فهرست مطالب masoud sami

Escherichia coli O157: H7 is one of the most important causes of hemorrhagic colitis, and hemolytic uremic syndrome. The present study aimed to isolate E. coli O157: H7 from foods and patients with hemorrhagic colitis, and identify Shiga toxin genes, phylogenetic comparison, and antibiotic resistance of the isolates.

In total 400 samples, including patients stool and food were taken in Isfahan-Iran province. Pheno- typic tests and PCR were performed to identify Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. The isolated strains were compared phyloge- netically by PFGE. Agar disk diffusion was performed to identify the antibiotic resistance of the isolates.

Totally, 5 isolates of fecal samples were E. coli O157, but only 2 isolates carried H7 gene. Also, 9 isolates of E. coli O157 were isolated from food samples that 3 isolates were E. coli O157: H7. The isolates carried stx1, stx2, hlyA and eaeA genes. Also, E. coli non-O157: H7 identified from samples that contained stx1, stx2, hlyA genes. The highest susceptibility to imipenem and the highest resistance to ampicillin and ciprofloxacin were observed. There was a similarity of 100% between the E. coli O157: H7 strains isolated from patients and raw milk and minced beef samples.

Serotypes other than the O157 of E. coli are more prevalent in patients and food. The E. coli O157: H7 isolates from patients had 100% genetic similarity with minced meat and cow milk isolates, which indicates cattle are the most im- portant reservoir of this bacterium in Iran.

Following the increasing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics and increasing public awareness of the relationship between food and human health, several studies have been conducted to find potential antimicrobial agents. D-limonene (L) is a liquid and a colorless bioactive compound of the terpene family that has high antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. Due to its low solubility, high volatility, and sensitivity to light, its applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries are limited. In this study, L was incorporated in β-cyclodextrin nanosponges (CD-NS) to overcome these limitations. For the preparation of  L-NS, different molar ratios of β-CD and Diphenyl carbonate (DPC) as cross-linker (1:4, 1:6, and 1:8 of CD: DPC) and different ratios (w/w) of L: NS (1:2, 1:4, and 1:6) were prepared. The results showed the solubility of L increased after encapsulation in the nanosponges. Encapsulated L showed higher antibacterial activity compared to free L and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration of  L  decreased 324 and 648 times after encapsulation. Our results propose that CD-NS is a suitable carrier for hydrophobic and sensitive compounds and L-NS can be used as a potential preservative with enhanced antibacterial activity in food applications. It is important to note that the results of this study were obtained in vitro and further studies related to their toxicity (in vivo) are needed for confirmation of their application in the era of nutrition and genomics.

The intake of heavy metals from food in high doses will have adverse effects on human health. In Iran, traditional foods constitute a major portion of peoples’ daily diet. Hence, the present study has attempted to evaluate the levels of heavy metals and their carcinogenicity and non-carcinogenicity in traditional foods served in the restaurants of Isfahan, Iran. In this cross-sectional study, 20 different types of food were selected from 19 restaurants. Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used to measure the levels of heavy metals such as chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), and iron (Fe) in the prepared samples. Moreover, the risk non-carcinogenicity of heavy metals in traditional foods was determined for children and adults by applying the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) method. Among the heavy metals studied, only Ni and Cu had lower levels than permissible limits. Also, the Pb levels in the examined foods range from 0.05 to 0.79 m m-1; which are higher than the safe limits proposed by FAO/WHO. On the other hand, the mean concentration of Fe was higher than the maximum permissible limit (48 m m-1) in 4 food samples only. The target hazard quotient (THQ) values range from 0.005–53.65 and 0.01–156.50, for adults and children, respectively.  Hence THQ for adults and children was found to be above 1 in 64% and 75% of food samples, respectively. This study recommends that food consumers in Iran should be careful about the overconsumption of traditional foods.

High consumption of fatty acids is known as a dietary risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. The aim of study was to survey of fatty acid profiles in the traditional/fast foods commonly consumed in Iran.

Gas chromatography was used in the present study to determine the composition of fatty acids in 40 most popular traditional/fast foods consumed in Isfahan, Iran. The food samples were collected from 19 restaurants.

In all the tested samples, palmitic acid was at the highest level of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) (P < 0.05). Although in both groups of foods, the levels of trans fatty acids (TFAs) were above 2% in 30% of examined foods, the higher amounts of TFAs were found in traditional foods (P < 0.05). The results show that traditional foods contain higher levels of SFAs and TFAs than fast foods.

The alarming findings of the present study should compel the relevant authorities in Iran to adopt and implement appropriate policies that systematically and continually control the types of food prepared and served in restaurants in order to minimize the intake of SFAs and TFAs.

Clostridioides difficile is an agent responsible for severe infection with a high mortality rate in healthcare facilities (CDI). With the discovery of C. difficile in the community, it was assumed that this bacterium might be transmitted to humans through non-hospital sources. Evidence Acquisition: This study examined different aspects of the epidemiology of C. difficile in Asian countries with a review of the literature using search engines such as Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed.

Based on the literature pertaining to Asia, the highest rate of C. difficile is found in samples collected from farm animals, red meat, and meat-based products. Two ribotypes 027 and 078, as hypervirulent factors, were found in different non-hospital sources. Resistance to the most frequently used antibiotics in a healthcare setting was observed in C. difficile.

Due to the heterogeneity of the examination of C. difficile, understanding the actual condition of C. difficile is difficult. However, the presence of two hypervirulent ribotypes of C. difficile in non-hospital sources is alarming. It seems that it is necessary to perform further studies on C. difficile in non-hospital sources. Defining a focal point for such research could be helpful to explore the situation of C. difficile in clinical settings and communities of Asian countries.

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) causes bloody and non-bloody diarrhea, intestinal infection and extraintestinal complications in humans. This study aimed to isolate and evaluate the prevalence of E. coli O157: H7 and other Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) and identify the virulence genes (stx1, stx2, hly and eaeA) from patients with diarrhea. Also, the antibiotic resistance profile of the isolated strains was evaluated.

A total of 100 stool samples were collected from patients with acute diarrhea referring to the hospital and clinics in Isfahan County, Iran. Phenotypic tests and PCR assay were used for detection of E. coli O157: H7 and other Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. The presence of virulence genes (stx1, stx2, hly and eaeA) were identified by PCR. The antibiotic resistance profile of the isolates was determined using the agar disk diffusion method. The results were analyzed descriptively by Sigma stat version 4 software.

Seventy - eight out of 100 samples (78%) were contaminated with E. coli. E. coli O157 was isolated from five samples (6.4%), of which only two strains (2.56%) were identified as E. coli O157: H7. According to the results, out of two E. coli O157: H7 isolates, one (50%) isolate contained eaeA and two isolates (100%) contained Stx1, Stx2, hlyA genes. Out of three (3.84%) E. coli O157: HN, one of the isolate (33.3%) contained stx1 and, two isolates (66.7%) were positive for hlyA genes. Also, the results revealed that six strains (7.69%) were non-O157: H7 STEC, of which two isolates (33.3%) contained stx1 and four isolates (66.7%) were positive for stx2 and hlyA genes. The results of antibiogram tests revealed that all of the STEC isolates (100%) were sensitive to imipenem followed by kanamycin, gentamicin and nitrofurantoin (91%). High resistance (54.5%) to ampicillin and ciprofloxacin was observed among the STEC isolates.

The results of the current study showed that although the prevalence of E. coli O157: H7 was low among patients with diarrhea, the other STEC strains with relative resistance to antibiotics are more prevalent.

This study aimed to compare the antimicrobial and antioxidant effects of sesame oils produced by traditional (Ardeh method), industrial, and cold press methods.

30 samples of sesame oil (12, 12, and 6 samples by traditional, cold press, industrial methods, respectively) were collected from Isfahan, and Ardakan cities in Iran. The antimicrobial effect of the samples was measured by agar diffusion method, and then by minimum inhibitory concentration. Antioxidant capacity of oils was measured using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) method. Moreover, data analysis was performed using ANOVA, one-sample t, Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney tests.

Zone of inhibition was caused by 100% of the samples, and the highest antimicrobial effect was observed in the traditional method on Bacillus cereus. The zone of inhibition of all samples showed statistically significant difference compared with positive control (kanamycin antibiotic) (P < 0.050). The results of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus showed that the MIC level against Bacillus cereus was 500 μl/ml in cold press and traditional sesame oil, and more than 500 μl/ml in industrial sesame oil. The lowest MIC was obtained from the cold press sesame oil in 125 μl/ml on Escherichia coli. Antioxidant capacity was observed in all oil samples. However, three of the oil production methods did not show a significant difference.

All sesame oil samples with different production methods have antimicrobial effect on important microorganisms in food hygiene, and have antioxidant effects as well.

Nowadays, one of the causes of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is the overconsumption of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) in Iranian diet. Thus, dietary recommendations focus on the reduction of the rate of fat in food. This study is conducted aiming to measure the levels of SFAs in traditional foods produced and distributed in Isfahan, Iran.

In this cross-sectional study, a total of 40 samples of 20 traditional food types were purchased from 19 restaurants in Isfahan. The SFA content was measured by the gas chromatography (GC) technic. A comparison on the SFA content of the food samples was performed by the independent t-test in different samples in SPSS software. A P-valuse of less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

The total average of the SFAs was 43.3% in total fat. The highest amount of SFAs were found in Gheimeh and Ghormehsabzi stews (72.26%) and the lowest amount was found in barley soup (27%). About 45% of the samples had 30-50% of SFAs. Palmitic and stearic acids were found in all samples. Palmitic acid accounted for the highest rate of total SFAs (23.1%).

High levels of palmitic acid in Iranian traditional foods can have a detrimental effect on consumers’ health. Therefore, it is recommended to educate the personnel of restaurants about the role of fat on prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). In addition, it is suggested to perform the continuous supervision of restaurants through hygiene inspectors to provide healthy food.

The growing number of food borne diseases lead to needing for implication of “Food Safety Management System” to supply the safe and qualified foods. To achieve “Food Safety Management System”, “Iran Food and Drug Organization” in Ministry of Health follows the implementation of “Pre-Requisite Programs” through checklist. The trust and loyalty of food consumers can be earned by providing high-quality food. Governmental evaluations of “Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point” principles should be undertaken as part of national strategies and health policy to prevent and control food borne diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to fulfill the checklist of Pre Requisite Programs by the food technical assistants of food processing plant as well as the food inspectors of vice chancellery of food and drug to evaluate the condition of food safety management systems. “Pre-Requisite Programs” checklist is included “Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point”, “Good Manufacturing Practices”, “Good Hygiene Practices” and “Good Laboratory Practices”. “Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point” is one of the main principles to achieve the criteria of “Pre-Requisite Programs”. “Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point” emphasizes on preventive tools by identification of critical control point to access the safe food. Attention to critical control points such as cold chain, equipment, processing and cleaning is important in producing safe dairy products. Food technical assistants working in food processing plants as representative of Ministry of Health have important roles to implement “Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point”. Milk and dairy products as perishable foods are one of the most important food sources involved in the outbreaks of food borne diseases. Hence, proper management is necessary to ensure the safety, quality and nutritional values of dairy products. Failing to follow the principles of “Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point” during production can lead to contamination by microorganisms and may result in food borne diseases. The knowledge and information of food technical assistants are important to implement “Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point” in dairy and beverage processing plants. Attitude is a measure of the extent to which an individual is satisfied or dissatisfied with a particular practices. Adequate practices and experiences of food technical assistants play a major role in the prevention of food borne diseases. Knowledge is an important tool to increase the food safety levels and to overcome on the unexpected problems in production line. Provided with food safety knowledge, food technical assistants should alter their attitudes and improve their practices toward food safety issues. For this purpose, the influence of education evaluated on the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices to “Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point” of food technical assistants working in dairy and beverage processing plant located in Isfahan.

This project was an interventional study with participation of all food technical assistants (56 personnel) working in dairy and beverage processing plants located in Isfahan through census method. The processing plants were classified with grades of A, B, C and D based on the scores in “Pre-Requisite Programs” checklist with the range of 180-200, 160-179, 140-159 and less than 140, respectively. The self-administered questionnaire used in this study was based on the definitions of “Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point” principles in “Pre-Requisite Programs” checklist. The eleven principles of “Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point” are “assemble the “Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point” team”, “describe the product”, “identify the intended use and consumers”, “construct flow diagram to describe the process”, “on-site confirmation of flow diagram”, “conduct a hazard analysis”, “determine critical control points”, “establish critical limits for each critical control points”, “establish a monitoring system for each critical control points”, “establish corrective actions”, “establish verification procedures “and “establish documentation and record-keeping”. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were evaluated by professors of School of Nutrition and Food Science as well as food supervisors of Food and Drug Administration of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. The beginning part of the questionnaire focused on the respondents’ demographic information such as sex, age, educational background, health status, and job satisfaction level. The knowledge section was to evaluate the knowledge of food technical assistants through 12 multiple-choice questions. A score of “1” was given to each correct answer, and the incorrect answers did not receive any point. The next part of the questionnaire was designed to assess the food technical assistants’ attitudes toward “Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point” concepts and included 11 questions. The level of agreement of food technical assistants was defined using 5 rating scales of “strongly agree”, “agree”, “no idea”, “disagree” and “strongly disagree”. A score of “1” was assigned to positive attitudes, and no score was given to negative attitudes or “No idea” responses. The final part of the questionnaire evaluated the practices of food technical assistants about implementation of “Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point” principles by using 11 questions. The answers categorized within 5 responses including “always”, “often”, “sometimes”, “seldom” and “never”. The scores assigned to respondents were based on a total of 100. Scores in the ranges of 0-33, 33-66 and 66-100 specified food technical assistants with “poor”, “moderate” and “food” food safety practices, respectively. In the primary stage, respondents were asked to complete the questionnaire. Afterwards, every respondents received an education about the principles of “Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point” and delivered a pamphlet through an email. For evaluation of influence of education, it was used the same questionnaire to complete by food technical assistants within two months. Descriptive statistics obtained from 56 questionnaires were calculated using SPSS with version 22. The obtained results were reported as Mean ± Standard deviation and percentage. The performed tests were in the form of independent t-test (comparing the knowledge, attitudes and practices scores between sexes), spearmanchr('39')s correlation coefficient (relationship between knowledge, attitudes and practices scores and age,  “Pre-Requisite Programs” checklist scores, education and job satisfaction levels), variance analysis (relationship between knowledge, attitudes and practices scores and health status), and Pearson correlation coefficient (relationship between three knowledge, attitudes and practices scores). P value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

The majority of the participants in this study were females and in the age range of 31-40 years old. Before education, the average scores for knowledge, attitudes and practices were 72.9 ± 16.6, 68.23 ± 11.6 and 79.65 ± 14, respectively. The scores increased to 81.16 ± 15.1, 76.33 ± 10.5 and 87.02 ± 12.2 after education. Significant difference was observed in the scores of the knowledge, attitudes and practices after educational intervention (p <0.05). There were significant correlations between knowledge, attitudes and practices scores and age (knowledge: r ₌ 0.182, P ₌ 0.06; attitude:  r ₌ 0.256, P ₌ 0.014; practice: r ₌ 0.225, P ₌ 0.029) and knowledge, attitudes and practices scores and job satisfaction level (knowledge: r ₌ 0.272, P ₌ 0. 01; attitude: r ₌ 0. 229, P ₌ 0.025; practice: r ₌ 0.277, P ₌ 0.009). There was no significant correlation between educational background and knowledge, attitudes and practices scores. Furthermore, no significant correlation was found in terms of gender. There were significant correlations between food safety knowledge and practices of food technical assistants and the Pre-Requisite Programs scores of food technical assistants, while no significant correlation was found for the attitudes.

This study provides the information about the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices of food technical assistants toward “Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point” as the basis of food safety management systems. The results of this survey can be utilized for the designing of educational courses with emphasis on observed weakness points of food technical assistants. Considering the importance of determining and monitoring critical control points in the implementation of “Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point” principles and the weakness of food technical assistants in such matters, specific training courses should be provided on this subject. Totally, it was observed the positive influence of education on increasing the knowledge, attitudes and practices to “Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point” of food technical assistants working in dairy and beverage processing plants. The proposed intervention strategy was useful in increasing the knowledge, making a positive attitude and improving the food safety practices of food technical assistants. In fact, the model of knowledge, attitudes and practices can be beneficial to the process of certifying food safety and quality. Effective and ongoing education about food safety concept and subject must be given to all employees of food processing plants to assure the safety of food. Additionally, educational training on food safety issues should concentrate on theoretical aspect as well as practical subjects.

Aflatoxins are highly toxic lead to adverse health effects. Inappropriate storage of sesame seeds may produce aflatoxins that transfer to manufactured oil. Therefore this toxin can transfer to human by consumption of contaminated oil. Regarding this, the present study was carried out to investigate the amount of aflatoxin in cold-press sesame oil in Isfahan, Iran.

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 36 cold-press sesame oil samples were randomly selected from active processing plants in Isfahan. Aflatoxins were measured by high performance liquid chromatography in sesame oil.

Total aflatoxin contamination (B1, B2, G1, and G2) was observed in 69.4% of the sesame oil samples. In all the contaminated samples, B1 aflatoxin was detected in mean level of 0.426±0.473 ppb. Furthermore, B2 aflatoxin had a mean level of 0.033±0.106 ppb. However, G1 and G2 aflatoxins were not observed in any of the samples. Accordingly, the level of aflatoxin was lower than the limit defined by the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran.

Based on the findings, the aflatoxin level was lower than the acceptable range defined by the national standard. However, the high frequency of aflatoxin contamination in the evaluated sesame oil samples can cause serious health problems after long-term usage, especially with regard to the fact that this product is consumed on a daily basis.

This study aimed to compare the storage stability of tomato paste packaging of cans and a container with the brand name of "Robby" during 6 weeks. Four cans of tomato paste were prepared from brand A. Sample 1 was covered with the plastic lid after opening. Sample 2 was transferred into a container with the brand name of "Robby". Tomato paste of cans 3 and 4 were contaminated with Aspergillus flavus spore ssuspension (t 2×106spore/ml) and homogenized in a sterile container. Subsequently, an equal amount of contaminated tomato paste was transferred into the original can (sample 3) and the "Robby" container (sample 4). Samples were stored in a refrigerator at 4°C for 6 weeks. Samples 1 and sample 2 were evaluated regarding acidity, Brix, pH, vitamin C, as well as total bacteria, mold, and yeast count. However, samples 3 and 4 only were analyzed in terms of total bacteria, mold, and yeast count with two replications. All the experiments were individually repeated on another tomato paste with a different brand name. Ethics code: 395833   After the second week, there was a 62% decrease and a 4% increase in vitamin C and Brix levels in the tomato paste in the can. However, the reduction in vitamin C level (5%) and the Brix changes were not significant in the "Robby" container. The gradual increase of acidity was observed in both treatments. Nevertheless, there was an increase in the acidity of the tomato paste kept in the can (28%) and "Robby" container (22%) at the end of the sixth week (P<0.05). The "Robby" container had no significant effect on pH and microbial groups (P> 0.05). The "Robby" container definitely provides better conditions for preserving the chemical properties of tomato paste than common means of tomato paste storage.

Ganoderma lucidum from Ganodermataceae family is a kind of mushroom known to have various therapeutic properties such as lowering high blood sugar and high blood pressure, boosting the immune system as well as its antibacterial and antioxidant effects.

this study investigated the oxidative stability, microbial and sensory properties of sausage at three different treatments; (i) 1% w/w Ganoderma lucidum powder (GLP) without nitrite as a food preservative (P), (ii) 0.5% w/w GLP with 80 ppm nitrite (N + P), and (iii) sausage with 120 ppm nitrate (N). Lipid oxidation was evaluated using peroxide value (PV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive species. Antimicrobial properties were assessed by total plate count (TPC), yeasts and molds, coliforms, Clostridium perfringens, and Staphylococcus aureus. Sensory assessment was evaluated by nine‑point hedonic procedure.

Samples in N + P treatment showed lower PV than other treatments at the storage period with no significant difference in 2‑thiobarbituric acid (TBA) between N and N + P. The P group showed the highest TBA value (P < 0.01). TPC remained below maximal permissible limit recommended by ISIRI during 30 days of storage in all sausage formulations (6.9798 log CFU). There was not found any coliforms bacteria, Clostridium perfringens, and S. aureus. The sensory evaluation indicated that there is no significant difference between samples in texture, taste, and smell. The color and overall acceptability of N group were higher and N + P group was closer to N group.

The results suggest that G. lucidum powder might be considered as a potential natural preservative for meat products.

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the main challenges in diarrheal diseases in human and animals. Regardless to the main reason of the disease, approximately all antimicrobial actions including treatment, control and prevention are mostly centralized against Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains.
This work purposed to antimicrobial resistance (AR) and determinate virulence genes and phylogenetic groups in E. coli isolates (n=170) obtained from calves with diarrhea.
Isolates were molecular characterized for 17 AR genes and 3 phylogenetic sequences. AR phenotyping were performed on all strains for 12 antimicrobial agents by using disc diffusion method.
All AR genes but qnrS were identified with different prevalence in E. coli isolates that the most common genes were aadA (20%), blaTEM (11.7%) and sulII (11.2 %) belonging to aminoglycoside, β-lactamase and sulphonamide families, respectively. Resistance to the penicillin and sulphamethoxazole drugs was found in 100% of isolates and followed by tetracycline (73.5%), streptomycin (60%), trimethoprim sulphamethoxazole (56.5%) and kanamycin (53.5%). The phylogenetic groups A and B1 considerably surrounded the majority of isolates with the frequency of 65.8% and 30.6%, respectively.
In Iran, diarrheic calves have an important role as reservoir of resistant E. coli strains against the some drugs which are registered for treatment of calf diarrhea.

Since the prohibition of antibiotic growth promoter in poultry ration by the European Union, poultry producers have been trying to replace them by other growth promoters like medicinal herbs. Lipia citridora is a medicinal herb enriched by several powerful phenolic compounds and with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties which lead to enhancing appetite and growth performance of broiler.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Lipia citridora leaves powder (LCLP) on growth performance, carcass traits, blood metabolites, and meat quality of broilers.
The experiment was carried out with 160 one-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chickens in a completely randomized design. The chicks were allocated to four diets including basal diet and treatment diets which were supplemented with 3 levels of LCLP (0.25, 0.5 and 1.0% of diet) in 16-floor pens with 10 chickens each. At the end of the experiment, 2 chicks/pen were selected and the assigned parameters were evaluated.
All levels of LCLP improved (p Our finding showed that the highest level of LCLP in this study (1%) performed the best as improved growth performance, ameliorated serum lipids, increased white blood cells and enhanced the meat quality.

Milk is an important component of the food pyramid and can provide a lot of human daily nutritional needs. Dairy products can be contaminated to various bacteria and fungi. This study aimed to investigate the contamination of traditional and industrial milk and dairy products in Isfahan, Iran, and also identification of molds by using phenotypic methods.
155 samples were randomly collected in Isfahan. Specimens were identified by phenotypic tests and data was analyzed using the SPSS software.
Findings: There was no relationship between traditional and commercial contamination of dairy products with coliform and Escherichia coli (P = 0.79). Penicillium spp. and Candida orthopsilosis had the most (33.5%) and the least (1.2%) prevalence among isolates, respectively. Majority of molds were isolated from cheese and yogurt. The average contamination of mold in traditional products is significantly higher than commercial products (P> 0.001).
Sanitation and apply appropriate standards for dairy products in order to prevent secondary contamination and health standards in traditional units need to be ensuring the safety of dairy products.

Aflatoxins are toxic and carcinogenic secondary metabolites usually produced by certain strains of the fungi such as Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus and rarely Aspergillus nomius. In appropriate temperature and humidity, these fungi are able to contaminate agricultural commodities and then produce aflatoxins. This study aimed to determine the total aflatoxin level in “Gaz” produced in Isfahan city, Iran. 40 Gaz samples containing 28% and 40% pistachio nuts were prepared from production units in Isfahan city and the total aflatoxin level was evaluated via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). 39 samples (97.5%) were contaminated with the mean aflatoxin level of 4.11 ± 3.55 ng/g. The total aflatoxin level in 40 samples was between non-detected and 13.97 ng/g. The mean aflatoxin level was 3.53 ± 2.49 and 4.70 ± 4.40 ng/g in samples containing 28% and 40% pistachio, respectively, with no significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.82). The mean aflatoxin level was found to be lower than the maximum tolerance limit (15 ng/g) determined by the Iranian National Standards Organization but in 4 samples (10% of samples) higher than the maximum tolerance limit (10 ng/g) accepted by the European countries. According to the Gaz economic importance, especially exporting to the world markets, as well as dangers of aflatoxin for human health and considering it as one of the most important health indicators, definitely an extra effort is needed to warranty the hygiene and safety of this product. In addition, national standard should be promoted to the level of developed countries.

Listeria monocytogenes as one of the most important pathogen in public health concerns is transmitted through consumption of contaminated food. The pathogen has been considered as a potential source of contamination of raw milk and dairy products. This research was aimed to investigate prevalence of L. monocytogenes in raw milk in Kerman region. In the summer of 2011, a total number of one hundred raw milk samples were collected from bulk tanks of some dairy farms and tested foriap and actA genes using polymerase chain reaction. Among the 100 samples, five isolates (5.0%) were detected as L. monocytogenes based on phenotypic and genotypic characteristics. Considering the low frequency of L. monocytogenes in this study, raw milk cannot be omitted as a potential source of food contamination for the population of the region. To achieve more accurate isolation, identification and control of L. monocytogenes in raw milk, it is suggested that new standard laboratory methods be implemented as well as biosafety outreach programs, management techniques and education.

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of thyme essential oil and powder in comparison to antibiotic on performance of meat type quails، in a completely randomized design with 6 treatments، 4 replicate. The dietary treatments consisted of the basal diet without any added compounds (control)، 100mg virginiamycin/kg، 0. 1 or 0. 2% thyme powder and 100 or 200 mg thyme essential oil/kg. The measurement parameters included performance، meat quality، morphology and microbiology of intestine. Supplementing 0. 1% powder thyme and virginiamycin increased body weight gain of quails at d 0 to 35. Thyme powder and essential oil caused reduction in thiobarbituric acid، Dripping Loss and Cooking Loss and increased water holding capacity. The highest counts of lactobacilli bacteria، belong to thyme treatment (except for 200 mg essential oil/kg) and the lowest of it has been seen in antibiotic ones and the lowest count of coliform bacteria belonged to antibiotic treatment. Maximum length and width of the villi and minimum depths of crypts was observed in thyme treatments (except for 200 mg essential oil/kg). In antibiotic treatment، crypt depth was significantly increased in addition to increase of length and width of the villi.

Sustainability of productions in agricultural ecosystems depends on conservation and amplification of biodiversity. This study was conducted to determine the planting area، species richness، species evenness and biodiversity of different agronomical، horticultural and livestock productions in Kerman province. For this purpose، information about planting area of agronomical and horticultural plants and population of various livestock species for different regions of Kerman was gathered. The results showed that Jiroft and Kerman regions had the highest and Rafsanjan had the lowest agronomical planting area. The highest planting area of horticultural plants was observed in Jiroft and Rafsanjan and the lowest amount of the trait was gained in Baft. The highest and lowest livestock population was related to Jiroft and Ravar، respectively. Jiroft and Kerman regions were contained the highest species richness of agronomical (20 and 22 species، respectively) and horticultural (34 and 31 species، respectively) productions. Wheat، Pistachio and sheep were the dominant species in majority regions of Kerman. The highest Shannon index was gained in Jiroft (2. 27) and Kerman (1. 99) for agronomical، Jiroft (2. 31) and Baft (2. 05) for horticultural and Kerman (0. 99) for livestock productions. Rafsanjan was included the lowest Shannon index in all agricultural productions. Jiroft had the highest species evenness of agronomical (0. 76) and horticultural (0. 66) and Kerman was contained the highest amount (0. 75) for livestock productions in different regions of Kerman province. The results showed that correlation of Shannon index with species evenness was higher than planting area or species richness.