From plate to showcase—is food museogenic?

Food is an essential instrument for health promotion and disease prevention. Poorly prepared and recontamination of ready-to-eat street food may be the cause of outbreaks of foodborne disease. The microbiological assessment of six selected cooked ready-to-eat street foods (Moimoi, Afang Soup, Stew, Porridge Yam, Porridge Beans, and Jollof Rice) sold freely and openly in Calabar and its environs was assessed. A total of five hundred and forty (540) cooked ready-to-eat street food samples were collected from three types of food vendors; Stationary Vendors with Shade (SVWS), Stationary Vendors without Shade (SVWOS), and Mobile Vendors (MV) from different locations in Calabar and analyzed using standard techniques. Results obtained showed that the aerobic plate count, Staphylococcus aureus count, and Escherichia coli count for cooked ready-to-eat street foods sold at stationary vendors with shade (SVWS) ranged from 1.20 × 106 to 4.20 × 106 cfu/g for aerobic plate count, 1.20 × 106 to 3.6 × 106 cfu/g for Staphylococcus aureus count, and 0.9 × 106 to 2.50 × 106 cfu/g for Escherichia coli count. For stationary vendors without shade (SVWOS), it ranged from 1.29 × 106 to 3.50 × 106 cfu/g for aerobic plate count, 1.60 × 106 to 4.00 × 106 cfu/g for Staphylococcus aureus count, 1.00 × 106 to 2.80 × 106 cfu/g for Escherichia coli count. Aerobic plate count, Staphylococcus aureus count, and Escherichia coli count for mobile vendors (MV) ranged from 1.80 × 106 to 5.00 × 106 cfu/g for aerobic plate count, 1.60 × 106 to 5.80 × 106 cfu/g for Staphylococcus aureus count, 1.20 ×106 to 4.20 × 106 cfu/g for Escherichia coli count, respectively. The level of contaminations observed was above the acceptable microbiological limits. Thus, indicating non enforcement of regulatory acts and food safety procedures to hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP).

Steady-state and dynamic analysis of plate heat exchangers has always remained the major concern for process control in food industry. Dairy products like milk and fruit juices are treated in plate heat exchanger for pasteurization but the introduction of many inherent and uneven disturbances by the process yields both product and energy losses. The current work is aimed on the development and implementation of conventional Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control algorithm in order to control the temperature of a fruit juice at the exit of a plate heat exchanger. Plate heat exchanger is used to raise the temperature of the once-through continuous flow of a fruit juice or process cold fluid up to a fixed temperature with the recycled hot water. Various types of fruit juices were processed for that purpose. The controller was tuned using the recommendations of Ziegler and Nichols (Z-N) and Cohen and Coon (C-C). The plant was logged through PID virtual controller software. The influence of load variables and set point tracking was evaluated under the Z-N and C-C controller settings and was experimentally tested for various dairy fluids. It is shown that better throughput up to 77 % recovery of product has been achieved with Z-N controller settings but at the expense of more energy consumption as compared to C-C controller settings.

Compact Dry YM is a ready-to-use test method for the enumeration of yeasts and molds in fruit-based products. The plates are presterilized and contain nonwoven incorporated nutrients supplemented with antibiotics and a chromogenic enzyme substrate, 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indoxyl phosphate, p-toluidine salt (X-phos), to facilitate counting dyes, and a cold water-soluble gelling agent. The medium should be rehydrated with 1 mL of diluted sample inoculated onto the center of the self-diffusible medium, allowing the solution to diffuse immediately by capillary action. The plate can be incubated at 25 degrees C for 7 days. The Compact Dry YM medium plates were validated as an analysis tool determining colony forming units of yeasts and molds from a variety of fruit-based products using 5 different fruit products. The performance tests were conducted at 25 degrees C. In all studies performed, no apparent differences were observed between the Compact Dry YM method and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Bacteriological Analytical Manual (FDA BAM) method results (P > 0.05). For the accuracy claim (n = 75), a correlation factor of r2 = 0.99 could be assigned, as stated in the application for Performance-Tested Method.

Background: Tooth loss can be treated by using dentures. Heat cured acrylic resins are the the most common denture base materials but it has porosity that causing leftover food, plaque, bacteria, and Candida specially Candida albicans to adhere. Hydroxyapatite is chemical compound that can reduce residual monomer which causing porosity inside heat cured acrylic resin base denture. Purpose: to determine the effectivity of adding hydroxyapatite powder for reducing porosity of heat cured resins acrylic based denture. Methods: Sample were acrylic resin plate (20x10x4mm) divided into 4 groups, control group was acrylic resin without hydroxyapatite, and the treatment group was added with hydroxyapatite with concentration 2%, 5%, and 10%. After the polymerization are finished the sample was soaked on aquadest for 1 day and weighed using electronic weighing scale. The data tested with One Way ANOVA and followed by LSD test. Results: The average of porosity level on Control, treatment 1, treatment 2, treatment 3 group were 8,53%;7,75%,4,74%,5,55%. There are significant different in the porosity level between the control group and all treatment groups (p<0.05). Conclusion: Hydroxyapatite with concentration 2%, 5%, and 10% showing effectivity on reducing porosity level on heat cured acrylic resins base plate Keywords : Acrylic Resin, Hydroxyapatite, porosity level, reduce. Correspondence : Chaterina Diyah Nanik K., Department of Prosthodontic, Faculty of Dentistry, Hang Tuah University, Arif Rahman Hakim 150, Sukolilo, Surabaya, Phone 081235678853 , Email: chaterina_drg@yahoo.com

This article describes the results of a study conducted on 71 fresh seafood samples (fish and shellfish) marketed in Zagazig city, Sharkia province, Egypt, as well as on 50 human stool samples collected at the Zagazig University Hospital. The samples were examined for the presence of Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli. The investigation of L. monocytogenes virulence genes was performed using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), while the microbiological quality of the seafood samples was evaluated using the coliform count and aerobic plate count (APC) as indicators. Out of the examined 71 seafood samples, 20 (28.2%) were identified as L. monocytogenes, 15 (75%) of which were confirmed as virulent strains. Also, out of 50 human stool samples, only 1 (2%) was identified as virulent L. monocytogenes. E. coli serotypes were isolated from only 11.3% of seafood and 30% of human stool samples. In shellfish, the APC and most probable number of coliforms (MPC) were higher than those obtained from other fish samples. Multiplex PCR targeting internalin genes allowed simultaneous identification of L. monocytogenes and differentiation of virulent strains, thus enabling more timely detection of cases and sources of food borne listeriosis. The article concludes by stressing that the isolation of potentially virulent L. monocytogenes and E. coli from both seafood samples and humans emphasises the potential public health hazard caused by eating raw or undercooked shellfish.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common complications in the Philippines today. This study aimed to determine the antimicrobial effects of Camellia sinensis (green tea) against pathogens that cause UTI. The study utilized the convenience sampling technique and interventional-experimental method. Ten healthy participants were screened through routine urinalysis and urine culture; urine was then collected before and after drinking 4.5g of pure green tea leaves brewed with 500 ml of water at 98˚C for 5-10 minutes. The pooled first morning urine, 0-4-hour urine, and 4-8-hour urine were mixed, autoclaved, and used as solvent for preparation of MH agar respectively. Inoculation of the test organisms onto the MH agar were done in triplicates with check plates. After overnight incubation, an average of 140000 Colony Forming Units were significantly reduced in Urine-MH agar with green tea metabolites collected within less than 4 hours showing its greatest activity. It was found out that catechins, which are the main bioactive antibacterial compound in green tea, were effective against E. coliand K. pneumoniae but not against multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Further study can be done to harness the effects of catechins in other food sources other than green tea.