Journal of Food Safety and Hygiene
Volume:8 Issue: 4, Autumn 2022

Even though food has many health advantages, people nowadays struggle with several health problems as a result of food adulteration. The use of essence, industrialization, and the price of development all contribute to the prosperity of civilization and the adulteration of food. It is a result of corporate unbridled consumerism and selfishness, which does so intentionally to maximize gain. Food adulteration lowers food quality and has a variety of detrimental effects on human health. The table in this study highlights adulteration in about 50 food products and shows that there are nearly 55 adulterants present. Some of these, such as heavy metals, some synthetic colorants, brick dust, calcium carbide, melamine, DDT, formaldehyde, urea, etc., seriously affect human health. These adulterants have the potential to cause a slew of fatal diseases, wreaking havoc on public health. Food adulteration has a variety of acute and chronic effects on the human body, including inflammation, digestive issues, urinary issues, non-carcinogenic hazards, carcinogenic hazards, and so on. Among these are several diseases that can be fatal.

Butter is popularly known in dairy products and consists of large amounts of milk fat (at least 80%). The risk of oxidation increases by a higher content of unsaturated fatty acids in milk fat and adversely affects the quality and safety of the product. Primary oxidation products are hydroperoxides, which can decompose to form lower molecular weight compounds such as alcohols, aldehydes, free fatty acids (FFA), and ketones. This process may give rise to butter rancidity. In this study, 20 samples of traditional butter, including 10 samples of cow butter and 10 samples of sheep butter, were purchased from different traditional dairy product supermarkets in southern Tehran and were analyzed to evaluate the amount of fat oxidation. The peroxide levels in all samples of traditional butter were within the permissible limit established by Iran's national standard. According to the results, it was found that the amount of peroxide in cow butter (1.08 ± 0.12 mEq/kg) is higher than in sheep butter (p=0.037). It may be related to the temperature and time of storage. Therefore, strategies such as diminishing temperatures, maintaining products in a dark environment, removing oxygen by creating a vacuum in the packaging, and using antioxidant compounds can prevent butter oxidation.

Preservative substances have been used for many years. These materials inhibit the growth of probable microorganisms. However, some of these materials are considered generally regarded as safe (GRAS), and the amount above the standard limits can endanger the health of consumers. Therefore, determining the amounts of chemical conservatives is necessary. In this research, the level of sodium benzoate and potassium sorbet was measured in 60 pickled cucumbers by spectrophotometry. The standard curve of sodium benzoate and potassium sorbet was plotted in five concentrations. Extraction was followed by reading the absorption with the spectrophotometer at 228 nm and 252 nm for sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate, respectively. Results revealed that the average content of sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate were 0.44±0.2 mg/kg and 0.31±0.1 mg/kg, respectively which can be more than the permitted doses. Considering the harmful effects, control precautions must be intensified and the authorities should concern about the quantity of these preservatives in pickled cucumber samples.

Currently, molecular identification is replacing the conventional method because of its precision and reliability whereas the effectiveness of antibacterial treatments has continuously declined due to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study aimed to identify the bacterial isolates; phenotypically and molecularly as well as detect the resistant genes after susceptibility testing of the isolates obtained from yoghurt samples. Standard microbiological techniques and molecular analysis were applied on both samples (commercial and home-made yoghurt) for species validation. Forty-four (44) bacterial species were identified, phenotypically belonging to three (3) genera; Bacillus, Staphylococcus and Lactobacillus and an additional genus Bifidobacterium emerged from molecular analysis. The microbial load of the yoghurt samples was not statistically significant at (p≥0.05). A sensitivity test on the species was carried out using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method with some standard antibiotics. The results revealed that Bacillus and Staphylococcus species were resistant to ampicillin and augmentin (100%) but susceptible to ofloxacin and gentamicin respectively. Lactobacillus spp. were susceptible to ofloxacin and ceftazidime (100%), and resistant to ampicillin, augmentin, and ciprofloxacin (100%). The six most resistant species were molecularly identified as S. aureus CP019117, S. epidermidis AB68833, B. megaterium KC246043, B. cereus NC004722, Lactobacillus casei NC008526 and Bifidobacterium lactis CP003941. Resistant bacteria with mecA gene are S. aureus and S. epidermidis and those with ampC gene are Bifidobacterium lactis and Lactobacillus casei. However, neither gene was found in the genome of any Bacillus species. However, the data also revealed that the bacterial species in home-made yoghurt samples were negative for mecA and ampC resistant genes but positive in the commercial samples. These genes contributed to the bacterial isolates' high levels of multidrug resistance (MDR). The presence of resistant genes in bacterial species from commercial yoghurt samples remains a challenge for food safety. Therefore, good manufacturing practice, proper hygiene and sanitation is hereby advocated to avoid serious emerging foodborne illnesses.

The antioxidant capacity of liver in fish is a major property which could prevent the diminished quality and safety of fish resulted from oxidation reactions. The aim of this study was to compare the antioxidant capacity of the liver of rainbow trout exposed to the yersiniosis vaccine and non-exposed fish. The amounts of carotenoids, glutathione, cupric assay, and lipid peroxidation levels of liver were determined. Then, the samples were normalized by Bradford test. The results showed that significant differences may exist in lipid peroxidation level (p<0.05). The total antioxidant capacity, glutathione, and carotenoids content showed no significant difference in both group (p≥0.05). The use of vaccine, in addition to increasing resistance to yersiniosis, could prevent the lipid oxidation of fish liver.

Currently, developing countries are challenged with foodborne diseases especially children during the period of complementary feeding. This is getting worse in slum households which are characterized by poor environmental hygiene and a lack of basic facilities. To assess hygienic feeding practices and associated factors of home-prepared complementary foods in slum households with children of age 6-24 months in Addis Ababa. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 602 mother/caregiver-child pairs were included in this study. Three sub-cities were randomly selected and all woreda in each sub-city having slum households were included. Households with children of age from 6-24 months were included using systematic random sampling. A structured pretested questionnaire and observation checklist was used to collect data. Multivariable bivariate logistic regression analyses were done to identify factors associated with feeding practices. The magnitude of good hygienic feeding practice was 60.8% with [95%CI: (57- 65%)] and it has a positive association with fathers having secondary education and above [AOR=2.59, 95%CI: (1.06-6.68)], mothers/ caregivers having a variety of feeding utensils for their children [AOR=1.89, 95%CI:(1.23-2.91)], mothers/ caregivers that never give leftover food for their children [AOR=3.47, 95CI%:(1.86-6.49)], child feeding methods involving spoon [AOR=3.14, 95%CI: (1.22-8.06)] and having a hand washing facility after the toilet [AOR=2.14,95%CI:(1.26-3.64)] and it has a negative association with mothers/caregivers having children aged between 19-24 months [AOR=0.490, 95%CI:(0.293-0.82)] and mothers/ caregivers not in union with their husband [AOR= 0.534, 95%CI: (0.296-0.96)]. The practice of hygienic feeding of complementary food is poor. Therefore, interventions targeting those associated factors should be made in order to improve hygienic feeding and minimize the contamination of foods.