging the intake of fat, sugar, rice, wheat flour and meat. Socio-cultural factors such as religion, beliefs, food preferences, gender discrimination, education and women's employment all have a noticeable influence on food consumption patterns in this region. Mass media, especially televised food advertisements, play an important role in modifying the dietary habits. The migration movement, particularly that which was carried out during the 70s has a great impact on the food practices in many Arab countries. Comprehensive studies on social, cultural and economic factors associated with food consumption patterns in the Arab region are highly recommended.

  18. Microbial transglutaminase and its application in the food industry. A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kieliszek, Marek; Misiewicz, Anna

    2014-05-01

    The extremely high costs of manufacturing transglutaminase from animal origin (EC 2.3.2.13) have prompted scientists to search for new sources of this enzyme. Interdisciplinary efforts have been aimed at producing enzymes synthesised by microorganisms which may have a wider scope of use. Transglutaminase is an enzyme that catalyses the formation of isopeptide bonds between proteins. Its cross-linking property is widely used in various processes: to manufacture cheese and other dairy products, in meat processing, to produce edible films and to manufacture bakery products. Transglutaminase has considerable potential to improve the firmness, viscosity, elasticity and water-binding capacity of food products. In 1989, microbial transglutaminase was isolated from Streptoverticillium sp. Its characterisation indicated that this isoform could be extremely useful as a biotechnological tool in the food industry. Currently, enzymatic preparations are used in almost all industrial branches because of their wide variety and low costs associated with their biotechnical production processes. This paper presents an overview of the literature addressing the characteristics and applications of transglutaminase.

  19. Exploring why junk foods are 'essential' foods and how culturally tailored recommendations improved feeding in Egyptian children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kavle, Justine A; Mehanna, Sohair; Saleh, Gulsen; Fouad, Mervat A; Ramzy, Magda; Hamed, Doaa; Hassan, Mohamed; Khan, Ghada; Galloway, Rae

    2015-07-01

    In Egypt, the double burden of malnutrition and rising overweight and obesity in adults mirrors the transition to westernized diets and a growing reliance on energy-dense, low-nutrient foods. This study utilized the trials of improved practices (TIPs) methodology to gain an understanding of the cultural beliefs and perceptions related to feeding practices of infants and young children 0-23 months of age and used this information to work in tandem with 150 mothers to implement feasible solutions to feeding problems in Lower and Upper Egypt. The study triangulated in-depth interviews (IDIs) with mothers participating in TIPs, with IDIs with 40 health providers, 40 fathers and 40 grandmothers to gain an understanding of the influence and importance of the role of other caretakers and health providers in supporting these feeding practices. Study findings reveal high consumption of junk foods among toddlers, increasing in age and peaking at 12-23 months of age. Sponge cakes and sugary biscuits are not perceived as harmful and considered 'ideal' common complementary foods. Junk foods and beverages often compensate for trivial amounts of food given. Mothers are cautious about introducing nutritious foods to young children because of fears of illness and inability to digest food. Although challenges in feeding nutritious foods exist, mothers were able to substitute junk foods with locally available and affordable foods. Future programming should build upon cultural considerations learned in TIPs to address sustainable, meaningful changes in infant and young child feeding to reduce junk foods and increase dietary quality, quantity and frequency. © 2014 The Authors. Maternal & Child Nutrition published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Incubation of Aquilaria subintegra with Microbial Culture Supernatants Enhances Production of Volatile Compounds and Improves Quality of Agarwood Oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monggoot, Sakon; Kulsing, Chadin; Wong, Yong Foo; Pripdeevech, Patcharee

    2018-06-01

    Incubation with microbial culture supernatants improved essential oil yield from Aquilaria subintegra woodchips. The harvested woodchips were incubated with de man, rogosa and sharpe (MRS) agar, yeast mold (YM) agar medium and six different microbial culture supernatants obtained from Lactobacillus bulgaricus , L. acidophilus , Streptococcus thermophilus , Lactococcus lactis , Saccharomyces carlsbergensis and S. cerevisiae prior to hydrodistillation. Incubation with lactic acid bacteria supernatants provided higher yield of agarwood oil (0.45% w/w) than that obtained from yeast (0.25% w/w), agar media (0.23% w/w) and water (0.22% w/w). The composition of agarwood oil from all media and microbial supernatant incubations was investigated by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Overall, three major volatile profiles were obtained, which corresponded to water soaking (control), as well as, both YM and MRS media, lactic acid bacteria, and yeast supernatant incubations. Sesquiterpenes and their oxygenated derivatives were key components of agarwood oil. Fifty-two volatile components were tentatively identified in all samples. Beta-agarofuran, α-eudesmol, karanone, α-agarofuran and agarospirol were major components present in most of the incubated samples, while S. cerevisiae -incubated A. subintegra provided higher amount of phenyl acetaldehyde. Microbial culture supernatant incubation numerically provided the highest yield of agarwood oil compared to water soaking traditional method, possibly resulting from activity of extracellular enzymes produced by the microbes. Incubation of agarwood with lactic acid bacteria supernatant significantly enhanced oil yields without changing volatile profile/composition of agarwood essential oil, thus this is a promising method for future use.

  1. Microbial consortia in meat processing environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alessandria, V.; Rantsiou, K.; Cavallero, M. C.; Riva, S.; Cocolin, L.

    2017-09-01

    Microbial contamination in food processing plants can play a fundamental role in food quality and safety. The description of the microbial consortia in the meat processing environment is important since it is a first step in understanding possible routes of product contamination. Furthermore, it may contribute in the development of sanitation programs for effective pathogen removal. The purpose of this study was to characterize the type of microbiota in the environment of meat processing plants: the microbiota of three different meat plants was studied by both traditional and molecular methods (PCR-DGGE) in two different periods. Different levels of contamination emerged between the three plants as well as between the two sampling periods. Conventional methods of killing free-living bacteria through antimicrobial agents and disinfection are often ineffective against bacteria within a biofilm. The use of gas-discharge plasmas potentially can offer a good alternative to conventional sterilization methods. The purpose of this study was to measure the effectiveness of Atmospheric Pressure Plasma (APP) surface treatments against bacteria in biofilms. Biofilms produced by three different L. monocytogenes strains on stainless steel surface were subjected to three different conditions (power, exposure time) of APP. Our results showed how most of the culturable cells are inactivated after the Plasma exposure but the RNA analysis by qPCR highlighted the entrance of the cells in the viable-but non culturable (VBNC) state, confirming the hypothesis that cells are damaged after plasma treatment, but in a first step, still remain alive. The understanding of the effects of APP on the L. monocytogenes biofilm can improve the development of sanitation programs with the use of APP for effective pathogen removal.

  2. Mathematical modelling and analysis for a three-tiered microbial food web in a chemostat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miled El hajji

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available In this article, we present a mathematical six-dimensional dynamical system involving a three-tiered microbial food web without maintenance. We give a qualitative analysis of the model, and an analysis of the local stability of equilibrium points. Under general assumptions of monotonicity, we prove the uniqueness and the local stability of the positive equilibrium point corresponding to the persistence of the three bacteria. Possibilities of periodic orbits are not excluded and asymptotic coexistence is satisfied.

  3. Spatio-temporal reproducibility of the microbial food web structure associated with the change in temperature: Long-term observations in the Adriatic Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Šolić, Mladen; Grbec, Branka; Matić, Frano; Šantić, Danijela; Šestanović, Stefanija; Ninčević Gladan, Živana; Bojanić, Natalia; Ordulj, Marin; Jozić, Slaven; Vrdoljak, Ana

    2018-02-01

    Global and atmospheric climate change is altering the thermal conditions in the Adriatic Sea and, consequently, the marine ecosystem. Along the eastern Adriatic coast sea surface temperature (SST) increased by an average of 1.03 °C during the period from 1979 to 2015, while in the recent period, starting from 2008, a strong upward almost linear trend of 0.013 °C/month was noted. Being mainly oligotrophic, the middle Adriatic Sea is characterized by the important role played by the microbial food web in the production and transfer of biomass and energy towards higher trophic levels. It is very important to understand the effect of warming on microbial communities, since small temperature increases in surface seawater can greatly modify the microbial role in the global carbon cycle. In this study, the Self-Organizing Map (SOM) procedure was used to analyse the time series of a number of microbial parameters at two stations with different trophic status in the central Adriatic Sea. The results show that responses of the microbial food web (MFW) structure to temperature changes are reproducible in time. Furthermore, qualitatively similar changes in the structure of the MFW occurred regardless of the trophic status. The rise in temperature was associated with: (1) the increasing importance of microbial heterotrophic activities (increase bacterial growth and bacterial predator abundance, particularly heterotrophic nanoflagellates) and (2) the increasing importance of autotrophic picoplankton (APP) in the MFW.

  4. Dynamics of culturable soil microbial communities during ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ecological zones impacted significantly (P < 0.05) on bacterial proliferation, but not on fungal growth. Sampling period significantly (P < 0.05) affected microbial density and the semi-arid agroecozone was more supportive of microbial proliferation than the arid zone. A total of nine predominant fungal species belonging to ...

  5. Effect of Increasing Total Solids Contents on Anaerobic Digestion of Food Waste under Mesophilic Conditions: Performance and Microbial Characteristics Analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Yi, Jing; Dong, Bin; Jin, Jingwei; Dai, Xiaohu

    2014-01-01

    The total solids content of feedstocks affects the performances of anaerobic digestion and the change of total solids content will lead the change of microbial morphology in systems. In order to increase the efficiency of anaerobic digestion, it is necessary to understand the role of the total solids content on the behavior of the microbial communities involved in anaerobic digestion of organic matter from wet to dry technology. The performances of mesophilic anaerobic digestion of food waste...

  6. Electricity generation from food wastes and characteristics of organic matters in microbial fuel cell.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hui; Tian, Yu; Zuo, Wei; Zhang, Jun; Pan, Xiaoyue; Li, Lipin; Su, Xinying

    2016-04-01

    The microbial fuel cell (MFC) was evaluated as an alternative way to recover electricity from canteen based food waste. Characteristics of the organics in food waste before and after the MFC treatment were analyzed to investigate how the organic matters were biodegraded and transformed during the MFC treatment. A maximum power density of 5.6W/m(3) and an average output voltage of 0.51V were obtained. During the MFC operation, the hydrophilic and acidic fractions were more readily degraded, compared to the neutral fractions. Additionally, aromatic compounds in the hydrophilic fraction were more preferentially removed than non-aromatic compounds. The MFC could easily remove the tryptophan protein-like substances in all fractions and aromatic proteins in hydrophilic and hydrophobic neutral fractions. Additionally, the hydrophobic amide-1 proteins and aliphatic components were readily hydrolyzed and biodegraded in the MFC. These findings may facilitate the pretreatment and posttreatment choices for MFC system fed with food waste. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Bacteriocins: molecules of fundamental impact on the microbial ecology and potential food biopreservatives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evandro Leite de Souza

    2005-07-01

    Full Text Available Bacteriocins are proteic molecules synthesized for various lineages of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria when exposed to stressful conditions. Bacteriocins have been characterized as molecules of high antimicrobial property even at low concentrations, provoking the microbial survival inhibition by antibiosis. These substances have their synthesis mediated for genetic mechanisms and develop their lethal action on the microbial cell by multiples mechanisms that can act of isolated or concomitant way culminating with microbial cell killing. This molecules class presents characteristic of stability to heat, low pH, refrigeration and freezing, and resistance to weak organics solvents, salts and enzymes. On the other hand, they are very sensitive to proteolytic enzymes action. Bacteriocins could appear as potential agents to be applied in food conservation systems in order to provide microbiologically stable foods.Bacteriocinas são moléculas protéicas sintetizadas por várias linhagens de bactérias Gram-positivas e Gram-negativas quando submetidas a condições de stress. São ainda caracterizadas como moléculas de alto poder antimicrobiano mesmo em baixas concentrações, provocando a inibição da sobrevivência microbiana através de uma ação de antibiose. As bacteriocinas têm seu processo de síntese mediado por mecanismos genéticos, e desenvolvem sua ação letal sobre a célula microbiana por intermédio de múltiplos mecanismos que podem agir de forma isolada ou concomitante culminando com a morte da célula microbiana. Estas moléculas apresentam características de estabilidade ao calor, baixo pH, refrigeração, congelamento, resistência a ácidos orgânicos fracos, sais e enzimas, porém são muito sensíveis à enzimas proteolíticas. Assim, as bacteriocinas podem aparecer como potenciais agentes para serem aplicados em sistemas de conservação de alimentos com objetivo de prover alimentos microbiologicamente estáveis.

  8. Microbial biosensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le Yu; Chen, Wilfred; Mulchandani, Ashok

    2006-01-01

    A microbial biosensor is an analytical device that couples microorganisms with a transducer to enable rapid, accurate and sensitive detection of target analytes in fields as diverse as medicine, environmental monitoring, defense, food processing and safety. The earlier microbial biosensors used the respiratory and metabolic functions of the microorganisms to detect a substance that is either a substrate or an inhibitor of these processes. Recently, genetically engineered microorganisms based on fusing of the lux, gfp or lacZ gene reporters to an inducible gene promoter have been widely applied to assay toxicity and bioavailability. This paper reviews the recent trends in the development and application of microbial biosensors. Current advances and prospective future direction in developing microbial biosensor have also been discussed

  9. Microbial Fuel Cells using Mixed Cultures of Wastewater for Electricity Generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zain, S.M; Roslani, N.S.; Hashim, R.; Anuar, N.; Suja, F.; Basi, N.E.A.; Anuar, N.; Daud, W.R.W.

    2011-01-01

    Fossil fuels (petroleum, natural gas and coal) are the main resources for generating electricity. However, they have been major contributors to environmental problems. One potential alternative to explore is the use of microbial fuel cells (MFCs), which generate electricity using microorganisms. MFCs uses catalytic reactions activated by microorganisms to convert energy preserved in the chemical bonds between organic molecules into electrical energy. MFC has the ability to generate electricity during the wastewater treatment process while simultaneously treating the pollutants. This study investigated the potential of using different types of mixed cultures (raw sewage, mixed liquor from the aeration tank and return waste activated sludge) from an activated sludge treatment plant in MFCs for electricity generation and pollutant removals (COD and total kjeldahl nitrogen, TKN). The MFC in this study was designed as a dual-chambered system, in which the chambers were separated by a Nafion TM membrane using a mixed culture of wastewater as a bio catalyst. The maximum power density generated using activated sludge was 9.053 mW/ cm 2 , with 26.8 % COD removal and 40 % TKN removal. It is demonstrated that MFC offers great potential to optimize power generation using mixed cultures of wastewater. (author)

  10. Feasibility of biohydrogen production from industrial wastes using defined microbial co-culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peng Chen

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The development of clean or novel alternative energy has become a global trend that will shape the future of energy. In the present study, 3 microbial strains with different oxygen requirements, including Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824, Enterobacter cloacae ATCC 13047 and Kluyveromyces marxianus 15D, were used to construct a hydrogen production system that was composed of a mixed aerobic-facultative anaerobic-anaerobic consortium. The effects of metal ions, organic acids and carbohydrate substrates on this system were analyzed and compared using electrochemical and kinetic assays. It was then tested using small-scale experiments to evaluate its ability to convert starch in 5 L of organic wastewater into hydrogen. For the one-step biohydrogen production experiment, H1 medium (nutrient broth and potato dextrose broth was mixed directly with GAM broth to generate H2 medium (H1 medium and GAM broth. Finally, Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824, Enterobacter cloacae ATCC 13047 and Kluyveromyces marxianus 15D of three species microbial co-culture to produce hydrogen under anaerobic conditions. For the two-step biohydrogen production experiment, the H1 medium, after cultured the microbial strains Enterobacter cloacae ATCC 13047 and Kluyveromyces marxianus 15D, was centrifuged to remove the microbial cells and then mixed with GAM broth (H2 medium. Afterward, the bacterial strain Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 was inoculated into the H2 medium to produce hydrogen by anaerobic fermentation. RESULTS: The experimental results demonstrated that the optimum conditions for the small-scale fermentative hydrogen production system were at pH 7.0, 35°C, a mixed medium, including H1 medium and H2 medium with 0.50 mol/L ferrous chloride, 0.50 mol/L magnesium sulfate, 0.50 mol/L potassium chloride, 1% w/v citric acid, 5% w/v fructose and 5% w/v glucose. The overall hydrogen production efficiency in the shake flask fermentation group was 33.7 m

  11. Perceptions of the Host Country's Food Culture among Female Immigrants from Africa and Asia: Aspects Relevant for Cultural Sensitivity in Nutrition Communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garnweidner, Lisa Maria; Terragni, Laura; Pettersen, Kjell Sverre; Mosdol, Annhild

    2012-01-01

    Objective: To explore how female immigrants from Africa and Asia perceive the host country's food culture, to identify aspects of their original food culture they considered important to preserve, and to describe how they go about preserving them. Design: Qualitative in-depth interviews. Setting: Oslo, Norway. Participants: Twenty one female…

  12. Globalization, localization and food culture: perceived roles of social and cultural capitals in healthy child feeding practices in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goto, Keiko; Ominami, Chihiro; Song, Chunyan; Murayama, Nobuko; Wolff, Cindy

    2014-03-01

    The current study examined parental perceptions of sociocultural factors associated with healthy child feeding practices among parents of preschool-age children in rural Japan. Fifteen Japanese mothers of preschool-age children participated in this qualitative study. These participants were aged 22-39 years and resided in a rural town in western Japan. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews to assess parental perceptions of healthy child feeding practices and their relationships with globalization and localization. These interviews were transcribed, translated into English and coded, based on the principles of grounded theory. A codebook was developed and pre-identified, and the newly-identified themes from this codebook were examined and compared. Overall, local and seasonal foods, along with traditional Japanese foods and simple foods (soshoku), were considered to be beneficial for children. Participants also noted that children were expected to be mindful and exhibit good table manners that reflect cultural values related to meal-time socializing or family bonding, and food appreciation. On the other hand, the majority of the participants stated that foods containing food additives and imported foods were unsuitable for children. Participants noted that strong social capital, especially social support from their mothers or mothers-in-law, as well as social networks for obtaining fresh local foods, contributed to healthy child feeding practices. Cultural capital (including the preservation of traditional Japanese dietary habits, eating rules and inter-generational commensality), was also identified as being key to healthy feeding practices. Identifying and promoting the social and cultural capital that positively support healthy child feeding practices may be an important component of nutrition education programs.

  13. Technological factors affecting biogenic amine content in foods: a review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fausto Gardini

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Biogenic amines (BAs are molecules which can be present in foods and, due to their toxicity, can cause adverse effects on the consumers. BAs are generally produced by microbial decarboxylation of amino acids in food products. The most significant BAs occurring in foods are histamine, tyramine, putrescine, cadaverine, tryptamine, 2-phenylethylamine, spermine, spermidine and agmatine. The importance of preventing the excessive accumulation of BAs in food is related to their impact on human health and food quality. Quality criteria in connection with the presence of BAs in food and food products are necessary from a toxicological point of view. This is particularly important in fermented foods in which the massive microbial proliferation required for obtaining specific products is often relater with BA accumulation. In this review, up-to-date information and recent discoveries about technological factors affecting biogenic amine content in foods are reviewed. Specifically, BA forming-microorganism and decarboxylation activity, genetic and metabolic organization of decarboxylases, risk associated to BAs (histamine, tyramine toxicity and other BAs, environmental factors influencing BA formation (temperature, salt concentration, pH. In addition, the technological factors for controlling BA production (use of starter culture, technological additives, effects of packaging, other non-thermal treatments, metabolising BA by microorganisms, effects of pressure treatments on BA formation and antimicrobial substances are addressed.

  14. Culture and Food Practices of African American Women With Type 2 Diabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumlin, Lisa L; Brown, Sharon A

    2017-12-01

    Purpose The goals of this descriptive ethnographic study were to (1) describe the day-to-day selection, preparation, and consumption of food among African American women (AAW) with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); (2) identify their typical food selections and consumption practices when dining out at restaurants and at social gatherings (ie, church functions, holidays); (3) highlight the valued behaviors and beliefs that influence these women's food practices; and (4) determine how social interactions influence those food practices. Methods Symbolic interactionism, a sensitizing framework, guided this study. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit 20 AAW from 35 to 70 years of age diagnosed with T2DM who shopped and prepared meals for their families and attended church functions where food was served. Data collection consisted of one-on-one interviews and observations of participants during church fellowship dinners, grocery shopping, and food preparation. A social anthropological approach to content analysis was used to describe behavioral regularities in food practices. Results Informants exhibited a constant struggle in food practices, particularly within the home setting. Difficulties in making dietary modifications resulted from conflicts between the need to change dietary practices to control diabetes and personal food preferences, food preferences of family members, and AAW's emotional dedication to the symbolism of food derived from traditional cultural food practices passed down from generation to generation. Conclusions African American women are the gatekeepers for family food practices, holding the keys to healthy dietary practices. This study helps to fill the research gap regarding cultural dietary food practices within this population.

  15. Microbial culture collection for enhancement of microbial biotechnology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jong Bor Chyan; Pauline Liew Woan Ying; Goh Chee Meng; Mat Rasol Awang

    2007-01-01

    A bacterial culture collection was established in Agrotechnology and Biosciences Division since 2004. The culture collection was named MINT Bacterial Culture Collection (MBCC). The main objective is to preserve the indigenous bacterial cultures isolated from various environments. Later, the collection was extended to commercially available plasmids, recombinant clones and selected PCR products. This paper describes the importance of culture collection, the experience and the difficulties encountered. (Author)

  16. Food safety knowledge and practices of abattoir and butchery shops and the microbial profile of meat in Mekelle City, Ethiopia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haileselassie, Mekonnen; Taddele, Habtamu; Adhana, Kelali; Kalayou, Shewit

    2013-01-01

    Objective To assess the food safety knowledge and practices in meat handling, and to determine microbial load and pathogenic organisms in meat at Mekelle city. Methods A descriptive survey design was used to answer questions concerning the current status of food hygiene and sanitation practiced in the abattoir and butcher shops. Workers from the abattoir and butcher shops were interviewed through a structured questionnaire to assess their food safety knowledge. Bacterial load was assessed by serial dilution method and the major bacterial pathogens were isolated by using standard procedures. Results 15.4% of the abattoir workers had no health certificate and there was no hot water, sterilizer and cooling facility in the abattoir. 11.3% of the butchers didn't use protective clothes. There was a food safety knowledge gap within the abattoir and butcher shop workers. The mean values of bacterial load of abattoir meat, butcher shops and street meat sale was found to be 1.1×105, 5.6×105 and 4.3×106 cfu/g, respectively. The major bacterial pathogens isolated were Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus. Conclusions The study revealed that there is a reasonable gap on food safety knowledge by abattoir and butcher shop workers. The microbial profile was also higher compared to standards set by World Health Organization. Due attention should be given by the government to improve the food safety knowledge and the quality standard of meat sold in the city. PMID:23646306

  17. Infância e alimentação: embalagens como engrenagem da indústria cultural (Childhood and food: food packaging as a gear of the cultural industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliana Schumacker Lessa

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Resumo: A partir do conceito de indústria cultural, na interface com os Estudos da Infância, este artigo é resultante da análise de embalagens de produtos alimentares voltados para as crianças, no confronto com a seguinte questão: como o processo de massificação, em que a infância toma lugar, dá-se a partir de uma dimensão básica e vital como a alimentação? Nos limites de um trabalho em processo, percorremos um ensaio crítico tomando como fonte duas das embalagens analisadas, presentes no mercado alimentar. Nas análises, compreendemos que a publicidade, ao transformar os alimentos em subprodutos de uma produção cultural massificada voltada para a infância contemporânea, age como engrenagem da indústria cultural, instaurando determinantes subjetivos e configurando um processo de mistificação da infância. Por outro lado, acentuamos o caráter de resistência das instituições de educação infantil públicas, no sentido de se configurarem como refúgio de uma alimentação avessa à ilusão mercadológica. Palavras-chave: Infância. Alimentação.Indústria cultural.Abstract: Based on the concept of cultural industry, in the interface with Childhood Studies, this article is the result of the analysis of food product packaging aimed at children, in the confrontation with the following question: how the massification process, in which the childhood takes place, is given from a basic and vital dimension like food? Within the limits of a work in process, we go through a critical test taking as source two of the packages analyzed, present in the food market. In the analysis, we understand that advertising, by transforming food into byproducts of a mass cultural production aimed at contemporary childhood acts as a cog in the cultural industry, establishing subjective determinants and configuring a process of childhood mystification. On the other hand, we emphasize the resistance character of public early childhood

  18. Protection of Geographical Indication and Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Chinese Food Product Resources

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    SUN Zhi-guo; WANG Shu-ting; XIONG Wan-zhen; HUANG Li-min

    2012-01-01

    The geographical Indications intellectual property and intangible cultural heritage are the general focus of attention of the world today. In the Chinese food product resources, there are 44 kinds of national geographical indication products, 41 national geographical indication trademarks, 9 kinds of national and 212 kinds of provincial-level intangible cultural heritage. This article introduces the geographical indication protection and geographical indication trademark registration of the Chinese food products, the protection of intangible cultural heritage of traditional craftsmanship; discusses the countermeasures for the protection of geographical indication intellectual property and intangible cultural heritage; finally puts forth several recommendations.

  19. Fractal Hypothesis of the Pelagic Microbial Ecosystem—Can Simple Ecological Principles Lead to Self-Similar Complexity in the Pelagic Microbial Food Web?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Våge, Selina; Thingstad, T. Frede

    2015-01-01

    Trophic interactions are highly complex and modern sequencing techniques reveal enormous biodiversity across multiple scales in marine microbial communities. Within the chemically and physically relatively homogeneous pelagic environment, this calls for an explanation beyond spatial and temporal heterogeneity. Based on observations of simple parasite-host and predator-prey interactions occurring at different trophic levels and levels of phylogenetic resolution, we present a theoretical perspective on this enormous biodiversity, discussing in particular self-similar aspects of pelagic microbial food web organization. Fractal methods have been used to describe a variety of natural phenomena, with studies of habitat structures being an application in ecology. In contrast to mathematical fractals where pattern generating rules are readily known, however, identifying mechanisms that lead to natural fractals is not straight-forward. Here we put forward the hypothesis that trophic interactions between pelagic microbes may be organized in a fractal-like manner, with the emergent network resembling the structure of the Sierpinski triangle. We discuss a mechanism that could be underlying the formation of repeated patterns at different trophic levels and discuss how this may help understand characteristic biomass size-spectra that hint at scale-invariant properties of the pelagic environment. If the idea of simple underlying principles leading to a fractal-like organization of the pelagic food web could be formalized, this would extend an ecologists mindset on how biological complexity could be accounted for. It may furthermore benefit ecosystem modeling by facilitating adequate model resolution across multiple scales. PMID:26648929

  20. Homogeneity and heterogeneousness in European food cultures: An exploratory analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Askegaard, Søren; Madsen, Tage Koed

    One type pf boundaries rarely explored in international marketing but of potentially vital importance to international marketing are the cultural boundaries dividing Europe into regions with indidvidual cultural background and different consumptui patterns. This paper explores information about...... such cultural patterns of food consumption based on information from an existing database originating from a 1989 pan-European life style suvey questioning around 20,000 people in 16 European countri divided into 79 regions. A factor analysis reduced the number of variables from 138 to 41, discovering...

  1. Regulating edible insects: the challenge of adressing food security, nature conservation, and the erosion of traditional food culture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Halloran, Afton Marina Szasz; Vantomme, Paul; Hanboonsong, Y.

    2015-01-01

    Entomophagy is a common practice in many regions of the world but there are few examples of national regulations that govern insects for human consumption. Where entomophagy is not common, the current regulatory discourse focuses primarily on food safety and consumer protection. In countries where...... species, they do not appear explicitly in dietary guidelines. Although food safety is a major concern, it can undermine the importance of nature conservation, traditional food culture, food security, and potential economic development. Thus, entomophagy should be viewed holistically and development...

  2. [Cultural detection of thermotolerant Campylobacter spp. in food--potentials and limitations of diagnostic tools in the context of official food control].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Messelhäusser, Ute; Thärigen, Diana; Fella, Christiane; Schreiner, Hermann; Busch, Ulrich; Höller, Christiane

    2015-01-01

    Thermotolerant Campylobacter spp. rank among the most important foodborne pathogens in Germany. Therefore a necessity for rapid and routinely useable detection methods exists also in the area of food microbiology. A reliable, cultura qualitative, but also quantitative detection of thermotolerant Campylobacter spp. pose a challenge, at least concerning special food matrices, especially because in the context of official food control the cultural detection of thermotolerant Campylobacter spp. is needed. This was the reason, why different cultural detection methods, beside the standard procedure of ISO 10272:2006, in combination with molecular and immunological screening methods were tested at the Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL) during the last years for the use in routine diagnostic using different food matrices of animal and plant origin. The results of the comparative studies showed clearly that no enrichment broth tested gave completely satisfactory results for an only culture-based detection the combination with a screening method is therefore recommended for a rapid and reliable detection. But in this case the user should take into account that the sensitivity of such molecular and immunological methods is normally so high that in some cases, depending on the food matrix and processing step, the isolation of the pathogen would not be possible in samples, which were positive in the screening methods.

  3. Impact of Culture on Meat and Related Food Preferences in Akwa ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The effectiveness of meat and related food products marketing in Akwa Ibom State is conditioned by the specifics of culture. In this study, cultural effect on meat consumption is examined. A sample of 568 respondents were analysed with OLS regression. The results reveal that meat consumption and preferences for related ...

  4. Microbial electrosynthetic cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    May, Harold D.; Marshall, Christopher W.; Labelle, Edward V.

    2018-01-30

    Methods are provided for microbial electrosynthesis of H.sub.2 and organic compounds such as methane and acetate. Method of producing mature electrosynthetic microbial populations by continuous culture is also provided. Microbial populations produced in accordance with the embodiments as shown to efficiently synthesize H.sub.2, methane and acetate in the presence of CO.sub.2 and a voltage potential. The production of biodegradable and renewable plastics from electricity and carbon dioxide is also disclosed.

  5. Pre- and postharvest preventive measures and intervention strategies to control microbial food safety hazards of fresh leafy vegetables.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gil, Maria I; Selma, Maria V; Suslow, Trevor; Jacxsens, Liesbeth; Uyttendaele, Mieke; Allende, Ana

    2015-01-01

    This review includes an overview of the most important preventive measures along the farm to fork chain to prevent microbial contamination of leafy greens. It also includes the technological and managerial interventions related to primary production, postharvest handling, processing practices, distribution, and consumer handling to eliminate pathogens in leafy greens. When the microbiological risk is already present, preventive measures to limit actual contamination events or pathogen survival are considered intervention strategies. In codes of practice the focus is mainly put on explaining preventive measures. However, it is also important to establish more focused intervention strategies. This review is centered mainly on leafy vegetables as the commodity identified as the highest priority in terms of fresh produce microbial safety from a global perspective. There is no unique preventive measure or intervention strategy that could be applied at one point of the food chain. We should encourage growers of leafy greens to establish procedures based on the HACCP principles at the level of primary production. The traceability of leafy vegetables along the chain is an essential element in ensuring food safety. Thus, in dealing with the food safety issues associated with fresh produce it is clear that a multidisciplinary farm to fork strategy is required.

  6. Historical and contemporary perspectives of the Nyonya food culture in Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chien Y. Ng

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Nyonya cuisine echoes the cultural identity of the Peranakans, who are both Chinese and localized. Despite the fact that the food is much localized, its symbolism remains traditionally Chinese. This paper explores the history, ingredients, and cooking methods crucial in the production of the cuisine, the types of food served for daily consumption, festivities and ancestral worships, as well as their Chinese symbolism. Furthermore, this paper also discusses factors that contributed to the obscurity of the culture and the cuisine after the Second World War. Lastly, the revival of the culture through the immense interest in its cuisine, especially from the 1980s, and the extent of globalization of this cuisine are also examined. Findings reported are expected to highlight the significance of Nyonya cuisine in Malaysia in the past and the present.

  7. Depth-resolved microbial community analyses in the anaerobic co-digester of dewatered sewage sludge with food waste.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Rui; Yang, Zhao-Hui; Zheng, Yue; Zhang, Hai-Bo; Liu, Jian-Bo; Xiong, Wei-Ping; Zhang, Yan-Ru; Ahmad, Kito

    2017-11-01

    This study evaluated the impacts of FW addition on co-digestion in terms of microbial community. Anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) reactors were conducted at gradually increased addition of food waste (FW) from 0 to 4kg-VSm -3 d -1 for 220days. Although no markable acidification was found at an OLR of 4kg-VSm -3 d -1 , the unhealthy operation was observed in aspect of an inhibited methane yield (185mLg -1 VS added ), which was restricted by 40% when compared with its peak value. Deterioration of digestion process was timely indicated by the dramatic decrease of archaeal population and microbial biodiversity. Furthermore, the cooperation network showed a considerable number of rare species (<1%) were strongly correlated with methane production, which were frequently overlooked due to the limits of detecting resolution or analysis methods before. Advances in the analysis of sensitive microbial community enable us to detect the early disturbances in AcoD reactors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Comparative analysis and culturing of the microbial community of Aiptasia pallida, A Sea Anemone Model for Coral Biology

    KAUST Repository

    Binsarhan, Mohammad

    2016-01-01

    Recent works has highlighted the contribution of microbes to animal function. In this regard, the microbial community associated with corals has become a growing field of research in order to understand how microbes contribute to the host organisms’ response to environmental changes. It has been shown that microbes associated with corals have important functions in the coral holobiont such as immunity and nutrient assimilation. However, corals are notoriously difficult to work with. To this end, the sea anemone Aiptasia is becoming a model organism for coral symbiosis. Given the importance of host-­microbiome interactions, the topic of this thesis is to assess microbial structure of Aiptasia, culture prominent bacterial members, and compare bacterial community structure to corals. Different molecular methods have been applied using 16S rRNA bacterial gene fragments to characterize the microbial composition of Aiptasia. 16S rRNA gene sequence derived from cultured bacteria was compared to 16S rRNA gene sequences retrieved from native Red Sea Aiptasia. Inter-­individual as well as methodological differences were found to account for variance in microbiome composition. However, all approaches showed a highly abundant microbial taxon belonging to the genus Alteromonas in all samples. The Alteromonas species was successfully isolated for further research targeting microbiome selection mechanisms in Aiptasia. Future investigations by using different molecular tools will help to define the functions and relationship between the Aiptasia and its complex microbiome.

  9. Influence of Culture Media on Microbial Fingerprints Using Raman Spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mlynáriková, Katarína; Samek, Ota; Bernatová, Silvie; Růžička, Filip; Ježek, Jan; Hároniková, Andrea; Šiler, Martin; Zemánek, Pavel; Holá, Veronika

    2015-11-24

    Raman spectroscopy has a broad range of applications across numerous scientific fields, including microbiology. Our work here monitors the influence of culture media on the Raman spectra of clinically important microorganisms (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Candida albicans). Choosing an adequate medium may enhance the reproducibility of the method as well as simplifying the data processing and the evaluation. We tested four different media per organism depending on the nutritional requirements and clinical usage directly on a Petri dish. Some of the media have a significant influence on the microbial fingerprint (Roosvelt-Park Institute Medium, CHROMagar) and should not be used for the acquisition of Raman spectra. It was found that the most suitable medium for microbiological experiments regarding these organisms was Mueller-Hinton agar.

  10. Microbial conversion of synthetic and food waste-derived volatile fatty acids to lipids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vajpeyi, Shashwat; Chandran, Kartik

    2015-01-01

    Lipid accumulation in the oleaginous yeast Cryptococcus albidus was evaluated using mixtures of volatile fatty acids (VFA) as substrates. In general, batch growth under nitrogen limitation led to higher lipid accumulation using synthetic VFA. During batch growth, an initial COD:N ratio of 25:1mg COD:mg N led to maximum intracellular lipid accumulation (28.3 ± 0.7% g/g dry cell weight), which is the maximum reported for C. albidus using VFA as the carbon source, without compromising growth kinetics. At this feed COD:N ratio, chemostat cultures fed with synthetic VFA yielded statistically similar intracellular lipid content as batch cultures (29.9 ± 1.9%, g/g). However, batch cultures fed with VFA produced from the fermentation of food waste, yielded a lower lipid content (14.9 ± 0.1%, g/g). The lipid composition obtained with synthetic and food-waste-derived VFA was similar to commercial biodiesel feedstock. We therefore demonstrate the feasibility of linking biochemical waste treatment and biofuel production using VFA as key intermediates. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Microbial Inactivation by Ultrasound Assisted Supercritical Fluids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benedito, Jose; Ortuño, Carmen; Castillo-Zamudio, Rosa Isela; Mulet, Antonio

    A method combining supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) and high power ultrasound (HPU) has been developed and tested for microbial/enzyme inactivation purposes, at different process conditions for both liquid and solid matrices. In culture media, using only SC-CO2, the inactivation rate of E. coli and S. cerevisiae increased with pressure and temperature; and the total inactivation (7-8 log-cycles) was attained after 25 and 140 min of SC-CO2 (350 bar, 36 °C) treatment, respectively. Using SC-CO2+HPU, the time for the total inactivation of both microorganisms was reduced to only 1-2 min, at any condition selected. The SC-CO2+HPU inactivation of both microorganisms was slower in juices (avg. 4.9 min) than in culture media (avg. 1.5 min). In solid samples (chicken, turkey ham and dry-cured pork cured ham) treated with SC-CO2 and SC-CO2+HPU, the inactivation rate of E. coli increased with temperature. The application of HPU to the SC-CO2 treatments accelerated the inactivation rate of E. coli and that effect was more pronounced in treatments with isotonic solution surrounding the solid food samples. The application of HPU enhanced the SC-CO2 inactivation mechanisms of microorganisms, generating a vigorous agitation that facilitated the CO2 solubilization and the mass transfer process. The cavitation generated by HPU could damage the cell walls accelerating the extraction of vital constituents and the microbial death. Thus, using the combined technique, reasonable industrial processing times and mild process conditions could be used which could result into a cost reduction and lead to the minimization in the food nutritional and organoleptic changes.

  12. SOCIALIZATION AND INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF FOOD CONSUMPTION PATTERNS: THEIR IMPACT ON CULTURAL FOOD-RELATED IDENTITY IN URBAN WOMEN MAPUCHE FROM CHILE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marianela Denegri-Coria

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This research addressed the Mapuche food-related cultural identity, focusing on socialization and intergenerational patterns of food consumption in Mapuche women residing in urban areas, considering factors that influence the purchase, preparation and selection of food. The sample consisted of 32 women participants who self-identified as Mapuche and had at least one of their surnames belonged to that ethnicity. A qualitative methodology was used, the unit of analysis being the story, and the data were analysed considering a segmentation of the sample into younger and older than 35 years. The results show a weakening in socialization practices and intergenerational transmission of Mapuche dietary patterns, especially in those younger than age 35, which affects the maintenance of their food-related cultural identity.

  13. Microbial xanthophylls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhosale, Prakash; Bernstein, Paul S

    2005-09-01

    Xanthophylls are oxygenated carotenoids abundant in the human food supply. Lutein, zeaxanthin, and cryptoxanthin are major xanthophyll carotenoids in human plasma. The consumption of these xanthophylls is directly associated with reduction in the risk of cancers, cardiovascular disease, age-related macular degeneration, and cataract formation. Canthaxanthin and astaxanthin also have considerable importance in aquaculture for salmonid and crustacean pigmentation, and are of commercial interest for the pharmaceutical and food industries. Chemical synthesis is a major source for the heavy demand of xanthophylls in the consumer market; however, microbial producers also have potential as commercial sources. In this review, we discuss the biosynthesis, commercial utility, and major microbial sources of xanthophylls. We also present a critical review of current research and technologies involved in promoting microbes as potential commercial sources for mass production.

  14. Impact of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis on the microbial food web in the western Wadden Sea, The Netherlands.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jacobs, P.; Riegman, R.; van der Meer, J.

    2015-01-01

    To study the impact of juvenile blue mussels Mytilus edulis on the microbial food web in the Dutch Wadden Sea, natural sea water was first exposed to mussel filtration. Subsequently, filtered plankton communities were used in a dilution experiment to establish mussel-induced changes in bacterial,

  15. Impact of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis on the microbial food web in the western Wadden Sea, the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jacobs, P.; Riegman, R.; Meer, van der J.

    2015-01-01

    To study the impact of juvenile blue mussels Mytilus edulis on the microbial food web in the Dutch Wadden Sea, natural sea water was first exposed to mussel filtration. Subsequently, filtered plankton communities were used in a dilution experiment to establish mussel-induced changes in bacterial,

  16. Bifurcations of a periodically forced microbial continuous culture model with restrained growth rate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Jingli; Yuan, Qigang

    2017-08-01

    A three dimensional microbial continuous culture model with a restrained microbial growth rate is studied in this paper. Two types of dilution rates are considered to investigate the dynamic behaviors of the model. For the unforced system, fold bifurcation and Hopf bifurcation are detected, and numerical simulations reveal that the system undergoes degenerate Hopf bifurcation. When the system is periodically forced, bifurcation diagrams for periodic solutions of period-one and period-two are given by researching the Poincaré map, corresponding to different bifurcation cases in the unforced system. Stable and unstable quasiperiodic solutions are obtained by Neimark-Sacker bifurcation with different parameter values. Periodic solutions of various periods can occur or disappear and even change their stability, when the Poincaré map of the forced system undergoes Neimark-Sacker bifurcation, flip bifurcation, and fold bifurcation. Chaotic attractors generated by a cascade of period doublings and some phase portraits are given at last.

  17. Microbial lipid production by oleaginous yeast Cryptococcus sp. in the batch cultures using corncob hydrolysate as carbon source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Yi-Huang; Chang, Ku-Shang; Lee, Ching-Fu; Hsu, Chuan-Liang; Huang, Cheng-Wei; Jang, Hung-Der

    2015-01-01

    To realize the feasibility of biodiesel production from high-lipid cell culture, microbial lipid production by the oleaginous yeasts was studied using glucose and sucrose as carbon source. Among the tested strains, Cryptococcus sp. SM5S05 accumulated the highest levels of intracellular lipids. The crude lipid contents of Cryptococcus sp. cultured in yeast malt agar reached 30% on a dry weight basis. The accumulation of lipids strongly depended on carbon/nitrogen ratio and nitrogen concentration. The highest content of lipids, measured at a carbon/nitrogen ratio of 60–90 and at a nitrogen concentration of 0.2%, was 60–57% lipids in the dry biomass. Batch cultures using corncob hydrolysate demonstrated that there was minimal inhibitory effect with a reducing sugar concentration of 60 g l −1 or higher. Batch cultures of Cryptococcus sp. SM5S05 in the corncob hydrolysate medium with 60 g l −1 glucose resulted in a dry biomass, lipid yields, and content of 12.6 g l −1 , 7.6 g l −1 , and 60.2%, respectively. The lipids contained mainly long-chain saturated and unsaturated fatty acids with 16 and 18 carbon atoms. The fatty acid profile of Cryptococcus oils was quite similar to that of conventional vegetable oil. The cost of lipid production could be further reduced with corncob hydrolysate being utilized as the raw material for the oleaginous yeast. The results showed that the microbial lipid from Cryptococcus sp. was a potential alternative resource for biodiesel production. - Highlights: • Microbial oil production from oleaginous yeast Cryptococcus sp. was studied. • Accumulation of lipid strongly depended on C/N ratio and nitrogen concentration. • Cultures in hydrolysate medium with 60 g/l glucose resulted in maximum lipid yields. • Maximal lipid content in the Cryptococcus sp. were 60.2% on dried weight basis

  18. Food Culture, Preferences and Ethics in Dysphagia Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kenny, Belinda

    2015-11-01

    Adults with dysphagia experience difficulties swallowing food and fluids with potentially harmful health and psychosocial consequences. Speech pathologists who manage patients with dysphagia are frequently required to address ethical issues when patients' food culture and/ or preferences are inconsistent with recommended diets. These issues incorporate complex links between food, identity and social participation. A composite case has been developed to reflect ethical issues identified by practising speech pathologists for the purposes of illustrating ethical concerns in dysphagia management. The case examines a speech pathologist's role in supporting patient autonomy when patients and carers express different goals and values. The case presents a 68-year-old man of Australian/Italian heritage with severe swallowing impairment and strong values attached to food preferences. The case is examined through application of the dysphagia algorithm, a tool for shared decision-making when patients refuse dietary modifications. Case analysis revealed the benefits and challenges of shared decision-making processes in dysphagia management. Four health professional skills and attributes were identified as synonymous with shared decision making: communication, imagination, courage and reflection. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. A cross-cultural study of acceptability and food pairing for hot sauces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyun-Jee; Chung, Seo-Jin; Kim, Kwang-Ok; Nielsen, Belinda; Ishii, Rie; O'Mahony, Michael

    2018-04-01

    This study was conducted to understand the acceptance levels of hot sauces among consumers from different culinary cultures. Two newly developed hot sauces [fermented red chili pepper with soybean-paste-based sauce(GS) and fermented red chili-pepper-based sauce(KS)] were compared with Tabasco sauce(TB) and Sriracha sauce(SR). Two separate cross-cultural home-use tests(HUTs) were conducted: pizza and cream soup were provided as food items in HUT 1, whereas grilled chicken wings and rice noodle soup were provided in HUT 2. Consumers residing in Denmark, South Korea, and US participated in each HUT (n≅100 per country). Acceptance levels and the reasons for (dis)liking particular hot sauces applied to food systems were assessed. The food items that paired well with different hot sauces when the sauces were applied freely to regular meals were also analyzed among the US and Korean subjects. When the hot-sauce samples were applied to pizza and cream soup, the preferred order of the samples exhibited a cross-cultural agreement (GS = KS > TB). In the case of grilled chicken and rice noodle soup, the acceptance rating was similar for the three types of hot sauces among Koreans, whereas the acceptance was higher for SR among the US subjects for both foodstuffs, while Danish subjects preferred GS and KS over SR. The US subjects did not like hot-sauce samples with sweet and weak spiciness, whereas the Korean and Danish subjects disliked the hot-sauce sample when it was too spicy and not sufficiently sweet. These findings indicate that the matching of particular sauces with specific food items is culture-dependent, and this needs to be considered when trying to export food products such as hot sauce to other countries. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons alter the structure of oceanic and oligotrophic microbial food webs

    KAUST Repository

    Cerezo, Maria Isabel; Agusti, Susana

    2015-01-01

    One way organic pollutants reach remote oceanic regions is by atmospheric transport. During the Malaspina-2010 expedition, across the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, we analyzed the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) effects on oceanic microbial food webs. We performed perturbation experiments adding PAHs to classic dilution experiments. The phytoplankton growth rates were reduced by more than 5 times, being Prochlorococcus spp. the most affected. 62% of the experiments showed a reduction in the grazing rates due to the presence of PAHs. For the remaining experiments, grazing usually increased likely due to cascading effects. We identified changes in the slope of the relation between the growth rate and the dilution fraction induced by the pollutants, moving from no grazing to V-shape, or to negative slope, indicative of grazing increase by cascade effects and alterations of the grazers' activity structure. Our perturbation experiments indicate that PAHs could influence the structure oceanic food-webs structure.

  1. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons alter the structure of oceanic and oligotrophic microbial food webs

    KAUST Repository

    Cerezo, Maria Isabel

    2015-11-01

    One way organic pollutants reach remote oceanic regions is by atmospheric transport. During the Malaspina-2010 expedition, across the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, we analyzed the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) effects on oceanic microbial food webs. We performed perturbation experiments adding PAHs to classic dilution experiments. The phytoplankton growth rates were reduced by more than 5 times, being Prochlorococcus spp. the most affected. 62% of the experiments showed a reduction in the grazing rates due to the presence of PAHs. For the remaining experiments, grazing usually increased likely due to cascading effects. We identified changes in the slope of the relation between the growth rate and the dilution fraction induced by the pollutants, moving from no grazing to V-shape, or to negative slope, indicative of grazing increase by cascade effects and alterations of the grazers\\' activity structure. Our perturbation experiments indicate that PAHs could influence the structure oceanic food-webs structure.

  2. Quantitative analysis of microbial biomass yield in aerobic bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watanabe, Osamu; Isoda, Satoru

    2013-12-01

    We have studied the integrated model of reaction rate equations with thermal energy balance in aerobic bioreactor for food waste decomposition and showed that the integrated model has the capability both of monitoring microbial activity in real time and of analyzing biodegradation kinetics and thermal-hydrodynamic properties. On the other hand, concerning microbial metabolism, it was known that balancing catabolic reactions with anabolic reactions in terms of energy and electron flow provides stoichiometric metabolic reactions and enables the estimation of microbial biomass yield (stoichiometric reaction model). We have studied a method for estimating real-time microbial biomass yield in the bioreactor during food waste decomposition by combining the integrated model with the stoichiometric reaction model. As a result, it was found that the time course of microbial biomass yield in the bioreactor during decomposition can be evaluated using the operational data of the bioreactor (weight of input food waste and bed temperature) by the combined model. The combined model can be applied to manage a food waste decomposition not only for controlling system operation to keep microbial activity stable, but also for producing value-added products such as compost on optimum condition. Copyright © 2013 The Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Direct cloning from enrichment cultures, a reliable strategy for isolation of complete operons and genes from microbial consortia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Entcheva, P; Liebl, W; Johann, A; Hartsch, T; Streit, W R

    2001-01-01

    Enrichment cultures of microbial consortia enable the diverse metabolic and catabolic activities of these populations to be studied on a molecular level and to be explored as potential sources for biotechnology processes. We have used a combined approach of enrichment culture and direct cloning to construct cosmid libraries with large (>30-kb) inserts from microbial consortia. Enrichment cultures were inoculated with samples from five environments, and high amounts of avidin were added to the cultures to favor growth of biotin-producing microbes. DNA was extracted from three of these enrichment cultures and used to construct cosmid libraries; each library consisted of between 6,000 and 35,000 clones, with an average insert size of 30 to 40 kb. The inserts contained a diverse population of genomic DNA fragments isolated from the consortia organisms. These three libraries were used to complement the Escherichia coli biotin auxotrophic strain ATCC 33767 Delta(bio-uvrB). Initial screens resulted in the isolation of seven different complementing cosmid clones, carrying biotin biosynthesis operons. Biotin biosynthesis capabilities and growth under defined conditions of four of these clones were studied. Biotin measured in the different culture supernatants ranged from 42 to 3,800 pg/ml/optical density unit. Sequencing the identified biotin synthesis genes revealed high similarities to bio operons from gram-negative bacteria. In addition, random sequencing identified other interesting open reading frames, as well as two operons, the histidine utilization operon (hut), and the cluster of genes involved in biosynthesis of molybdopterin cofactors in bacteria (moaABCDE).

  4. Comparison of culture media, simplate, and petrifilm for enumeration of yeasts and molds in food.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taniwaki, M H; Silva, N; Banhe, A A; Iamanaka, B T

    2001-10-01

    The efficacy of three culture media, dichloran rose bengal chloramphenicol (DRBC), dichloran 18% glycerol agar (DG18), and potato dextrose agar (PDA) supplemented with two antibiotics, were compared with the Simplate and Petrifilm techniques for mold and yeast enumeration. The following foods were analyzed: corn meal, wheat flour, cassava flour, bread crumbs, whole meal, sliced bread, ground peanuts, mozzarella cheese, grated parmesan cheese, cheese rolls, orange juice, pineapple pulp, pineapple cake, and mushroom in conserve. Correlation coefficients of DRBC versus PDA and DG18 for recovering total mold and yeast counts from the composite of 14 foods indicated that the three media were generally equivalent. Correlation coefficients for Petrifilm versus culture media were acceptable, although not as good as between culture media. Correlation coefficients of Simplate versus DRBC, DG18, PDA, and Petrifilm for recovering total yeasts and molds from a composite of 11 foods demonstrated that there was no equivalence between the counts obtained by Simplate and other culture media and Petrifilm, with significant differences observed for the most foods analyzed.

  5. Dynamics of the Content of Lactobacilli, Microbial Metabolites and Antimicrobial Activity of Growing Culture of Lactobacillus Plantarum 8P-A3

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Yu. Chicherin

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The dynamics of the content of lactobacilli, microbial metabolites and antimicrobial activity of growing cultures of Lactobacillus plantarum 8Р-А3 was studied. Lactobacilli L. plantarum 8Р-А3 and test microorganisms isolated from the intestinal contents of patients with dysbacteriosis were used in experiments. Study of the component composition of growing culture supernatant of lactobacilli was carried out by gas liquid chromatography with mass selective detection. By 54 h of cultivation the content of viable microbial cells in the native culture of Lactobacillus achieves 3,0·109 in 1 mL without further increase during the cultivation. The principal component of lactobacilli culture medium possessing antibacterial activity is lactic acid. In addition to lactic acid, which accounts for 70% of the total metabolites, the culture medium and the supernatant contain salts of phosphoric acid (14% as well as amino acids, carboxylic acids, fatty acids, sugars and polyhydric alcohol constituting of up to 16% of the total metabolites. It is found that during the cultivation in liquid medium lactobacilli produce metabolites which possess antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacteria that cause intestinal infections.

  6. Examination of a Culturable Microbial Population from the Gastrointestinal Tract of the Wood-Eating Loricariid Catfish Panaque nigrolineatus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harold J. Schreier

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Fish play a critical role in nutrient cycling and organic matter flow in aquatic environments. However, little is known about the microbial diversity within the gastrointestinal tracts that may be essential in these degradation activities. Panaque nigrolineatus is a loricariid catfish found in the Neotropics that have a rare dietary strategy of consuming large amounts of woody material in its natural environment. As a consequence, the gastrointestinal (GI tract of P. nigrolineatus is continually exposed to high levels of cellulose and other recalcitrant wood compounds and is, therefore, an attractive, uncharacterized system to study microbial community diversity. Our previous 16S rRNA gene surveys demonstrated that the GI tract microbial community includes phylotypes having the capacity to degrade cellulose and fix molecular nitrogen. In the present study we verify the presence of a resident microbial community by fluorescence microscopy and focus on the cellulose-degrading members by culture-based and 13C-labeled cellulose DNA stable-isotope probing (SIP approaches. Analysis of GI tract communities generated from anaerobic microcrystalline cellulose enrichment cultures by 16S rRNA gene analysis revealed phylotypes sharing high sequence similarity to known cellulolytic bacteria including Clostridium, Cellulomonas, Bacteroides, Eubacterium and Aeromonas spp. Related bacteria were identified in the SIP community, which also included nitrogen-fixing Azospirillum spp. Our ability to enrich for specialized cellulose-degrading communities suggests that the P. nigrolineatus GI tract provides a favorable environment for this activity and these communities may be involved in providing assimilable carbon under challenging dietary conditions.

  7. Salmonella testing of pooled pre-enrichment broth cultures for screening multiple food samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, W R; Olsen, R A; Hunter, J E

    1972-04-01

    A method has been described for testing multiple food samples for Salmonella without loss in sensitivity. The method pools multiple pre-enrichment broth cultures into single enrichment broths. The subsequent stages of the Salmonella analysis are not altered. The method was found applicable to several dry food materials including nonfat dry milk, dried egg albumin, cocoa, cottonseed flour, wheat flour, and shredded coconut. As many as 25 pre-enrichment broth cultures were pooled without apparent loss in the sensitivity of Salmonella detection as compared to individual sample analysis. The procedure offers a simple, yet effective, way to increase sample capacity in the Salmonella testing of foods, particularly where a large proportion of samples ordinarily is negative. It also permits small portions of pre-enrichment broth cultures to be retained for subsequent individual analysis if positive tests are found. Salmonella testing of pooled pre-enrichment broths provides increased consumer protection for a given amount of analytical effort as compared to individual sample analysis.

  8. Autochthonous and allochthonous contributions of organic carbon to microbial food webs in Svalbard fjords

    KAUST Repository

    Holding, Johnna M.; Duarte, Carlos M.; Delgado-Huertas, Antonio; Soetaert, Karline; Vonk, Jorien E.; Agusti, Susana; Wassmann, Paul; Middelburg, Jack J.

    2017-01-01

    Rising temperatures in the Arctic Ocean are causing sea ice and glaciers to melt at record breaking rates, which has consequences for carbon cycling in the Arctic Ocean that are yet to be fully understood. Microbial carbon cycling is driven by internal processing of in situ produced organic carbon (OC), however recent research suggests that melt water from sea ice and glaciers could introduce an allochthonous source of OC to the microbial food web with ramifications for the metabolic balance of plankton communities. In this study, we characterized autochthonous and allochthonous sources of OC to the Western Svalbard fjord system using stable isotopes of carbon. We quantified δ13C of eukaryotic and prokaryotic planktonic groups using polar lipid-derived fatty acids as biomarkers in addition to measuring δ13C of marine particulate OC and dissolved OC from glacial runoff. δ13C of bacteria (−22.5‰) was higher than that of glacial runoff OC (−28.5‰) and other phytoplankton groups (−24.7 to −29.1‰), which suggests that marine bacteria preferentially use a third source of OC. We present a Bayesian three-source δ13C mixing model whereby ∼ 60% of bacteria carbon is derived from OC in sea ice, and the remaining carbon is derived from autochthonous production and glacial-derived OC. These results suggest that subsidies of OC from melting glaciers will not likely influence microbial carbon cycling in Svalbard fjords in the future and that further research is needed to determine the effects of melting sea ice on microbial carbon cycling in fjord systems and elsewhere in the Arctic Ocean.

  9. Autochthonous and allochthonous contributions of organic carbon to microbial food webs in Svalbard fjords

    KAUST Repository

    Holding, Johnna M.

    2017-03-27

    Rising temperatures in the Arctic Ocean are causing sea ice and glaciers to melt at record breaking rates, which has consequences for carbon cycling in the Arctic Ocean that are yet to be fully understood. Microbial carbon cycling is driven by internal processing of in situ produced organic carbon (OC), however recent research suggests that melt water from sea ice and glaciers could introduce an allochthonous source of OC to the microbial food web with ramifications for the metabolic balance of plankton communities. In this study, we characterized autochthonous and allochthonous sources of OC to the Western Svalbard fjord system using stable isotopes of carbon. We quantified δ13C of eukaryotic and prokaryotic planktonic groups using polar lipid-derived fatty acids as biomarkers in addition to measuring δ13C of marine particulate OC and dissolved OC from glacial runoff. δ13C of bacteria (−22.5‰) was higher than that of glacial runoff OC (−28.5‰) and other phytoplankton groups (−24.7 to −29.1‰), which suggests that marine bacteria preferentially use a third source of OC. We present a Bayesian three-source δ13C mixing model whereby ∼ 60% of bacteria carbon is derived from OC in sea ice, and the remaining carbon is derived from autochthonous production and glacial-derived OC. These results suggest that subsidies of OC from melting glaciers will not likely influence microbial carbon cycling in Svalbard fjords in the future and that further research is needed to determine the effects of melting sea ice on microbial carbon cycling in fjord systems and elsewhere in the Arctic Ocean.

  10. Microbial community composition of the ileum and cecum of broiler chickens as revealed by molecular and culture-based techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bjerrum, L; Engberg, R M; Leser, T D; Jensen, B B; Finster, K; Pedersen, K

    2006-07-01

    The microbial communities of the ileum and cecum of broiler chickens from a conventional and an organic farm were investigated using conventional culture techniques as well as cloning and sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. Eighty-five percent of the 557 cloned sequences were <97% related to known cultured species. The chicken ileum was dominated by lactobacilli, whereas the cecum harbored a more diverse microbial community. The cecum was dominated by a large group of bacteria with hitherto no close cultured relatives but most closely related to Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. Approximately 49 and 20% of the cecal clones belonged to this cluster in conventional and organic broiler chickens, respectively. We were, however, able to recover a number of these phylotypes by cultivation, and the isolates were shown to be butyric acid producers. The investigation was a descriptive rather than a comparative study of 2 different rearing systems; however, several differences were observed. For instance, Clostridium perfringens was found in significantly higher numbers in the birds from the organic farm compared with the conventional broilers, probably due to the addition of salinomycin to the conventional feed. In the ileum, the abundance of the different Lactobacillus species differed between the 2 broiler types. The culture-based and culture-independent techniques complemented each other well. Strengths and limitations of the different methods are discussed.

  11. Efficacy of Antimicrobials on Bacteria Cultured in a Spaceflight Analogue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nickerson, CA; Wotring, Virginia; Barrila, Jennifer; Crabbe, Aurelie; Castro, Sarah; Davis, Richard; Rideout, April; McCarthy, Breanne; Ott, C. Mark

    2014-01-01

    As humans travel in space, they will interact with microbial flora from themselves, other crewmembers, their food, and the environment. While evaluations of microbial ecology aboard the Mir and ISS suggest a predominance of common environmental flora, the presence of (and potential for) infectious agents has been well documented. Likewise, pathogens have been detected during preflight monitoring of spaceflight food, resulting in the disqualification of that production lot from flight. These environmental and food organisms range from the obligate pathogen, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium), which has been responsible for disqualification and removal of food destined for ISS and has previously been reported from Shuttle crew refuse, to the opportunistic pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, isolated numerous times from ISS habitable compartments and the crew. Infectious disease events have affected spaceflight missions, including an upper respiratory infection that delayed the launch of STS-36 and an incapacitating Pseudomonas aeruginosa urinary tract infection of a crewmember during Apollo 13. These observations indicate that the crew has the potential to be exposed to obligate and opportunistic pathogens. This risk of exposure is expected to increase with longer mission durations and increased use of regenerative life support systems. As antibiotics are the primary countermeasure after infection, determining if their efficacy during spaceflight missions is comparable to terrestrial application is of critical importance. The NASA Rotating Wall Vessel (RWV) culture system has been successfully used as a spaceflight culture analogue to identify potential alterations in several key microbial characteristics, such as virulence and gene regulation, in response to spaceflight culture. We hypothesized that bacteria cultured in the low fluid shear RWV environment would demonstrate changes in efficacy of antibiotics compared to higher fluid shear controls

  12. Cultivation-independent comprehensive investigations on bacterial communities in serofluid dish, a traditional Chinese fermented food

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peng Chen

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Serofluid dish (or Jiangshui, in Chinese, a traditional food in the Chinese culture, is made from vegetables by fermentation. In this study, bacterial community of the fermented serofluid dish was assessed by Illumina amplicon sequencing. The metagenome comprised of 49,589 average raw reads with an average 11,497,917 bp and G+C content is 52.46%. This is the first report on V4 hyper-variable region of the 16S rRNA metagenome sequence employing Illumina platform to profile the microbial community of this little known fermented food from Gansu Province, China. The metagenome sequence can be accessed at NCBI, SRA database accession no. SRP065370. Keywords: Serofluid dish, Jiangshui, 16S rRNA, Cultivation-independent, Microbial diversity

  13. Human food preferences and cultural identity: the case of Aragón (Spain).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cantarero, Luis; Espeitx, Elena; Gil Lacruz, Marta; Martín, Pilar

    2013-01-01

    This research aims to analyze the relationship between sociocultural values and human food preferences. The latter, as shown in this paper, are greatly influenced by cultural identity. This work stems from a theoretical context that originated in Europe and the United States towards the mid-twentieth century, within the field of the anthropology of food. A qualitative and quantitative analysis has been performed in the Comunidad Autónoma de Aragón (Spain). Research methods include focus groups, in-depth interviews, participant observation, and a questionnaire that was handed out to a representative sample of the Aragonese population (816 people over 21 years of age; confidence level of 95.5% and error margin of ±3.5). Regarding the research outcome, a highly significant qualitative and quantitative connection has been found between food selection and cultural identity. In other words, people prefer to consume foods that are symbolically associated with their own culture, in order to reinforce their sense of belonging. Although this study has been carried out in Aragón, it is our belief that the results can be generalized to other areas. The originality and interest of our findings are notable considering that, to date, few works have analyzed the sociocultural factors motivating food behavior. Moreover, these results could be used by public and private organizations to meet objectives such as health promotion and product marketing.

  14. Bacteria and archaea communities in full-scale thermophilic and mesophilic anaerobic digesters treating food wastewater: Key process parameters and microbial indicators of process instability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Joonyeob; Shin, Seung Gu; Han, Gyuseong; Koo, Taewoan; Hwang, Seokhwan

    2017-12-01

    In this study, four different mesophilic and thermophilic full-scale anaerobic digesters treating food wastewater (FWW) were monitored for 1-2years in order to investigate: 1) microbial communities underpinning anaerobic digestion of FWW, 2) significant factors shaping microbial community structures, and 3) potential microbial indicators of process instability. Twenty-seven bacterial genera were identified as abundant bacteria underpinning the anaerobic digestion of FWW. Methanosaeta harundinacea, M. concilii, Methanoculleus bourgensis, M. thermophilus, and Methanobacterium beijingense were revealed as dominant methanogens. Bacterial community structures were clearly differentiated by digesters; archaeal community structures of each digester were dominated by one or two methanogen species. Temperature, ammonia, propionate, Na + , and acetate in the digester were significant factors shaping microbial community structures. The total microbial populations, microbial diversity, and specific bacteria genera showed potential as indicators of process instability in the anaerobic digestion of FWW. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Metagenomic approach reveals microbial diversity and predictive microbial metabolic pathways in Yucha, a traditional Li fermented food

    OpenAIRE

    Zhang, Jiachao; Wang, Xiaoru; Huo, Dongxue; Li, Wu; Hu, Qisong; Xu, Chuanbiao; Liu, Sixin; Li, Congfa

    2016-01-01

    Yucha is a typical traditional fermented food of the Li population in the Hainan province of China, and it is made up of cooked rice and fresh fish. In the present study, metagenomic approach and culture-dependent technology were applied to describe the diversity of microbiota and identify beneficial microbes in the Yucha. At the genus level, Lactobacillus was the most abundant genus (43.82% of the total reads), followed by Lactococcus, Enterococcus, Vibrio, Weissella, Pediococcus, Enterobact...

  16. Cross-Cultural Differences in Taste Thresholds and Food Choice Motives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dehlholm, Christian

    2007-01-01

    Psychophysical, physiological and behavioural aspects of taste perception and food choice were examined cross-culturally between Chinese people living in China (n=25), Chinese people living in Denmark (n=16) and Danish people living in Denmark (n=28). Groups were subdivided by males (n=26...... were found on average in each group with a mean diameter at 0.66mm for the Chinese and 0.72mm for the Danish. A questionnaire including general demographic questions, food frequency questions and the Food Choice Questionnaire (Steptoe et al., 1995) were completed by all subjects (n=69). The Danish...... subjects had a higher intake of sweets, tea and coffee and Chinese subject living in China had a higher intake of spicy food. All subject groups rated Sensory Appeal, Health and Price as very important food choice factors while dissimilarities between the groups were shown in rating the factors Mood...

  17. Characterization of multiple antibiotic resistance of culturable microorganisms and metagenomic analysis of total microbial diversity of marine fish sold in retail shops in Mumbai, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naik, Onkar A; Shashidhar, Ravindranath; Rath, Devashish; Bandekar, Jayant R; Rath, Archana

    2018-03-01

    Marine fish species were analyzed for culturable and total metagenomic microbial diversity, antibiotic resistance (AR) pattern, and horizontal gene transfer in culturable microorganisms. We observed a high AR microbial load of 3 to 4 log CFU g -1 . Many fish pathogens like Providencia, Staphylococcus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter, Vagococcus, and Aeromonas veronii were isolated. Photobacterium and Vibrio were two major fish and human pathogens which were identified in the fish metagenome. Other pathogens that were identified were Shewanella, Acinetobacter, Psychrobacter, and Flavobacterium. Most of these pathogens were resistant to multiple antibiotics such as erythromycin, kanamycin, neomycin, streptomycin, penicillin, cefotaxime, bacitracin, rifampicin, trimethoprim, ciprofloxacin, and doxycycline with a high multiple antibiotic resistance index of 0.54-0.77. The fish microflora showed high prevalence of AR genes like bla TEM , Class I integron, tetA, aph(3')-IIIa, ermB, aadA, and sul1. Nineteen of 26 AR isolates harbored Class I integrons showing high co-resistance to trimethoprim, kanamycin, doxycycline, and cefotaxime. Mobile R-plasmids from 6 of the 12 AR pathogens were transferred to recipient E. coli after conjugation. The transconjugants harbored the same R-plasmid carrying bla CTX-M , dfr1, tetA, bla TEM , and cat genes. This study confirms that fish is a potential carrier of AR pathogens which can enter the human gut via food chain. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in the Indian subcontinent reporting a direct evidence of spread of AR pathogens to humans from specific marine fish consumption.

  18. Phenotypic responses to interspecies competition and commensalism in a naturally-derived microbial co-culture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khan, Nymul; Maezato, Yukari; McClure, Ryan S.; Brislawn, Colin J.; Mobberley, Jennifer M.; Isern, Nancy; Chrisler, William B.; Markillie, Lye Meng; Barney, Brett M.; Song, Hyun-Seob; Nelson, William C.; Bernstein, Hans C.

    2018-01-10

    The fundamental question of whether different microbial species will co-exist or compete in a given environment depends on context, composition and environmental constraints. Model microbial systems can yield some general principles related to this question. In this study we employed a naturally occurring co-culture composed of heterotrophic bacteria, Halomonas sp. HL-48 and Marinobacter sp. HL-58, to ask two fundamental scientific questions: 1) how do the phenotypes of two naturally co-existing species respond to partnership as compared to axenic growth? and 2) how do growth and molecular phenotypes of these species change with respect to competitive and commensal interactions? We hypothesized – and confirmed – that co-cultivation under glucose as the sole carbon source would result in a competitive interactions. Similarly, when glucose was swapped with xylose, the interactions became commensal because Marinobacter HL-58 was supported by metabolites derived from Halomonas HL-48. Each species responded to partnership by changing both its growth and molecular phenotype as assayed via batch growth kinetics and global transcriptomics. These phenotypic responses depended nutrient availability and so the environment ultimately controlled how they responded to each other. This simplified model community revealed that microbial interactions are context-specific and different environmental conditions dictate how interspecies partnerships will unfold.

  19. Thoughts about food culture and patterns of eating in Norway

    OpenAIRE

    Amilien, Virginie

    2013-01-01

    The research of Unni Kjærnes (PhD in sociology, Cand.real in nutrition) has focused on how social, cultural, political, and economic conditions vary and change, producing highly diverse conditions for consumer actions. She has studied how these conditions affect trust, ethical, and sustainability issues, as well as traditional food issues such as nutrition and safety. She has published a number of journal articles and books, including “Trust in Food. A Social and Comparative Analysis” (co-aut...

  20. Determination of human pathogen profiles in food by quality assured microbial assays. Proceedings of a final Research Coordination Meeting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2005-01-15

    This publication includes the results of a Coordinated Research Project (CRP). Major food microbial contaminants were identified in some of the main foods exported in the international food market. Thousands of samples in a wide variety of foods were selected to be studied during different points of the food chain: meat (chicken, beef and pork), seafood (shellfish such as shrimp, prawns, scampi, squid, and lobsters, and different types of fish such as salmon, cuttle fish, rohu, fin herring, catfish, milkfish, and tilapia), spices (pepper, paprika), frozen vegetables (asparagus, peas and corn) and other products (coconut and dairy products). The analysis included pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella spp. (several serotypes), Escherichia coli, E. coli 0157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens, Bacillus cereus, Vibrio choleare, Vibrio parahaemolitycus and Yersinia enterolítica. This publication includes data that may be used to conduct better risk assessments on food by importing as well as exporting countries.

  1. Above- and belowground linkages in Sphagnum peatland: climate warming affects plant-microbial interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jassey, Vincent E J; Chiapusio, Geneviève; Binet, Philippe; Buttler, Alexandre; Laggoun-Défarge, Fatima; Delarue, Frédéric; Bernard, Nadine; Mitchell, Edward A D; Toussaint, Marie-Laure; Francez, André-Jean; Gilbert, Daniel

    2013-03-01

    Peatlands contain approximately one third of all soil organic carbon (SOC). Warming can alter above- and belowground linkages that regulate soil organic carbon dynamics and C-balance in peatlands. Here we examine the multiyear impact of in situ experimental warming on the microbial food web, vegetation, and their feedbacks with soil chemistry. We provide evidence of both positive and negative impacts of warming on specific microbial functional groups, leading to destabilization of the microbial food web. We observed a strong reduction (70%) in the biomass of top-predators (testate amoebae) in warmed plots. Such a loss caused a shortening of microbial food chains, which in turn stimulated microbial activity, leading to slight increases in levels of nutrients and labile C in water. We further show that warming altered the regulatory role of Sphagnum-polyphenols on microbial community structure with a potential inhibition of top predators. In addition, warming caused a decrease in Sphagnum cover and an increase in vascular plant cover. Using structural equation modelling, we show that changes in the microbial food web affected the relationships between plants, soil water chemistry, and microbial communities. These results suggest that warming will destabilize C and nutrient recycling of peatlands via changes in above- and belowground linkages, and therefore, the microbial food web associated with mosses will feedback positively to global warming by destabilizing the carbon cycle. This study confirms that microbial food webs thus constitute a key element in the functioning of peatland ecosystems. Their study can help understand how mosses, as ecosystem engineers, tightly regulate biogeochemical cycling and climate feedback in peatlands. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  2. Bacteriocin-based strategies for food biopreservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gálvez, Antonio; Abriouel, Hikmate; López, Rosario Lucas; Ben Omar, Nabil

    2007-11-30

    Bacteriocins are ribosomally-synthesized peptides or proteins with antimicrobial activity, produced by different groups of bacteria. Many lactic acid bacteria (LAB) produce bacteriocins with rather broad spectra of inhibition. Several LAB bacteriocins offer potential applications in food preservation, and the use of bacteriocins in the food industry can help to reduce the addition of chemical preservatives as well as the intensity of heat treatments, resulting in foods which are more naturally preserved and richer in organoleptic and nutritional properties. This can be an alternative to satisfy the increasing consumers demands for safe, fresh-tasting, ready-to-eat, minimally-processed foods and also to develop "novel" food products (e.g. less acidic, or with a lower salt content). In addition to the available commercial preparations of nisin and pediocin PA-1/AcH, other bacteriocins (like for example lacticin 3147, enterocin AS-48 or variacin) also offer promising perspectives. Broad-spectrum bacteriocins present potential wider uses, while narrow-spectrum bacteriocins can be used more specifically to selectively inhibit certain high-risk bacteria in foods like Listeria monocytogenes without affecting harmless microbiota. Bacteriocins can be added to foods in the form of concentrated preparations as food preservatives, shelf-life extenders, additives or ingredients, or they can be produced in situ by bacteriocinogenic starters, adjunct or protective cultures. Immobilized bacteriocins can also find application for development of bioactive food packaging. In recent years, application of bacteriocins as part of hurdle technology has gained great attention. Several bacteriocins show additive or synergistic effects when used in combination with other antimicrobial agents, including chemical preservatives, natural phenolic compounds, as well as other antimicrobial proteins. This, as well as the combined use of different bacteriocins may also be an attractive approach to

  3. Utilizing a Robotic Sprayer for High Lateral and Mass Resolution MALDI FT-ICR MSI of Microbial Cultures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anderton, Christopher R.; Chu, Rosalie K.; Tolic, Nikola; Creissen, Alain V.; Pasa-Tolic, Ljiljana

    2016-01-07

    The ability to visualize biochemical interactions between microbial communities using MALDI MSI has provided tremendous insights into a variety of biological fields. Matrix application using a sieve proved to be incredibly useful, but it had many limitations that include uneven matrix coverage and limitation in the types of matrices one could employ in their studies. Recently, there has been a concerted effort to improve matrix application for studying agar plated microbial cultures, many of which utilized automated matrix sprayers. Here, we describe the usefulness of using a robotic sprayer for matrix application. The robotic sprayer has two-dimensional control over where matrix is applied and a heated capillary that allows for rapid drying of the applied matrix. This method provided a significant increase in MALDI sensitivity over the sieve method, as demonstrated by FT-ICR MS analysis, facilitating the ability to gain higher lateral resolution MS images of Bacillus Subtilis than previously reported. This method also allowed for the use of different matrices to be applied to the culture surfaces.

  4. Microbial Tyrosinases: Promising Enzymes for Pharmaceutical, Food Bioprocessing, and Environmental Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kamal Uddin Zaidi

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Tyrosinase is a natural enzyme and is often purified to only a low degree and it is involved in a variety of functions which mainly catalyse the o-hydroxylation of monophenols into their corresponding o-diphenols and the oxidation of o-diphenols to o-quinones using molecular oxygen, which then polymerizes to form brown or black pigments. The synthesis of o-diphenols is a potentially valuable catalytic ability and thus tyrosinase has attracted a lot of attention with respect to industrial applications. In environmental technology it is used for the detoxification of phenol-containing wastewaters and contaminated soils, as biosensors for phenol monitoring, and for the production of L-DOPA in pharmaceutical industries, and is also used in cosmetic and food industries as important catalytic enzyme. Melanin pigment synthesized by tyrosinase has found applications for protection against radiation cation exchangers, drug carriers, antioxidants, antiviral agents, or immunogen. The recombinant V. spinosum tryosinase protein can be used to produce tailor-made melanin and other polyphenolic materials using various phenols and catechols as starting materials. This review compiles the recent data on biochemical and molecular properties of microbial tyrosinases, underlining their importance in the industrial use of these enzymes. After that, their most promising applications in pharmaceutical, food processing, and environmental fields are presented.

  5. The importance of virulence prediction and gene networks in microbial risk assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wassenaar, Gertrude Maria; Gamieldien, Junaid; Shatkin, JoAnne

    2007-01-01

    For microbial risk assessment, it is necessary to recognize and predict Virulence of bacterial pathogens, including their ability to contaminate foods. Hazard characterization requires data on strain variability regarding virulence and survival during food processing. Moreover, information...... and characterization of microbial hazards, including emerging pathogens, in the context of microbial risk assessment....

  6. Applications for predictive microbiology to food packaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Predictive microbiology has been used for several years in the food industry to predict microbial growth, inactivation and survival. Predictive models provide a useful tool in risk assessment, HACCP set-up and GMP for the food industry to enhance microbial food safety. This report introduces the c...

  7. Importance of perceived naturalness for acceptance of food additives and cultured meat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegrist, Michael; Sütterlin, Bernadette

    2017-06-01

    Four experiments examined some factors influencing the perceived naturalness of food products and their biasing effect on risk perception. The results of Experiment 1a showed that three food additives displaying their respective E-numbers (i.e., codes for food additives in the European Union and Switzerland) decreased perceived naturalness. Experiment 1b demonstrated that mentioning possible health effects decreased the perceived naturalness of a plant-based food additive. This experiment further showed that it would not matter for perceived naturalness whether the food was synthetic or nature-identical. Moreover, the results of Experiments 2 and 3 suggested that the same risk associated with meat consumption was much more acceptable for traditionally produced meat compared with in-vitro meat. Experiment 3 further indicated that the perceived naturalness of the meat (i.e., traditional or cultured meat) had a full mediation effect on participants' evaluation of the acceptability of the risk of colon cancer associated with the meat consumption. Even if the new production method (i.e., cultured meat) was more environmentally friendly and less harmful to animals, the perceived lack of naturalness might reduce the acceptability of the risk associated with such a product. The present study provides evidence that consumers rely on symbolic information when evaluating foods, which may lead to biased judgments and decisions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Application of the Lyapunov exponent to detect noise-induced chaos in oscillating microbial cultures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patnaik, P.R.

    2005-01-01

    Oscillating microbial processes can, under certain conditions, gravitate into chaotic behavior induced by external noise. Detection and control of chaos are important for the survival of the microorganisms and to operate a process usefully. In this study the largest Lyapunov exponent is recommended as a convenient and reliable index of chaos in continuous oscillating cultures. For the growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system, the exponents increase with the oxygen mass transfer coefficient and decrease as the dilution rate increases. By comparing with the corresponding time-domain oscillations determined earlier, it is inferred that weakly oscillating cultures are less likely to be driven to chaotic behavior. The main carbon source, glucose, is quite robust to chaotic destabilization, thus enhancing its suitability as a manipulated variable for bioreactor control

  9. Historical and contemporary perspectives of the Nyonya food culture in Malaysia

    OpenAIRE

    Ng, Chien Y.; Ab. Karim, Shahrim

    2016-01-01

    Nyonya cuisine echoes the cultural identity of the Peranakans, who are both Chinese and localized. Despite the fact that the food is much localized, its symbolism remains traditionally Chinese. This paper explores the history, ingredients, and cooking methods crucial in the production of the cuisine, the types of food served for daily consumption, festivities and ancestral worships, as well as their Chinese symbolism. Furthermore, this paper also discusses factors that contributed to the obsc...

  10. Mapping microbial ecosystems and spoilage-gene flow in breweries highlights patterns of contamination and resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bokulich, Nicholas A; Bergsveinson, Jordyn; Ziola, Barry; Mills, David A

    2015-03-10

    Distinct microbial ecosystems have evolved to meet the challenges of indoor environments, shaping the microbial communities that interact most with modern human activities. Microbial transmission in food-processing facilities has an enormous impact on the qualities and healthfulness of foods, beneficially or detrimentally interacting with food products. To explore modes of microbial transmission and spoilage-gene frequency in a commercial food-production scenario, we profiled hop-resistance gene frequencies and bacterial and fungal communities in a brewery. We employed a Bayesian approach for predicting routes of contamination, revealing critical control points for microbial management. Physically mapping microbial populations over time illustrates patterns of dispersal and identifies potential contaminant reservoirs within this environment. Habitual exposure to beer is associated with increased abundance of spoilage genes, predicting greater contamination risk. Elucidating the genetic landscapes of indoor environments poses important practical implications for food-production systems and these concepts are translatable to other built environments.

  11. The diagnosis of chronic endometritis in infertile asymptomatic women: a comparative study of histology, microbial cultures, hysteroscopy, and molecular microbiology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreno, Inmaculada; Cicinelli, Ettore; Garcia-Grau, Iolanda; Gonzalez-Monfort, Marta; Bau, Davide; Vilella, Felipe; De Ziegler, Dominique; Resta, Leonardo; Valbuena, Diana; Simon, Carlos

    2018-06-01

    Chronic endometritis is a persistent inflammation of the endometrial mucosa caused by bacterial pathogens such as Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Mycoplasma, and Ureaplasma. Although chronic endometritis can be asymptomatic, it is found in up to 40% of infertile patients and is responsible for repeated implantation failure and recurrent miscarriage. Diagnosis of chronic endometritis is based on hysteroscopy of the uterine cavity, endometrial biopsy with plasma cells being identified histologically, while specific treatment is determined based on microbial culture. However, not all microorganisms implicated are easily or readily culturable needing a turnaround time of up to 1 week. We sought to develop a molecular diagnostic tool for chronic endometritis based on real-time polymerase chain reaction equivalent to using the 3 classic methods together, overcoming the bias of using any of them alone. Endometrial samples from patients assessed for chronic endometritis (n = 113) using at least 1 or several conventional diagnostic methods namely histology, hysteroscopy, and/or microbial culture, were blindly evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction for the presence of 9 chronic endometritis pathogens: Chlamydia trachomatis, Enterococcus, Escherichia coli, Gardnerella vaginalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Mycoplasma hominis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Staphylococcus, and Streptococcus. The sensitivity and specificity of the molecular analysis vs the classic diagnostic techniques were compared in the 65 patients assessed by all 3 recognized classic methods. The molecular method showed concordant results with histological diagnosis in 30 samples (14 double positive and 16 double negative) with a matching accuracy of 46.15%. Concordance of molecular and hysteroscopic diagnosis was observed in 38 samples (37 double positive and 1 double negative), with an accuracy of 58.46%. When the molecular method was compared to microbial culture

  12. Microbial ecology of artisanal italian cheese: Molecular microbial characterization by culture-independent method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colombo, E.; Scarpellini, M.; Franzatti, L.; Dioguardi, L.

    2009-01-01

    Present study will treat the next topics: ecology of the natural and man made environments and functional diversity of bacteria. The microbial communities in artisanal goat cheeses produced in mountain pastures (typical farms) in Piemonte mountain (North of Italy) change a lot during precessing and ripening time. Moreover cheese microbial ecosystems are different in each small dairy because adventitious microflora can come from the environment and contamination the milk before the cheese making process and the product during manufacture and ripening. (Author)

  13. Microbial ecology of artisanal italian cheese: Molecular microbial characterization by culture-independent method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Colombo, E.; Scarpellini, M.; Franzatti, L.; Dioguardi, L.

    2009-07-01

    Present study will treat the next topics: ecology of the natural and man made environments and functional diversity of bacteria. The microbial communities in artisanal goat cheeses produced in mountain pastures (typical farms) in Piemonte mountain (North of Italy) change a lot during precessing and ripening time. Moreover cheese microbial ecosystems are different in each small dairy because adventitious microflora can come from the environment and contamination the milk before the cheese making process and the product during manufacture and ripening. (Author)

  14. The Role of Food Selection in Swedish Home Economics: The Educational Visions and Cultural Meaning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Höijer, Karin; Hjälmeskog, Karin; Fjellström, Christina

    2014-01-01

    This article explores foods talked about and chosen in the education of Swedish Home Economics as a relationship between structural processes and agency. Three data sets from observations and focus group interviews with teachers and students were analyzed for food classifications. These were related to a culinary triangle of contradictions, showing factors of identity, convenience and responsibility. Results show that foods talked about and chosen by teachers and students were reflections of dominant cultural values. Results also indicate that teachers had more agency than students, but that the choices they made were framed by educational visions and cultural values.

  15. Microbial food webs and metabolic state across oligotrophic waters of the Mediterranean Sea during summer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    U. Christaki

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available The abundance and activity of the major members of the heterotrophic microbial community – from viruses to ciliates – were studied along a longitudinal transect across the Mediterranean Sea in the summer of 2008. The Mediterranean Sea is characterized by a west to-east gradient of deepening of DCM (deep chlorophyll maximum and increasing oligotrophy reflected in gradients of biomass and production. However, within this well documented longitudinal trend, hydrological mesoscale features exist and likely influence microbial dynamics. Here we present data from a W-E transect of 17 stations during the period of summer stratification. Along the transect the production and fate of organic matter was investigated at three selected sites each one located in the centre of an anticyclonic eddy: in the Algero-Provencal Basin (St. A, the Ionian Basin (St. B, and the Levantine Basin (St. C. The 3 geographically distant eddies showed low values of the different heterotrophic compartments of the microbial food web, and except for viruses in site C, all integrated (0–150 m stocks were higher in reference stations located in the same basin outside the eddies. During our study the 3 eddies showed equilibrium between GPP (Gross Primary Production and DCR (Dark Community Respiration. Integrated PPp (Particulate Primary Production values at A, B and C varied from ~140 to ~190 mg C m−2.

  16. The Importance of Bacterial Culture to Food Microbiology in the Age of Genomics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gill, Alexander

    2017-01-01

    Culture-based and genomics methods provide different insights into the nature and behavior of bacteria. Maximizing the usefulness of both approaches requires recognizing their limitations and employing them appropriately. Genomic analysis excels at identifying bacteria and establishing the relatedness of isolates. Culture-based methods remain necessary for detection and enumeration, to determine viability, and to validate phenotype predictions made on the bias of genomic analysis. The purpose of this short paper is to discuss the application of culture-based analysis and genomics to the questions food microbiologists routinely need to ask regarding bacteria to ensure the safety of food and its economic production and distribution. To address these issues appropriate tools are required for the detection and enumeration of specific bacterial populations and the characterization of isolates for, identification, phylogenetics, and phenotype prediction.

  17. Is food-related lifestyle (FRL) able to reveal food consumption patterns in non-Western cultural environments? Its adaptation and application in urban China

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grunert, Klaus; Perrea, Toula; Zhou, Yanfeng

    2011-01-01

    Research related to food-related behaviour in China is still scarce, one reason being the fact that food consumption patterns in East Asia do not appear to be easily analyzed by models originating in Western cultures. The objective of the present work is to examine the ability of the food related...

  18. Application of starter cultures to table olive fermentation: an overview on the experimental studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aldo eCorsetti

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Table olives are one of the oldest fermented foods and they are considered an important component of the Mediterranean diet, since their richness in monounsaturated fats (primarily oleic acid and phenolic compounds that may function as antioxidants in the human body; in the Western world they represent one of the most popular fermented vegetables but, despite its economic significance, table olive fermentation is still craft-based and empirical. In particular, such a type of fermentation results from the competitive activities among indigenous, contaminating microorganisms, the microbial balance depending on several intrinsic (pH, water activity, diffusion of nutrients from the drupe and level of anti-microbial compounds and extrinsic (temperature, oxygen availability and salt concentration factors. At present, to reduce the risk of spoilage and to achieve a more predictable process there is an increasing interest in developing starter cultures for table olives fermentation. Anyway, the application of starter cultures in the field of table olives is quite far from reaching the diffusion it has in other sectors of food industry (e.g., dairy products and alcoholic beverages. This review focuses on experimental researches devoted to studying starter cultures for possible application to table olive fermentation both at artisan and industrial level.

  19. Characterizing microbial diversity and damage in mural paintings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosado, Tânia; Mirão, José; Candeias, António; Caldeira, Ana Teresa

    2015-02-01

    Mural paintings are some of the oldest and most important cultural expressions of mankind and play an important role for the understanding of societies and civilizations. These cultural assets have high economic and cultural value and therefore their degradation has social and economic impact. The present work presents a novel microanalytical approach to understand the damages caused by microbial communities in mural paintings. This comprises the characterization and identification of microbial diversity and evaluation of damage promoted by their biological activity. Culture-dependent methods and DNA-based approaches like denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and pyrosequencing are important tools in the isolation and identification of the microbial communities allowing characterization of the biota involved in the biodeterioration phenomena. Raman microspectrometry, infrared spectrometry, and variable pressure scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry are also useful tools for evaluation of the presence of microbial contamination and detection of the alteration products resulting from metabolic activity of the microorganisms. This study shows that the degradation status of mural paintings can be correlated to the presence of metabolically active microorganisms.

  20. Cultural resistance to fast-food consumption? A study of youth in North Eastern Thailand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seubsman, Sam-Ang; Kelly, Matthew; Yuthapornpinit, Pataraporn; Sleigh, Adrian

    2009-11-01

    Increased intake of saturated fat and refined sugars underlies much of the problem of emerging obesity all over the world. This includes middle-income countries like Thailand, which are subject to successful marketing of Western fast foods especially targeted at adolescents. In this study we explore the socio-cultural influences on fast-food intake for non-metropolitan (rural and urban) adolescents in North East Thailand (Isan). Our questionnaire sample included 634 persons aged 15-19 years who are in and out of formal schooling and who are randomly representing upper, central and lower Isan. All were asked about their knowledge of fast-food health risks and their attitudes towards, and consumption of, fast food and traditional food. As well, we used several focus groups to obtain qualitative data to complement the information derived from the questionnaire. Some three quarters of sampled youth were aware that fast food causes obesity and half knew of the link to heart disease. About half consumed fast food regularly, induced by the appeal of 'modern' lifestyles, social events and marketing, as well as by the convenience, speed and taste. Nearly two-thirds thought that local foods should be more popular and these beliefs were more likely to be found among children from educated and urban families. Local foods already constitute a cultural resistance to fast-food uptake. We propose several methods to boost this resistance and protect the youth of Thailand against fast food and its many adverse health consequences.

  1. Microbial counts of food contact surfaces at schools depending on a feeding scheme

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nthabiseng Nhlapo

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The prominence of disease transmission between individuals in confined environments is a concern, particularly in the educational environment. With respect to school feeding schemes, food contact surfaces have been shown to be potential vehicles of foodborne pathogens. The aim of this study was to assess the cleanliness of the surfaces that come into contact with food that is provided to children through the National School Nutrition Programme in central South Africa. In each school under study, microbiological samples were collected from the preparation surface and the dominant hand and apron of the food handler. The samples were analysed for total viable counts, coliforms, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and yeasts and moulds. The criteria specified in the British Columbia Guide for Environmental Health Officers were used to evaluate the results. Total viable counts were high for all surfaces, with the majority of colonies being too numerous to count (over 100 colonies per plate. Counts of organisms were relatively low, with 20% of the surfaces producing unsatisfactory enumeration of S. aureus and E. coli and 30% unsatisfactory for coliforms. Yeast and mould produced 50% and 60% unsatisfactory counts from preparation surfaces and aprons, respectively. Statistically significant differences could not be established amongst microbial counts of the surfaces, which suggests cross-contamination may have occurred. Contamination may be attributed to foodstuffs and animals in the vicinity of the preparation area rather than to the food handlers, because hands had the lowest counts of enumerated organisms amongst the analysed surfaces.

  2. ON THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE AND FOOD CULTURE FOR GRAIN & OIL JOURNALS More discussions on the cultural mission of grain & oil journals in protecting national food security and implementing national food strategy%论粮油期刊文化与粮食文化观——兼论粮油期刊在保障国家粮食安全实施国家粮食战略中的文化使命

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    吴成福

    2012-01-01

    The paper puts forward the outlook of food culture based on China' s outstanding traditional culture and advanced contemporary culture, i.e. "the masses regard food as their prime want", which is the concept of food political culture ; " agriculture is the base of all industries while food is the base of agriculture", which is the concept of food economic culture; "make a profit for the tillers of the soil, bring benefit to dieters", which is the concept of food administrative culture; "I would rather stream thousands of drops of sweat, not destroy one grain", which is the outlook of food business culture; "sci-tech innovation escorts for food", which is the outlook of food sci-tech culture; "each grain in your dish is a fruit of hard labor", which is the outlook of food consumption culture; "food safety is regarded as the top priority", which is the concept of food security culture ; "saving food is glorious while wasting food is shameful", which is the concept of food ethical culture ; "color, aromafood aesthetic taste, meaning, form, nutrition", which is the concept of food aesthetic culture; " one does not feel alarmed with food in the hands", which is the concept of food philosophy culture. The paper discusses the relationship between grain & oil journals and food culture as well as the cultural mis- sion of grain & oil journals in protecting national food security and implementing national food strategy.%提出了基于我国优秀传统文化和当代先进文化的粮食文化观,即:“民以食为天”之粮食政治文化观;“农业乃百业之基,粮食乃农业之基”之粮食经济文化观;“为耕者谋利,为食者造福”之粮食行政文化观;“宁流千滴汗,不坏一粒粮”之粮食企业文化观;“技术创新为粮食保驾护航”之粮食科技文化观;“谁知盘中餐,粒粒皆辛苦”之粮食消费文化观;“食以安为先”之

  3. Hydrodynamics of microbial filter feeding

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Lasse Tor; Asadzadeh, Seyed Saeed; Dölger, Julia

    2017-01-01

    Microbial filter feeders are an important group of grazers, significant to the microbial loop, aquatic food webs, and biogeochemical cycling. Our understanding of microbial filter feeding is poor, and, importantly, it is unknown what force microbial filter feeders must generate to process adequate......-feeding choanoflagellate Diaphanoeca grandis using particle tracking, and demonstrate that the current understanding of microbial filter feeding is inconsistent with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and analytical estimates. Both approaches underestimate observed filtration rates by more than an order of magnitude......; the beating flagellum is simply unable to draw enough water through the fine filter. We find similar discrepancies for other choanoflagellate species, highlighting an apparent paradox. Our observations motivate us to suggest a radically different filtration mechanism that requires a flagellar vane (sheet...

  4. Bourdieu's Cultural Capital in Relation to Food Choices : A Systematic Review of Cultural Capital Indicators and an Empirical Proof of Concept

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kamphuis, Carlijn B M; Jansen, Tessa; Mackenbach, Johan P; van Lenthe, Frank J

    2015-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: Unhealthy food choices follow a socioeconomic gradient that may partly be explained by one's 'cultural capital', as defined by Bourdieu. We aim 1) to carry out a systematic review to identify existing quantitative measures of cultural capital, 2) to develop a questionnaire to measure

  5. Microbial reductive dehalogenation of trihalomethanes by a Dehalobacter-containing co-culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Siyan; Rogers, Matthew J; He, Jianzhong

    2017-07-01

    Trihalomethanes such as chloroform and bromoform, although well-known as a prominent class of disinfection by-products, are ubiquitously distributed in the environment due to widespread industrial usage in the past decades. Chloroform and bromoform are particularly concerning, of high concentrations detected and with long half-lives up to several hundred days in soils and groundwater. In this study, we report a Dehalobacter- and Desulfovibrio-containing co-culture that exhibits dehalogenation of chloroform (~0.61 mM) to dichloromethane and bromoform (~0.67 mM) to dibromomethane within 10-15 days. This co-culture was further found to dechlorinate 1,1,1-trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCA) (~0.65 mM) to 1,1-dichloroethane within 12 days. The Dehalobacter species present in this co-culture, designated Dehalobacter sp. THM1, was found to couple growth with dehalogenation of chloroform, bromoform, and 1,1,1-TCA. Strain THM1 harbors a newly identified reductive dehalogenase (RDase), ThmA, which catalyzes chloroform, bromoform, and 1,1,1-TCA dehalogenation. Additionally, based on the sequences of thmA and other identified chloroform RDase genes, ctrA, cfrA, and tmrA, a pair of chloroform RDase gene-specific primers were designed and successfully applied to investigate the chloroform dechlorinating potential of microbial communities. The comparative analysis of chloroform RDases with tetrachloroethene RDases suggests a possible approach in predicting the substrate specificity of uncharacterized RDases in the future.

  6. Effects of organic loading rates on reactor performance and microbial community changes during thermophilic aerobic digestion process of high-strength food wastewater.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, Hyun Min; Lee, Jae Won; Ha, Jeong Hyub; Park, Jong Moon

    2013-11-01

    To evaluate the applicability of single-stage thermophilic aerobic digestion (TAD) process treating high-strength food wastewater (FWW), TAD process was operated at four organic loading rates (OLRs) from 9.2 to 37.2 kg COD/m(3)d. The effects of OLRs on microbial community changes were also examined. The highest volumetric removal rate (13.3 kg COD/m(3)d) and the highest thermo-stable protease activity (0.95 unit/mL) were detected at OLR=18.6 kg COD/m(3)d. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles and quantitative PCR (qPCR) results showed significant microbial community shifts in response to changes in OLR. In particular, DGGE and phylogenetic analysis demonstrate that the presence of Bacillus sp. (phylum of Firmicutes) was strongly correlated with efficient removal of organic particulates from high-strength food wastewater. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Harnessing the landscape of microbial culture media to predict new organism–media pairings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oberhardt, Matthew A.; Zarecki, Raphy; Gronow, Sabine; Lang, Elke; Klenk, Hans-Peter; Gophna, Uri; Ruppin, Eytan

    2015-01-01

    Culturing microorganisms is a critical step in understanding and utilizing microbial life. Here we map the landscape of existing culture media by extracting natural-language media recipes into a Known Media Database (KOMODO), which includes >18,000 strain–media combinations, >3300 media variants and compound concentrations (the entire collection of the Leibniz Institute DSMZ repository). Using KOMODO, we show that although media are usually tuned for individual strains using biologically common salts, trace metals and vitamins/cofactors are the most differentiating components between defined media of strains within a genus. We leverage KOMODO to predict new organism–media pairings using a transitivity property (74% growth in new in vitro experiments) and a phylogeny-based collaborative filtering tool (83% growth in new in vitro experiments and stronger growth on predicted well-scored versus poorly scored media). These resources are integrated into a web-based platform that predicts media given an organism's 16S rDNA sequence, facilitating future cultivation efforts. PMID:26460590

  8. Microbial quality of soft drinks served by the dispensing machines in fast food restaurants and convenience stores in Griffin, Georgia, and surrounding areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Yoen Ju; Chen, Jinru

    2009-12-01

    This study was undertaken to evaluate the microbial quality of the soft drinks served by fast food restaurants and gas station convenience stores in Griffin, GA, and surrounding areas. The soft drinks were collected from the dispensing machines in 8 fast food restaurants or gas station convenience stores in 2005 (n = 25) and in 10 fast food restaurants or gas station convenience stores in 2006 (n = 43) and 2007 (n = 43). One hundred milliliters of each soft drink was filtered through a hydrophobic grid membrane filter. The remaining portion of the soft drink was kept at room temperature for 4 h before sampling in order to mimic the possible holding time between purchase and consumption. The membrane filters were sampled for total aerobic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, lactic acid bacteria, and yeasts and molds. The microbial counts in the 2006 samples were numerically higher than the counts in the 2007 samples except for the average lactic acid bacteria counts, and were either significantly or numerically higher than the counts in the 2005 samples. Soft drinks sampled after the 4-h holding period had relatively higher counts than those sampled initially, with a few exceptions. Some soft drinks had over 4 log CFU/100 ml of total aerobic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, lactic acid bacteria, and yeast and mold cells. The study revealed the microbial quality of soft drinks served by dispensing machines in Griffin, GA, and surrounding areas, emphasizing the importance of effective sanitizing practice in retail settings.

  9. Soybean supplementation increases the resilience of microbial and nematode communities in soil to extreme rainfall in an agroforestry system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Feng; Pan, Kaiwen; Li, Zilong; Wang, Sizhong; Tariq, Akash; Olatunji, Olusanya Abiodun; Sun, Xiaoming; Zhang, Lin; Shi, Weiyu; Wu, Xiaogang

    2018-06-01

    A current challenge for ecological research in agriculture is to identify ways in which to improve the resilience of the soil food web to extreme climate events, such as severe rainfall. Plant species composition influence soil biota communities differently, which might affect the recovery of soil food web after extreme rainfall. We compared the effects of rainfall stress up on the soil microbial food web in three planting systems: a monoculture of the focal species Zanthoxylum bungeanum and mixed cultures of Z. bungeanum and Medicago sativa or Z. bungeanum and Glycine max. We tested the effect of the presence of a legume on the recovery of trophic interactions between microorganisms and nematodes after extreme rainfall. Our results indicated that all chemical properties of the soil recovered to control levels (normal rainfall) in the three planting systems 45 days after exposure to extreme rain. However, on day 45, the bulk microbial community differed from controls in the monoculture treatment, but not in the two mixed planting treatments. The nematode community did not fully recover in the monoculture or Z. bungeanum and M. sativa treatments, while nematode populations in the combined Z. bungeanum and G. max treatment were indistinguishable from controls. G. max performed better than M. sativa in terms of increasing the resilience of microbial and nematode communities to extreme rainfall. Soil microbial biomass and nematode density were positively correlated with the available carbon and nitrogen content in soil, demonstrating a link between soil health and biological properties. This study demonstrated that certain leguminous plants can stabilize the soil food web via interactions with soil biota communities after extreme rainfall. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. European food cultures: An exploratory analysis of food related preferences and behaviour in European regions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Askegaard, Søren; Madsen, Tage Koed

    and its potential expansion, the relative importance of national boundaries must be expected to diminish whereas other boundaries will become more apparent. One type of boundaries of vital impo to international marketing is the cultural boundaries dividing Europe into regions with individual cultural...... to the point where some people ta about a 'world cuisine'. However, local, national, and regional differences continue to play a decisive role in the way elements, products, and ingredients are combined, and when, how, with what, and with whom they are eaten. 4. This paper explores information about...... such cultural patterns of food consumption based on information from an exisiting database originating from a 1989 pan-European lifestyle survey questioning around 20.000 people in 16 European countries divided into 79 regions. 5. A factor analysis reduced the number of variables from 138 to 41, discovering...

  11. Explicit and implicit attitude toward an emerging food technology: The case of cultured meat

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bekker, G.A.; Fischer, A.R.; Tobi, H.; Trijp, H.C.M. van

    2017-01-01

    Cultured meat is an unfamiliar emerging food technology that could provide a near endless supply of high quality protein with a relatively small ecological footprint. To understand consumer acceptance of cultured meat, this study investigated the influence of information provision on the explicit

  12. Self-sustaining, solar-driven bioelectricity generation in micro-sized microbial fuel cell using co-culture of heterotrophic and photosynthetic bacteria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Lin; Choi, Seokheun

    2017-04-01

    Among many energy harvesting techniques with great potential, microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology is arguably the most underdeveloped. Even so, excitement is building, as microorganisms can harvest electrical power from any biodegradable organic source (e.g. wastewater) that is readily available in resource-limited settings. Nevertheless, the requirement for endless introduction of organic matter imposes a limiting factor to this technology, demanding an active feeding system and additional power. Here, we demonstrated self-sustaining bioelectricity generation from a microliter-scale microbial fuel cell (MFC) by using the syntrophic interaction between heterotrophic exoelectrogenic bacteria and phototrophs. The MFC continuously generated light-responsive electricity from the heterotrophic bacterial metabolic respiration with the organic substrates produced by photosynthetic bacteria. Without additional organic fuel, the mixed culture in a 90-μL-chamber MFC generated self-sustained current for more than 13 days, while the heterotrophic culture produced current that decreased dramatically within a few hours. The current from the mixed culture was about 70 times greater than that of the device with only photosynthetic bacteria. The miniaturization provided a short start-up time, a well-controlled environment, and small internal resistance. Those advantages will become the general design platform for micropower generation.

  13. Onshore Wind Speed Modulates Microbial Aerosols along an Urban Waterfront

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Elias Dueker

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Wind blowing over aquatic and terrestrial surfaces produces aerosols, which include microbial aerosols. We studied the effect of onshore wind speeds on aerosol concentrations as well as total and culturable microbial aerosols (bacterial and viral at an urban waterfront (New York, NY, United States of America. We used two distinct methods to characterize microbial aerosol responses to wind speed: A culture-based exposure-plate method measuring viable bacterial deposition near-shore (CFU accumulation rate; and a culture-independent aerosol sampler-based method measuring total bacterial and viral aerosols (cells m−3 air. While ambient coarse (>2 µm and fine (0.3–2 µm aerosol particle number concentrations (regulated indicators of air quality decreased with increasing onshore wind speeds, total and depositing culturable bacterial aerosols and total viral aerosols increased. Taxonomic identification of the 16S rDNA of bacterial aerosol isolates suggested both terrestrial and aquatic sources. Wind appears to increase microbial aerosol number concentrations in the near-shore environment by onshore transport at low wind speeds (<4 m s−1, and increased local production and transport of new microbial aerosols from adjacent water surfaces at higher wind speeds (>4 m s−1. This study demonstrates a wind-modulated microbial connection between water and air in the coastal urban environment, with implications for public health management and urban microbial ecology.

  14. Implications of Extracellular Polymeric Substance Matrices of Microbial Habitats Associated with Coastal Aquaculture Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Carlos Camacho-Chab

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Coastal zones support fisheries that provide food for humans and feed for animals. The decline of fisheries worldwide has fostered the development of aquaculture. Recent research has shown that extracellular polymeric substances (EPS synthesized by microorganisms contribute to sustainable aquaculture production, providing feed to the cultured species, removing waste and contributing to the hygiene of closed systems. As ubiquitous components of coastal microbial habitats at the air–seawater and seawater–sediment interfaces as well as of biofilms and microbial aggregates, EPS mediate deleterious processes that affect the performance and productivity of aquaculture facilities, including biofouling of marine cages, bioaccumulation and transport of pollutants. These biomolecules may also contribute to the persistence of harmful algal blooms (HABs and their impact on cultured species. EPS may also exert a positive influence on aquaculture activity by enhancing the settling of aquaculturally valuable larvae and treating wastes in bioflocculation processes. EPS display properties that may have biotechnological applications in the aquaculture industry as antiviral agents and immunostimulants and as a novel source of antifouling bioproducts.

  15. Retention and transport of an anaerobic trichloroethene dechlorinating microbial culture in anaerobic porous media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Huixin; Ulrich, Ania C; Liu, Yang

    2015-06-01

    The influence of solution chemistry on microbial transport was examined using the strictly anaerobic trichloroethene (TCE) bioaugmentation culture KB-1(®). A column was employed to determine transport behaviors and deposition kinetics of three distinct functional species in KB-1(®), Dehalococcoides, Geobacter, and Methanomethylovorans, over a range of ionic strengths under a well-controlled anaerobic condition. A quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was utilized to enumerate cell concentration and complementary techniques were implemented to evaluate cell surface electrokinetic potentials. Solution chemistry was found to positively affect the deposition rates, which was consistent with calculated Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) interaction energies. Retained microbial profiles showed spatially constant colloid deposition rate coefficients, in agreement with classical colloid filtration theory (CFT). It was interesting to note that the three KB-1(®) species displayed similar transport and retention behaviors under the defined experimental conditions despite their different cell electrokinetic properties. A deeper analysis of cell characteristics showed that factors, such as cell size and shape, concentration, and motility were involved in determining adhesion behavior. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Development of a Chlorine Dosing Strategy for Fresh Produce Washing Process to Maintain Microbial Food Safety and Minimize Residual Chlorine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xi; Hung, Yen-Con

    2018-05-22

    The residual free chlorine level in fresh produce wash solution is closely correlated to the chemical and microbial safety of produce. Excess amount of free chlorine can quickly react with organic matters to form hazardous disinfection by-products (DBPs) above EPA-permitted levels, whereas deficiency of residual chlorine in produce wash solution may result in incompletely removing pathogens on produce. The purpose of this study was to develop a chlorine dosing strategy to optimize the chlorine dosage during produce washing process without impacting the microbial safety of fresh produce. Prediction equations were developed to estimate free chlorine needed to reach targeted residual chlorine at various sanitizer pH and organic loads, and then validated using fresh-cut iceberg lettuce and whole strawberries in an automated produce washer. Validation results showed that equations successfully predicted the initial chlorine concentration needed to achieve residual chlorine at 10, 30, 60, and 90 mg/L for both lettuce and strawberry washing processes, with the root mean squared error at 4.45 mg/L. The Escherichia coli O157:H7 reductions only slightly increased on iceberg lettuce and strawberries with residual chlorine increasing from 10 to 90 mg/L, indicating that lowering residual chlorine to 10 mg/L would not compromise the antimicrobial efficacy of chlorine-based sanitizer. Based on the prediction equations and E. coli O157:H7 reduction results, a chlorine dosing strategy was developed to help the produce industry to maintain microbial inactivation efficacy without adding excess amount of free chlorine. The chlorine dosing strategy can be used for fresh produce washing process to enhance the microbial food safety and minimize the DBPs formation potential. © 2018 Institute of Food Technologists®.

  17. The impact of culture on the food consumption process : The case of Sweden from a French perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Lamory, Noémie; Laporte, Camille

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine the extent of which culture influences the food consumption process. More specifically, our research will focus on the consumption process of Swedish consumers, as well as their motivations when buying food products. The overall objective of our research is to analyse the extent of applicability the Swedish model of consumption might possibly have in a country like France with a strong food culture. To conduct our research, a qualitative method was used...

  18. FDA-iRISK--a comparative risk assessment system for evaluating and ranking food-hazard pairs: case studies on microbial hazards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yuhuan; Dennis, Sherri B; Hartnett, Emma; Paoli, Greg; Pouillot, Régis; Ruthman, Todd; Wilson, Margaret

    2013-03-01

    Stakeholders in the system of food safety, in particular federal agencies, need evidence-based, transparent, and rigorous approaches to estimate and compare the risk of foodborne illness from microbial and chemical hazards and the public health impact of interventions. FDA-iRISK (referred to here as iRISK), a Web-based quantitative risk assessment system, was developed to meet this need. The modeling tool enables users to assess, compare, and rank the risks posed by multiple food-hazard pairs at all stages of the food supply system, from primary production, through manufacturing and processing, to retail distribution and, ultimately, to the consumer. Using standard data entry templates, built-in mathematical functions, and Monte Carlo simulation techniques, iRISK integrates data and assumptions from seven components: the food, the hazard, the population of consumers, process models describing the introduction and fate of the hazard up to the point of consumption, consumption patterns, dose-response curves, and health effects. Beyond risk ranking, iRISK enables users to estimate and compare the impact of interventions and control measures on public health risk. iRISK provides estimates of the impact of proposed interventions in various ways, including changes in the mean risk of illness and burden of disease metrics, such as losses in disability-adjusted life years. Case studies for Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella were developed to demonstrate the application of iRISK for the estimation of risks and the impact of interventions for microbial hazards. iRISK was made available to the public at http://irisk.foodrisk.org in October 2012.

  19. Prospect of Sea Cucumber Culture in Indonesia as Potential Food Sources

    OpenAIRE

    Pangkey, Henneke; Lantu, Sartje; Manuand, Lusia; Mokolensang, JeffrieFredrik

    2012-01-01

    Sea cucumber is one of the sea treasures which has been used not only as luxury food for certain countries but also as medicines. Sea cucumber has become one of the most important products and it has high price in International market.For this reason, the exploitation of sea cucumber turns out to be excessive and disturbs its sustainability. Aquaculture is the best way to prevent this problem. The success of sea cucumber culture is very depend on seed availability and suitable food for larvae...

  20. Identification of microbes from the surfaces of food-processing lines based on the flow cytometric evaluation of cellular metabolic activity combined with cell sorting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juzwa, W; Duber, A; Myszka, K; Białas, W; Czaczyk, K

    2016-09-01

    In this study the design of a flow cytometry-based procedure to facilitate the detection of adherent bacteria from food-processing surfaces was evaluated. The measurement of the cellular redox potential (CRP) of microbial cells was combined with cell sorting for the identification of microorganisms. The procedure enhanced live/dead cell discrimination owing to the measurement of the cell physiology. The microbial contamination of the surface of a stainless steel conveyor used to process button mushrooms was evaluated in three independent experiments. The flow cytometry procedure provided a step towards monitoring of contamination and enabled the assessment of microbial food safety hazards by the discrimination of active, mid-active and non-active bacterial sub-populations based on determination of their cellular vitality and subsequently single cell sorting to isolate microbial strains from discriminated sub-populations. There was a significant correlation (r = 0.97; p vitality and the identification of species from defined sub-populations, although the identified microbes were limited to culturable cells.

  1. Microbial fermented tea - a potential source of natural food preservatives

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mo, H.Z.; Yang Zhu, Yang; Chen, Z.M.

    2008-01-01

    Antimicrobial activities of microbial fermented tea are much less known than its health beneficial properties. These antimicrobial activities are generated in natural microbial fermentation process with tea leaves as substrates. The antimicrobial components produced during the fermentation process

  2. Microbial safety of minimally processed foods

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Novak, John S; Sapers, Gerald M; Juneja, Vijay K

    2003-01-01

    ...-course meals. All are expected to be portioned and minimally processed to balance the naturalness of unaltered foods with a concern for safety. Yet the responsibility for proper food preparation and handling remains with the naïve modern consumer, who may be less adept in food preparations than his or her less sophisticated ancestors. As a result,...

  3. Degradation of paracetamol by pure bacterial cultures and their microbial consortium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Lili; Hu, Jun; Zhu, Runye; Zhou, Qingwei; Chen, Jianmeng

    2013-04-01

    Three bacterial strains utilizing paracetamol as the sole carbon, nitrogen, and energy source were isolated from a paracetamol-degrading aerobic aggregate, and assigned to species of the genera Stenotrophomonas and Pseudomonas. The Stenotrophomonas species have not included any known paracetamol degraders until now. In batch cultures, the organisms f1, f2, and fg-2 could perform complete degradation of paracetamol at concentrations of 400, 2,500, and 2,000 mg/L or below, respectively. A combination of three microbial strains resulted in significantly improved degradation and mineralization of paracetamol. The co-culture was able to use paracetamol up to concentrations of 4,000 mg/L, and mineralized 87.1 % of the added paracetamol at the initial of 2,000 mg/L. Two key metabolites of the biodegradation pathway of paracetamol, 4-aminophenol, and hydroquinone were detected. Paracetamol was degraded predominantly via 4-aminophenol to hydroquinone with subsequent ring fission, suggesting new pathways for paracetamol-degrading bacteria. The degradation of paracetamol could thus be performed by the single isolates, but is stimulated by a synergistic interaction of the three-member consortium, suggesting a possible complementary interaction among the various isolates. The exact roles of each of the strains in the consortium need to be further elucidated.

  4. Evaluation of phytate-degrading Lactobacillus culture administration to broiler chickens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Askelson, Tyler E; Campasino, Ashley; Lee, Jason T; Duong, Tri

    2014-02-01

    Probiotics have been demonstrated to promote growth, stimulate immune responses, and improve food safety of poultry. While widely used, their effectiveness is mixed, and the mechanisms through which they contribute to poultry production are not well understood. Microbial phytases are increasingly supplemented in feed to improve digestibility and reduce antinutritive effects of phytate. The microbial origin of these exogenous enzymes suggests a potentially important mechanism of probiotic functionality. We investigated phytate degradation as a novel probiotic mechanism using recombinant Lactobacillus cultures expressing Bacillus subtilis phytase. B. subtilis phyA was codon optimized for expression in Lactobacillus and cloned into the expression vector pTRK882. The resulting plasmid, pTD003, was transformed into Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus gallinarum, and Lactobacillus gasseri. SDS-PAGE revealed a protein in the culture supernatants of Lactobacillus pTD003 transformants with a molecular weight similar to that of the B. subtilis phytase. Expression of B. subtilis phytase increased phytate degradation of L. acidophilus, L. gasseri, and L. gallinarum approximately 4-, 10-, and 18-fold over the background activity of empty-vector transformants, respectively. Phytase-expressing L. gallinarum and L. gasseri were administered to broiler chicks fed a phosphorus-deficient diet. Phytase-expressing L. gasseri improved weight gain of broiler chickens to a level comparable to that for chickens fed a control diet adequate in phosphorus, demonstrating proof of principle that administration of phytate-degrading probiotic cultures can improve performance of livestock animals. This will inform future studies investigating whether probiotic cultures are able to provide both the performance benefits of feed enzymes and the animal health and food safety benefits traditionally associated with probiotics.

  5. The Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure MIRRI: Strength through Coordination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erko Stackebrandt

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Microbial resources have been recognized as essential raw materials for the advancement of health and later for biotechnology, agriculture, food technology and for research in the life sciences, as their enormous abundance and diversity offer an unparalleled source of unexplored solutions. Microbial domain biological resource centres (mBRC provide live cultures and associated data to foster and support the development of basic and applied science in countries worldwide and especially in Europe, where the density of highly advanced mBRCs is high. The not-for-profit and distributed project MIRRI (Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure aims to coordinate access to hitherto individually managed resources by developing a pan-European platform which takes the interoperability and accessibility of resources and data to a higher level. Providing a wealth of additional information and linking to datasets such as literature, environmental data, sequences and chemistry will enable researchers to select organisms suitable for their research and enable innovative solutions to be developed. The current independent policies and managed processes will be adapted by partner mBRCs to harmonize holdings, services, training, and accession policy and to share expertise. The infrastructure will improve access to enhanced quality microorganisms in an appropriate legal framework and to resource-associated data in a more interoperable way.

  6. PCR-DGGE fingerprints of microbial successional changes during ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    PCR-DGGE fingerprints of microbial successional changes during fermentation of cereal-legume weaning foods. ... African Journal of Biotechnology ... Phenotypic identification and monitoring of the dynamics of naturally occurring microbial community responsible for the spontaneous fermentation of different cereal-legume ...

  7. 40 CFR 158.2110 - Microbial pesticides data requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... of the product. (b) Additional data requirements for genetically modified microbial pesticides. Additional requirements for genetically modified microbial pesticides may include but are not limited to... patterns” under which the individual data are required, with variations including all use patterns, food...

  8. See food diet? Cultural differences in estimating fullness and intake as a function of plate size.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Mei; Adam, Sarah; Hautus, Michael J; Shin, Myoungju; Duizer, Lisa M; Yan, Huiquan

    2017-10-01

    Previous research has suggested that manipulations of plate size can have a direct impact on perception of food intake, measured by estimated fullness and intake. The present study, involving 570 individuals across Canada, China, Korea, and New Zealand, is the first empirical study to investigate cultural influences on perception of food portion as a function of plate size. The respondents viewed photographs of ten culturally diverse dishes presented on large (27 cm) and small (23 cm) plates, and then rated their estimated usual intake and expected fullness after consuming the dish, using 100-point visual analog scales. The data were analysed with a mixed-model ANCOVA controlling for individual BMI, liking and familiarity of the presented food. The results showed clear cultural differences: (1) manipulations of the plate size had no effect on the expected fullness or the estimated intake of the Chinese and Korean respondents, as opposed to significant effects in Canadians and New Zealanders (p Asian respondents. Overall, these findings, from a cultural perspective, support the notion that estimation of fullness and intake are learned through dining experiences, and highlight the importance of considering eating environments and contexts when assessing individual behaviours relating to food intake. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Treatment and electricity harvesting from sulfate/sulfide-containing wastewaters using microbial fuel cell with enriched sulfate-reducing mixed culture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Duu-Jong; Lee, Chin-Yu; Chang, Jo-Shu

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► We started up microbial fuel cell (MFC) using enriched sulfate-reducing mixed culture. ► Sulfate-reducing bacteria and anode-respiring bacteria were enriched in anodic biofilms. ► The MFC effectively remove sulfate to elementary sulfur in the presence of lactate. ► The present device can treat sulfate laden wastewaters with electricity harvesting. - Abstract: Anaerobic treatment of sulfate-laden wastewaters can produce excess sulfide, which is corrosive to pipelines and is toxic to incorporated microorganisms. This work started up microbial fuel cell (MFC) using enriched sulfate-reducing mixed culture as anodic biofilms and applied the so yielded MFC for treating sulfate or sulfide-laden wastewaters. The sulfate-reducing bacteria in anodic biofilm effectively reduced sulfate to sulfide, which was then used by neighboring anode respiring bacteria (ARB) as electron donor for electricity production. The presence of organic carbons enhanced MFC performance since the biofilm ARB were mixotrophs that need organic carbon to grow. The present device introduces a route for treating sulfate laden wastewaters with electricity harvesting.

  10. Treatment and electricity harvesting from sulfate/sulfide-containing wastewaters using microbial fuel cell with enriched sulfate-reducing mixed culture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Duu-Jong, E-mail: cedean@mail.ntust.edu.tw [Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan (China); Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan (China); Lee, Chin-Yu [Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan (China); Chang, Jo-Shu [Department of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan (China); Center for Bioscience and Biotechnology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan (China); Research Center for Energy Technology and Strategy, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan (China)

    2012-12-15

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We started up microbial fuel cell (MFC) using enriched sulfate-reducing mixed culture. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Sulfate-reducing bacteria and anode-respiring bacteria were enriched in anodic biofilms. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The MFC effectively remove sulfate to elementary sulfur in the presence of lactate. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The present device can treat sulfate laden wastewaters with electricity harvesting. - Abstract: Anaerobic treatment of sulfate-laden wastewaters can produce excess sulfide, which is corrosive to pipelines and is toxic to incorporated microorganisms. This work started up microbial fuel cell (MFC) using enriched sulfate-reducing mixed culture as anodic biofilms and applied the so yielded MFC for treating sulfate or sulfide-laden wastewaters. The sulfate-reducing bacteria in anodic biofilm effectively reduced sulfate to sulfide, which was then used by neighboring anode respiring bacteria (ARB) as electron donor for electricity production. The presence of organic carbons enhanced MFC performance since the biofilm ARB were mixotrophs that need organic carbon to grow. The present device introduces a route for treating sulfate laden wastewaters with electricity harvesting.

  11. Cultural repertoires and food-related household technology within colonia households under conditions of material hardship

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dean Wesley R

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Mexican-origin women in the U.S. living in colonias (new-destination Mexican-immigrant communities along the Texas-Mexico border suffer from a high incidence of food insecurity and diet-related chronic disease. Understanding environmental factors that influence food-related behaviors among this population will be important to improving the well-being of colonia households. This article focuses on cultural repertoires that enable food choice and the everyday uses of technology in food-related practice by Mexican-immigrant women in colonia households under conditions of material hardship. Findings are presented within a conceptual framework informed by concepts drawn from sociological accounts of technology, food choice, culture, and material hardship. Methods Field notes were provided by teams of promotora-researchers (indigenous community health workers and public-health professionals trained as participant observers. They conducted observations on three separate occasions (two half-days during the week and one weekend day within eight family residences located in colonias near the towns of Alton and San Carlos, Texas. English observations were coded inductively and early observations stressed the importance of technology and material hardship in food-related behavior. These observations were further explored and coded using the qualitative data package Atlas.ti. Results Technology included kitchen implements used in standard and adapted configurations and household infrastructure. Residents employed tools across a range of food-related activities identified as forms of food acquisition, storage, preparation, serving, feeding and eating, cleaning, and waste processing. Material hardships included the quality, quantity, acceptability, and uncertainty dimensions of food insecurity, and insufficient consumption of housing, clothing and medical care. Cultural repertoires for coping with material hardship included reliance on

  12. Cultural repertoires and food-related household technology within colonia households under conditions of material hardship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dean, Wesley R; Sharkey, Joseph R; Johnson, Cassandra M; St John, Julie

    2012-05-15

    BSTRACT: Mexican-origin women in the U.S. living in colonias (new-destination Mexican-immigrant communities) along the Texas-Mexico border suffer from a high incidence of food insecurity and diet-related chronic disease. Understanding environmental factors that influence food-related behaviors among this population will be important to improving the well-being of colonia households. This article focuses on cultural repertoires that enable food choice and the everyday uses of technology in food-related practice by Mexican-immigrant women in colonia households under conditions of material hardship. Findings are presented within a conceptual framework informed by concepts drawn from sociological accounts of technology, food choice, culture, and material hardship. Field notes were provided by teams of promotora-researchers (indigenous community health workers) and public-health professionals trained as participant observers. They conducted observations on three separate occasions (two half-days during the week and one weekend day) within eight family residences located in colonias near the towns of Alton and San Carlos, Texas. English observations were coded inductively and early observations stressed the importance of technology and material hardship in food-related behavior. These observations were further explored and coded using the qualitative data package Atlas.ti. Technology included kitchen implements used in standard and adapted configurations and household infrastructure. Residents employed tools across a range of food-related activities identified as forms of food acquisition, storage, preparation, serving, feeding and eating, cleaning, and waste processing. Material hardships included the quality, quantity, acceptability, and uncertainty dimensions of food insecurity, and insufficient consumption of housing, clothing and medical care. Cultural repertoires for coping with material hardship included reliance on inexpensive staple foods and dishes, and

  13. Bacteria associated with street vended foods: implications to food ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Street vended foods were analysed for the bacterial load and the presence of pathogenic and/or potentially pathogenic bacteria. The foods were collected randomly from ambulatory and stationary vendors and analysed individually and then categorized as meats, salads and carbohydrates. The microbial analysis indicated ...

  14. Microbial network of the carbonate precipitation process induced by microbial consortia and the potential application to crack healing in concrete.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jiaguang; Zhou, Aijuan; Liu, Yuanzhen; Zhao, Bowei; Luan, Yunbo; Wang, Sufang; Yue, Xiuping; Li, Zhu

    2017-11-06

    Current studies have employed various pure-cultures for improving concrete durability based on microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP). However, there have been very few reports concerned with microbial consortia, which could perform more complex tasks and be more robust in their resistance to environmental fluctuations. In this study, we constructed three microbial consortia that are capable of MICP under aerobic (AE), anaerobic (AN) and facultative anaerobic (FA) conditions. The results showed that AE consortia showed more positive effects on inorganic carbon conversion than AN and FA consortia. Pyrosequencing analysis showed that clear distinctions appeared in the community structure between different microbial consortia systems. Further investigation on microbial community networks revealed that the species in the three microbial consortia built thorough energetic and metabolic interaction networks regarding MICP, nitrate-reduction, bacterial endospores and fermentation communities. Crack-healing experiments showed that the selected cracks of the three consortia-based concrete specimens were almost completely healed in 28 days, which was consistent with the studies using pure cultures. Although the economic advantage might not be clear yet, this study highlights the potential implementation of microbial consortia on crack healing in concrete.

  15. Understanding the anaerobic biodegradability of food waste: Relationship between the typological, biochemical and microbial characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisgativa, Henry; Tremier, Anne; Le Roux, Sophie; Bureau, Chrystelle; Dabert, Patrick

    2017-03-01

    In this study, an extensive characterisation of food waste (FW) was performed with the aim of studying the relation between FW characteristics and FW treatability through an anaerobic digestion process. In addition to the typological composition (paper, meat, fruits, vegetables contents, etc) and the physicochemical characteristics, this study provides an original characterisation of microbial populations present in FW. These intrinsic populations can actively participate to aerobic and anaerobic degradation with the presence of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes species for the bacteria and of Ascomycota phylum for the fungi. However, the characterisation of FW bacterial and fungi community shows to be a challenge because of the biases generated by the non-microbial DNA coming from plant and by the presence of mushrooms in the food. In terms of relations, it was demonstrated that some FW characteristics as the density, the volatile solids and the fibres content vary as a function of the typological composition. No direct relationship was demonstrated between the typological composition and the anaerobic biodegradability. However, the Pearson's matrix results reveal that the anaerobic biodegradation potential of FW was highly related to the total chemical oxygen demand (tCOD), the total solid content (TS), the high weight organic matter molecules soluble in water (SOL W >1.5 kDa) and the C/N ratio content. These relations may help predicting FW behaviour through anaerobic digestion process. Finally, this study also showed that the storage of FW before collection, that could induce pre-biodegradation, seems to impact several biochemical characteristics and could improve the biodegradability of FW. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Dark fermentative hydrogen production by defined mixed microbial cultures immobilized on ligno-cellulosic waste materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Patel, Sanjay K.S. [Microbial Biotechnology and Genomics, Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), CSIR, Delhi University Campus, Mall Road, Delhi 110007 (India); Department of Biotechnology, University of Pune, Pune 411007 (India); Purohit, Hemant J. [Environmental Genomics Unit, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), CSIR, Nehru Marg, Nagpur 440020 (India); Kalia, Vipin C. [Microbial Biotechnology and Genomics, Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), CSIR, Delhi University Campus, Mall Road, Delhi 110007 (India)

    2010-10-15

    Mixed microbial cultures (MMCs) based on 11 isolates belonging to Bacillus spp. (Firmicutes), Bordetella avium, Enterobacter aerogenes and Proteus mirabilis (Proteobacteria) were employed to produce hydrogen (H{sub 2}) under dark fermentative conditions. Under daily fed culture conditions (hydraulic retention time of 2 days), MMC6 and MMC4, immobilized on ligno-cellulosic wastes - banana leaves and coconut coir evolved 300-330 mL H{sub 2}/day. Here, H{sub 2} constituted 58-62% of the total biogas evolved. It amounted to a H{sub 2} yield of 1.54-1.65 mol/mol glucose utilized over a period of 60 days of fermentation. The involvement of various Bacillus spp. -Bacillus sp., Bacillus cereus, Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus pumilus and Bacillus thuringiensis as components of the defined MMCs for H{sub 2} production has been reported here for the first time. (author)

  17. Microbial diversity and prevalence of foodborne pathogens in cheap and junk foods consumed by primary schoolchildren.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, M J; Kim, S A; Kang, Y S; Hwang, I G; Rhee, M S

    2013-07-01

    Aerobic plate counts (APC), coliforms, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli and eight foodborne pathogens were tested in 1008 cheap and junk foods, including candies, dried cakes, chewing gum, chocolate, dried and seasoned seafood, ice cream, and sugary foods. APCs were positive for 342 samples (33·9%), and the majority of the counts were 2-3 log CFU g(-1) or ml(-1) (average: 1·10 log CFU g(-1) or ml(-1) ). Most samples (97·3%) contained no coliforms (average: 0·07 log CFU g(-1) or ml(-1) ). Bacillus cereus was detected in 68 samples (average: 0·14 log CFU g(-1) or ml(-1) ). Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes were detected in 6 and 1 samples, respectively, whereas other foodborne pathogens were not isolated. The highest bacterial counts were associated with dried and seasoned seafood products and dried cakes, suggesting that appropriate regulations of these food types should be considered. Cheap and junk foods were produced mainly in developing countries, but there were no significant differences in the bacterial counts among different countries of origin. The presence of foodborne pathogens may pose a risk for children. These results suggest that there is cause for deeper concern about the safety of these foods and that effective countermeasures should be established to improve their microbiological safety. Food safety is especially important for children, but only limited information is available about the microbiological quality of cheap and junk foods that are consumed frequently by primary schoolchildren (e.g. dried cakes, candies and chocolates). The present study investigated the microbial quality of cheap and junk foods, and our results indicate that these foods are a potential health risk for children, therefore, deeper concern about the safety of these foods and effective countermeasures should be established to improve their microbiological safety. The present study may contribute to the development of an appropriate child food

  18. Electrochemical evaluation of Ti/TiO{sub 2}-polyaniline anodes for microbial fuel cells using hypersaline microbial consortia for synthetic-wastewater treatment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Benetton, X.D.; Navarro-Avila, S.G. [Univ. Autonoma de Yucatan, Yucatan (Mexico). Biotecnologia y Bioingenieria; Carrera-Figueiras, C. [Univ. Autonoma de Yucatan, Yucatan (Mexico). Quimica Fundamental y Aplicada

    2010-07-01

    This paper described the development of a titanium (Ti/TiO{sub 2}) polyaniline composite electrode. The electrode was designed for use with a microbial fuel cell (MFC) that generated electricity through the microbial biodegradation of organic compounds. A modified NBAF medium was used with a 20 mM acetate as an electron donor and 53 mM fumarate as an electron acceptor for a period of 96 hours at 37 degrees C. Strains were cultured under strict anaerobic conditions. Two microbial cultures were used: (1) pure cultures of Geobacter sulfur-reducens; and (2) an uncharacterized stable microbial consortia isolated from hypersaline swamp sediments. The anodes were made with an emeraldine form of PANI deposited over Ti/TiO{sub 2} electrodes. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) monitoring was used to determine the open circuit potential of the MFC. Negative real impedances were obtained and reproduced in all systems studied with the Ti/TiO{sub 2}-PANI anodes. The highest power density was obtained using the Geobacter sulfur-reducens culture. Further research is needed to study the mechanisms that contribute to the occurrence of negative real impedances. 23 refs., 1 tab., 5 figs.

  19. Does an early socialization into a food culture condition lifelong food preferences? Evidence from a retrospective study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scrob, Mircea-Lucian

    2016-06-01

    The influence of early formed dietary practices on food choices and preferences during adulthood has often been assumed but rarely adequately demonstrated given the difficulty of studying the subject matter with conventional laboratory or observational research designs. This article examines this assumption by analyzing the information from 31 structured interviews on the respondents' current preferences for combinations of six side dishes with bread or mămăligă (boiled cornmeal mush, similar to polenta). All the respondents had consumed mămăligă in their childhood but in their adulthood had switched to bread following the social and economic upheavals from 1960s Romania. The results show that a) for specific combinations, physiological factors and/or cultural norms that defined bread as a 'prestigious' food have been capable of overriding the effects of early socialization with mămăligă as the accompanying food and b) that consumers continue to prefer certain side dishes with mămăligă even after decades of predominant consumption of bread although confounding factors might account for such preferences. These findings qualify the expectation that an early familiarization with healthy eating habits will promote this desired lifestyle during adulthood by showing that physiological and socio-cultural factors are capable of overriding its effects on hedonic preferences. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. The Shifting Border of Food Perceptions and Cultural Identity in Maghrebi Muslim Migrants. History and the Contemporary Experience of Cultural Mediators in Northern Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberta Rosa Giovine

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available In recent decades, Italy has become a point of entry to the EU and, for many migrants from the Southern shores of the Mediterranean, a final destination (IOM Report, 2011. As massive inflows have often caused emergencies, the pressing needs of these populations in the areas of housing, healthcare, education, etc. have been examined and addressed (data: Regional Authority and Milan Diocese Observatories. Realizing that the cultural implications in the area of food, had not been systematically studied thus far, the author developed a three-year project, focusing on northwest African Muslim migrants and the change in their perception of food, particularly in light of the strong religious implications that food has historically had to Arab populations. After reviewing the key traits of Arab-Berber food history, their translation into contemporary life in the countries of origin and destination was investigated, through interviews with, primarily, cultural mediators, as well as anthropologists, food experts, food chain professionals, and the migrants themselves. The overall research delves into the migrants’ views of food back in Northern Africa and Maghrebi3 and other food in Italy, with an emphasis on ideas of purity and identity (in culinary practices, ingredients, celebrations, table manners, the restaurant system and distribution.

  1. The Shifting Border of Food Perceptions and Cultural Identity in Maghrebi Muslim Migrants. History and the Contemporary Experience of Cultural Mediators in Northern Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberta Giovine

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available In recent decades, Italy has become a point of entry to the EU and, for many migrants from the Southern shores of the Mediterranean, a final destination (IOM Report 2011. As massive inflows have often caused emergencies, the pressing needs of these populations in the areas of housing, healthcare, education, etc. have been examined and addressed (data: Regional Authority and Milan Diocese Observatories. Realizing that the cultural implications in the area of food, had not been systematically studied thus far, the author developed a three-year project, focusing on northwest African Muslim migrants and the change in their perception of food, particularly in light of the strong religious implications that food has historically had to Arab populations. After reviewing the key traits of Arab-Berber food history, their translation into contemporary life in the countries of origin and destination was investigated, through interviews with, primarily, cultural mediators, as well as anthropologists, food experts, food chain professionals, and the migrants themselves. The overall research delves into the migrants’ views of food back in Northern Africa and Maghrebi and other food in Italy, with an emphasis on ideas of purity and identity (in culinary practices, ingredients, celebrations, table manners, the restaurant system and distribution.

  2. Plant and Fungal Food Components with Potential Activity on the Development of Microbial Oral Diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Daglia

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports the content in macronutrients, free sugars, polyphenols, and inorganic ions, known to exert any positive or negative action on microbial oral disease such as caries and gingivitis, of seven food/beverages (red chicory, mushroom, raspberry, green and black tea, cranberry juice, dark beer. Tea leaves resulted the richest material in all the detected ions, anyway tea beverages resulted the richest just in fluoride. The highest content in zinc was in chicory, raspberry and mushroom. Raspberry is the richest food in strontium and boron, beer in selenium, raspberry and mushroom in copper. Beer, cranberry juice and, especially green and black tea are very rich in polyphenols, confirming these beverages as important sources of such healthy substances. The fractionation, carried out on the basis of the molecular mass (MM, of the water soluble components occurring in raspberry, chicory, and mushroom extracts (which in microbiological assays revealed the highest potential action against oral pathogens, showed that both the high and low MM fractions are active, with the low MM fractions displaying the highest potential action for all the fractionated extracts. Our findings show that more compounds that can play a different active role occur in these foods.

  3. Microbial decontamination of dried date by Gamma-irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Majd, F.; Motamedi, F.; Abhari, M.

    2000-01-01

    Dried date is one of the export item from Iran. It can be contaminated during the processing and storage using nuclear techniques such as irradiation of food can increase the shelf life of agricultural products and improve their quality. This technique can be used for food decontamination of dried fruits according the standard authorized limitation. In this research different doses of Gamma Irradiation were used for microbial decontamination.he rest indicates that the optimum dose to reduce microbial contamination and increase shelf life is 5 kGy

  4. Phylogenetic & Physiological Profiling of Microbial Communities of Contaminated Soils/Sediments: Identifying Microbial consortia...

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Terence L. Marsh

    2004-05-26

    The goals of this study were: (1) survey the microbial community in soil samples from a site contaminated with heavy metals using new rapid molecular techniques that are culture-independent; (2) identify phylogenetic signatures of microbial populations that correlate with metal ion contamination; and (3) cultivate these diagnostic strains using traditional as well as novel cultivation techniques in order to identify organisms that may be of value in site evaluation/management or bioremediation.

  5. Control of Biogenic Amines in Fermented Sausages: Role of Starter Cultures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latorre-Moratalla, M.L.; Bover-Cid, Sara; Veciana-Nogués, M.T.; Vidal-Carou, M.C.

    2012-01-01

    Biogenic amines show biological activity and exert undesirable physiological effects when absorbed at high concentrations. Biogenic amines are mainly formed by microbial decarboxylation of amino acids and thus are usually present in a wide range of foods, fermented sausages being one of the major biogenic amine sources. The use of selected starter cultures is one of the best technological measures to control aminogenesis during meat fermentation. Although with variable effectiveness, several works show the ability of some starters to render biogenic amine-free sausages. In this paper, the effect of different starter culture is reviewed and the factors determining their performance discussed. PMID:22586423

  6. Control of biogenic amines in fermented sausages: role of starter cultures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariluz eLatorre-Moratalla

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Biogenic amines show biological activity and exert undesirable physiological effects when absorbed at high concentrations. Biogenic amines are mainly formed by microbial decarboxylation of amino acids and thus are usually present in a wide range of foods, fermented sausages being one of the major biogenic amine sources. The use of selected starter cultures is one of the best technological measures to control aminogenesis during meat fermentation. Although with variable effectiveness, several works show the ability of some starters to render biogenic amine-free sausages. In this paper, the effect of different starter culture is reviewed and the factors determining their performance discussed.

  7. PMA-PhyloChip DNA Microarray to Elucidate Viable Microbial Community Structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venkateswaran, Kasthuri J.; Stam, Christina N.; Andersen, Gary L.; DeSantis, Todd

    2011-01-01

    Since the Viking missions in the mid-1970s, traditional culture-based methods have been used for microbial enumeration by various NASA programs. Viable microbes are of particular concern for spacecraft cleanliness, for forward contamination of extraterrestrial bodies (proliferation of microbes), and for crew health/safety (viable pathogenic microbes). However, a "true" estimation of viable microbial population and differentiation from their dead cells using the most sensitive molecular methods is a challenge, because of the stability of DNA from dead cells. The goal of this research is to evaluate a rapid and sensitive microbial detection concept that will selectively estimate viable microbes. Nucleic acid amplification approaches such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) have shown promise for reducing time to detection for a wide range of applications. The proposed method is based on the use of a fluorescent DNA intercalating agent, propidium monoazide (PMA), which can only penetrate the membrane of dead cells. The PMA-quenched reaction mixtures can be screened, where only the DNA from live cells will be available for subsequent PCR reaction and microarray detection, and be identified as part of the viable microbial community. An additional advantage of the proposed rapid method is that it will detect viable microbes and differentiate from dead cells in only a few hours, as opposed to less comprehensive culture-based assays, which take days to complete. This novel combination approach is called the PMA-Microarray method. DNA intercalating agents such as PMA have previously been used to selectively distinguish between viable and dead bacterial cells. Once in the cell, the dye intercalates with the DNA and, upon photolysis under visible light, produces stable DNA adducts. DNA cross-linked in this way is unavailable for PCR. Environmental samples suspected of containing a mixture of live and dead microbial cells/spores will be treated with PMA, and then incubated

  8. Emotional Temperament in Food-Related Metaphors: A Cross-Cultural Account of the Conceptualizations of SADNESS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zahra Khajeh

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available What people in a society and culture eat or the way they consume their food may become a source domain for emotional temperament and therefore an implication for portrayal of their specific cultural models. Adopting the basic assumptions of the Lakoffian School on ‘experiential realism’ and ‘universal embodiment’ this study is an attempt to delve into the conceptual system of Persian in order to explore its specific socio-cultural motivations for the construction and semantic changes in the use of metaphorical concepts of sadness. The metaphorical uses of food-related concepts in Persian manifest that, in spite of some correspondences to those in English, sadness metaphorical concepts are distinctive in Persian. The conceptual metaphor variations reveal many vestiges of Hippocratic notions of humoral doctrine and Avicennian Traditional Medicine, suggesting that the cultural models of humoralism and dietetics have left their traces deeply in the Persians’ belief systems. The effects, therefore, have been extended into Persian metaphoric language.

  9. Is irradiation of food stuffs safe?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maheshwari, Raaz K.; Yadav, Rajesh K.

    2014-01-01

    Many advanced and several developing countries have abundant supplies of fresh, safe and nutritious food stuffs. Yet, despite the many precautions and processes in place to ensure safe food supply, microbial contamination is still a concern. There are a number of food processing tools available that provide additional protection for the food we consume. One very promising tool is food irradiation, which is a process of imparting ionizing energy to food to kill microorganisms. Food irradiation is the process of exposing food to a controlled source of ionising radiation for the purposes of reduction of microbial Ioad, destruction of pathogens, extension of product shelf life, and/or disinfection of produce. The term irradiation often evokes fears of nuclear radioactivity and cancer among consumers. The process seems frightening because it is powerful and invisible. Consequently questions and concerns exist particularly about the safety or wholesomeness of irradiated food. The paper highlights food irradiation as a food safety measure and the issues of concerns for consumers. (author)

  10. Invited review: Microbial evolution in raw-milk, long-ripened cheeses produced using undefined natural whey starters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gatti, Monica; Bottari, Benedetta; Lazzi, Camilla; Neviani, Erasmo; Mucchetti, Germano

    2014-02-01

    The robustness of the starter culture during cheese fermentation is enhanced by the presence of a rich consortium of microbes. Natural starters are consortia of microbes undoubtedly richer than selected starters. Among natural starters, natural whey starters (NWS) are the most common cultures currently used to produce different varieties of cheeses. Undefined NWS are typically used for Italian cooked, long-ripened, extra-hard, raw milk cheeses, such as Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano. Together with raw milk microbiota, NWS are responsible for most cheese characteristics. The microbial ecology of these 2 cheese varieties is based on a complex interaction among starter lactic acid bacteria (SLAB) and nonstarter lactic acid bacteria (NSLAB), which are characterized by their different abilities to grow in a changing substrate. This review aims to summarize the latest findings on Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano to better understand the dynamics of SLAB, which mainly arise from NWS, and NSLAB, which mainly arise from raw milk, and their possible role in determining the characteristics of these cheeses. The review is presented in 4 main sections. The first summarizes the main microbiological and chemical properties of the ripened cheese as determined by cheese-making process variables, as these variables may affect microbial growth. The second describes the microbiota of raw milk as affected by specific milk treatments, from milking to the filling of the cheese milk vat. The third describes the microbiota of NWS, and the fourth reviews the knowledge available on microbial dynamics from curd to ripened cheese. As the dynamics and functionality of complex undefined NWS is one of the most important areas of focus in current food microbiology research, this review may serve as a good starting point for implementing future studies on microbial diversity and functionality of undefined cheese starter cultures. Copyright © 2014 American Dairy Science Association

  11. Analysis of the Relationship between Tourism and Food Culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco Javier Jiménez-Beltrán

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, gastronomy has established itself as one of the key elements for the enhancement, sustainable and consolidation of tourist destinations. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the advancement of knowledge on gastronomic tourism in European countries, specifically in the analysis of the relationship between gastronomy, culture and tourism as the research focuses on the city of Córdoba, Spain. The methodology of this research involved conducting surveys with foreign travelers who were lunching or dining at various restaurants in the historic area, and these facilities were characterized by having in their gastronomic menus major typical culinary products of the city using the concept of tapas, i.e., the presentation of gastronomy through small portions of food. The results of the study indicate that the healthy component of the gastronomy represents the main dimension. Based on the detected dimensions, three types of international visitors are established (healthy-cultural tourist, cultural tourist and generic tourist which are considered valid and useful for segmenting the market. This highlights the importance given to gastronomy by tourists as part of the cultural identity of a place and the satisfaction achieved through the gastronomy of the city of Córdoba.

  12. An overview of microbial food safety programs in beef, pork, and poultry from farm to processing in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajić, Andrijana; Waddell, Lisa A; Sargeant, Jan M; Read, Susan; Farber, Jeff; Firth, Martin J; Chambers, Albert

    2007-05-01

    Canada's vision for the agri-food industry in the 21st century is the establishment of a national food safety system employing hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) principles and microbiological verification tools, with traceability throughout the gate-to-plate continuum. Voluntary on-farm food safety (OFFS) programs, based in part on HACCP principles, provide producers with guidelines for good production practices focused on general hygiene and biosecurity. OFFS programs in beef cattle, swine, and poultry are currently being evaluated through a national recognition program of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Mandatory HACCP programs in federal meat facilities include microbial testing for generic Escherichia coli to verify effectiveness of the processor's dressing procedure, specific testing of ground meat for E. coli O157:H7, with zero tolerance for this organism in the tested lot, and Salmonella testing of raw products. Health Canada's policy on Listeria monocytogenes divides ready-to-eat products into three risk categories, with products previously implicated as the source of an outbreak receiving the highest priority for inspection and compliance. A national mandatory identification program to track livestock from the herd of origin to carcass inspection has been established. Can-Trace, a data standard for all food commodities, has been designed to facilitate tracking foods from the point of origin to the consumer. Although much work has already been done, a coherent national food safety strategy and concerted efforts by all stakeholders are needed to realize this vision. Cooperation of many government agencies with shared responsibility for food safety and public health will be essential.

  13. Entomophagy in different food cultures | Entomofagia em diferentes culturas alimentares

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Indira Maria Estolano Macedo

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The entomophagy understands the consumption of insects for the human beings. In spite of exotic appearance it is practiced enough in many countries, mainly in Asia, Africa and Latin America, contributing so to the food security and models of subsistence. In Brazil, in special, in the northeast region the insects are food resources of considerable importance, because of being abundant, of easy collection and offer of nutritious ones. The objective of this inquiry valued the knowledge and the intention of practicing the entomofagia near the students of courses made a list to the extent of the food, located in the Metropolitan Region of Recife and Zona da Mata de Pernambuco. It was observed that most of the interviewed  already have the habit in the consumption of ants (Tanajura, in the perspective of the maintenance and cultural tradition of the northeastern one. For 82,4 % of the interviewed ones, in spite of informing that the insects are not composing the usual diet, these showed the thought of including the entomophagy in the food, since they understand like a protein quality alternative.

  14. Microbial diversity of western Canadian subsurface coal beds and methanogenic coal enrichment cultures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Penner, Tara J.; Foght, Julia M. [Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada); Budwill, Karen [Carbon and Energy Management, Alberta Innovates-Technology Futures, 250 Karl Clark Road, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada)

    2010-05-01

    Coalbed methane is an unconventional fuel source associated with certain coal seams. Biogenic methane can comprise a significant portion of the gas found in coal seams, yet the role of microbes in methanogenesis in situ is uncertain. The purpose of this study was to detect and identify major bacterial and archaeal species associated with coal sampled from sub-bituminous methane-producing coal beds in western Canada, and to examine the potential for methane biogenesis from coal. Enrichment cultures of coal samples were established to determine how nutrient amendment influenced the microbial community and methane production in the laboratory. 16S rRNA gene clone libraries were constructed using DNA extracted and amplified from uncultured coal samples and from methanogenic coal enrichment cultures. Libraries were screened using restriction fragment length polymorphism, and representative clones were sequenced. Most (> 50%) of the bacterial sequences amplified from uncultured coal samples were affiliated with Proteobacteria that exhibit nitrate reduction, nitrogen fixation and/or hydrogen utilization activities, including Pseudomonas, Thauera and Acidovorax spp., whereas enrichment cultures were dominated by Bacteroidetes, Clostridia and/or Lactobacillales. Archaeal 16S rRNA genes could not be amplified from uncultured coal, suggesting that methanogens are present in coal below the detection levels of our methods. However, enrichment cultures established with coal inocula produced significant volumes of methane and the archaeal clone libraries were dominated by sequences closely affiliated with Methanosarcina spp. Enrichment cultures incubated with coal plus organic nutrients produced more methane than either nutrient or coal supplements alone, implying that competent methanogenic consortia exist in coal beds but that nutrient limitations restrict their activity in situ. This report adds to the scant literature on coal bed microbiology and suggests how microbes may be

  15. Microbiology Meets Archaeology: Soil Microbial Communities Reveal Different Human Activities at Archaic Monte Iato (Sixth Century BC).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Margesin, Rosa; Siles, José A; Cajthaml, Tomas; Öhlinger, Birgit; Kistler, Erich

    2017-05-01

    Microbial ecology has been recognized as useful in archaeological studies. At Archaic Monte Iato in Western Sicily, a native (indigenous) building was discovered. The objective of this study was the first examination of soil microbial communities related to this building. Soil samples were collected from archaeological layers at a ritual deposit (food waste disposal) in the main room and above the fireplace in the annex. Microbial soil characterization included abundance (cellular phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA), viable bacterial counts), activity (physiological profiles, enzyme activities of viable bacteria), diversity, and community structure (bacterial and fungal Illumina amplicon sequencing, identification of viable bacteria). PLFA-derived microbial abundance was lower in soils from the fireplace than in soils from the deposit; the opposite was observed with culturable bacteria. Microbial communities in soils from the fireplace had a higher ability to metabolize carboxylic and acetic acids, while those in soils from the deposit metabolized preferentially carbohydrates. The lower deposit layer was characterized by higher total microbial and bacterial abundance and bacterial richness and by a different carbohydrate metabolization profile compared to the upper deposit layer. Microbial community structures in the fireplace were similar and could be distinguished from those in the two deposit layers, which had different microbial communities. Our data confirmed our hypothesis that human consumption habits left traces on microbiota in the archaeological evidence; therefore, microbiological residues as part of the so-called ecofacts are, like artifacts, key indicators of consumer behavior in the past.

  16. Development and Validation of a Mediterranean Oriented Culture-Specific Semi-Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elpiniki Athanasiadou

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The objectives were to develop a Mediterranean oriented semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ and evaluate its validity in measuring energy and nutrient intakes. For FFQ development, the main challenge was to merge food items and practices reflecting cultural Mediterranean preferences with other food choices ensuing from diet transition to more westernized dietary patterns. FFQ validity was evaluated by comparing nutrient intakes against the average of two 24-h dietary recalls for 179 pregnant women. Although the mean intake values for most nutrients and energy tended to be higher when determined by the FFQ, the Cohen’s d was below 0.3. Bland-Altman plots confirmed the agreement between the two methods. Positive significant correlations ranged from 0.35 to 0.77. The proportion of women classified correctly was between 73.2% and 92.2%, whereas gross misclassification was low. Weighted kappa values were between 0.31 and 0.78, while intraclass correlation coefficients were between 0.49 and 0.89. Our methodological approach for the development and validation of this FFQ provides reliable measurements of energy, macro- and micronutrient intakes. Overall, our culture-specific FFQ could serve as a useful assessment tool in studies aiming at monitoring dietary intakes, especially in the Mediterranean region, where countries share common cultural dietary habits.

  17. Development and Validation of a Mediterranean Oriented Culture-Specific Semi-Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Athanasiadou, Elpiniki; Kyrkou, Charikleia; Fotiou, Maria; Tsakoumaki, Foteini; Dimitropoulou, Aristea; Polychroniadou, Eleni; Menexes, Georgios; Athanasiadis, Apostolos P; Biliaderis, Costas G; Michaelidou, Alexandra-Maria

    2016-08-25

    The objectives were to develop a Mediterranean oriented semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and evaluate its validity in measuring energy and nutrient intakes. For FFQ development, the main challenge was to merge food items and practices reflecting cultural Mediterranean preferences with other food choices ensuing from diet transition to more westernized dietary patterns. FFQ validity was evaluated by comparing nutrient intakes against the average of two 24-h dietary recalls for 179 pregnant women. Although the mean intake values for most nutrients and energy tended to be higher when determined by the FFQ, the Cohen's d was below 0.3. Bland-Altman plots confirmed the agreement between the two methods. Positive significant correlations ranged from 0.35 to 0.77. The proportion of women classified correctly was between 73.2% and 92.2%, whereas gross misclassification was low. Weighted kappa values were between 0.31 and 0.78, while intraclass correlation coefficients were between 0.49 and 0.89. Our methodological approach for the development and validation of this FFQ provides reliable measurements of energy, macro- and micronutrient intakes. Overall, our culture-specific FFQ could serve as a useful assessment tool in studies aiming at monitoring dietary intakes, especially in the Mediterranean region, where countries share common cultural dietary habits.

  18. Assessing the importance of food for improving noble crayfish culture conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rusch J.C.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Captive breeding and crayfish culture are considered important measures in species protection activities. Thus, knowledge on optimal feeding of crayfish in captivity is needed in order to secure minimal mortality and prevent detrimental effects to health. To optimize conditions of crayfish prior to subsequent stocking, feeding trials were conducted with the aim of investigating the connection between food intake, food preference and temperature under near natural conditions. During a five-month period, noble crayfish were fed on fish, carrots, algae and chironomid-larvae according to a pre-defined rotation system, whereby the ambient water temperature ranged from 5 °C to 13 °C, following the natural temperature regime. The results of these feeding trials demonstrate a direct correlation between rising temperature and increasing food intake for water temperatures exceeding 8 °C. Food intake is further influenced by the variety of food items available at any one time. The results also confirm that Astacus astacus has a strong preference for fish and that alternation of food types has an impact on consumption. Our results prompt the following recommendations for optimized feeding conditions of crayfish in captivity prior to their release: (1 a balanced diet containing not only plant tissue but also a significant proportion of animal tissue and (2 the amount of available food must be adjusted according to the carapace length of the crayfish.

  19. Impact of environmental factors on the culturability and viability of Listeria monocytogenes under conditions encountered in food processing plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Overney, Anaïs; Jacques-André-Coquin, Joséphine; Ng, Patricia; Carpentier, Brigitte; Guillier, Laurent; Firmesse, Olivier

    2017-03-06

    The ability of Listeria monocytogenes to adhere to and persist on surfaces for months or even years may be responsible for its transmission from contaminated surfaces to food products. Hence the necessity to find effective means to prevent the establishment of L. monocytogenes in food processing environments. The aim of this study was to assess, through a fractional experimental design, the environmental factors that could affect the survival of L. monocytogenes cells on surfaces to thereby prevent the persistence of this pathogen in conditions mimicking those encountered in food processing plants: culture with smoked salmon juice or meat exudate, use of two materials with different hygiene status, biofilm of L. monocytogenes in pure-culture or dual-culture with a Pseudomonas fluorescens strain, application of a drying step after cleaning and disinfection (C&D) and comparison of two strains of L. monocytogenes. Bacterial survival was assessed by culture, qPCR to quantify total cells, and propidium monoazide coupled with qPCR to quantify viable cells and highlight viable but non-culturable (VBNC) cells. Our results showed that failure to apply C&D causes cell persistence on surfaces. Moreover, the sanitation procedure leads only to a loss of culturability and appearance of VBNC populations. However, an additional daily drying step after C&D optimises the effectiveness of these procedures to reduce culturable populations. Our results reinforce the importance to use molecular tools to monitor viable pathogens in food processing plants to avoid underestimating the amounts of cells using only methods based on cell culture. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Microbial flora analysis for the degradation of beta-cypermethrin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Zhang; Wei, Zhang

    2017-03-01

    In the Xinjiang region of Eurasia, sustained long-term and continuous cropping of cotton over a wide expanse of land is practiced, which requires application of high levels of pyrethroid and other classes of pesticides-resulting in high levels of pesticide residues in the soil. In this study, soil samples were collected from areas of long-term continuous cotton crops with the aim of obtaining microbial resources applicable for remediation of pyrethroid pesticide contamination suitable for the soil type and climate of that area. Soil samples were first used to culture microbial flora capable of degrading beta-cypermethrin using an enrichment culture method. Structural changes and ultimate microbial floral composition during enrichment were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing. Four strains capable of degrading beta-cypermethrin were isolated and preliminarily classified. Finally, comparative rates and speeds of degradation of beta-cypermethrin between relevant microbial flora and single strains were determined. After continuous subculture for 3 weeks, soil sample microbial flora formed a new type of microbial flora by rapid succession, which showed stable growth by utilizing beta-cypermethrin as the sole carbon source (GXzq). This microbial flora mainly consisted of Pseudomonas, Hyphomicrobium, Dokdonella, and Methyloversatilis. Analysis of the microbial flora also permitted separation of four additional strains; i.e., GXZQ4, GXZQ6, GXZQ7, and GXZQ13 that, respectively, belonged to Streptomyces, Enterobacter, Streptomyces, and Pseudomonas. Under culture conditions of 37 °C and 180 rpm, the degradation rate of beta-cypermethrin by GXzq was as high as 89.84% within 96 h, which exceeded that achieved by the single strains GXZQ4, GXZQ6, GXZQ7, and GXZQ13 and their derived microbial flora GXh.

  1. Explicit and implicit attitude toward an emerging food technology: The case of cultured meat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bekker, Gerben A; Fischer, Arnout R H; Tobi, Hilde; van Trijp, Hans C M

    2017-01-01

    Cultured meat is an unfamiliar emerging food technology that could provide a near endless supply of high quality protein with a relatively small ecological footprint. To understand consumer acceptance of cultured meat, this study investigated the influence of information provision on the explicit and implicit attitude toward cultured meat. Three experiments were conducted using a Solomon four-group design to rule out pretest sensitization effects. The first experiment (N = 190) showed that positive or negative information about cultured meat changed the explicit attitude in the direction of the information. This effect was smaller for participants who were more familiar with cultured meat. In the second experiment (N = 194) positive information was provided about solar panels, an attitude object belonging to the same sustainable product category as sustainable food products such as cultured meat. Positive information about solar panels was found to change the explicit attitude in the direction of the information. Using mood induction, the third experiment (N = 192) ruled out the alternative explanation that explicit attitude change in experiment 1 and 2 was caused by content free affect rather than category based inferences. The implicit attitude appeared insensitive to both information or mood state in all three experiments. These findings show that the explicit attitude toward cultured meat can be influenced by information about the sustainability of cultured meat and information about a positively perceived sustainable product. This effect was shown to be content based rather than merely affect based. Content based information in a relevant context could therefore contribute to the commercial success of cultured meat. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Microbial diversity in methanogenic hydrocarbon-degrading enrichment cultures isolated from a water-flooded oil reservoir (Dagang oil field, China)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiménez, Núria; Cai, Minmin; Straaten, Nontje; Yao, Jun; Richnow, Hans H.; Krüger, Martin

    2015-04-01

    Microbial transformation of oil to methane is one of the main degradation processes taking place in oil reservoirs, and it has important consequences as it negatively affects the quality and economic value of the oil. Nevertheless, methane could constitute a recovery method of carbon from exhausted reservoirs. Previous studies combining geochemical and isotopic analysis with molecular methods showed evidence for in situ methanogenic oil degradation in the Dagang oil field, China (Jiménez et al., 2012). However, the main key microbial players and the underlying mechanisms are still relatively unknown. In order to better characterize these processes and identify the main microorganisms involved, laboratory biodegradation experiments under methanogenic conditions were performed. Microcosms were inoculated with production and injection waters from the reservoir, and oil or 13C-labelled single hydrocarbons (e.g. n-hexadecane or 2-methylnaphthalene) were added as sole substrates. Indigenous microbiota were able to extensively degrade oil within months, depleting most of the n-alkanes in 200 days, and producing methane at a rate of 76 ± 6 µmol day-1 g-1 oil added. They could also produce heavy methane from 13C-labeled 2-methylnaphthalene, suggesting that further methanogenesis may occur from the aromatic and polyaromatic fractions of Dagang reservoir fluids. Microbial communities from oil and 2-methyl-naphthalene enrichment cultures were slightly different. Although, in both cases Deltaproteobacteria, mainly belonging to Syntrophobacterales (e.g. Syntrophobacter, Smithella or Syntrophus) and Clostridia, mostly Clostridiales, were among the most represented taxa, Gammaproteobacteria could be only identified in oil-degrading cultures. The proportion of Chloroflexi, exclusively belonging to Anaerolineales (e.g. Leptolinea, Bellilinea) was considerably higher in 2-methyl-naphthalene degrading cultures. Archaeal communities consisted almost exclusively of representatives of

  3. A Microbial Assessment Scheme to measure microbial performance of Food Safety Management Systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jacxsens, L.; Kussaga, J.; Luning, P.A.; Spiegel, van der M.; Devlieghere, F.; Uyttendaele, M.

    2009-01-01

    A Food Safety Management System (FSMS) implemented in a food processing industry is based on Good Hygienic Practices (GHP), Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles and should address both food safety control and assurance activities in order to guarantee food safety. One of the

  4. Impact of an indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery field trial on microbial community structure in a high pour-point oil reservoir

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Fan; Zhang, Xiao-Tao; Hou, Du-Jie [China Univ. of Geosciences, Beijing (China). The Key Lab. of Marine Reservoir Evolution and Hydrocarbon Accumulation Mechanism; She, Yue-Hui [Yangtze Univ., Jingzhou, Hubei (China). College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering; Huazhong Univ. of Science and Technology, Wuhan (China). College of Life Science and Technology; Li, Hua-Min [Beijing Bioscience Research Center (China); Shu, Fu-Chang; Wang, Zheng-Liang [Yangtze Univ., Jingzhou, Hubei (China). College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering; Yu, Long-Jiang [Huazhong Univ. of Science and Technology, Wuhan (China). College of Life Science and Technology

    2012-08-15

    Based on preliminary investigation of microbial populations in a high pour-point oil reservoir, an indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) field trial was carried out. The purpose of the study is to reveal the impact of the indigenous MEOR process on microbial community structure in the oil reservoir using 16Sr DNA clone library technique. The detailed monitoring results showed significant response of microbial communities during the field trial and large discrepancies of stimulated microorganisms in the laboratory and in the natural oil reservoir. More specifically, after nutrients injection, the original dominant populations of Petrobacter and Alishewanella in the production wells almost disappeared. The expected desirable population of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, determined by enrichment experiments in laboratory, was stimulated successfully in two wells of the five monitored wells. Unexpectedly, another potential population of Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes which were not detected in the enrichment culture in laboratory was stimulated in the other three monitored production wells. In this study, monitoring of microbial community displayed a comprehensive alteration of microbial populations during the field trial to remedy the deficiency of culture-dependent monitoring methods. The results would help to develop and apply more MEOR processes. (orig.)

  5. Impact of an indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery field trial on microbial community structure in a high pour-point oil reservoir.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Fan; She, Yue-Hui; Li, Hua-Min; Zhang, Xiao-Tao; Shu, Fu-Chang; Wang, Zheng-Liang; Yu, Long-Jiang; Hou, Du-Jie

    2012-08-01

    Based on preliminary investigation of microbial populations in a high pour-point oil reservoir, an indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) field trial was carried out. The purpose of the study is to reveal the impact of the indigenous MEOR process on microbial community structure in the oil reservoir using 16Sr DNA clone library technique. The detailed monitoring results showed significant response of microbial communities during the field trial and large discrepancies of stimulated microorganisms in the laboratory and in the natural oil reservoir. More specifically, after nutrients injection, the original dominant populations of Petrobacter and Alishewanella in the production wells almost disappeared. The expected desirable population of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, determined by enrichment experiments in laboratory, was stimulated successfully in two wells of the five monitored wells. Unexpectedly, another potential population of Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes which were not detected in the enrichment culture in laboratory was stimulated in the other three monitored production wells. In this study, monitoring of microbial community displayed a comprehensive alteration of microbial populations during the field trial to remedy the deficiency of culture-dependent monitoring methods. The results would help to develop and apply more MEOR processes.

  6. Past and present practices of the Malay food heritage and culture in Malaysia

    OpenAIRE

    Mohd Nazri Abdul Raji; Shahrim Ab Karim; Farah Adibah Che Ishak; Mohd Mursyid Arshad

    2017-01-01

    Malay heritage varies from north to south; however, there are various similarities and differences. Essentially, Malay heritage food is influenced by a myriad of cultures, such as Arab, Indian, Chinese, Siamese, Javanese, Minangkabau, and others. Different regions in Malaysia are known for their unique or signature dishes, such as beef rendang, laksa, nasi lemak, and tapai. Indeed, it is noted that Malay food is identical in terms of its spiciness. This can be seen from the prepreparation, me...

  7. Unique Microbial Diversity and Metabolic Pathway Features of Fermented Vegetables From Hainan, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Qiannan; Jiang, Shuaiming; Chen, Jieling; Ma, Chenchen; Huo, Dongxue; Shao, Yuyu; Zhang, Jiachao

    2018-01-01

    Fermented vegetables are typically traditional foods made of fresh vegetables and their juices, which are fermented by beneficial microorganisms. Herein, we applied high-throughput sequencing and culture-dependent technology to describe the diversities of microbiota and identify core microbiota in fermented vegetables from different areas of Hainan Province, and abundant metabolic pathways in the fermented vegetables were simultaneously predicted. At the genus level, Lactobacillus bacteria were the most abundant. Lactobacillus plantarum was the most abundant species, followed by Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus pentosaceus, and Weissella cibaria. These species were present in each sample with average absolute content values greater than 1% and were thus defined as core microbiota. Analysis results based on the alpha and beta diversities of the microbial communities showed that the microbial profiles of the fermented vegetables differed significantly based on the regions and raw materials used, and the species of the vegetables had a greater effect on the microbial community structure than the region from where they were harvested. Regarding microbial functional metabolism, we observed an enrichment of metabolic pathways, including membrane transport, replication and repair and translation, which implied that the microbial metabolism in the fermented vegetables tended to be vigorous. In addition, Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus fermentum were calculated to be major metabolic pathway contributors. Finally, we constructed a network to better explain correlations among the core microbiota and metabolic pathways. This study facilitates an understanding of the differences in microbial profiles and fermentation pathways involved in the production of fermented vegetables, establishes a basis for optimally selecting microorganisms to manufacture high-quality fermented vegetable products, and lays the foundation for better utilizing tropical microbial

  8. Unique Microbial Diversity and Metabolic Pathway Features of Fermented Vegetables From Hainan, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qiannan Peng

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Fermented vegetables are typically traditional foods made of fresh vegetables and their juices, which are fermented by beneficial microorganisms. Herein, we applied high-throughput sequencing and culture-dependent technology to describe the diversities of microbiota and identify core microbiota in fermented vegetables from different areas of Hainan Province, and abundant metabolic pathways in the fermented vegetables were simultaneously predicted. At the genus level, Lactobacillus bacteria were the most abundant. Lactobacillus plantarum was the most abundant species, followed by Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus pentosaceus, and Weissella cibaria. These species were present in each sample with average absolute content values greater than 1% and were thus defined as core microbiota. Analysis results based on the alpha and beta diversities of the microbial communities showed that the microbial profiles of the fermented vegetables differed significantly based on the regions and raw materials used, and the species of the vegetables had a greater effect on the microbial community structure than the region from where they were harvested. Regarding microbial functional metabolism, we observed an enrichment of metabolic pathways, including membrane transport, replication and repair and translation, which implied that the microbial metabolism in the fermented vegetables tended to be vigorous. In addition, Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus fermentum were calculated to be major metabolic pathway contributors. Finally, we constructed a network to better explain correlations among the core microbiota and metabolic pathways. This study facilitates an understanding of the differences in microbial profiles and fermentation pathways involved in the production of fermented vegetables, establishes a basis for optimally selecting microorganisms to manufacture high-quality fermented vegetable products, and lays the foundation for better utilizing

  9. Insect Cell Culture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oers, van M.M.; Lynn, D.E.

    2010-01-01

    Insect cell cultures are widely used in studies on insect cell physiology, developmental biology and microbial pathology. In particular, insect cell culture is an indispensable tool for the study of insect viruses. The first continuously growing insect cell cultures were established from

  10. Microbes versus microbes: control of pathogens in the food chain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, Kieran; Dalmasso, Marion; Zentek, Juergen; Mader, Anneluise; Bruggeman, Geert; Wallace, John; De Medici, Dario; Fiore, Alfonsina; Prukner-Radovcic, Estella; Lukac, Maja; Axelsson, Lars; Holck, Askild; Ingmer, Hanne; Malakauskas, Mindaugas

    2014-12-01

    Foodborne illness continues as a considerable threat to public health. Despite improved hygiene management systems and increased regulation, pathogenic bacteria still contaminate food, causing sporadic cases of illness and disease outbreaks worldwide. For many centuries, microbial antagonism has been used in food processing to improve food safety. An understanding of the mode of action of this microbial antagonism has been gained in recent years and potential applications in food and feed safety are now being explored. This review focuses on the potential opportunities presented, and the limitations, of using microbial antagonism as a biocontrol mechanism to reduce contamination along the food chain; including animal feed as its first link. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

  11. Influence of moisture content on microbial activity and silage quality during ensilage of food processing residues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Yi; Yates, Matthew; Aung, Hnin; Cheng, Yu-Shen; Yu, Chaowei; Guo, Hongyun; Zhang, Ruihong; Vandergheynst, Jean; Jenkins, Bryan M

    2011-10-01

    Seasonally produced biomass such as sugar beet pulp (SBP) and tomato pomace (TP) needs to be stored properly to meet the demand of sustainable biofuel production industries. Ensilage was used to preserve the feedstock. The effect of moisture content (MC) on the performance of ensilage and the relationship between microorganism activities and MC were investigated. For SBP, MC levels investigated were 80, 55, 30, and 10% on a wet basis. For TP, MC levels investigated were 60, 45, 30, and 10%. Organic acids, ethanol, ammonia, pH and water soluble carbohydrates (WSC) were measured to evaluate the silage quality. Ensilage improved as the MC decreased from 80 to 55% for SBP and from 60 to 45% for TP. When the MC decreased to 30%, a little microbial activity was detected for both feedstocks. Storage at 10% MC prevented all the microbial activity. The naturally occurring microorganisms in TP were found to preserve TP during silage and were isolated and determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The results suggest that partial drying followed by ensilage may be a good approach for stabilization of food processing residues for biofuels production.

  12. Microbial control and food Preservation: Theory and practice:Principles of food preservation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Food preservation is an action or method used to maintain foods at certain desirable properties or quality to obtain maximum benefit. A good method of food preservation is one that slows down or prevents altogether the action of the agents of spoilage without damaging the food. To achieve this, cert...

  13. Traditional foods and physical activity patterns and associations with cultural factors in a diverse Alaska Native population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Redwood, Diana G; Ferucci, Elizabeth D; Schumacher, Mary C; Johnson, Jennifer S; Lanier, Anne P; Helzer, Laurie J; Tom-Orme, Lillian; Murtough, Maureen A; Slattery, Martha L

    2008-09-01

    To determine the prevalence of traditional food and physical activity use and associations with cultural factors among 3,830 Alaska Native and American Indian (AN/AI) people enrolled in the Education and Research Towards Health (EARTH) Study in 3 regions of Alaska. Cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from a cohort study. Participants (2,323 women and 1,507 men) completed a computer-assisted self-administered questionnaire that included information on diet, physical activity, life-style and cultural factors. Over 92% of participants reported eating at least 1 traditional food in the past year. The top 3 traditional foods reported were fish, moose and agutaq (a mixture of berries and fat). The percentage of people who consumed traditional foods varied by region and age but not by sex (p one traditional harvesting physical activity. Picking berries or greens, cutting/smoking fish or meat and fishing were the most common activities. Participation in traditional physical activity was highest in south-west Alaska and was higher among men than women, but did not differ by age (p speaking a Native language at home, using traditional remedies and participating in or attending traditional events (p < 0.05). The EARTH Study found relationships between traditional food use, physical activities, cultural activities and behaviours. Consumption of a variety of traditional foods and participation in traditional physical activities remain an important part of the contemporary Alaska Native life-style. Efforts to promote and sustain these foods and activities in AN/AI populations may lead to improved health outcomes.

  14. Biology of food irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murray, D.R.

    1990-01-01

    The author presents his arguments for food scientists and biologists that the hazards of food irradiation outweigh the benefits. The subject is discussed in the following sections: introduction (units, mutagenesis, seed viability), history of food irradiation, effects of irradiation on organoleptic qualities of staple foods, radiolytic products and selective destruction of nutrients, production of microbial toxins in stored irradiated foods and loss of quality in wheat, deleterious consequences of eating irradiated foods, misrepresentation of the facts about food irradiation. (author)

  15. Increasing Culturally Diverse Meals in Head Start Using a Collaborative Approach: Lessons Learned for School Food Service Modifications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffman, Jessica A.; Agrawal, Tara; Thompson, Douglas; Ferguson, Tyler; Grinder, AnnMarie; Carter, Sonia; Healey, Christine; Bhaumik, Urmi; Castaneda-Sceppa, Carmen

    2012-01-01

    Head Start's performance standards require that the nutrition programs "serve a variety of foods which consider cultural and ethnic preferences and which broaden the child's food experience" (Head Start Program Performance Standards and Other Regulations, 2006). In this study, food service modifications were made via a participatory…

  16. Microbial Production of Food Grade Pigments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laurent Dufossé

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available The controversial topic of synthetic dyes in food has been discussed for many years. The scrutiny and negative assessment of synthetic food dyes by the modern consumer have raised a strong interest in natural colouring alternatives. Nature is rich in colours (minerals, plants, microalgae, etc., and pigment-producing microorganisms (fungi, yeasts, bacteria are quite common. Among the molecules produced by microorganisms are carotenoids, melanins, flavins, quinones, and more specifically monascins, violacein or indigo. The success of any pigment produced by fermentation depends upon its acceptability on the market, regulatory approval, and the size of the capital investment required to bring the product to market. A few years ago, some expressed doubts about the successful commercialization of fermentation-derived food grade pigments because of the high capital investment requirements for fermentation facilities and the extensive and lengthy toxicity studies required by regulatory agencies. Public perception of biotechnology-derived products also had to be taken into account. Nowadays some fermentative food grade pigments are on the market: Monascus pigments, astaxanthin from Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous, Arpink Red from Penicillium oxalicum, riboflavin from Ashbya gossypii, b-carotene from Blakeslea trispora. The successful marketing of pigments derived from algae or extracted from plants, both as a food colour and a nutritional supplement, reflects the presence and importance of niche markets in which consumers are willing to pay a premium for »all natural ingredients«.

  17. Modeling Logistic Performance in Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rijgersberg, H.; Tromp, S.O.; Jacxsens, L.; Uyttendaele, M.

    2010-01-01

    In quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA), food safety in the food chain is modeled and simulated. In general, prevalences, concentrations, and numbers of microorganisms in media are investigated in the different steps from farm to fork. The underlying rates and conditions (such as storage

  18. Development of microbial biosensors for food analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lukasiak, Justyna

    in order to fulfill the needs of different fields, from environmental sciences to food industry. Moreover, they can be an answer for the need of novel, less expensive and environmentally neutral methods of analysis particularly in food ingredients assessment. The aim of this PhD thesis was to develop...... heteropolysaccharide commonly used in food industry as a gelling agent and food stabilizer. The chemical analysis of the pectin carbohydrate composition is a significant issue during the study of its function and properties. Arabinoxylan is one of the main non-starch polysaccharide derived from the cell wall of cereal...... grains. It is a dietary fiber, with potential as a functional food ingredient. In this study, reporter strains targeting specifically L-rhamnose, L-arabinose and Dxylose using three different signal transducers: bioluminescence (luxCDABE), fluorescence (gfp) and ice nucleation (inaZ) were developed...

  19. Improving flavor metabolism of Saccharomyces cerevisiae by mixed culture with Bacillus licheniformis for Chinese Maotai-flavor liquor making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Xing; Wu, Qun; Wang, Li; Wang, Diqiang; Chen, Liangqiang; Xu, Yan

    2015-12-01

    Microbial interactions could impact the metabolic behavior of microbes involved in food fermentation, and therefore they are important for improving food quality. This study investigated the effect of Bacillus licheniformis, the dominant bacteria in the fermentation process of Chinese Maotai-flavor liquor, on the metabolic activity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Results indicated that S. cerevisiae inhibited the growth of B. licheniformis in all mixed culture systems and final viable cell count was lower than 20 cfu/mL. Although growth of S. cerevisiae was barely influenced by B. licheniformis, its metabolism was changed as initial inoculation ratio varied. The maximum ethanol productions were observed in S. cerevisiae and B. licheniformis at 10(6):10(7) and 10(6):10(8) ratios and have increased by 16.8 % compared with single culture of S. cerevisiae. According to flavor compounds, the culture ratio 10(6):10(6) showed the highest level of total concentrations of all different kinds of flavor compounds. Correlation analyses showed that 12 flavor compounds, including 4 fatty acids and their 2 corresponding esters, 1 terpene, and 5 aromatic compounds, that could only be produced by S. cerevisiae were significantly correlated with the initial inoculation amount of B. licheniformis. These metabolic changes in S. cerevisiae were not only a benefit for liquor aroma, but may also be related to its inhibition effect in mixed culture. This study could help to reveal the microbial interactions in Chinese liquor fermentation and provide guidance for optimal arrangement of mixed culture fermentation systems.

  20. Food Technology. Specification for Irradiated Food

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2007-01-01

    This Ghana Standard specifies the requirements and methods of sampling and testing for foods processed by irradiation for sprout inhibition, insect disinfestation, microbial decontamination, delaying ripening, shelf-life extension and general phytosanitary treatment. The absorbed dose range covered by this guide is between 0.2kGy and 10kGy. The practical minimum or maximum dose of a treatment may be lower or higher than this range, depending on the purpose of irradiation and the radiation tolerance of the particular type of food. This standard does not apply to foods exposed to radiation imparted by measuring instruments used for inspection purposes

  1. KACC: An identification and characterization for microbial resources ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Korean Agricultural Culture Collection (KACC) is an authorized organizer and the official depository for microbial resources in Korea. The KACC has developed a web-based database system to provide integrated information about microbial resources. It includes not only simple text information on individual microbe but ...

  2. Cultural contrast

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    周志

    2016-01-01

    Chinese cultural contains a great number of styles;culture differentiation does not depend on region differentiation.This research would interpret what difference between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.1.Food culture in china Traditional Chinese medicine suggests eating local seasonal fruit and vegetables,as they are most suitable for the body during a particular season.It is also divided food into 3 characteristics:cooling foods,warming foods and balance or

  3. Hydrogen production from microbial strains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harwood, Caroline S; Rey, Federico E

    2012-09-18

    The present invention is directed to a method of screening microbe strains capable of generating hydrogen. This method involves inoculating one or more microbes in a sample containing cell culture medium to form an inoculated culture medium. The inoculated culture medium is then incubated under hydrogen producing conditions. Once incubating causes the inoculated culture medium to produce hydrogen, microbes in the culture medium are identified as candidate microbe strains capable of generating hydrogen. Methods of producing hydrogen using one or more of the microbial strains identified as well as the hydrogen producing strains themselves are also disclosed.

  4. Use of Biopolymers in Antimicrobial Food Packaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Recent outbreaks of foodborne illness and food recalls continue to push for innovative ways to inhibit microbial growth in foods. As an additional hurdle to food processes, antimicrobial food packaging can play an important role in reducing the risk of pathogen contamination of processed foods. In...

  5. Microbial spoilage, quality and safety within the context of meat sustainability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saucier, Linda

    2016-10-01

    Meat is a nutrient-dense food that provides ideal conditions for microbes to grow and defines its perishable nature. Some organisms simply spoil it while others are a threat to our health. In either case, meat must be discarded from the food chain and, being wasted and consequently an environmental burden. Worldwide, more than 20% of the meat produced is either lost or wasted. Hence, coordinated efforts from farm to table are required to improve microbial control as part of our effort towards global sustainability. Also, new antimicrobial systems and technologies arise to better fulfill consumer trends and demands, new lifestyles and markets, but for them to be used to their full extent, it is imperative to understand how they work at the molecular level. Undetected survivors, either as injured, dormant, persister or viable but non-culturable (VBNC) cells, undermine proper risk evaluation and management. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. A Moderately Thermophilic Mixed Microbial Culture for Bioleaching of Chalcopyrite Concentrate at High Pulp Density

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yuguang; Zeng, Weimin; Qiu, Guanzhou; Chen, Xinhua

    2014-01-01

    Three kinds of samples (acid mine drainage, coal mine wastewater, and thermal spring) derived from different sites were collected in China. Thereafter, these samples were combined and then inoculated into a basal salts solution in which different substrates (ferrous sulfate, elemental sulfur, and chalcopyrite) served as energy sources. After that, the mixed cultures growing on different substrates were pooled equally, resulting in a final mixed culture. After being adapted to gradually increasing pulp densities of chalcopyrite concentrate by serial subculturing for more than 2 years, the final culture was able to efficiently leach the chalcopyrite at a pulp density of 20% (wt/vol). At that pulp density, the culture extracted 60.4% of copper from the chalcopyrite in 25 days. The bacterial and archaeal diversities during adaptation were analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and constructing clone libraries of the 16S rRNA gene. The results show that the culture consisted mainly of four species, including Leptospirillum ferriphilum, Acidithiobacillus caldus, Sulfobacillus acidophilus, and Ferroplasma thermophilum, before adapting to a pulp density of 4%. However, L. ferriphilum could not be detected when the pulp density was greater than 4%. Real-time quantitative PCR was employed to monitor the microbial dynamics during bioleaching at a pulp density of 20%. The results show that A. caldus was the predominant species in the initial stage, while S. acidophilus rather than A. caldus became the predominant species in the middle stage. F. thermophilum accounted for the greatest proportion in the final stage. PMID:24242252

  7. Possible association between celiac disease and bacterial transglutaminase in food processing: a hypothesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lerner, Aaron; Matthias, Torsten

    2015-08-01

    The incidence of celiac disease is increasing worldwide, and human tissue transglutaminase has long been considered the autoantigen of celiac disease. Concomitantly, the food industry has introduced ingredients such as microbial transglutaminase, which acts as a food glue, thereby revolutionizing food qualities. Several observations have led to the hypothesis that microbial transglutaminase is a new environmental enhancer of celiac disease. First, microbial transglutaminase deamidates/transamidates glutens such as the endogenous human tissue transglutaminase. It is capable of crosslinking proteins and other macromolecules, thereby changing their antigenicity and resulting in an increased antigenic load presented to the immune system. Second, it increases the stability of protein against proteinases, thus diminishing foreign protein elimination. Infections and the crosslinked nutritional constituent gluten and microbial transglutaminase increase the permeability of the intestine, where microbial transglutaminases are necessary for bacterial survival. The resulting intestinal leakage allows more immunogenic foreign molecules to induce celiac disease. The increased use of microbial transglutaminase in food processing may promote celiac pathogenesis ex vivo, where deamidation/transamidation starts, possibly explaining the surge in incidence of celiac disease. If future research substantiates this hypothesis, the findings will affect food product labeling, food additive policies of the food industry, and consumer health education. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Life Sciences Institute.

  8. Investigating the possibility of Microbial Production of Mannitol from Waste Bread

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vajihe Sadeqi

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available According to the significant role of sugar alcohols (Polyols in food industries, in the present study the possibility of microbial production of mannitol from bread waste was studied. Microbial growth and amylase production were investigated by five Iranian native strains of Bacillus spp in starch agar and broth. The best strain was selected, and its growth curve was determined. Leuconostoc mesentroides PTCC 1059 was used as a control strain to convert fructose to mannitol. In order to determine the ability of selected strains in converting waste breads into mannitol sugar, a culture medium was prepared from waste of Lavash and Baguette breads. Afterward, the ability to convert starch into fructose by Chemical analysis glucose test was used, and then bio-conversion analysis of fructose to mannitol by HPLC analysis was investigated. HPLC results showed that the Bacillus subtilis and Leuconostoc mesentroides PTCC 1059 had the ability of producing mannitol at a rate of 4.8g/L from fructose 5%, 0.15 g/L from Lavash bread 5%, and 0.2g/L from Baguette bread.

  9. Isolation and characterization of the microbial community of a freshwater distribution system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balamurugan, P.; Subba Rao, T.

    2015-01-01

    This investigation provides generic information on culturable and non-culturable microbial community of a freshwater distribution system. Culture based and culture independent (16S rRNA gene sequencing) techniques were used to identify the resident microbial community of the system. Selective isolation of the fouling bacteria such as biofilm formers and corrosion causing bacteria was also attempted. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) was carried out and the bands were sequenced to obtain the diversity of the total bacterial types. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was predominantly observed in most of the samples. A variety of bacteria, related to groups such as Cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were identified. The study highlights the relevance of the observed microbial diversity with respect to material deterioration in a freshwater distribution system, which can aid in designing effective control methods. (author)

  10. Mutual facilitations of food waste treatment, microbial fuel cell bioelectricity generation and Chlorella vulgaris lipid production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Qingjie; Pei, Haiyan; Hu, Wenrong; Jiang, Liqun; Yu, Ze

    2016-03-01

    Food waste contains large amount of organic matter that may be troublesome for handing, storage and transportation. A microbial fuel cell (MFC) was successfully constructed with different inoculum densities of Chlorella vulgaris for promoting food waste treatment. Maximum COD removal efficiency was registered with 44% and 25 g CODL(-1)d(-1) of substrate degradation rate when inoculated with the optimal initial density (150 mg L(-1)) of C. vulgaris, which were 2.9 times and 3.1 times higher than that of the abiotic cathode. With the optimum inoculum density of C. vulgaris, the highest open circuit voltage, working voltage and power density of MFC were 260 mV, 170 mV and 19151 mW m(-3), respectively. Besides the high biodiesel quality, promoted by MFC stimulation the biomass productivity and highest total lipid content of C. vulgaris were 207 mg L(-1)d(-1) and 31%, which were roughly 2.7 times and 1.2 times higher than the control group. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Dynamic flux balance modeling of microbial co-cultures for efficient batch fermentation of glucose and xylose mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanly, Timothy J; Henson, Michael A

    2011-02-01

    Sequential uptake of pentose and hexose sugars that compose lignocellulosic biomass limits the ability of pure microbial cultures to efficiently produce value-added bioproducts. In this work, we used dynamic flux balance modeling to examine the capability of mixed cultures of substrate-selective microbes to improve the utilization of glucose/xylose mixtures and to convert these mixed substrates into products. Co-culture simulations of Escherichia coli strains ALS1008 and ZSC113, engineered for glucose and xylose only uptake respectively, indicated that improvements in batch substrate consumption observed in previous experimental studies resulted primarily from an increase in ZSC113 xylose uptake relative to wild-type E. coli. The E. coli strain ZSC113 engineered for the elimination of glucose uptake was computationally co-cultured with wild-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which can only metabolize glucose, to determine if the co-culture was capable of enhanced ethanol production compared to pure cultures of wild-type E. coli and the S. cerevisiae strain RWB218 engineered for combined glucose and xylose uptake. Under the simplifying assumption that both microbes grow optimally under common environmental conditions, optimization of the strain inoculum and the aerobic to anaerobic switching time produced an almost twofold increase in ethanol productivity over the pure cultures. To examine the effect of reduced strain growth rates at non-optimal pH and temperature values, a break even analysis was performed to determine possible reductions in individual strain substrate uptake rates that resulted in the same predicted ethanol productivity as the best pure culture. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. Composition of Hydrothermal Vent Microbial Communities as Revealed by Analyses of Signature Lipids, Stable Carbon Isotopes and Aquificales Cultures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jahnke, Linda L.; Edger, Wolfgang; Huber, Robert; Hinrichs, Kai-Uwe; Hayes, John M.; DesMarais, David J.; Cady, Sherry; Hope, Janet M.; Summons, Roger E.; DeVincenzi, Donald L. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    Extremely thermophilic microbial communities associated with the siliceous vent walls and outflow channel of Octopus Spring, Yellowstone National Park, have been examined for lipid biomarkers and carbon isotopic signatures. These data were compared with that obtained from representatives of three Aquificales genera. Thermocrinis ruber. "Thermocrinis sp. HI", Hydrogenobacter thermophilus TK-6, Aquifex pyrophilus and Aquifex aeolicus all contained phospholipids composed not only of the usual ester-linked fatty acids, but also ether-linked alkyls. The fatty acids of all cultured organisms were dominated by a very distinct pattern of n-C-20:1 and cy-C-21 compounds. The alkyl glycerol ethers were present primarily as CIS() monoethers with the expection of the Aquifex spp. in which dialkyl glycerol ethers with a boarder carbon-number distribution were also present. These Aquificales biomarker lipids were the major constituents in the lipid extracts of the Octopus Spring microbial samples. Two natural samples, a microbial biofilm growing in association with deposition of amorphous silica on the vent walls at 92 C, and the well-known 'pink-streamers community' (PSC), siliceous filaments of a microbial consortia growing in the upper outflow channel at 87 C were analyzed. Both the biofilm and PSC samples contained mono and dialkyl glycerol ethers with a prevalence of C-18 and C-20 alkyls. Phospholipid fatty acids were comprised of both the characteristic Aquificales n-C-20:1 and cy-C-21, and in addition, a series of iso-branched fatty acids from i-C-15:0 to i-C-21:0, With i-C-17:0 dominant in the PSC and i-C-19:0 in the biofilm, suggesting the presence of two major bacterial groups. Bacteriohopanepolyols were absent and the minute quantities of archaeol detected showed that Archaea were only minor constituents. Carbon isotopic compositions of the PSC yielded information about community structure and likely physiology. Biomass was C-13-depleted (10.9%) relative to available

  13. New microbial resource: microbial diversity, function and dynamics in Chinese liquor starter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yuhong; Yi, Zhuolin; Jin, Yanling; Zhao, Yonggui; He, Kaize; Liu, Dayu; Zhao, Dong; He, Hui; Luo, Huibo; Zhang, Wenxue; Fang, Yang; Zhao, Hai

    2017-11-06

    Traditional Chinese liquor (Baijiu) solid state fermentation technology has lasted for several thousand years. The microbial communities that enrich in liquor starter are important for fermentation. However, the microbial communities are still under-characterized. In this study, 454 pyrosequencing technology was applied to comprehensively analyze the microbial diversity, function and dynamics of two most-consumed liquor starters (Jiang- and Nong-flavor) during production. In total, 315 and 83 bacterial genera and 72 and 47 fungal genera were identified in Jiang- and Nong-flavor liquor starter, respectively. The relatively high diversity was observed when the temperature increased to 70 and 62 °C for Jiang- and Nong-flavor liquor starter, respectively. Some thermophilic fungi have already been isolated. Microbial communities that might contribute to ethanol fermentation, saccharification and flavor development were identified and shown to be core communities in correlation-based network analysis. The predictively functional profile of bacterial communities showed significant difference in energy, carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism and the degradation of aromatic compounds between the two kinds of liquor starters. Here we report these liquor starters as a new functionally microbial resource, which can be used for discovering thermophilic and aerobic enzymes and for food and feed preservation.

  14. Toxicity assessment using different bioassays and microbial biosensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassan, Sedky H A; Van Ginkel, Steven W; Hussein, Mohamed A M; Abskharon, Romany; Oh, Sang-Eun

    2016-01-01

    Toxicity assessment of water streams, wastewater, and contaminated sediments, is a very important part of environmental pollution monitoring. Evaluation of biological effects using a rapid, sensitive and cost effective method can indicate specific information on ecotoxicity assessment. Recently, different biological assays for toxicity assessment based on higher and lower organisms such as fish, invertebrates, plants and algal cells, and microbial bioassays have been used. This review focuses on microbial biosensors as an analytical device for environmental, food, and biomedical applications. Different techniques which are commonly used in microbial biosensing include amperometry, potentiometry, conductometry, voltammetry, microbial fuel cells, fluorescence, bioluminescence, and colorimetry. Examples of the use of different microbial biosensors in assessing a variety of environments are summarized. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Microbiological quality of raw and processed wild and cultured edible snails.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parlapani, Foteini F; Neofitou, Christos; Boziaris, Ioannis S

    2014-03-15

    An increasing interest in snail farming in Greece and other European countries has been observed. Despite the fact that edible snails have been involved with problems of Salmonella spp. contamination, there are to our knowledge only limited studies regarding microbiological safety and hygiene of such products. Enumeration of microbial populations and presence/absence of Salmonella spp. in snail meat and intestines of wild Cornu aspersum, Helix lucorum and cultured Cornu aspersum snails from indoor/outdoor type farms was conducted. Furthermore, snail-processing steps were simulated in the laboratory and the population reduction in snail meat was determined. Microbial populations were higher in intestines than snail meat in almost all cases. Escherichia coli/coliforms and Enterococcus spp. populations were lower in the intestines and snail meat of cultured C. aspersum. Salmonella spp. were detected in the intestines and snail meat of wild snails only. The high levels of bacterial populations were considerably reduced after the appropriate processing. The lower populations of E. coli/coliforms, Enterococcus spp. and especially the absence of Salmonella spp. in cultured snails show that the controlled conditions decrease the possibility of pathogen presence and contribute to food safety and public health. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

  16. Hip Hop HEALS: Pilot Study of a Culturally Targeted Calorie Label Intervention to Improve Food Purchases of Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Olajide; DeSorbo, Alexandra; Sawyer, Vanessa; Apakama, Donald; Shaffer, Michele; Gerin, William; Noble, James

    2016-01-01

    Objectives: We explored the effect of a culturally targeted calorie label intervention on food purchasing behavior of elementary school students. Method: We used a quasi-experimental design with two intervention schools and one control school to assess food purchases of third through fifth graders at standardized school food sales before and after…

  17. Microbial Diversity of Type I Sourdoughs Prepared and Back-Slopped with Wholemeal and Refined Soft (Triticum aestivum) Wheat Flours.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taccari, Manuela; Aquilanti, Lucia; Polverigiani, Serena; Osimani, Andrea; Garofalo, Cristiana; Milanović, Vesna; Clementi, Francesca

    2016-08-01

    The fermentation of type I sourdough was studied for 20 d with daily back-slopping under laboratory and artisan bakery conditions using 1 wholemeal and 2 refined soft wheat (Triticum aestivum) flours. The sourdough bacterial and yeast diversity and dynamics were investigated by plate counting and a combination of culture-dependent and culture-independent PCR-DGGE approach. The pH, total titrable acidity, and concentration of key organic acids (phytic, lactic, and acetic) were measured. Three flours differed for both chemical and rheological properties. A microbial succession was observed, with the atypical sourdough species detected at day 0 (i.e. Lactococcus lactis and Leuconostoc holzapfelii/citreum group for bacteria and Candida silvae and Wickerhamomyces anomalus for yeasts) being progressively replaced by taxa more adapted to the sourdough ecosystem (Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus alimentarius/paralimentarius, Saccharomyces cerevisiae). In mature sourdoughs, a notably different species composition was observed. As sourdoughs propagated with the same flour at laboratory and artisan bakery level were compared, the influence of both the substrate and the propagation environment on microbial diversity was assumed. © 2016 Institute of Food Technologists®

  18. Interactions between microbial-feeding and predatory soil fauna trigger N2O emissions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thakur, M.P.; Groenigen, van J.W.; Kuiper, I.; Deyn, de G.B.

    2014-01-01

    Recent research has shown that microbial-feeding invertebrate soil fauna species can significantly contribute to N2O emissions. However, in soil food webs microbial-feeding soil fauna interact with each other and with their predators, which affects microbial activity. To date we lack empirical tests

  19. Food-related life style: Development of a cross-culturally valid instrument for market surveillance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grunert, Klaus G.; Brunsø, Karen; Bisp, Søren

    1993-01-01

    Executive summary: 1. Surveying end users is a major component of market surveillance in the food industry. End users' value perception is the final determinant of how all other actors in the food chain can make a living. To perceive trends that affect how consumers value food products is therefore...... an important input to a food producer's strategy formation. 2. Life style measurement has been widely used in marketing, namely for guiding advertising strategy, segmentation, and product development. Life style is potentially a valuable tool for market surveillance. 3. Life style studies as they are currently...... done in market research have been criticized on several grounds: they lack a theoretical foundation, they lack cross-cultural validity, their ability to predict behaviour is limited, and the derivation of so-called basic life style dimensions is unclear. 4. We propose an instrument called food...

  20. Interspecies interactions result in enhanced biofilm formation by co-cultures of bacteria isolated from a food processing environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Røder, Henriette Lyng; Raghupathi, Prem Krishnan; Herschend, Jakob

    2015-01-01

    Bacterial attachment and biofilm formation can lead to poor hygienic conditions in food processing environments. Furthermore, interactions between different bacteria may induce or promote biofilm formation. In this study, we isolated and identified a total of 687 bacterial strains from seven......-culture biofilm production with high relevance for food safety and food production facilities....

  1. Athletes' opinions of food provision at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games: the influence of culture and sport.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burkhart, Sarah J; Pelly, Fiona E

    2013-02-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate whether athletes' opinion of food provision in the main dining hall of the athletes' village at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games varied according to cultural background, sport, stage of competition, and previous experience at similar events. A previously developed questionnaire was distributed over 3 meal periods to 351 athletes dining in the main dining hall during the course of the games (Sept. 23 to Oct. 4, 2010). Despite the challenges of food provision in a non-Western region, the availability of food and beverage items was rated highly. However, athletes from Western regions tended to rate food-provision qualities lower than athletes from non-Western regions. Most athletes found it easy to find items to meet their nutrition needs; however, requests for sports foods, snacks, and culturally specific items were received. Power/sprint athletes were more critical of the food provision, whereas athletes from aesthetic sports tended to rate it more highly. Athletes farther from competition gave higher ratings for taste, while athletes who had more experience in this type of environment also tended to be more critical of the food provision. Overall daily mean opinion scores for taste and menu variety decreased over the games period. The results of this study can help organizers and caterers ensure that appropriate food and beverage are provided for athletes at major competition events.

  2. Hip Hop HEALS: Pilot Study of a Culturally Targeted Calorie Label Intervention to Improve Food Purchases of Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Olajide; DeSorbo, Alexandra; Sawyer, Vanessa; Apakama, Donald; Shaffer, Michele; Gerin, William; Noble, James

    2016-02-01

    We explored the effect of a culturally targeted calorie label intervention on food purchasing behavior of elementary school students. We used a quasi-experimental design with two intervention schools and one control school to assess food purchases of third through fifth graders at standardized school food sales before and after the intervention (immediate and delayed) in schools. The intervention comprised three 1-hour assembly-style hip-hop-themed multimedia classes. A mean total of 225 children participated in two baseline preintervention sales with and without calorie labels; 149 children participated in immediate postintervention food sales, while 133 children participated in the delayed sales. No significant change in purchased calories was observed in response to labels alone before the intervention. However, a mean decline in purchased calories of 20% (p < .01) and unhealthy foods (p < .01) was seen in immediately following the intervention compared to baseline purchases, and this persisted without significant decay after 7 days and 12 days. A 3-hour culturally targeted calorie label intervention may improve food-purchasing behavior of children. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

  3. Recent advances in microbial fermentation for dairy and health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arendt, Elke; Hill, Colin; Stanton, Catherine; Ross, R Paul

    2017-01-01

    Microbial fermentation has been used historically for the preservation of foods, the health benefits of which have since come to light. Early dairy fermentations depended on the spontaneous activity of the indigenous microbiota of the milk. Modern fermentations rely on defined starter cultures with desirable characteristics to ensure consistency and commercial viability. The selection of defined starters depends on specific phenotypes that benefit the product by guaranteeing shelf life and ensuring safety, texture, and flavour. Lactic acid bacteria can produce a number of bioactive metabolites during fermentation, such as bacteriocins, biogenic amines, exopolysaccharides, and proteolytically released peptides, among others. Prebiotics are added to food fermentations to improve the performance of probiotics. It has also been found that prebiotics fermented in the gut can have benefits that go beyond helping probiotic growth. Studies are now looking at how the fermentation of prebiotics such as fructo-oligosaccharides can help in the prevention of diseases such as osteoporosis, obesity, and colorectal cancer. The potential to prevent or even treat disease through the fermentation of food is a medically and commercially attractive goal and is showing increasing promise. However, the stringent regulation of probiotics is beginning to detrimentally affect the field and limit their application. PMID:28649371

  4. Microbial analysis of meatballs cooled with vacuum and conventional cooling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozturk, Hande Mutlu; Ozturk, Harun Kemal; Koçar, Gunnur

    2017-08-01

    Vacuum cooling is a rapid evaporative cooling technique and can be used for pre-cooling of leafy vegetables, mushroom, bakery, fishery, sauces, cooked food, meat and particulate foods. The aim of this study was to apply the vacuum cooling and the conventional cooling techniques for the cooling of the meatball and to show the vacuum pressure effect on the cooling time, the temperature decrease and microbial growth rate. The results of the vacuum cooling and the conventional cooling (cooling in the refrigerator) were compared with each other for different temperatures. The study shows that the conventional cooling was much slower than the vacuum cooling. Moreover, the microbial growth rate of the vacuum cooling was extremely low compared with the conventional cooling. Thus, the lowest microbial growth occurred at 0.7 kPa and the highest microbial growth was observed at 1.5 kPa for the vacuum cooling. The mass loss ratio for the conventional cooling and vacuum cooling was about 5 and 9% respectively.

  5. Phage therapy in the food industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Endersen, Lorraine; O'Mahony, Jim; Hill, Colin; Ross, R Paul; McAuliffe, Olivia; Coffey, Aidan

    2014-01-01

    Despite advances in modern technologies, the food industry is continuously challenged with the threat of microbial contamination. The overuse of antibiotics has further escalated this problem, resulting in the increasing emergence of antibiotic-resistant foodborne pathogens. Efforts to develop new methods for controlling microbial contamination in food and the food processing environment are extremely important. Accordingly, bacteriophages (phages) and their derivatives have emerged as novel, viable, and safe options for the prevention, treatment, and/or eradication of these contaminants in a range of foods and food processing environments. Whole phages, modified phages, and their derivatives are discussed in terms of current uses and future potential as antimicrobials in the traditional farm-to-fork context, encompassing areas such as primary production, postharvest processing, biosanitation, and biodetection. The review also presents some safety concerns to ensure safe and effective exploitation of bacteriophages in the future.

  6. Cultural resistance to fast-food consumption? A study of youth in North Eastern Thailand

    OpenAIRE

    Seubsman, Sam-ang; Kelly, Matthew; Yuthapornpinit, Pataraporn; Sleigh, Adrian

    2009-01-01

    Increased intake of saturated fat and refined sugars underlies much of the problem of emerging obesity all over the world. This includes middle-income countries like Thailand, which are subject to successful marketing of Western fast foods especially targeted at adolescents. In this study we explore the socio-cultural influences on fast-food intake for non-metropolitan (rural and urban) adolescents in North East Thailand (Isan). Our questionnaire sample included 634 persons aged 15–19 years w...

  7. Microbial Resources and Enological Significance: Opportunities and Benefits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonardo Petruzzi

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Among the innovative trends in the wine sector, the continuous exploration of enological properties associated with wine microbial resources represents a cornerstone driver of quality improvement. Since the advent of starter cultures technology, the attention has been focused on intraspecific biodiversity within the primary species responsible for alcoholic fermentation (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and, subsequently, for the so-called ‘malolactic fermentation’ (Oenococcus oeni. However, in the last decade, a relevant number of studies proposed the enological exploitation of an increasing number of species (e.g., non-Saccharomyces yeasts associated with spontaneous fermentation in wine. These new species/strains may provide technological solutions to specific problems and/or improve sensory characteristics, such as complexity, mouth-feel and flavors. This review offers an overview of the available information on the enological/protechnological significance of microbial resources associated with winemaking, summarizing the opportunities and the benefits associated with the enological exploitation of this microbial potential. We discuss proposed solutions to improve quality and safety of wines (e.g., alternative starter cultures, multistrains starter cultures and future perspectives.

  8. Microbial Resources and Enological Significance: Opportunities and Benefits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petruzzi, Leonardo; Capozzi, Vittorio; Berbegal, Carmen; Corbo, Maria R.; Bevilacqua, Antonio; Spano, Giuseppe; Sinigaglia, Milena

    2017-01-01

    Among the innovative trends in the wine sector, the continuous exploration of enological properties associated with wine microbial resources represents a cornerstone driver of quality improvement. Since the advent of starter cultures technology, the attention has been focused on intraspecific biodiversity within the primary species responsible for alcoholic fermentation (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and, subsequently, for the so-called ‘malolactic fermentation’ (Oenococcus oeni). However, in the last decade, a relevant number of studies proposed the enological exploitation of an increasing number of species (e.g., non-Saccharomyces yeasts) associated with spontaneous fermentation in wine. These new species/strains may provide technological solutions to specific problems and/or improve sensory characteristics, such as complexity, mouth-feel and flavors. This review offers an overview of the available information on the enological/protechnological significance of microbial resources associated with winemaking, summarizing the opportunities and the benefits associated with the enological exploitation of this microbial potential. We discuss proposed solutions to improve quality and safety of wines (e.g., alternative starter cultures, multistrains starter cultures) and future perspectives. PMID:28642742

  9. Trends in microbial control techniques for poultry products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Filomena; Domingues, Fernanda C; Nerín, Cristina

    2018-03-04

    Fresh poultry meat and poultry products are highly perishable foods and high potential sources of human infection due to the presence of several foodborne pathogens. Focusing on the microbial control of poultry products, the food industry generally implements numerous preventive measures based on the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) food safety management system certification together with technological steps, such as refrigeration coupled to modified atmosphere packaging that are able to control identified potential microbial hazards during food processing. However, in recent years, to meet the demand of consumers for minimally processed, high-quality, and additive-free foods, technologies are emerging associated with nonthermal microbial inactivation, such as high hydrostatic pressure, irradiation, and natural alternatives, such as biopreservation or the incorporation of natural preservatives in packaging materials. These technologies are discussed throughout this article, emphasizing their pros and cons regarding the control of poultry microbiota and their effects on poultry sensory properties. The discussion for each of the preservation techniques mentioned will be provided with as much detail as the data and studies provided in the literature for poultry meat and products allow. These new approaches, on their own, have proved to be effective against a wide range of microorganisms in poultry meat. However, since some of these emergent technologies still do not have full consumer's acceptability and, taking into consideration the hurdle technology concept for poultry processing, it is suggested that they will be used as combined treatments or, more frequently, in combination with modified atmosphere packaging.

  10. Determination of lactic microflora of kefir grains and kefir beverage by using culture-dependent and culture-independent methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kesmen, Zülal; Kacmaz, Nazife

    2011-01-01

    In this study, we investigated the bacterial compositions of kefir grains and kefir beverages collected from different regions of Turkey by using culture-independent and culture-dependent methods. In the culture-independent detection, 10 different species of bacteria were detected in total by using the polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) analysis of the 16S rRNA gene V3 region. Among these species, Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens was the most dominant one in the kefir grains, while Lactococcus lactis was found to be significantly prevalent in the kefir beverages. In the culture-dependent detection, the primary differentiation and grouping of the isolates from kefir beverages and kefir grains were performed using repetitive sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) fingerprinting, and the results were validated by 16S rDNA full-length sequencing. According to the results of culture-dependent methods, the most frequently isolated species were L. lactis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, and Lactobacillus kefiri, respectively. Only 3 species, which are L. lactis, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Streptococcus thermophilus, were detected with both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. This study showed that the combination of both methods is necessary for a detailed and reliable investigation of microbial communities in kefir grains and kefir beverages. Due to their artisan- and region-dependent microflora, kefir products can be a source of interesting lactic acid bacteria, either new taxa or strains with specific functional properties, which might be used for the development of new starter cultures and innovative food products. Therefore, an increasing demand exists for new strains that show desirable effects on the product characteristics Artisan dairy products are a candidate source of such microorganisms. For this reason, in this study, the bacterial compositions of kefir grains and kefir beverages obtained from

  11. The Cost of Sustainability in Higher Education: Staff and Student Views of a Campus Food Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaw, Amy; Capetola, Teresa; Lawson, Justin T.; Henderson-Wilson, Claire; Murphy, Berni

    2018-01-01

    Purpose: This study aims to investigate the sustainability of the food culture at Deakin University and to determine what the barriers to increasing the sustainability of food on the Burwood campus may be. Design/methodology/approach: An online survey of staff and students from the Faculty of Health at the Burwood campus of Deakin University (n =…

  12. Microbial Quality, Nutritional Knowledge and Food Hygienic Practices among Street Food Vendors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gowri, B.; Vasantha Devi, K. P.; Sivakumar, M.

    2011-01-01

    Since all categories of people from different socio-economic sectors purchase street foods; the street foods should not only be cheap but also hygienic and rich in nutrition. The investigators with their nutrition knowledge had an urge to study the nutrition knowledge of the vendors, whether the foods prepared are nutritionally sound or not?, are…

  13. Detection of foodborne pathogens by qPCR: A practical approach for food industry applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María-José Chapela

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Microbiological analysis of food is an integrated part of microbial safety management in the food chain. Monitoring and controlling foodborne pathogens are traditionally carried out by conventional microbiological methods based on culture-dependent approaches in control laboratories and private companies. However, polymerase chain reaction (PCR has revolutionized microbiological analysis allowing detection of pathogenic microorganisms in food, without the necessity of classical isolation and identification. However, at present, PCR and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR are essential analytical tools for researchers working in the field of foodborne pathogens. This manuscript reviews recently described qPCR methods applied for foodborne bacteria detection, serving as economical, safe, and reliable alternatives for application in the food industry and control laboratories. Multiplex qPCR, which allows the simultaneous detection of more than one pathogen in one single reaction, saving considerable effort, time, and money, is emphasized in the article.

  14. Application of the Central Limit Theorem in microbial risk assessment: High number of serving reduces the Coefficient of Variation of food-borne burden-of-illness

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pérez-Rodríguez, F.; Zwietering, M.H.

    2012-01-01

    The Central Limit Theorem (CLT) is proposed as a means of understanding microbial risk in foods from a Public Health perspective. One variant of the CLT states that as the number of random variables, each with a finite mean and variance, increases (¿8), the distribution of the sum (or mean) of those

  15. A novel derivation of a within-batch sampling plan based on a Poisson-gamma model characterising low microbial counts in foods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzales-Barron, Ursula; Zwietering, Marcel H; Butler, Francis

    2013-02-01

    This study proposes a novel step-wise methodology for the derivation of a sampling plan by variables for food production systems characterised by relatively low concentrations of the inspected microorganism. After representing the universe of contaminated batches by modelling the between-batch and within-batch variability in microbial counts, a tolerance criterion defining batch acceptability (i.e., up to a tolerance percentage of the food units having microbial concentrations lower or equal to a critical concentration) is established to delineate a limiting quality contour that separates satisfactory from unsatisfactory batches. The problem consists then of finding the optimum decision criterion - arithmetic mean of the analytical results (microbiological limit, m(L)) and the sample size (n) - that satisfies a pre-defined level of confidence measured on the samples' mean distributions from all possible true within-batch distributions. This is approached by obtaining decision landscape curves representing collectively the conditional and joint producer's and consumer's risks at different microbiological limits along with confidence intervals representing uncertainty due to the propagated between-batch variability. Whilst the method requires a number of risk management decisions to be made such as the objective of the sampling plan (GMP-based or risk-based), the modality of derivation, the tolerance criterion or level of safety, and the statistical level of confidence, the proposed method can be used when past monitoring data are available so as to produce statistically-sound dynamic sampling plans with optimised efficiency and discriminatory power. For the illustration of Enterobacteriaceae concentrations on Irish sheep carcasses, a sampling regime of n=10 and m(L)=17.5CFU/cm(2) is recommended to ensure that the producer has at least a 90% confidence of accepting a satisfactory batch whilst the consumer at least a 97.5% confidence that a batch will not be

  16. Food irradiation - a viable technology for reducing postharvest losses of food

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loaharanu, P.

    1985-01-01

    Research and development in the past 30 years have clearly demonstrated that food irradiation is a safe, effective and environmentally clean process of food preservation. Twenty-seven countries have approved over 40 irradiated foods or groups of related food items for human consumption, either on an unconditional or a restricted basis. The technology is beginning to play an important role in reducing post-harvest losses of food and in facilitating wider distribution of food in the trade. Its wide application in solving microbial spoilage losses of food, insect disinfestation, improving hygienic qualities, slowing down physiological processes of foods is reviewed. Special emphasis is placed on applications of direct relevance to countries in Asia and the Pacific region

  17. Genome engineering for microbial natural product discovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Si-Sun; Katsuyama, Yohei; Bai, Linquan; Deng, Zixin; Ohnishi, Yasuo; Kim, Eung-Soo

    2018-03-03

    The discovery and development of microbial natural products (MNPs) have played pivotal roles in the fields of human medicine and its related biotechnology sectors over the past several decades. The post-genomic era has witnessed the development of microbial genome mining approaches to isolate previously unsuspected MNP biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) hidden in the genome, followed by various BGC awakening techniques to visualize compound production. Additional microbial genome engineering techniques have allowed higher MNP production titers, which could complement a traditional culture-based MNP chasing approach. Here, we describe recent developments in the MNP research paradigm, including microbial genome mining, NP BGC activation, and NP overproducing cell factory design. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Modeling the impact of oyster culture on a mudflat food web in Marennes-Oleron Bay (France)

    OpenAIRE

    Leguerrier, D; Niquil, Nathalie; Petiau, A; Bodoy, Alain

    2004-01-01

    We used a carbon-based food web model to investigate the effects of oyster cultivation on the ecosystem of an intertidal mudflat. A previously published food web model of a mudflat in Marennes-Oleron Bay, France, was updated with revised parameters, and a realistic surface area and density of existing oyster cultures on the mudflat. We developed 2 hypothetical scenarios to estimate the impact of oyster cultivation on the food web structure of the ecosystem: one with no oysters, the other with...

  19. Microbial metabolomics in open microscale platforms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barkal, Layla J.; Theberge, Ashleigh B.; Guo, Chun-Jun; Spraker, Joe; Rappert, Lucas; Berthier, Jean; Brakke, Kenneth A.; Wang, Clay C. C.; Beebe, David J.; Keller, Nancy P.; Berthier, Erwin

    2016-01-01

    The microbial secondary metabolome encompasses great synthetic diversity, empowering microbes to tune their chemical responses to changing microenvironments. Traditional metabolomics methods are ill-equipped to probe a wide variety of environments or environmental dynamics. Here we introduce a class of microscale culture platforms to analyse chemical diversity of fungal and bacterial secondary metabolomes. By leveraging stable biphasic interfaces to integrate microculture with small molecule isolation via liquid–liquid extraction, we enable metabolomics-scale analysis using mass spectrometry. This platform facilitates exploration of culture microenvironments (including rare media typically inaccessible using established methods), unusual organic solvents for metabolite isolation and microbial mutants. Utilizing Aspergillus, a fungal genus known for its rich secondary metabolism, we characterize the effects of culture geometry and growth matrix on secondary metabolism, highlighting the potential use of microscale systems to unlock unknown or cryptic secondary metabolites for natural products discovery. Finally, we demonstrate the potential for this class of microfluidic systems to study interkingdom communication between fungi and bacteria. PMID:26842393

  20. Proteomic profiling of an undefined microbial consortium cultured in fermented dairy manure: Methods development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, Andrea J; Paszczynski, Andrzej J; Coats, Erik R

    2016-03-01

    The production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA; bioplastics) from waste or surplus feedstocks using mixed microbial consortia (MMC) and aerobic dynamic feeding (ADF) is a growing field within mixed culture biotechnology. This study aimed to optimize a 2DE workflow to investigate the proteome dynamics of an MMC synthesizing PHA from fermented dairy manure. To mitigate the challenges posed to effective 2DE by this complex sample matrix, the bacterial biomass was purified using Accudenz gradient centrifugation (AGC) before protein extraction. The optimized 2DE method yielded high-quality gels suitable for quantitative comparative analysis and subsequent protein identification by LC-MS/MS. The optimized 2DE method could be adapted to other proteomic investigations involving MMC in complex organic or environmental matrices. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. THE MICROBIAL ANALYSIS IN A BREAD FACTORY IN DAMBOVITA COUNTY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela Maracinaru

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to determine the degree of microbial charge of the air in a bread factory. In food industry theair represents one of the biggest riscs of microbiological contamination (with bacteria, yeast, mildew of food productswith repercusions in the sanitary area (intoxications as well as in industrial area (modification of organolepticproperties of products, rebutting in fabrication, depositing problems, etc. For food industry it is very important that theair is not filled with microorganisms, because these microorganisms are moving in this space and they arrive on rawmaterial and on the finished product.The product about to be fabricated can constitute the medium of culture for themulticplication of microorganisms if the conditions of temperature and humidity are favourable. Generally one mustavoid as much as possible the phenomenon of stagnation of products in contact with surfaces and air.Thebacteorological analysis of air happens usually and especially in rooms where the aerial transmitting of infections mustbe avoided because it constitutes a means of control of sanitary conditions.For the bacterial content of air there are nostandards so far. There have been made propositions based on researches with the help of which we can estimate thedegree of contamination of the air in production spaces.In food industry the number of mezofil germs must not surpass600/ m3 and the fungus 300/m3.

  2. The mainstreaming of sports nutrition consumption in the Norwegian food culture

    OpenAIRE

    Skuland, Silje Elisabeth; Ånestad, Siv Elin

    2013-01-01

    In modern Norwegian food culture eating to achieve physical performance and muscular strength is a growing phenomenon. The market for sports nutrition products has increased and a range of new market actors and sales channels have appeared. In this article we will discuss why consumption of such products has become normalised and mainstream. To explore this question we investigate consumer motives and purposes of consuming sports nutrition products. Sport nutrition consumption has become legi...

  3. Effects of Cultural and Tourism Policies on Local Development: the Case of Food Trails in Medellín (Colombia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria del Pilar Leal Londoño

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The emergence of Food Tourism worldwide has encouraged the rise of numerous food tourism strategies and initiatives everywhere, including Colombia. These are flourishing thanks to the tourism and cultural policies that recognise Colombian food processes and practices as intangible cultural heritage. One of the most representative strategies nowadays is the case of Medellín Sí Sabe (Medellín has a taste. The programme has been led by the local authorities and has been backed by different local organisations. This paper outlines an exploratory approach based on literature review, public documents, policies and the information obtained through nine semi-structured interviews applied to key stakeholders responsible for the implementation of this initiative in Medellín. The information provides some insights into how this strategy has had relevant effects on the local economic revitalisation by linking small and medium-sized food enterprises, which base their activity mainly on traditional dishes and products of the region. Firstly, it analyses the strategy’s structure and its link to national tourism and cultural policies based on the main concepts of territorial development: knowledge, learning and innovation. By analysing Medellín (Colombia as case study, it recognises the role played by local authorities in the promotion of food tourism.

  4. Bayesian predictive risk modeling of microbial criteria for Campylobacter in broilers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nauta, Maarten; Ranta, J.; Mikkelä, A.

    Microbial Criteria define the acceptability of food products, based on the presence or detected number of microorganisms in samples. The criteria are applied at the level of defined food lots. Generally, these are interpreted as statistical batches representing the production [1]. The batches...... be assessed by computing posterior distribution of the parameters - a Bayesian evidence synthesis. The outcome of a defined Microbial Criterion (MC) for a batch provides additional evidence concerning the batch. Posterior predictive consumer risk (probability of illness) was computed for such batch...

  5. A minimalistic microbial food web in an excavated deep subsurface clay rock.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bagnoud, Alexandre; de Bruijn, Ino; Andersson, Anders F; Diomidis, Nikitas; Leupin, Olivier X; Schwyn, Bernhard; Bernier-Latmani, Rizlan

    2016-01-01

    Clay rocks are being considered for radioactive waste disposal, but relatively little is known about the impact of microbes on the long-term safety of geological repositories. Thus, a more complete understanding of microbial community structure and function in these environments would provide further detail for the evaluation of the safety of geological disposal of radioactive waste in clay rocks. It would also provide a unique glimpse into a poorly studied deep subsurface microbial ecosystem. Previous studies concluded that microorganisms were present in pristine Opalinus Clay, but inactive. In this work, we describe the microbial community and assess the metabolic activities taking place within borehole water. Metagenomic sequencing and genome-binning of a porewater sample containing suspended clay particles revealed a remarkably simple heterotrophic microbial community, fueled by sedimentary organic carbon, mainly composed of two organisms: a Pseudomonas sp. fermenting bacterium growing on organic macromolecules and releasing organic acids and H2, and a sulfate-reducing Peptococcaceae able to oxidize organic molecules to CO(2). In Opalinus Clay, this microbial system likely thrives where pore space allows it. In a repository, this may occur where the clay rock has been locally damaged by excavation or in engineered backfills. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. Selection of culturable environmental microbial strains for cellular ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Environmental pollution by organic compounds is a global problem. Biological treatment methods are used to restore polluted environments. Microbial immobilization on abiotic surfaces is a recent strategy to improve the efficiency of these processes. In this technique, cell adhesion is a fundamental step for subsequent ...

  7. The pig gut microbial diversity: Understanding the pig gut microbial ecology through the next generation high throughput sequencing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyeun Bum; Isaacson, Richard E

    2015-06-12

    The importance of the gut microbiota of animals is widely acknowledged because of its pivotal roles in the health and well being of animals. The genetic diversity of the gut microbiota contributes to the overall development and metabolic needs of the animal, and provides the host with many beneficial functions including production of volatile fatty acids, re-cycling of bile salts, production of vitamin K, cellulose digestion, and development of immune system. Thus the intestinal microbiota of animals has been the subject of study for many decades. Although most of the older studies have used culture dependent methods, the recent advent of high throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes has facilitated in depth studies exploring microbial populations and their dynamics in the animal gut. These culture independent DNA based studies generate large amounts of data and as a result contribute to a more detailed understanding of the microbiota dynamics in the gut and the ecology of the microbial populations. Of equal importance, is being able to identify and quantify microbes that are difficult to grow or that have not been grown in the laboratory. Interpreting the data obtained from this type of study requires using basic principles of microbial diversity to understand importance of the composition of microbial populations. In this review, we summarize the literature on culture independent studies of the pig gut microbiota with an emphasis on its succession and alterations caused by diverse factors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. A fermented meat model system for studies of microbial aroma formation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tjener, Karsten; Stahnke, Louise Heller; Andersen, L.

    2003-01-01

    A fermented meat model system was developed, by which microbial formation of volatiles could be examined The model was evaluated against dry, fermented sausages with respect to microbial growth, pH and volatile profiles. Fast and slowly acidified sausages and models were produced using the starte......H, microbial growth and volatile profiles was similar to sausage production. Based on these findings, the model system was considered valid for studies of aroma formation of meat cultures for fermented sausage.......A fermented meat model system was developed, by which microbial formation of volatiles could be examined The model was evaluated against dry, fermented sausages with respect to microbial growth, pH and volatile profiles. Fast and slowly acidified sausages and models were produced using the starter...... cultures Pediococcus pentosaceus and Staphylococcus xylosus. Volatiles were collected and analysed by dynamic headspace sampling and GC MS. The analysis was primarily focused on volatiles arising from amino acid degradation and a total of 24 compounds, of which 19 were quantified, were used...

  9. Community proteomics provides functional insight into polyhydroxyalkanoate production by a mixed microbial culture cultivated on fermented dairy manure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, Andrea J; Guho, Nicholas M; Paszczynski, Andrzej J; Coats, Erik R

    2016-09-01

    Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are bio-based, biodegradable polyesters that can be produced from organic-rich waste streams using mixed microbial cultures (MMCs). To maximize PHA production, MMCs are enriched for bacteria with a high polymer storage capacity through the application of aerobic dynamic feeding (ADF) in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR), which consequently induces a feast-famine metabolic response. Though the feast-famine response is generally understood empirically at a macro-level, the molecular level is less refined. The objective of this study was to investigate the microbial community composition and proteome profile of an enriched MMC cultivated on fermented dairy manure. The enriched MMC exhibited a feast-famine response and was capable of producing up to 40 % (wt. basis) PHA in a fed-batch reactor. High-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed a microbial community dominated by Meganema, a known PHA-producing genus not often observed in high abundance in enrichment SBRs. The application of the proteomic methods two-dimensional electrophoresis and LC-MS/MS revealed PHA synthesis, energy generation, and protein synthesis prominently occurring during the feast phase, corroborating bulk solution variable observations and theoretical expectations. During the famine phase, nutrient transport, acyl-CoA metabolism, additional energy generation, and housekeeping functions were more pronounced, informing previously under-determined MMC functionality under famine conditions. During fed-batch PHA production, acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase and PHA granule-bound phasin proteins were in increased abundance relative to the SBR, supporting the higher PHA content observed. Collectively, the results provide unique microbial community structural and functional insight into feast-famine PHA production from waste feedstocks using MMCs.

  10. The application of irradiation techniques to food and foodstuffs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kwon, Joong Ho; Cho, Han Ok; Byun, Myung Woo; Kim, Suc Won; Yang, Jae Seong

    1992-02-01

    To establish concrete infrastructure required for food irradiation commercialization, the project was designed to investigate the efficiency of irradiation techniques, such as preserving boiled-dried anchovy and improving its safety, improving the physical quality of soybeans and microbial-immobilization with radiation-induced polymer. Dried anchovies could be kept in a sanitary quality for over one year at cooling conditions (<10 deg C) instead of freezing by using 5 KGy-irradiation and airtight packaging(NY/PE). Gamma irradiation below 10 KGy was significantly effective for improving the hydration and cooking properties of soybeans. Immobilized microorganisms showed an increased-catalytic activity, producing lactic acid 15 times higher than that of free culture. (Author)

  11. Quantitative assessment of the risk of microbial spoilage in foods. Prediction of non-stability at 55 °C caused by Geobacillus stearothermophilus in canned green beans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rigaux, Clémence; André, Stéphane; Albert, Isabelle; Carlin, Frédéric

    2014-02-03

    Microbial spoilage of canned foods by thermophilic and highly heat-resistant spore-forming bacteria, such as Geobacillus stearothermophilus, is a persistent problem in the food industry. An incubation test at 55 °C for 7 days, then validation of biological stability, is used as an indicator of compliance with good manufacturing practices. We propose a microbial risk assessment model predicting the percentage of non-stability due to G. stearothermophilus in canned green beans manufactured by a French company. The model accounts for initial microbial contaminations of fresh unprocessed green beans with G. stearothermophilus, cross-contaminations in the processing chain, inactivation processes and probability of survival and growth. The sterilization process is modeled by an equivalent heating time depending on sterilization value F₀ and on G. stearothermophilus resistance parameter z(T). Following the recommendations of international organizations, second order Monte-Carlo simulations are used, separately propagating uncertainty and variability on parameters. As a result of the model, the mean predicted non-stability rate is of 0.5%, with a 95% uncertainty interval of [0.1%; 1.2%], which is highly similar to data communicated by the French industry. A sensitivity analysis based on Sobol indices and some scenario tests underline the importance of cross-contamination at the blanching step, in addition to inactivation due to the sterilization process. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Sequential enrichment of microbial population exhibiting enhanced biodegradation of crude oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Venkateswaran, Kasthuri; Harayama, Shigeaki.

    1995-01-01

    The distribution of oil-degrading bacteria in the coastal waters and sediments of Hokkaido, Japan, was surveyed. It was found that the potential of mixed microbial populations to degrade weathered crude oil was not confined to any ecological components (water or sediment) nor to the sampling stations. One microbial culture that was stable during repeated subculturing degraded 45% of the saturates and 20% of the aromatics present in crude oil in 10 days during the initial screening. The residual hydrocarbons in this culture were extracted by chloroform and dispersed in a fresh seawater-based medium and subsequently inoculated with microorganisms from the first culture. After full growth of the second culture, the residual hydrocarbons were extracted and dispersed in a fresh medium in which microorganisms from the second culture had been inoculated. This sequential process was carried out six times to enrich those microorganisms that grew on the recalcitrant components of crude oil. After repeated exposure of the residual crude oil to the enriched microorganisms, about 80% of the initially added crude oil was degraded. The cultures obtained after each enrichment cycle were kept, and the degradation of fresh crude oil by the enriched microorganisms was monitored. The degrading activity of the enriched cultures increased as the number of enrichment cycles increased. A microbial population that had been selected six times on the residual crude oil could degrade 70% of the saturates and 30% of the aromatics of crude oil, indicating that growth of a microbial population on residual crude oil improved its ability to biodegrade crude oil. 21 refs., 2 tabs., 7 figs

  13. Microbial Contamination of Pastry Cream: Evidence from Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamadreza Pajohi-alamoti

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Background & Aims of the Study: Given the importance of microbial contamination in creating food-borne diseases, this study was conducted to assess level of microbial contamination of pastry creams in Hamedan, Iran. Materials and Methods: Totally, 80 samples were randomly collected from the confectioneries and analyzed for microbial contamination according to Iranian national standard microbial tests. Results: Data indicated that 49 (61.2% samples were contaminated, mostly comprised of Coliforms (92.5%. Moreover, the infection was seen to be higher in jelly roll compared to puff pastry. Yeast contamination was about 82.5 percent, which could accelerate the decay of such products. However, yeast contamination of puff pastries was higher than jelly roll. The microbial contamination with Staphylococcus aureus, total viable count and molds were 57.5%, 35% and 37.5%; respectively. Conclusion: Nevertheless, Salmonella, Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes were not found in any of the samples. Abundance of microbial contamination in the puff pastry samples might put consumer’s health at risk.

  14. Publishable Manuscript on Cross-cultural Comparison of Systems of Provision in the Food Sector

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reisch, Lucia A.; Gwozdz, Wencke; Rito, Ana

    The goal of this report is to analyse and compare cross-culturally systems of provision of food, e.g., retail structure, eating out (school lunches, restaurants, catering) in Europe (Task 7.3.4). The basic assumption is that a highly concentrated retail structure as well as children’s immediate...... food environments are overwhelmingly “obesogenic” and hence contribute to the obesity pandemic. The report starts with a general overview of the respective systems of food provision, namely the retail structures and the market environment in Europe and the I.Family countries in particular....... It then looks into families’ eating out and discusses the causes and consequences of out-of-home eating in schools, restaurants and other places. Wrapping up, the report then reviews policies for healthier out-of-home eating in general and addresses the school food environment in particular. We conclude...

  15. Food irradiation - a viable technology for reducing post harvest losses of food

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loaharanu, O.

    1985-01-01

    Research and development in the past 30 years have clearly demonstrated that food irradiation is a safe, effective and environmentally clean process of food preservation. Twenty-seven countries have approved over 40 irradiated foods or groups of related food items for human consumption, either on an unconditional or a restricted basis. The technology is beginning to play an important role in reducing post-harvest losses of food in facilitating wider distribution of food in the trade. Its wide application in solving microbial spoilage loss of food, insect disinfestation, improving hygenic qualities, slowing down physiological processes of foods is reviewed. Special emphasis is placed on applications of direct relevance to countries in Asia and the Pacific region. (author)

  16. Modular co-culture engineering, a new approach for metabolic engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Haoran; Wang, Xiaonan

    2016-09-01

    With the development of metabolic engineering, employment of a selected microbial host for accommodation of a designed biosynthetic pathway to produce a target compound has achieved tremendous success in the past several decades. Yet, increasing requirements for sophisticated microbial biosynthesis call for establishment and application of more advanced metabolic engineering methodologies. Recently, important progress has been made towards employing more than one engineered microbial strains to constitute synthetic co-cultures and modularizing the biosynthetic labor between the co-culture members in order to improve bioproduction performance. This emerging approach, referred to as modular co-culture engineering in this review, presents a valuable opportunity for expanding the scope of the broad field of metabolic engineering. We highlight representative research accomplishments using this approach, especially those utilizing metabolic engineering tools for microbial co-culture manipulation. Key benefits and major challenges associated with modular co-culture engineering are also presented and discussed. Copyright © 2016 International Metabolic Engineering Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Microbial ecology: new insights into the great wide-open culture independent sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Microbial communities are the basis for most, if not all, biochemical or biogeochemical functions in the environment. These environments are vastly different with respect to matrix, function, and biodiversity, and as such, present minute to stark differences in their respective microbial communities...

  18. Food-related lifestyles in a cross-cultural context: Comparing Australia with Singapore, Britain, France and Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reid, Mike; Li, Elton; Bruwer, Johan

    2001-01-01

    is inextricably linked to values and the processes by which people seek to achieve their values through various modes of expression, including food. This research therefore employs the Food-Related Lifestyles (FRL) instrument developed by Grunert et al. (1993), which is rooted in the personal values concept......, to compare lifestyles across a number of different cultural contexts including Australia, Singapore, Britain, France and Denmark. The research represents the first stage in an on-going process of mapping movements in Australian consumer food-related lifestyles and linking these to global trends and changes....

  19. Metagenomic data of fungal internal transcribed spacer from serofluid dish, a traditional Chinese fermented food

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peng Chen

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Serofluid dish (or Jiangshui, in Chinese, a traditional food in the Chinese culture for thousands of years, is made from vegetables by fermentation. In this work, microorganism community of the fermented serofluid dish was investigated by the culture-independent method. The metagenomic data in this article contains the sequences of fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS regions of rRNA genes from 12 different serofluid dish samples. The metagenome comprised of 50,865 average raw reads with an average of 8,958,220 bp and G + C content is 45.62%. This is the first report on metagenomic data of fungal ITS from serofluid dish employing Illumina platform to profile the fungal communities of this little known fermented food from Gansu Province, China. The Metagenomic data of fungal internal transcribed spacer can be accessed at NCBI, SRA database accession no. SRP067411. Keywords: Serofluid dish, Jiangshui, Fungal ITS, Cultivation-independent, Microbial diversity

  20. Novel food packaging systems with natural antimicrobial agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irkin, Reyhan; Esmer, Ozlem Kizilirmak

    2015-10-01

    A new type of packaging that combines food packaging materials with antimicrobial substances to control microbial surface contamination of foods to enhance product microbial safety and to extend shelf-life is attracting interest in the packaging industry. Several antimicrobial compounds can be combined with different types of packaging materials. But in recent years, since consumer demand for natural food ingredients has increased because of safety and availability, these natural compounds are beginning to replace the chemical additives in foods and are perceived to be safer and claimed to alleviate safety concerns. Recent research studies are mainly focused on the application of natural antimicrobials in food packaging system. Biologically derived compounds like bacteriocins, phytochemicals, enzymes can be used in antimicrobial food packaging. The aim of this review is to give an overview of most important knowledge about application of natural antimicrobial packagings with model food systems and their antimicrobial effects on food products.

  1. Linkage of microbial ecology to phenotype: correlation of rumen microbial ecology to cattle's feed efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guan, Le Luo; Nkrumah, Joshua D; Basarab, John A; Moore, Stephen S

    2008-11-01

    Linkage of rumen microbial structure to host phenotypical traits may enhance the understanding of host-microbial interactions in livestock species. This study used culture-independent PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) to investigate the microbial profiles in the rumen of cattle differing in feed efficiency. The analysis of detectable bacterial PCR-DGGE profiles showed that the profiles generated from efficient steers clustered together and were clearly separated from those obtained from inefficient steers, indicating that specific bacterial groups may only inhabit in efficient steers. In addition, the bacterial profiles were more likely clustered within a certain breed, suggesting that host genetics may play an important role in rumen microbial structure. The correlations between the concentrations of volatile fatty acids and feed efficiency traits were also observed. Significantly higher concentrations of butyrate (P < 0.001) and valerate (P = 0.006) were detected in the efficient steers. Our results revealed potential associations between the detectable rumen microbiota and its fermentation parameters with the feed efficiency of cattle.

  2. Degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by microbial consortia enriched from three soils using two different culture media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Manli; Chen, Liming; Tian, Yongqiang; Ding, Yi; Dick, Warren A

    2013-07-01

    A consortium composed of many different bacterial species is required to efficiently degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in oil-contaminated soil. We obtained six PAH-degrading microbial consortia from three oil-contaminated soils using two different isolation culture media. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and sequence analyses of amplified 16s rRNA genes confirmed the bacterial community was greatly affected by both the culture medium and the soil from which the consortia were enriched. Three bacterial consortia enriched using malt yeast extract (MYE) medium showed higher degradation rates of PAHs than consortia enriched using Luria broth (LB) medium. Consortia obtained from a soil and then added back to that same soil was more effective in degrading PAHs than adding, to the same soil, consortia isolated from other, unrelated soils. This suggests that inoculum used for bioremediation should be from the same, or very similar nearby soils, as the soil that is actually being bioremediated. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. The natural diet of a hexactinellid sponge: Benthic pelagic coupling in a deep-sea microbial food web

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pile, Adele J.; Young, Craig M.

    2006-07-01

    Dense communities of shallow-water suspension feeders are known to sidestep the microbial loop by grazing on ultraplankton at its base. We quantified the diet, rates of water processing, and abundance of the deep-sea hexactinellid sponge Sericolophus hawaiicus, and found that, like their demosponge relatives in shallow water, hexactinellids are a significant sink for ultraplankton. S. hawaiicus forms a dense bed of sponges on the Big Island of Hawaii between 360 and 460 m depth, with a mean density of 4.7 sponges m -2. Grazing of S. hawaiicus on ultraplankton was quantified from in situ samples using flow cytometry, and was found to be unselective. Rates of water processing were determined with dye visualization and ranged from 1.62 to 3.57 cm s -1, resulting in a processing rate of 7.9±2.4 ml sponge -1 s -1. The large amount of water processed by these benthic suspension feeders results in the transfer of approximately 55 mg carbon and 7.3 mg N d -1 m -2 from the water column to the benthos. The magnitude of this flux places S. hawaiicus squarely within the functional group of organisms that link the pelagic microbial food web to the benthos.

  4. Effects of cinnamaldehyde and garlic oil on rumen microbial fermentation in a dual flow continuous culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Busquet, M; Calsamiglia, S; Ferret, A; Cardozo, P W; Kamel, C

    2005-07-01

    Eight continuous culture fermentors inoculated with ruminal liquor from heifers fed a 50:50 alfalfa hay:concentrate diet (17.6% crude protein, 28.0% neutral detergent fiber) were used in 3 replicated periods to study the effects of cinnamaldehyde (CIN) and garlic oil (GAR) on rumen microbial fermentation. Treatments were no additive (negative control); 1.25 mg/L (MON) and 12.5 mg/L (MON10) of the ionophore antibiotic monensin (positive control); 31.2 mg/L CIN (CIN) and 312 mg/L (CIN10) of CIN; and 31.2 mg/L GAR (GAR) and 312 mg/L (GAR10) of GAR (Allium sativa). The MON10 caused expected changes in microbial fermentation patterns (a decrease in fiber digestion, ammonia N concentration, and proportions of acetate and butyrate; an increase in the proportion of propionate; and a trend to increase small peptide plus AA N concentration). The CIN decreased the proportion of acetate and branch-chained volatile fatty acids (VFA) and increased the proportion of propionate; CIN10 decreased the proportion of acetate and increased the proportion of butyrate compared with the control. The GAR10 increased the proportion of propionate and butyrate and decreased the proportion of acetate and branch-chained VFA compared with the control. The GAR10 also increased the small peptide plus amino acid N concentration, although no effects were observed on large peptides or ammonia N concentrations. The CIN and GAR10 resulted in similar effects as monensin, with the exception of the effects on the molar proportion of butyrate, which suggests that they might have a different mode of action in affecting in vitro microbial fermentation.

  5. Microbial diversity in an Armenian geothermal spring assessed by molecular and culture-based methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panosyan, Hovik; Birkeland, Nils-Kåre

    2014-11-01

    The phylogenetic diversity of the prokaryotic community thriving in the Arzakan hot spring in Armenia was studied using molecular and culture-based methods. A sequence analysis of 16S rRNA gene clone libraries demonstrated the presence of a diversity of microorganisms belonging to the Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Epsilonproteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes phyla, and Cyanobacteria. Proteobacteria was the dominant group, representing 52% of the bacterial clones. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profiles of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene fragments also indicated the abundance of Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Cyanobacteria populations. Most of the sequences were most closely related to uncultivated microorganisms and shared less than 96% similarity with their closest matches in GenBank, indicating that this spring harbors a unique community of novel microbial species or genera. The majority of the sequences of an archaeal 16S rRNA gene library, generated from a methanogenic enrichment, were close relatives of members of the genus Methanoculleus. Aerobic endospore-forming bacteria mainly belonging to Bacillus and Geobacillus were detected only by culture-dependent methods. Three isolates were successfully obtained having 99, 96, and 96% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities to Arcobacter sp., Methylocaldum sp., and Methanoculleus sp., respectively. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  6. Food irradiation combined with refrigeration in food industrial plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boisseau, P.

    1991-01-01

    Food irradiation and refrigeration are both physical treatments used for food preservation. The complementarity of their effects on food is the best reason for their combination. Irradiation is essentially used for disinfestation and refrigeration to protect food against non microbial degradations. Refrigeration and irradiation could be combined for shelf life extension of fresh fruits and vegetables or reduction of microflora in animal products, without loss of quality. Freezing must be combined with ionizing treatments if high doses are necessary as it is the case with destruction of pathogens in meat or food sterilization. Some examples of combination of refrigeration and irradiation are routinely applied in some industrial plants in France but it is expected that more and more combined treatments will be used thanks to research

  7. Immobilization with Metal Hydroxides as a Means To Concentrate Food-Borne Bacteria for Detection by Cultural and Molecular Methods†

    OpenAIRE

    Lucore, Lisa A.; Cullison, Mark A.; Jaykus, Lee-Ann

    2000-01-01

    The application of nucleic acid amplification methods to the detection of food-borne pathogens could be facilitated by concentrating the organisms from the food matrix before detection. This study evaluated the utility of metal hydroxide immobilization for the concentration of bacterial cells from dairy foods prior to detection by cultural and molecular methods. Using reconstituted nonfat dry milk (NFDM) as a model, two food-borne pathogens (Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enterica sero...

  8. Undergraduate Laboratory Exercises Specific to Food Spoilage Microbiology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snyder, Abigail B.; Worobo, Randy W.; Orta-Ramirez, Alicia

    2016-01-01

    Food spoilage has an enormous economic impact, and microbial food spoilage plays a significant role in food waste and loss; subsequently, an equally significant portion of undergraduate food microbiology instruction should be dedicated to spoilage microbiology. Here, we describe a set of undergraduate microbiology laboratory exercises that focus…

  9. Detection of ionized foods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beerens, H.

    1986-01-01

    Irradiated foods and feed might be identified with two kinds of tests: 1. biochemical: detection of specific products are not yet available 2. microbiological: when a microbial species dissapears from a sample of food i.e. it is not detectable after enrichment (for instance Coliforms in hamburgers) it is likely that the sample has been ionized [fr

  10. Recent developments in microbial oils production: a possible alternative to vegetable oils for biodiesel without competition with human food?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gwendoline Christophe

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Since centuries vegetable oils are consumed as human food but it also finds applications in biodiesel production which is attracting more attention. But due to being in competition with food it could not be sustainable and leads the need to search for alternative. Nowdays microbes-derived oils (single cell oils seem to be alternatives for biodiesel production due to their similar composition to that of vegetable oils. However, the cold flow properties of the biodiesel produced from microbial oils are unacceptable and have to be modified by an efficient transesterification. Glycerol which is by product of transesterification can be valorised into some more useful products so that it can also be utilised along with biodiesel to simplify the downstream processing. The review paper discusses about various potent microorganisms for biodiesel production, enzymes involved in the lipid accumulation, lipid quantification methods, catalysts used in transesterification (including enzymatic catalyst and valorisation of glycerol.

  11. Microbial keratitis in West and East Malaysia

    OpenAIRE

    Vanitha Ratnalingam; Thiageswari Umapathy; Kala Sumugam; Hanida Hanafi; Shamala Retnasabapathy

    2017-01-01

    AIM: To evaluate the epidemiological and etiological factors of microbial keratitis seen in tertiary hospitals in West and East Malaysia.METHODS: A total of 207 patients were enrolled. Patients referred for microbial keratitis to Sungai Buloh Hospital and Kuala Lumpur Hospital in West Malaysia and Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Kuching General Hospital in East Malaysia were recruited. Risk factors were documented. Corneal scrapings for microscopy and culture were performed.RESULTS: The most com...

  12. Design, Modeling, and Development of Microbial Cell Factories

    KAUST Repository

    Kodzius, Rimantas

    2014-03-26

    Using Metagenomic analysis, computational modeling, single cell and genome editing technologies, we will express desired microbial genes and their networks in suitable hosts for mass production of energy, food, and fine chemicals.

  13. Design, Modeling, and Development of Microbial Cell Factories

    KAUST Repository

    Kodzius, Rimantas; Behzad, H.; Archer, John A.C.; Bajic, Vladimir B.; Gojobori, Takashi

    2014-01-01

    Using Metagenomic analysis, computational modeling, single cell and genome editing technologies, we will express desired microbial genes and their networks in suitable hosts for mass production of energy, food, and fine chemicals.

  14. Cultural and historical trends and influences of food, nutrition and cuisine on health and development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erlich, Rita

    2004-01-01

    The distinctive qualities of the cuisine of Hangzhou are the result of its geographical situation, which provided good soils, reliable rainfall, a lake that has been a water source and renowned beauty spot for centuries. The rich water-sources facilitated the development of gastronomy, agriculture, trade and administration, especially after it became the capital of the Southern Sung Dynasty. Hangzhou's food sources are especially diverse, notably for fish, green vegetables, fungi, and tofu, and have been since early records. As capital, it became a leader in cuisine, and in the development of the restaurant industry. The strength of food traditions has been reinforced constantly by the cultural, medicinal, nutritional, and social values of food and cooking, by the interest of Chinese scholars in food and wine, and by the narrative that accompanies specific dishes.

  15. Long-term oil contamination causes similar changes in microbial communities of two distinct soils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Jingqiu; Wang, Jie; Jiang, Dalin; Wang, Michael Cai; Huang, Yi

    2015-12-01

    Since total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) are toxic and persistent in environments, studying the impact of oil contamination on microbial communities in different soils is vital to oil production engineering, effective soil management and pollution control. This study analyzed the impact of oil contamination on the structure, activity and function in carbon metabolism of microbial communities of Chernozem soil from Daqing oil field and Cinnamon soil from Huabei oil field through both culture-dependent techniques and a culture-independent technique-pyrosequencing. Results revealed that pristine microbial communities in these two soils presented disparate patterns, where Cinnamon soil showed higher abundance of alkane, (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) PAHs and TPH degraders, number of cultivable microbes, bacterial richness, bacterial biodiversity, and stronger microbial activity and function in carbon metabolism than Chernozem soil. It suggested that complicated properties of microbes and soils resulted in the difference in soil microbial patterns. However, the changes of microbial communities caused by oil contamination were similar in respect of two dominant phenomena. Firstly, the microbial community structures were greatly changed, with higher abundance, higher bacterial biodiversity, occurrence of Candidate_division_BRC1 and TAO6, disappearance of BD1-5 and Candidate_division_OD1, dominance of Streptomyces, higher percentage of hydrocarbon-degrading groups, and lower percentage of nitrogen-transforming groups. Secondly, microbial activity and function in carbon metabolism were significantly enhanced. Based on the characteristics of microbial communities in the two soils, appropriate strategy for in situ bioremediation was provided for each oil field. This research underscored the usefulness of combination of culture-dependent techniques and next-generation sequencing techniques both to unravel the microbial patterns and understand the ecological impact of

  16. Thermal processing of food reduces gut microbiota diversity of the host and triggers adaptation of the microbiota: evidence from two vertebrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhimin; Li, Dapeng

    2018-05-31

    Adoption of thermal processing of the diet drives human evolution and gut microbiota diversity changes in a dietary habit-dependent manner. However, whether thermal processing of food triggers gut microbial variation remains unknown. Herein, we compared the microbiota of non-thermally processed and thermally processed food (NF and TF) and investigated gut microbiota associated with NF and TF in catfish Silurus meridionalis and C57BL/6 mice to assess effects of thermal processing of food on gut microbiota and to further identify the differences in host responses. We found no differences in overall microbial composition and structure in the pairwise NF and TF, but identified differential microbial communities between food and gut. Both fish and mice fed TF had significantly lower gut microbial diversity than those fed NF. Moreover, thermal processing of food triggered the changes in their microbial communities. Comparative host studies further indicated host species determined gut microbial assemblies, even if fed with the same food. Fusobacteria was the most abundant phylum in the fish, and Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes dominated in the mice. Besides the consistent reduction of Bacteroidetes and the balanced Protebacteria, the response of other dominated gut microbiota in the fish and mice to TF was taxonomically opposite at the phylum level, and those further found at the genus level. Our results reveal that thermal processing of food strongly contributes to the reduction of gut microbial diversity and differentially drives microbial alterations in a host-dependent manner, suggesting specific adaptations of host-gut microbiota in vertebrates responding to thermal processing of food. These findings open a window of opportunity to understand the decline in gut microbial diversity and the community variation in human evolution and provide new insights into the host-specific microbial assemblages associated with the use of processing techniques in food preparation in

  17. Application of Bacteriocins and Protective Cultures in Dairy Food Preservation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Célia C. G. Silva

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available In the last years, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the human health risk posed by the use of chemical preservatives in foods. In contrast, the increasing demand by the dairy industry to extend shelf-life and prevent spoilage of dairy products has appeal for new preservatives and new methods of conservation. Bacteriocins are antimicrobial peptides, which can be considered as safe since they can be easily degraded by proteolytic enzymes of the mammalian gastrointestinal tract. Also, most bacteriocin producers belong to lactic acid bacteria (LAB, a group that occurs naturally in foods and have a long history of safe use in dairy industry. Since they pose no health risk concerns, bacteriocins, either purified or excreted by bacteriocin producing strains, are a great alternative to the use of chemical preservatives in dairy products. Bacteriocins can be applied to dairy foods on a purified/crude form or as a bacteriocin-producing LAB as a part of fermentation process or as adjuvant culture. A number of applications of bacteriocins and bacteriocin-producing LAB have been reported to successful control pathogens in milk, yogurt, and cheeses. One of the more recent trends consists in the incorporation of bacteriocins, directly as purified or semi-purified form or in incorporation of bacteriocin-producing LAB into bioactive films and coatings, applied directly onto the food surfaces and packaging. This review is focused on recent developments and applications of bacteriocins and bacteriocin-producing LAB for reducing the microbiological spoilage and improve safety of dairy products.

  18. Impact of the reusing of food manufacturing wastewater for irrigation in a closed system on the microbiological quality of the food crops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beneduce, Luciano; Gatta, Giuseppe; Bevilacqua, Antonio; Libutti, Angela; Tarantino, Emanuele; Bellucci, Micol; Troiano, Eleonora; Spano, Giuseppe

    2017-11-02

    In order to evaluate if the reuse of food industry treated wastewater is compatible for irrigation of food crops, without increased health risk, in the present study a cropping system, in which ground water and treated wastewater were used for irrigation of tomato and broccoli, during consecutive crop seasons was monitored. Water, crop environment and final products were monitored for microbial indicators and pathogenic bacteria, by conventional and molecular methods. The microbial quality of the irrigation waters influenced sporadically the presence of microbial indicators in soil. No water sample was found positive for pathogenic bacteria, independently from the source. Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes were detected in soil samples, independently from the irrigation water source. No pathogen was found to contaminate tomato plants, while Listeria monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7 were detected on broccoli plant, but when final produce were harvested, no pathogen was detected on edible part. The level of microbial indicators and detection of pathogenic bacteria in field and plant was not dependent upon wastewater used. Our results, suggest that reuse of food industry wastewater for irrigation of agricultural crop can be applied without significant increase of potential health risk related to microbial quality. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Effects of sludge inoculum and organic feedstock on active microbial communities and methane yield during anaerobic digestion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David eWilkins

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Anaerobic digestion (AD is a widespread microbial technology used to treat organic waste and recover energy in the form of methane (biogas. While most AD systems have been designed to treat a single input, mixtures of digester sludge and solid organic waste are emerging as a means to improve efficiency and methane yield. We examined laboratory anaerobic cultures of AD sludge from two sources amended with food waste, xylose, and xylan at mesophilic temperatures, and with cellulose at meso- and thermophilic temperatures, to determine whether and how the inoculum and substrate affect biogas yield and community composition. All substrate and inoculum combinations yielded methane, with food waste most productive by mass. Pyrosequencing of transcribed bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA showed that community composition varied across substrates and inocula, with differing ratios of hydrogenotrophic/acetoclastic methanogenic archaea associated with syntrophic partners. While communities did not cluster by either inoculum or substrate, additional sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene in the source sludge revealed that the bacterial communities were influenced by their inoculum. These results suggest that complete and efficient AD systems could potentially be assembled from different microbial inocula and consist of taxonomically diverse communities that nevertheless perform similar functions.

  20. Statistical adjustment of culture-independent diagnostic tests for trend analysis in the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), USA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Weidong; Dutta, Vikrant; Patrick, Mary; Bruce, Beau B; Geissler, Aimee; Huang, Jennifer; Fitzgerald, Collette; Henao, Olga

    2018-03-19

    Culture-independent diagnostic tests (CIDTs) are increasingly used to diagnose Campylobacter infection in the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet). Because CIDTs have different performance characteristics compared with culture, which has been used historically and is still used to diagnose campylobacteriosis, adjustment of cases diagnosed by CIDT is needed to compare with culture-confirmed cases for monitoring incidence trends. We identified the necessary parameters for CIDT adjustment using culture as the gold standard, and derived formulas to calculate positive predictive values (PPVs). We conducted a literature review and meta-analysis to examine the variability in CIDT performance and Campylobacter prevalence applicable to FoodNet sites. We then developed a Monte Carlo method to estimate test-type and site-specific PPVs with their associated uncertainties. The uncertainty in our estimated PPVs was largely derived from uncertainty about the specificity of CIDTs and low prevalence of Campylobacter in tested samples. Stable CIDT-adjusted incidences of Campylobacter cases from 2012 to 2015 were observed compared with a decline in culture-confirmed incidence. We highlight the lack of data on the total numbers of tested samples as one of main limitations for CIDT adjustment. Our results demonstrate the importance of adjusting CIDTs for understanding trends in Campylobacter incidence in FoodNet.

  1. Characterization of mixed-culture biofilms established in microbial fuel cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Suling; Du, Fangzhou; Liu, Hong

    2012-01-01

    For the successful operation of a microbial fuel cell, it is important to characterize the biofilm on the anode. The behavior of MFCs during initial biofilm growth and characterization of anodic biofilm were studied using two-chamber MFCs with activated sludge as inoculum. After three times' replacement of the anodic growth medium, the biofilms were well developed, and a maximum closed circuit potential of 0.41 V and 0.37 V (1000 Ω resistor) was achieved using acetate and glucose, respectively. Electron microscopy revealed that there were rod-shaped cells 0.2–0.3 μm wide by 1.5–2.5 μm long in the anode biofilm in the acetate-fed MFC, and these cells were mainly arranged by monolayer. The biofilm in the glucose-fed MFC was made of cocci-shaped cells in chains and a thick matrix. Both using acetate and glucose, the anodic bacterial communities were different than those of the activated sludge. Cyclic voltammograms suggested that extracellular electron transfer in these MFCs was accomplished mainly by the biofilms on the anode and not by bacteria-produced mediators. -- Highlights: ► The mixed-culture biofilms established in MFCs were characterized. ► The possible electron transfer mechanism was presented. ► In these MFCs the anodic area should be much larger.

  2. Carrot Juice Fermentations as Man-Made Microbial Ecosystems Dominated by Lactic Acid Bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wuyts, Sander; Van Beeck, Wannes; Oerlemans, Eline F M; Wittouck, Stijn; Claes, Ingmar J J; De Boeck, Ilke; Weckx, Stefan; Lievens, Bart; De Vuyst, Luc; Lebeer, Sarah

    2018-06-15

    Spontaneous vegetable fermentations, with their rich flavors and postulated health benefits, are regaining popularity. However, their microbiology is still poorly understood, therefore raising concerns about food safety. In addition, such spontaneous fermentations form interesting cases of man-made microbial ecosystems. Here, samples from 38 carrot juice fermentations were collected through a citizen science initiative, in addition to three laboratory fermentations. Culturing showed that Enterobacteriaceae were outcompeted by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) between 3 and 13 days of fermentation. Metabolite-target analysis showed that lactic acid and mannitol were highly produced, as well as the biogenic amine cadaverine. High-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that mainly species of Leuconostoc and Lactobacillus (as identified by 8 and 20 amplicon sequence variants [ASVs], respectively) mediated the fermentations in subsequent order. The analyses at the DNA level still detected a high number of Enterobacteriaceae , but their relative abundance was low when RNA-based sequencing was performed to detect presumptive metabolically active bacterial cells. In addition, this method greatly reduced host read contamination. Phylogenetic placement indicated a high LAB diversity, with ASVs from nine different phylogenetic groups of the Lactobacillus genus complex. However, fermentation experiments with isolates showed that only strains belonging to the most prevalent phylogenetic groups preserved the fermentation dynamics. The carrot juice fermentation thus forms a robust man-made microbial ecosystem suitable for studies on LAB diversity and niche specificity. IMPORTANCE The usage of fermented food products by professional chefs is steadily growing worldwide. Meanwhile, this interest has also increased at the household level. However, many of these artisanal food products remain understudied. Here, an extensive microbial analysis was performed of spontaneous fermented

  3. Hydrodynamics of microbial filter feeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nielsen, Lasse Tor; Asadzadeh, Seyed Saeed; Dölger, Julia; Walther, Jens H; Kiørboe, Thomas; Andersen, Anders

    2017-08-29

    Microbial filter feeders are an important group of grazers, significant to the microbial loop, aquatic food webs, and biogeochemical cycling. Our understanding of microbial filter feeding is poor, and, importantly, it is unknown what force microbial filter feeders must generate to process adequate amounts of water. Also, the trade-off in the filter spacing remains unexplored, despite its simple formulation: A filter too coarse will allow suitably sized prey to pass unintercepted, whereas a filter too fine will cause strong flow resistance. We quantify the feeding flow of the filter-feeding choanoflagellate Diaphanoeca grandis using particle tracking, and demonstrate that the current understanding of microbial filter feeding is inconsistent with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and analytical estimates. Both approaches underestimate observed filtration rates by more than an order of magnitude; the beating flagellum is simply unable to draw enough water through the fine filter. We find similar discrepancies for other choanoflagellate species, highlighting an apparent paradox. Our observations motivate us to suggest a radically different filtration mechanism that requires a flagellar vane (sheet), something notoriously difficult to visualize but sporadically observed in the related choanocytes (sponges). A CFD model with a flagellar vane correctly predicts the filtration rate of D. grandis , and using a simple model we can account for the filtration rates of other microbial filter feeders. We finally predict how optimum filter mesh size increases with cell size in microbial filter feeders, a prediction that accords very well with observations. We expect our results to be of significance for small-scale biophysics and trait-based ecological modeling.

  4. Potential for microbial oxidation of ferrous iron in basaltic glass.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiong, Mai Yia; Shelobolina, Evgenya S; Roden, Eric E

    2015-05-01

    Basaltic glass (BG) is an amorphous ferrous iron [Fe(II)]-containing material present in basaltic rocks, which are abundant on rocky planets such as Earth and Mars. Previous research has suggested that Fe(II) in BG can serve as an energy source for chemolithotrophic microbial metabolism, which has important ramifications for potential past and present microbial life on Mars. However, to date there has been no direct demonstration of microbially catalyzed oxidation of Fe(II) in BG. In this study, three different culture systems were used to investigate the potential for microbial oxidation of Fe(II) in BG, including (1) the chemolithoautotrophic Fe(II)-oxidizing, nitrate-reducing "Straub culture"; (2) the mixotrophic Fe(II)-oxidizing, nitrate-reducing organism Desulfitobacterium frappieri strain G2; and (3) indigenous microorganisms from a streambed Fe seep in Wisconsin. The BG employed consisted of clay and silt-sized particles of freshly quenched lava from the TEB flow in Kilauea, Hawaii. Soluble Fe(II) or chemically reduced NAu-2 smectite (RS) were employed as positive controls to verify Fe(II) oxidation activity in the culture systems. All three systems demonstrated oxidation of soluble Fe(II) and/or structural Fe(II) in RS, whereas no oxidation of Fe(II) in BG material was observed. The inability of the Straub culture to oxidize Fe(II) in BG was particularly surprising, as this culture can oxidize other insoluble Fe(II)-bearing minerals such as biotite, magnetite, and siderite. Although the reason for the resistance of the BG toward enzymatic oxidation remains unknown, it seems possible that the absence of distinct crystal faces or edge sites in the amorphous glass renders the material resistant to such attack. These findings have implications with regard to the idea that Fe(II)-Si-rich phases in basalt rocks could provide a basis for chemolithotrophic microbial life on Mars, specifically in neutral-pH environments where acid-promoted mineral dissolution and

  5. The acceptance of functional foods in Denmark, Finland and the United States: A study of consumers' conjoint evaluations of the qualities of functional foods and perceptions of general health factors and cultural values

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bech-Larsen, Tino; Grunert, Klaus G.; Poulsen, Jacob

    2001-01-01

    1. Functional foods is a relatively new concept covering food products enriched with various kinds of (natural) substances (eg vitamins, minerals or probiotic cultures) or modified so as to provide consumers with an additional physiological benefit presumed to prevent disease or promote health......; another explanation may be differences in cultural values, which possibly lead to different associations between wholesomeness and other quality aspects, such as taste, convenience and method of processing. 4. Using conjoint analysis and survey questions (n=1500), the aim of the study presented...... in this paper is to investigate whether there are differences in the acceptance of functional foods in Denmark, Finland and the United States, and to which extent they are related to differences in consumers' nutritional knowledge, health associations and cultural values. The general results of the study...

  6. Microbial quality of some herbal solid dosage forms

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2010-03-15

    Mar 15, 2010 ... Key words: Microbial quality, herbal, contamination, solid dosage form ... The type of dosage form, packaging, manufacturing and expiration dates of subject solid herbal .... According to WHO report (2002), Salmonella food.

  7. Fifty important research questions in microbial ecology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antwis, Rachael E; Griffiths, Sarah M; Harrison, Xavier A; Aranega-Bou, Paz; Arce, Andres; Bettridge, Aimee S; Brailsford, Francesca L; de Menezes, Alexandre; Devaynes, Andrew; Forbes, Kristian M; Fry, Ellen L; Goodhead, Ian; Haskell, Erin; Heys, Chloe; James, Chloe; Johnston, Sarah R; Lewis, Gillian R; Lewis, Zenobia; Macey, Michael C; McCarthy, Alan; McDonald, James E; Mejia-Florez, Nasmille L; O'Brien, David; Orland, Chloé; Pautasso, Marco; Reid, William D K; Robinson, Heather A; Wilson, Kenneth; Sutherland, William J

    2017-05-01

    Microbial ecology provides insights into the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of microbial communities underpinning every ecosystem on Earth. Microbial communities can now be investigated in unprecedented detail, although there is still a wealth of open questions to be tackled. Here we identify 50 research questions of fundamental importance to the science or application of microbial ecology, with the intention of summarising the field and bringing focus to new research avenues. Questions are categorised into seven themes: host-microbiome interactions; health and infectious diseases; human health and food security; microbial ecology in a changing world; environmental processes; functional diversity; and evolutionary processes. Many questions recognise that microbes provide an extraordinary array of functional diversity that can be harnessed to solve real-world problems. Our limited knowledge of spatial and temporal variation in microbial diversity and function is also reflected, as is the need to integrate micro- and macro-ecological concepts, and knowledge derived from studies with humans and other diverse organisms. Although not exhaustive, the questions presented are intended to stimulate discussion and provide focus for researchers, funders and policy makers, informing the future research agenda in microbial ecology. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. Microbial community composition of the ileum and cecum of broiler chickens as revealed by molecular and culture-based techniques

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Friis-Holm, Lotte Bjerrum; Engberg, R.M.; Leser, T.D.

    2006-01-01

    The microbial communities of the ileum and cecum of broiler chickens from a conventional and an organic farm were investigated using conventional culture techniques as well as cloning and sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. Eighty-five percent of the 557 cloned sequences were ...% of the cecal clones belonged to this cluster in conventional and organic broiler chickens, respectively. We were, however, able to recover a number of these phylotypes by cultivation, and the isolates were shown to be butyric acid producers. The investigation was a descriptive rather than a comparative study...

  9. Coupling of the spatial dynamic of picoplankton and nanoflagellate grazing pressure and carbon flow of the microbial food web in the subtropical pelagic continental shelf ecosystem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiang, K.-P.; Tsai, A.-Y.; Tsai, P.-J.; Gong, G.-C.; Tsai, S.-F.

    2013-01-01

    In order to investigate the mechanism of spatial dynamics of picoplankton community (bacteria and Synechococcus spp.) and estimate the carbon flux of the microbial food web in the oligotrophic Taiwan Warm Current Water of subtropical marine pelagic ecosystem, we conducted size-fractionation experiments in five cruises by the R/V Ocean Research II during the summers of 2010 and 2011 in the southern East China Sea. We carried out culture experiments using surface water which, according to a temperature-salinity (T-S) diagram, is characterized as oligotrophic Taiwan Current Warm Water. We found a negative correlation bettween bacteria growth rate and temperature, indicating that the active growth of heterotrophic bacteria might be induced by nutrients lifted from deep layer by cold upwelling water. This finding suggests that the area we studied was a bottom-up control pelagic ecosystem. We suggest that the microbial food web of an oligotrophic ecosystem may be changed from top-down control to resource supply (bottom-up control) when a physical force brings nutrient into the oligotrophic ecosystem. Upwelling brings nutrient-rich water to euphotic zone and promotes bacteria growth, increasing the picoplankton biomass which increased the consumption rate of nanoflagellate. The net growth rate (growth rate-grazing rate) becomes negative when the densities of bacteria and Synechococcus spp. are lower than the threshold values. The interaction between growth and grazing will limit the abundances of bacteria (105-106 cells mL-1 and Synechococcus spp. (104-105 cells mL-1) within a narrow range, forming a predator-prey eddy. Meanwhile, 62% of bacteria production and 55% of Synechococcus spp. production are transported to higher trophic level (nanoflagellate), though the cascade effect might cause an underestimation of both percentages of transported carbon. Based on the increasing number of sizes we found in the size-fractionation experiments, we estimated that the predation

  10. The role of ciliates within the microbial food web in the eutrophicated part of Kaštela Bay (Middle Adriatic Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia Bojanic

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available Interactions among phytoplankton, bacterioplankton, heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF, ciliated protozoa and copepod nauplii were studied in the eutrophicated part of Kas?tela Bay from May 1998 to November 1999. Special emphasis was placed on relationships between size categories of nonloricate ciliates (NLC and other microbial food web components. Biomasses of phytoplankton and bacteria were primarily influenced by abiotic parameters. Temperature indirectly controlled variation in HNF biomass through the changes in biomass of bacteria and the smaller phytoplankton fraction. Besides HNF, bacterial biomass was affected by the NLC

  11. Microbial Communities as Environmental Indicators of Ecological Disturbance in Restored Carbonate Fen-Results of 10 Years of Studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mieczan, Tomasz; Tarkowska-Kukuryk, Monika

    2017-08-01

    Interactions between bacteria and protists are essential to the ecosystem ecology of fens. Until now, however, there has been almost no information on how restoration procedures in carbonate fens affect the functioning of microbial food webs. Changes in vegetation patterns resulting from restoration may take years to be observed, whereas microbial processes display effects even after short-term exposure to changes in environmental conditions caused by restoration. Therefore, microbial processes and patterns can be used as sensitive indicators of changes in environmental conditions. The present study attempts to verify the hypothesis that the species richness and abundance of microbial loop components would differ substantially before and after restoration. The effect of restoration processes on the functioning of the food web was investigated for a 10 years in a carbonate-rich fen, before and after restoration. The restoration procedure (particularly the improvement in hydrological conditions) distinctly modified the taxonomic composition and functioning of microbial food webs. This is reflected in the increased abundance and diversity of testate amoeba, i.e. top predators, within the microbial food web and in the pronounced increase in the abundance of bacteria. This study suggests potential use of microbial loop components as bio-indicators and bio-monitoring tools for hydrological status of fens and concentrations of nutrients. Better understanding of what regulates microbial populations and activity in fens and unravelling of these fundamental mechanisms are particularly critical in order to more accurately predict how fens will respond to global change or anthropogenic disturbances.

  12. Socio-demographic Characteristics and Food Hygiene Level Assessment of Food Handlers in Cafeterias around a Federal University in Nigeria

    OpenAIRE

    C. E. Aruwa; A. J. Akindusoye; S. I. Awala

    2017-01-01

    Background and Objective: Globally, food hygiene/food borne illnesses remain subjects of great concern. This study sought to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of food hygiene; and to determine the types, prevalence and load of microbial isolates among food handlers’ in cafeterias around a University in South-Western Nigeria. It also highlighted the socio-demographic characteristics of food handlers/respondents. Study Design: A cross sectional descriptive design was used, followe...

  13. Microbial ecology and quality assurance in food fermentation systems. The case of kefir grains application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plessas, S; Alexopoulos, A; Voidarou, C; Stavropoulou, E; Bezirtzoglou, E

    2011-12-01

    Fermentation technology has become a modern method for food production the last decades as a process for enhancing product stability, safety and sensory standards. The main reason for this development is the increasing consumers' demand for safe and high quality food products. The above has led the scientific community to the thorough study for the appropriate selection of specific microorganisms with desirable properties such as bacteriocin production, and probiotic properties. The main food products produced through fermentation activity are bread, wine, beer cheese and other dairy products. The microorganisms conducting the above processes are mainly yeasts and lactic acid bacteria. The end products of carbohydrate catabolism by these microorganisms contribute not only to preservation as it was believed years ago, but also to the flavour, aroma and texture and to the increase of the nutritional quality by thereby helping determine unique product characteristics. Thus, controlling the function of specific microorganisms or the succession of microorganisms that dominate the microflora is therefore advantageous, because it can increase product quality, functionality and value. Throughout the process of the discovery of microbiological diversity in various fermented food systems, the development of starter culture technology has gained more scientific attention, and it could be used for the control of the manufacturing operation, and management of product quality. In the frame of this review the presentation of the quality enhancement of most consumed fermented food products around the world is attempted and the new trends in production of fermented food products, such as bread is discussed. The review is focused in kefir grains application in bread production. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Food spoilage - interactions between food spoilage bacteria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gram, Lone; Flodgaard, Lars; Rasch, Maria

    2002-01-01

    Food spoilage is a complex process and excessive amounts of foods are lost due to microbial spoilage even with modem day preservation techniques. Despite the heterogeneity in raw materials and processing conditions, the microflora that develops during storage and in spoiling foods can be predicted...... based on knowledge of the origin of the food, the substrate base and a few central preservation parameters such as temperature, atmosphere, a(w) and pH. Based on such knowledge, more detailed sensory, chemical and microbiological analysis can be carried out on the individual products to determine...... the actual specific spoilage organism. Whilst the chemical and physical parameters are the main determining factors for selection of spoilage microorganisms, a level of refinement may be found in some products in which the interactive behavior of microorganisms may contribute to their growth and/or spoilage...

  15. FCJ-142 Spectacles and Tropes: Speculative Design and Contemporary Food Cultures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carl DiSalvo

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Speculative design is a particularly inventive mode of design that is concerned with developing imaginative futures or alternate presents. Often, the purpose of speculative design is to prompt reflection on contemporary conditions and express possible implications of current trends in science and technology. Like all design, speculative design reproduces as well as invents culture and there are limits to the work it does. In this essay, I trace the ways speculative design reproduces contemporary food cultures through two projects: Guide to Free Farming (2009 and Family Whiskey (2010. From these projects I draw out and discuss two strategies of speculative design: the use of spectacle and the use of tropes. I describe how these strategies work to attract us to images and objects, and I identify their limits in providing content, meaning, and significance. In concluding, I consider how speculative design might enable more substantive engagement with issues.

  16. Unraveling microbial biofilms of importance for food microbiology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winkelströter, Lizziane Kretli; Teixeira, Fernanda Barbosa dos Reis; Silva, Eliane Pereira; Alves, Virgínia Farias; De Martinis, Elaine Cristina Pereira

    2014-07-01

    The presence of biofilms is a relevant risk factors in the food industry due to the potential contamination of food products with pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms. The majority of bacteria are able to adhere and to form biofilms, where they can persist and survive for days to weeks or even longer, depending on the microorganism and the environmental conditions. The biological cycle of biofilms includes several developmental phases such as: initial attachment, maturation, maintenance, and dispersal. Bacteria in biofilms are generally well protected against environmental stress, consequently, extremely difficult to eradicate and detect in food industry. In the present manuscript, some techniques and compounds used to control and to prevent the biofilm formation are presented and discussed. Moreover, a number of novel techniques have been recently employed to detect and evaluate bacteria attached to surfaces, including real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), DNA microarray and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Better knowledge on the architecture, physiology and molecular signaling in biofilms can contribute for preventing and controlling food-related spoilage and pathogenic bacteria. The present study highlights basic and applied concepts important for understanding the role of biofilms in bacterial survival, persistence and dissemination in food processing environments.

  17. Diversity and Function of Microbial Community in Chinese Strong-Flavor Baijiu Ecosystem: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Zou

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Strong flavor baijiu (SFB, also called Luzhou-flavor liquor, is the most popular Chinese baijiu. It is manufactured via solid fermentation, with daqu as the starter. Microbial diversity of the SFB ecosystem and the synergistic effects of the enzymes and compounds produced by them are responsible for the special flavor and mouthfeel of SFB. The present review covers research studies focused on microbial community analysis of the SFB ecosystem, including the culturable microorganisms, their metabolic functions, microbial community diversity and their interactions. The review specifically emphasizes on the most recently conducted culture-independent analysis of SFB microbial community diversity. Furthermore, the possible application of systems biology approaches for elucidating the molecular mechanisms of SFB production were also reviewed and prospected.

  18. Microbial Detoxification of Deoxynivalenol (DON), Assessed via a Lemna minor L. Bioassay, through Biotransformation to 3-epi-DON and 3-epi-DOM-1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanhoutte, Ilse; De Mets, Laura; De Boevre, Marthe; Uka, Valdet; Di Mavungu, José Diana; De Saeger, Sarah; De Gelder, Leen; Audenaert, Kris

    2017-02-13

    Mycotoxins are toxic metabolites produced by fungi. To mitigate mycotoxins in food or feed, biotransformation is an emerging technology in which microorganisms degrade toxins into non-toxic metabolites. To monitor deoxynivalenol (DON) biotransformation, analytical tools such as ELISA and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) are typically used. However, these techniques do not give a decisive answer about the remaining toxicity of possible biotransformation products. Hence, a bioassay using Lemna minor L. was developed. A dose-response analysis revealed significant inhibition in the growth of L. minor exposed to DON concentrations of 0.25 mg/L and higher. Concentrations above 1 mg/L were lethal for the plant. This bioassay is far more sensitive than previously described systems. The bioassay was implemented to screen microbial enrichment cultures, originating from rumen fluid, soil, digestate and activated sludge, on their biotransformation and detoxification capability of DON. The enrichment cultures originating from soil and activated sludge were capable of detoxifying and degrading 5 and 50 mg/L DON. In addition, the metabolites 3-epi-DON and the epimer of de-epoxy-DON (3-epi-DOM-1) were found as biotransformation products of both consortia. Our work provides a new valuable tool to screen microbial cultures for their detoxification capacity.

  19. Microbial Detoxification of Deoxynivalenol (DON, Assessed via a Lemna minor L. Bioassay, through Biotransformation to 3-epi-DON and 3-epi-DOM-1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilse Vanhoutte

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Mycotoxins are toxic metabolites produced by fungi. To mitigate mycotoxins in food or feed, biotransformation is an emerging technology in which microorganisms degrade toxins into non-toxic metabolites. To monitor deoxynivalenol (DON biotransformation, analytical tools such as ELISA and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS are typically used. However, these techniques do not give a decisive answer about the remaining toxicity of possible biotransformation products. Hence, a bioassay using Lemna minor L. was developed. A dose–response analysis revealed significant inhibition in the growth of L. minor exposed to DON concentrations of 0.25 mg/L and higher. Concentrations above 1 mg/L were lethal for the plant. This bioassay is far more sensitive than previously described systems. The bioassay was implemented to screen microbial enrichment cultures, originating from rumen fluid, soil, digestate and activated sludge, on their biotransformation and detoxification capability of DON. The enrichment cultures originating from soil and activated sludge were capable of detoxifying and degrading 5 and 50 mg/L DON. In addition, the metabolites 3-epi-DON and the epimer of de-epoxy-DON (3-epi-DOM-1 were found as biotransformation products of both consortia. Our work provides a new valuable tool to screen microbial cultures for their detoxification capacity.

  20. Application of Sequence-based Methods in Human MicrobialEcology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weng, Li; Rubin, Edward M.; Bristow, James

    2005-08-29

    Ecologists studying microbial life in the environment have recognized the enormous complexity of microbial diversity for many years, and the development of a variety of culture-independent methods, many of them coupled with high-throughput DNA sequencing, has allowed this diversity to be explored in ever greater detail. Despite the widespread application of these new techniques to the characterization of uncultivated microbes and microbial communities in the environment, their application to human health and disease has lagged behind. Because DNA based-techniques for defining uncultured microbes allow not only cataloging of microbial diversity, but also insight into microbial functions, investigators are beginning to apply these tools to the microbial communities that abound on and within us, in what has aptly been called the second Human Genome Project. In this review we discuss the sequence-based methods for microbial analysis that are currently available and their application to identify novel human pathogens, improve diagnosis of known infectious diseases, and to advance understanding of our relationship with microbial communities that normally reside in and on the human body.

  1. Dietary customs and food availability shape the preferences for basic tastes: A cross-cultural study among Polish, Tsimane' and Hadza societies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sorokowska, Agnieszka; Pellegrino, Robert; Butovskaya, Marina; Marczak, Michalina; Niemczyk, Agnieszka; Huanca, Tomas; Sorokowski, Piotr

    2017-09-01

    Biological significance of food components suggests that preferences for basic tastes should be similar across cultures. On the other hand, cultural factors play an important role in diet and can consequently influence individual preference for food. To date, very few studies have compared basic tastes preferences among populations of very diverse environmental and cultural conditions, and research rather did not involve traditional populations for whom the biological significance of different food components might be the most pronounced. Hence, our study focused on basic taste preferences in three populations, covering a broad difference in diet due to environmental and cultural conditions, market availability, dietary habits and food acquirement: 1) a modern society (Poles, n = 200), 2) forager-horticulturalists from Amazon/Bolivia (Tsimane', n = 138), and 3) hunter-gatherers from Tanzania (Hadza, n = 85). The preferences for basic tastes were measured with sprays containing supra-threshold levels of sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami taste solutions. We observed several interesting differences between participating societies. We found that Tsimane' and Polish participants liked the sweet taste more than other tastes, while Hadza participants liked salty and sour tastes more than the remaining tastes. Further, Polish people found bitter taste particularly aversive, which was not observed in the traditional societies. Interestingly, no cross-cultural differences were observed for relative liking of umami taste - it was rated closely to neutral by members of all participating societies. Additionally, Hadza showed a pattern to like basic tastes that are more common to their current diet than societies with access to different food sources. These findings demonstrate the impact of diet and market availability on preference for basic tastes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Microbial Succession and Flavor Production in the Fermented Dairy Beverage Kefir.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, Aaron M; Crispie, Fiona; Kilcawley, Kieran; O'Sullivan, Orla; O'Sullivan, Maurice G; Claesson, Marcus J; Cotter, Paul D

    2016-01-01

    Kefir is a putatively health-promoting dairy beverage that is produced when a kefir grain, consisting of a consortium of microorganisms, is added to milk to initiate a natural fermentation. Here, a detailed analysis was carried out to determine how the microbial population, gene content, and flavor of three kefirs from distinct geographic locations change over the course of 24-h fermentations. Metagenomic sequencing revealed that Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens was the dominant bacterial species in kefir during early stages of fermentations but that Leuconostoc mesenteroides became more prevalent in later stages. This pattern is consistent with an observation that genes involved in aromatic amino acid biosynthesis were absent from L. kefiranofaciens but were present in L. mesenteroides . Additionally, these shifts in the microbial community structure, and associated pathways, corresponded to changes in the levels of volatile compounds. Specifically, Acetobacter spp. correlated with acetic acid; Lactobacillus spp. correlated with carboxylic acids, esters and ketones; Leuconostoc spp. correlated with acetic acid and 2,3-butanedione; and Saccharomyces spp. correlated with esters. The correlation data suggest a causal relationship between microbial taxa and flavor that is supported by observations that addition of L. kefiranofaciens NCFB 2797 increased the levels of esters and ketones whereas addition of L. mesenteroides 213M0 increased the levels of acetic acid and 2,3-butanedione. Finally, we detected genes associated with probiotic functionalities in the kefir microbiome. Our results illustrate the dynamic nature of kefir fermentations and microbial succession patterns therein and can be applied to optimize the fermentation processes, flavors, and health-related attributes of this and other fermented foods. IMPORTANCE Traditional fermented foods represent relatively low-complexity microbial environments that can be used as model microbial communities to understand

  3. Microbial reprogramming inhibits Western diet-associated obesity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Theofilos Poutahidis

    Full Text Available A recent epidemiological study showed that eating 'fast food' items such as potato chips increased likelihood of obesity, whereas eating yogurt prevented age-associated weight gain in humans. It was demonstrated previously in animal models of obesity that the immune system plays a critical role in this process. Here we examined human subjects and mouse models consuming Westernized 'fast food' diet, and found CD4(+ T helper (Th17-biased immunity and changes in microbial communities and abdominal fat with obesity after eating the Western chow. In striking contrast, eating probiotic yogurt together with Western chow inhibited age-associated weight gain. We went on to test whether a bacteria found in yogurt may serve to lessen fat pathology by using purified Lactobacillus reuteri ATCC 6475 in drinking water. Surprisingly, we discovered that oral L. reuteri therapy alone was sufficient to change the pro-inflammatory immune cell profile and prevent abdominal fat pathology and age-associated weight gain in mice regardless of their baseline diet. These beneficial microbe effects were transferable into naïve recipient animals by purified CD4(+ T cells alone. Specifically, bacterial effects depended upon active immune tolerance by induction of Foxp3(+ regulatory T cells (Treg and interleukin (Il-10, without significantly changing the gut microbial ecology or reducing ad libitum caloric intake. Our finding that microbial targeting restored CD4(+ T cell balance and yielded significantly leaner animals regardless of their dietary 'fast food' indiscretions suggests population-based approaches for weight management and enhancing public health in industrialized societies.

  4. Role of commercial starter cultures on microbiological, physicochemical characteristics, volatile compounds and sensory properties of dry-cured foal sausage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rubén Domínguez

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To assess the effect of three commercial starter cultures on microbial counts, physicochemical changes, volatile profile and sensory characteristics of dry-cured foal sausage. Methods: Microbial counts (lactic acid bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, total viable counts and yeast, proximate parameters (moisture, fat and protein, colour analysis, texture analysis (texture profile analysis test, volatile compounds (solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometer technique and sensory analysis were evaluated in the drycured foal sausages using the standard food analysis techniques. Results: The results revealed that the use of starter cultures increased the number of lactic acid bacteria and total viable counts, while completely reduced Enterobacteriaceae count. Started sausages presented the lowest value of pH, while CX and FL batches had the highest protein amount. In contrast, the use of starter cultures did not affect the other physicochemical parameters. According to volatile profile, there were no differences between batches in total volatile compounds, however, control batch presented the highest amount of aldehydes, derived from lipid oxidation. The sensory analysis showed low differences. Control batch presented higher flavour intensity and lower acid taste score and black pepper odour than inoculated batches. Conclusions: As a general conclusion, the use of starter cultures contributed to improve the hygienic quality with low impact in physicochemical and sensory properties.

  5. Design of a microbial fuel cell and its transition to microbial electrolytic cell for hydrogen production by electrohydrogenesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Pratima; Parkhey, Piyush; Joshi, Komal; Mahilkar, Anjali

    2013-10-01

    Anaerobic bacteria were isolated from industrial wastewater and soil samples and tested for exoelectrogenic activity by current production in double chambered microbial fuel cell (MFC), which was further transitioned into a single chambered microbial electrolytic cell to test hydrogen production by electrohydrogenesis. Of all the cultures, the isolate from industrial water sample showed the maximum values for current = 0.161 mA, current density = 108.57 mA/m2 and power density = 48.85 mW/m2 with graphite electrode. Maximum voltage across the cell, however, was reported by the isolate from sewage water sample (506 mv) with copper as electrode. Tap water with KMnO4 was the best cathodic electrolyte as the highest values for all the measured MFC parameters were reported with it. Once the exoelectrogenic activity of the isolates was confirmed by current production, these were tested for hydrogen production in a single chambered microbial electrolytic cell (MEC) modified from the MFC. Hydrogen production was reported positive from co-culture of isolates of both the water samples and co-culture of one soil and one water sample. The maximum rate and yield of hydrogen production was 0.18 m3H2/m3/d and 3.2 mol H2/mol glucose respectively with total hydrogen production of 42.4 mL and energy recovery of 57.4%. Cumulative hydrogen production for a five day cycle of MEC operation was 0.16 m3H2/m3/d.

  6. Microbial dynamics during industrial rearing, processing, and storage of the tropical house cricket (Gryllodes sigillatus) for human consumption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vandeweyer, Dries; Wynants, Enya; Crauwels, Sam; Verreth, Christel; Viaene, Nikolaas; Claes, Johan; Lievens, Bart; Van Campenhout, Leen

    2018-04-06

    In this study, the microbiota during industrial rearing, processing, and storage of the edible tropical house cricket, Gryllodes sigillatus , was investigated. To this end, samples were analyzed of the cricket feed, before feeding as well as taken from the cages, and the crickets during rearing, after harvest, and after processing into frozen, oven-dried, and smoked and subsequently oven-dried end products. Although the feed contained lower microbial numbers than the crickets, both were dominated by the same species-level operational taxonomic units as determined by Illumina Miseq sequencing. They corresponded, among others, to members of Porphyromonadaceae, Fusobacterium , Parabacteroides and Erwinia The harvested crickets contained high microbial numbers, but none of the investigated food pathogens Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes , Bacillus cereus , and coagulase-positive staphylococci. However, some possible mycotoxin-producing fungi were isolated from the crickets. A post-harvest heat treatment, shortly boiling the crickets, reduced microbial numbers, but an endospore load of 2.4 log cfu/g remained. After processing, an increase in microbial counts was observed for dried and smoked plus dried crickets. Additionally, in the smoked plus dried crickets, a high abundance of a Bacillus sp. was observed. Considering the possible occurrence of food-pathogenic species from this genus, it is advised to apply a heat treatment which is sufficient to eliminate spores. Nevertheless, the microbial numbers remained constant over a six-month storage period, frozen (frozen end product) or at ambient temperature (oven-dried and smoked plus dried end products). Importance. The need for sustainable protein sources has led to the emergence of a new food sector, producing and processing edible insects into foods. However, insight into the microbial quality of this new food and into the microbial dynamics during rearing, processing and storage of edible insects is still

  7. Global Microbial Identifier

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wielinga, Peter; Hendriksen, Rene S.; Aarestrup, Frank Møller

    2017-01-01

    ) will likely also enable a much better understanding of the pathogenesis of the infection and the molecular basis of the host response to infection. But the full potential of these advances will only transpire if the data in this area become transferable and thereby comparable, preferably in open-source...... of microorganisms, for the identification of relevant genes and for the comparison of genomes to detect outbreaks and emerging pathogens. To harness the full potential of WGS, a shared global database of genomes linked to relevant metadata and the necessary software tools needs to be generated, hence the global...... microbial identifier (GMI) initiative. This tool will ideally be used in amongst others in the diagnosis of infectious diseases in humans and animals, in the identification of microorganisms in food and environment, and to track and trace microbial agents in all arenas globally. This will require...

  8. Dynamic assessment of microbial ecology (DAME): A shiny app for analysis and visualization of microbial sequencing data

    Science.gov (United States)

    A new renaissance in knowledge about the role of commensal microbiota in health and disease is well underway facilitated by culture-independent sequencing technologies; however, microbial sequencing data poses new challenges (e.g., taxonomic hierarchy, overdispersion) not generally seen in more trad...

  9. Assessment of Microbial Quality of Semi Dry and Cream Pastries from Confectionaries of Arak Province, Iran

    OpenAIRE

    Ali Jamshidi; Marayam Mirlohi; Samira Shokri

    2017-01-01

    Background: Confectionary products especially eclairs are a major part of food manufacturing in Iran. Considering high consumption levels and also the possibility of microbial contamination in this section of food products, the present study aimed to determine the degree of microbial contamination of eclairs supplied to Arak province confectionaries and the association between contamination level and adherence to hygiene principles at production sites. Methods: Sampling was undertaken from...

  10. Microbial Hazards of Street-Vended Grilled Chicken Intestine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ma. Patricia Azanza

    1998-12-01

    Full Text Available Microbial hazards associated with street-vended grilled chicken intestine (isaw were studied. Grilling of isaw effected ≥89.00% decrease in the total microbial load of the sample. Cooked isaw contained about 105-106 cfu/g aerobic plate counts and 103-104 MPN/g coliform counts. Salmonella per 25 g sample was isolated from cooked isaw samples. Grilling eliminated Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes cells initially present in pre-cooked samples. Different sauces of isaw showed increasing numbers of total aerobic microorganisms and coliform during vending operations. The total plate counts and coliform counts of the sour sauce, which ranged from 103-105 cfu/g and 101 MPN/g, respectively, were observed to be lower than those found in the sweet sauce. Sources of microbial contaminants of grilled chicken isaw included the natural flora of the raw materials, contaminations from food-contact surfaces, bamboo skewers, and the hands of the food handlers. Among the critical control points identified in the street-vending operation of chicken isaw were the control of time and temperature during cooking and hold-on periods during vending operations.

  11. Food package irradiator-a landmark of operational safety and food irradiation research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jain, M.P.; Sanyal, Bhaskar; Ghosh, Sunil K.

    2017-01-01

    Food irradiation in India has been undertaken for preservation of food for safe consumption, security of food for round the year and export of the food commodities to earn foreign exchange. Therefore, an irradiation plant known as Food Package Irradiator (FPI) was set-up in the year 1967 in BARC. This plant utilizes gamma radiation from "6"0Co source that has a maximum allowable activity of 100 kCi. It is a multipurpose facility where a wide range of products like onion for sprout inhibition to spices for microbial decontamination can be carried out. In short, the design of irradiator has been considered based on obtaining variable throughputs and variable dose rates

  12. Synthetic Microbial Ecology: Engineering Habitats for Modular Consortia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ben Said, Sami; Or, Dani

    2017-01-01

    The metabolic diversity present in microbial communities enables cooperation toward accomplishing more complex tasks than possible by a single organism. Members of a consortium communicate by exchanging metabolites or signals that allow them to coordinate their activity through division of labor. In contrast with monocultures, evidence suggests that microbial consortia self-organize to form spatial patterns, such as observed in biofilms or in soil aggregates, that enable them to respond to gradient, to improve resource interception and to exchange metabolites more effectively. Current biotechnological applications of microorganisms remain rudimentary, often relying on genetically engineered monocultures (e.g., pharmaceuticals) or mixed-cultures of partially known composition (e.g., wastewater treatment), yet the vast potential of "microbial ecological power" observed in most natural environments, remains largely underused. In line with the Unified Microbiome Initiative (UMI) which aims to "discover and advance tools to understand and harness the capabilities of Earth's microbial ecosystems," we propose in this concept paper to capitalize on ecological insights into the spatial and modular design of interlinked microbial consortia that would overcome limitations of natural systems and attempt to optimize the functionality of the members and the performance of the engineered consortium. The topology of the spatial connections linking the various members and the regulated fluxes of media between those modules, while representing a major engineering challenge, would allow the microbial species to interact. The modularity of such spatially linked microbial consortia (SLMC) could facilitate the design of scalable bioprocesses that can be incorporated as parts of a larger biochemical network. By reducing the need for a compatible growth environment for all species simultaneously, SLMC will dramatically expand the range of possible combinations of microorganisms and their

  13. Basics of radiation microbiology for food protection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wills, P.A.

    1985-01-01

    The microbiological basics of food poisoning, food spoilage, and ionizing energy treatments are presented. Factors influencing the microbial resistance of ionizing radiation, including the use of physical agents for combination treatments, are briefly reviewed, and parameters involved in dose selection are considered

  14. IRANIAN AND TURKISH FOOD CULTURES: A COMPARISON THROUGH THE QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHOD IN TERMS OF PREPARATION, DISTRIBUTION AND CONSUMPTION

    OpenAIRE

    Avcıoğlu, Gamze Gizem; Avcıoğlu, Gürcan Şevket

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to make a comparative sociological analysis of Iranian and Turkish food cultures in terms of food preparation, distribution and consumption. Moreover, contribution is intended to be made to the field of applied food sociology. The research design carries features of a qualitative research. Of the qualitative research techniques, observation and interview form were used in the study. Research findings were obtained through observations made in Tehran, the capital c...

  15. EXTRACTION OF ASTAXANTHIN ESTERS FROM SHRIMP WASTE BY CHEMICAL AND MICROBIAL METHODS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Khanafari, A. Saberi, M. Azar, Gh. Vosooghi, Sh. Jamili, B. Sabbaghzadeh

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available The carotenoid pigments specifically astaxanthin has many significant applications in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. The goal of this research was the extraction of Astaxanthin from a certain Persian Gulf shrimp species waste (Penaeus semisulcatus, purification and identification of the pigment by chemical and microbial methods. Microbial fermentation was obtained by inoculation of two Lactobacillus species Lb. plantarum and Lb. acidophilus in the medium culture containing shrimp waste powder by the intervention of lactose sugar, yeast extract, the composition of Both and the coolage (-20oC. The carotenoids were extracted by an organic solvent system. After purification of astaxanthin with the thin layer chromatography method by spectrophotometer, NMR and IR analysis the presence of astaxanthin esters was recognized in this specific species of Persian Gulf shrimp. Results obtained from this study showed that the coolage at –20 oC not only does not have an amplifying effect on the production of astaxanthin but also slightly reduces this effect. Also the effect of intervention of lactose sugar showed more effectiveness in producing astaxanthin than yeast extract or more than with the presence of both. The results also indicated that there is not much difference in the ability of producing the pigment by comparing both Lb. plantarum and Lb. acidophillus. Also results showed the microbial method of extraction of astaxanthin is more effective than chemical method. The pigment extracted from certain amount of shrimp powder, 23.128 mg/g, was calculated.

  16. Microbial Life of North Pacific Oceanic Crust

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schumann, G.; Koos, R.; Manz, W.; Reitner, J.

    2003-12-01

    Information on the microbiology of the deep subsurface is necessary in order to understand the factors controlling the rate and extent of the microbially catalyzed reactions that influence the geophysical properties of these environments. Drilling into 45-Ma oceanic basaltic crust in a deepwater environment during ODP Leg 200 provided a promising opportunity to explore the abundance, diversity and activity of micro-organisms. The combined use of culture-independent molecular phylogenetic analyses and enrichment culture techniques is an advantageous approach in investigating subsurface microbial ecosystems. Enrichment culture methods allow the evaluation of potential activities and functions. Microbiological investigations revealed few aerobic cultivable, in part hitherto unknown, micro-organisms in deep submarine sediments and basaltic lava flows. 16S rDNA sequencing of isolates from sediment revealed the next relatives to be members of the genera Halomonas, Pseudomonas, and Lactobacillus. Within the Pseudomonadaceae the closest relative is Acinetobacter sp., which was isolated from a deep subsurface environment. The next phylogenetical relatives within the Halomonadaceae are bacteria typically isolated from Soda lakes, which are considered as model of early life conditions. Interestingly, not only sediment bacteria could be obtained in pure culture. Aerobic strains could also be successfully isolated from the massive tholeiitic basalt layer at a depth of 76.16 mbsf (46 m below the sediment/basement contact). These particular isolates are gram-positive with low G+C content of DNA, phylogenetically affiliated to the phylum Firmicutes. The closest neighbors are e.g. a marine Bacillus isolated from the Gulf of Mexico and a low G+C gram-positive bacterium, which belongs to the microbial flora in the deepest sea mud of the Mariana Trench, isolated from a depth of 10,897 m. Based on the similarity values, the isolates represent hitherto undescribed species of the deep

  17. Food Pedagogy, Food Symposium - What is food about? A new approach for promoting changes in food related behaviour

    OpenAIRE

    Thuv, Sølvi

    2009-01-01

    PURPOSE Guidelines suggest food related competency as a measure to develop better and more sustainable eating habits. Norwegian schools have got a new subject, Food and Health. Our purpose is to exemplify coherence in our teaching program and introduce the concept of Food Pedagogy. METHODS Literature research was used to discuss concepts of nutrition, food and "food culture". We arranged a pilot study and wrote a final teaching program for study Food and Health (60ECTS). We are work...

  18. Fitting a distribution to microbial counts: Making sense of zeroes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ribeiro Duarte, Ana Sofia; Stockmarr, Anders; Nauta, Maarten

    2015-01-01

    The accurate estimation of true prevalence and concentration of microorganisms in foods is an important element of quantitative microbiological risk assessment (QMRA). This estimation is often based on microbial detection and enumeration data. Among such data are artificial zero counts, that orig......The accurate estimation of true prevalence and concentration of microorganisms in foods is an important element of quantitative microbiological risk assessment (QMRA). This estimation is often based on microbial detection and enumeration data. Among such data are artificial zero counts......, that originated by chance from contaminated food products. When these products are not differentiated from uncontaminated products that originate true zero counts, the estimates of true prevalence and concentration may be inaccurate. This inaccuracy is especially relevant in situations where highly pathogenic...... bacteria are involved and where growth can occur along the food pathway. Our aim was to develop a method that provides accurate estimates of concentration parameters and differentiates between artificial and true zeroes, thus also accurately estimating true prevalence. We first show the disadvantages...

  19. Diversification in indigenous and ethnic food culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wahlqvist, Mark L

    2005-01-01

    A diversified food supply is contingent on underlying biodiversity in the locality where one lives or at a distance from it, if trade routes are established. Indigenous people generally settled at the water's edge so that aquatic foods made up part of their diversified diet, with the rest of the diversity dependent on how much they hunted and gathered, on herded animals, engagement in subsistence agriculture, the ability to process and preserve food and/or food commodities traded. The rapid urbanization of much of the world's population distances people from the origin of their food, the understanding of the required commodities in the human diet (e.g., aquatic food, plant foods, lean animal foods, what animals are fed, basics of freshness). At the same time, adequacy of food intake may be more reliably achieved when the food supply can continue irrespective of season, climate or distant conflict. Urban gardens partly rectify this discord between urbanization and a genuinely varied diet, replaced by purported variety where the same basic commodity is presented in many different forms (e.g., wheat grains such as bread, breakfast cereal of various kinds, pasta and baked goods). However, diversified processing may 'dilute out' health adverse techniques. The health benefits of a diversified diet relate in part to the environmental integrity, which the required biodiversity provides, in part to minimizing adverse factors, which may exceed acceptable thresholds in a narrow diet, and to the need for the wide spectrum of food components, macronutrients, micronutrients and phytochemicals, which Homo sapiens' physiology requires. Whilst most food diversity is attributable to plant sources, animal sources often provide significant nutritional security (e.g., fish and eggs for vitamin D, fish for n-3 fatty acids, lean meat for iron and zinc and in readily assimilable forms). Food diversity assumes greater importance with aging populations as their physical activity usually (if

  20. Attributing illness to food

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Batz, M. B.; Doyle, M. P.; Morris, J. G.

    2005-01-01

    source responsible for illness. A wide variety of food attribution approaches and data are used around the world including the analysis of outbreak data, case-control studies, microbial subtyping and source tracking methods, and expert judgment, among others. The Food Safety Research Consortium sponsored......Identification and prioritization of effective food safety interventions require an understanding of the relationship between food and pathogen from farm to consumption. Critical to this cause is food attribution, the capacity to attribute cases of foodborne disease to the food vehicle or other...... the Food Attribution Data Workshop in October 2003 to discuss the virtues and limitations of these approaches and to identify future options for collecting food attribution data in the United States. We summarize workshop discussions and identify challenges that affect progress in this critical component...