Microbial contamination and occurrence of Bacillus cereus sensu lato, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli on food handlers’ hands in mass catering: Comparison of the glove juice and swab methods

Analysis on Foodborne Pathogen Contamination of Food Samples in Longnan City from 2013 to 2022

The objective was to determine the prevalence of foodborne pathogens in food in Longnan City, Gansu Province, China. In this research, we conducted tests on baked foods, catering foods, meat, and fruits and vegetables sold in supermarkets, farmers' markets, restaurants, retail stores, street stalls, and school canteens from 2013 to 2022. We analyzed the variety of foodborne pathogens (Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, and diarrheagenic Escherichia coli) in different sites and food types. Once foodborne pathogens were detected in the sample, it was deemed unqualified. The total detection rates of foodborne pathogens were 1.559%, 3.349%, 1.980%, 1.040%, 3.383%, and 1.303% in food from supermarkets, farmers' markets, restaurants, retail stores, street stalls, and school canteens, respectively. No pathogenic bacteria were detected in baked foods. Salmonella, S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, B. cereus, and diarrheagenic E. coli were detected in catering foods, among which B. cereus had the highest detection rate. Salmonella was the most common pathogenic bacteria detected in meat, while the detection rate of pathogenic bacteria in fruits and vegetables was low, with only one positive sample for diarrheagenic E. coli. Among the six sites, street stalls (3.382%) and farmers' markets (3.349%) had higher detection rates of pathogens. In general, the detection rate of pathogens from 2013 to 2022 was not high, but there were also some hidden dangers. Catering food is vulnerable to pathogen contamination, and street stalls and farmers' markets are the main sites of pollution. According to the above findings, the regulatory authorities should continue to strengthen supervision, guarantee food safety through early warning, and reduce the risk of food contamination.

Synergistic interaction of clove, cinnamon, and eucalyptus essential oils impregnated in cellulose acetate electrospun fibers as antibacterial agents against Staphylococcus aureus

The development of antibiotic-free antibacterial strategies applied in the control of bacterial and biofilm proliferation on surfaces is an important topic in discussion in the literature. Essential oils have been explored as isolated and combined components to act as an antibacterial material that inhibits bacterial proliferation, avoiding the contamination of surfaces. Herein, cellulose acetate electrospun fibers impregnated with essential oils of clove, cinnamon and eucalyptus and their combination (clove + cinnamon, cinnamon + eucalyptus and clove + eucalyptus) were explored against the standard strain of Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923). As isolated components, the best performance follows the order clove>cinnamon>eucalyptus essential oil. The association of clove and cinnamon into cellulose acetate electrospun fibers returned a promising and fast antibacterial and antibiofilm activity (improvement in 65%), as a piece of evidence that synergism is observed for the association of essential oils incorporated into electrospun fibers that preserves the antibacterial activity by encapsulation of components.

Cellulosic pine needles-based biorefinery for a circular bioeconomy

Pine needles (PNs) are one of the largest bio-polymer produced worldwide. Its waste, i.e., fallen PNs, is mostly responsible for forest fires and is a major challenge. In present article, we have reviewed differenteffortsmadeto tackle this situation. PNs have been used in various fields such asin composite, water purification industries,electronic devices, etc. Gasification is one of the appealing processes for turning PNs into bio-energy; pyrolysis technique has been employed to create various carbon-based water purification materials; saccharification combined with fermentation produced good yields of bio-ethanol; Pd or Ni/PNs biocatalyst showed good catalytic properties in variousreactionsand pyrolysis with or without catalyst is an alluring technique to prepare bio-fuel. Nano cellulose extracted from PNs showed appealing thermal and mechanical strength. The air quality of nearbyenvironment was examinedby studying the magnetic properties of PNs. Packing materials made of PNs showed exceptional ethylene scavenging abilities.