Journal of Food Safety and Hygiene
Volume:4 Issue: 3, Summer-Autumn 2018

The charitable food assistance system has an influential role in the larger effort to curtail the problem of food insecurity globally. This review aimed at comparing evidence on the safety and general hygiene of the charitable food assistance system in Africa and the rest of the world. The search strategy involved electronic databases including African Index Medicus, PubMed, Google Scholar and EBSCOhost (MEDLINE with full text, Academic search complete, MEDLINE). We used a thematic analysis to identify the evidence on charitable food assistance programs’ degree of conformity with food safety and general hygiene requirements globally. Twenty-three articles met the inclusion criteria. The articles included evidence from the following high-income countries: United Arab Emirates; Nordic Region; Italy; United States; Hong Kong; Canada; Spain; Scotland; Singapore; Austria; Belgium; Wales and Northern Ireland. The following main themes emerged from the included studies: classification, challenges and barriers of the charitable food assistance system; cross-contamination of food and compliance with food hygiene and safety principles. Gaining a greater understanding of the factors affecting food safety and general hygiene compliance within charitable food assistance programs is important. The paucity of data on safety and general hygiene in the charitable food assistance programs globally, particularly in Africa was identified as one of the gaps that necessitates urgent action through primary research studies.

Food Safety and Hygiene (FSH) is defined as the proper degree of assurance that food will not cause sickness when it is served by the consumer. The objective of the current study was to assess the attitude and knowledge concerning with FSH among the students of Isfahan University of Medical Science (IUMS). This cross-sectional study was conducted in IUMS in 2018. Data were collected using a valid and reliable questionnaire on 331 students of IUMS who were selected through a stratified random sampling. In concerning with FSH and washing hands before food cooking; students had high attitude more than 79% and 65%, respectively. Also, participants had low attitude on other items (more than 60%). Besides, almost 99% of students had high knowledge about production and expiration date of food products. About 73% of students had lower knowledge about keeping bread in the refrigerator. Results revealed that there was a significant difference (p=0.01) between students' attitude and taking courses related to food safety and hygiene and year of university entrance (p=0.02). Furthermore, there was a substantial difference (p=0.02) between students' knowledge and their Field of study. Results showed that there was a focal point for imparting FSH education between students in order to increase their knowledge and attitudes level. Therefore, it is necessary to exactly determine how education and training may result in diminution in foodborne disease risk.

Water is of great significance for living and access to safe water has been considered as an important goal in public health. However, water can transmit a wide range of pathogenic microorganisms. The aim of this study was to determine the bacteriological quality of drinking water dispensed by water coolers from different faculties of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, on August 2016. A total of 22 samples from 9 water coolers of different faculties of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences were collected and some indicators of contamination including total coliform and fecal coliform, residual free chlorine and pH were evaluated. Results show that Coliform and Escherichia coli were not observed in any of the water samples. Residual chlorine content in drinking water in 50 percent of samples and pH in 12.5 percent of samples were out of Iranian standard levels range. There is no significant difference between the levels of pH and chlorine in water samples before and after water dispenser systems. The lack of coliform indicates the safety of drinking water from water coolers. However, the decrease in the residual free chlorine after water cooler may cause to grow some microorganisms in water coolers. Therefore, it is suggested that an appropriate and regular monitoring program should be established.

This study evaluated the microbiological, nutritional quality and antioxidant profile of fermented Delonix regia seeds. Isolation and characterization of microorganisms was performed by standard microbiological and biochemical methods, while proximate and antioxidant contents of fermented substrates were determined by standard chemical methods. The total aerobic and lactic acid bacterial and fungal counts increased from 2.0 to 4.4 cfu/ml, 0.7 to 18.9 cfu/ml and 0.7 to 2.4 cfu/ml respectively. The microorganisms isolated and identified from the samples were Bacillus subtilis, Staphyloccocus aureus, Serratia marcescens, Micrococcus luteus, Streptomyces greceus, Lactobacillus plantarun, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus plantarum, Aspergillus flavus, A. fumigatus, Fusarium spp., Penicillium notatum, Penicillium italicum, Rhizopus japonicum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The moisture, fat and protein contents of the raw samples increased from 11.10, 1.66 and 19.99 % to 18.25, 4.67 and 32.16 % after fermentation respectively. The antioxidant properties (FRAP, TAC, Flavonoid and DPPH) were remarkably higher than the unfermented D. Regia seeds. The appreciable increase in nutritional and antioxidant properties of fermented D. regia seeds suggest that it might be a good and cheap source of ingredient which can be integrated into human diet and animal feed.

Due to the increased resistance to antibiotics, identifying new compounds with fewer side effects is more important than usual medications in treatment of microorganisms. This study aimed to examine the antibacterial activity of Zataria multiflora, Rosemarinus officinalis and Cuminum cyminum essential oils on the growth of E. coli O157:H7 as one of the most common pathogens of food-borne diseases. Z. multiflora, R. officinalis and C. cyminum plants were dried and ground. Then the extraction of essential oil was performed by the hydrodistillation method. In order to examine the antibacterial effects, micro-broth dilution was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC). The disc diffusion method was applied to measure the inhibitory zone diameter. The data were analyzed by SPSS. Maximum diameter of inhibition zone (26.96 mm) was related to Z. multiflora which had a significant difference compared to other essential oils (p<0.001). Also the MIC and MBC of Z. multiflora essential oil were obtained as 3.125 mg/ml and 6.25 mg/ml, respectively. In this study, Zataria multiflora, Rosemarinus officinalis and Cuminum cyminum essential oils had significant antibacterial properties against E.coli O157:H7. As a result of these essential oils after completing studies, they can be a good alternative to chemical preservatives for storage of food.

Food contains various chemical components including carbohydrates (sugars), proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and water. Some of chemical compounds may be toxic if to be used in large amounts. Some herbs may contain chemical compounds that are toxic to humans and animals. Some of these chemical compounds exist in plants to protect them from plant diseases, insects and other organisms. A small number of these chemical compounds, such as the Hydrazine compounds that are present in few mushrooms, are carcinogenic at very low doses.
However, chemical compounds of plants have some adverse effects that can interfere with detoxification mechanisms, allergic reactions, metabolic processes, and the availability of nutrients in humans and animals.
Many natural toxins are found in the main foods of human diet such as plants, algae, fish and types of molds. Some of these are discussed below...