Since the introduction of the molecularly imprinting technology (MIT) in 1970s, it becomes an emerging technology with the potential for wide-ranging applications in food manufacturing, processing, analysis and quality control. It has been successfully applied in food microbiology, removal of undesirable components
from food matrices, detection of hazardous residues or pollutants and sensors. Molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) is the most common application so far. The review describes the methods of making the molecularly imprinted polymer systems, the application of the technology in food safety issues and the remaining challenges.
Salmonella remains to be a major foodborne pathogen for animals and humans and is the
leading cause of foodborne infections and outbreaks in various countries. Salmonella Enteritidis
is one of the most frequently isolated serotypes in poultry and poultry products from human
food poisoning cases. It can cause mild to acute gastroenterititis as well as other common
food poisoning symptoms when infection takes place in human. Nucleic acid amplification
technologies such as Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a tool that is rapid and sensitive
for detection of bacterial pathogen. We report the successful detection of S. Enteritidis by
PCR in raw chicken meat artificially-contaminated with serial concentration of S. Enteritidis
using crude DNA extracts as DNA template. PCR primers, ENT-F and ENT-R targeted on sdfI
gene were used to amplify DNA region unique to S. Enteritidis with crude DNA extract of the
samples, yielded product with the size of 303 bp. These primers were specific to S. Enteritidis
when tested by in-silico simulation against genome database of targeted bacterial species and
confirmed in PCR as amplification bands were observed with S. Typhimurium, S. Polarum and
S. Gallinarum. The established PCR can detect as few as 9.4 X 101
CFU/ml of inoculated S.
Enteritidis concentration and proved that pre-enrichment effect have significant effect on PCR
detection by increasing 1000-fold of the sensitivity limit compared to the non pre-enriched
samples. The PCR technique indicated that it can be successfully coupled with pre-enrichment
step to offer advantage in routine screening and surveillance of bacterial contamination in food
samples.
Application of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor in detection of genetically modified organism (GMO) is demonstrated. A total of four biotinylated probes namely Tnosb, P35Sb, LECb and TSQb were successfully immobilized onto the SA chip. Results analysis indicated that the SPR system with the sensor chip immobilized with the Tnosb, P35Sb, LECb and TSQb biotinylated probes potentially detect complementary standard fragments as low as 1 nM. Biospecific interaction analysis (BIA), employing surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and biosensor technologies provide easy, rapid and automatable approach in detection of GMOs. Short assay times, label free DNA hybridization reaction and no toxic compounds are required, i.e. ethidium bromide, and the reusability of the sensor surface are some of the factors that contribute to the general advantages of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor system in detection of GMOs.
Vibrio cholerae still represents a significant threat to human health worldwide despite the advances in hygiene, consumer knowledge, food treatment and food processing. In Malaysia, statistics in year 2009 have shown that among the food and water borne diseases, food poisoning has the highest incidence rate of 36.17 per 100,000 populations and with a mortality rate of 0.01 per 100,000 populations. In this study, 22 seafood samples comprising of fish, squid, crustacean and mollusks purchased from wet market and supermarket were analyzed. The Most Probable Number (MPN) and real time PCR was used to enumerate the Vibrio cholerae in seafood sample. The results showed that MPN-real time PCR of the samples from wet market had a maximum of >1100 MPN/g compare to 93 MPN/g enumerated from the MPN plate. The MPN-real time PCR in the samples from supermarket indicated 290 MPN/g as compared to 240 MPN/g enumerated from the MPN plate. The standard curves showed that there was a good linear correlation between the Ct values. The minimum level of detection of Vibrio cholerae standard DNA at targeted gene was 3 x 10-5 ng/μl.
Salmonella has caused foodborne illnesses globally and it has been a rising threat on fresh produce. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and concentration of Salmonella spp., Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Typhimurium in freshly prepared fruit juice sold at hawker stalls. Analysis was conducted by employing most probable number-polymerase chain reaction (MPN-PCR). A total of 50 freshly prepared fruit juices were examined and the prevalence of Salmonella spp., Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Typhimurium in the fruit juices were 34%, 20% and 10%, respectively, with an estimated microbial load varying from 0 to 42 MPN/g. Of the five different fruits, carrot juice had the highest prevalence of Salmonella spp. (60%) and Salmonella Typhi (40%). However, Salmonella Typhimurium was detected in apple (30%), orange (10%) and starfruit juice (10%). Factors contributing to the presence of Salmonella were cross-contamination and poor sanitation practice. Besides, negligence on temperature and storage time also led to the growth of Salmonella. Proper monitoring and risk assessment are needed in order to establish control measures to ensure the quality and safety of fruit juices in Malaysia.
Nowadays, the incidence rate of foodborne disease has increased and become one of the global burdens affecting all individual ages in South East Asia region. Foodborne disease is responsible for mortality and morbidity worldwide thus affecting socio-economic and quality of life. Major causes of foodborne hazards diseases include diarrheal and invasive infectious disease agent, helminthes and chemicals. However, in developing countries, data and record is insufficient with poor surveillance systems leading to incomplete information on the real burden of foodborne disease. The introduction of Actor Network Theory (ANT) as tools for assessing and analyzing the food safety issues has drawn attention from various researcher as it is proven to be able to point out and identify the human and non human actors which is directly and contingently involved. The interaction between the actors such as a worker in an organization, student in school, and peoples in public provide information that can be used to minimize the risk of foodborne disease. The ultimate use of ANT is it helps the researcher to draw a framework of the source of contamination, agent responsible, factors involved, and idea to control the spread.
This study aimed to determine the biofilm formation ability by Salmonella Typhi on cucumber, mango and guava surface, as well as to determine the relationship between time contact and biofilm formation. Crystal violet assay was performed to quantify the biofilm formation based on the value of optical density at 570 nm of the destaining crystal violet at the specific interval time. The result showed that the attachment of the bacterial cells on the fresh produce surface increased with the contact time. The readings of OD570at time 12 h for cucumber, mango and guava surfaces were 0.824, 0.683 and 0.598, respectively, indicating that the biofilm formation by Salmonella Typhi on different fresh produce surface varied with time. Since the result showed that Salmonella Typhi formed biofilm on fresh produce surfaces, hygienic practice from farm to fork including handling, processing, distribution and storage of the fresh produce should be of concern.
Phytochemicals belonging to the group’s phenols, terpenes, betalains, organosulfides, indoles and protein inhibitors are important components in fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts that have health promoting benefits and a variety of applications in food and pharmaceutical industries. Initially only a few of these important phytochemicals are produced commercially by chemical synthesis. However, recent developments in the field of biotechnology have provided metabolic engineering strategies that use microorganisms as cell factories for high production of these products. This review will discuss the general biosynthetic pathways, metabolic engineering and optimization strategies of functional phytochemicals that have received a lot of attention from investigators.
Legislation concerning the safety assessment and labelling of foodstuffs has been implemented in many countries. Consequential to a number of cases of food adulteration reported globally, a fast and reliable detection method for the food traceability is required in ensuring effective implementation of food legislation in a country. In this study, PCR-RFLP technique based on cyt b gene has been tested for its suitability for these purposes. This method combines the use of a pair of universal primer that amplifies a 359 bp fragment on the cyt b gene from meat muscle DNA and restriction enzyme analysis. Analysis of experimental beef frankfurter, minced beef, pork frankfurter and pork cocktail samples demonstrated the suitability of the assay for the detection of the beef (Bos taurus) and pork (Sus scrofa), but not applicable for some processed food, particularly detection of mackerel (Rasterelliger brachysoma), sardine (Saedinella Fimbriata) and tuna (Thunnus tonggol) origin in canned food. Commercial frauds through species mislabelling or misdescribed were not detected. The assay is demonstrated applicable for routine analysis of meat traceability of foodstuffs and legislation purposes, if sufficient availability of detectable mtDNA in the foodstuffs is ensured.
Successful DNA amplification is vital for the detection of specific DNA targets in feeds, and this in return depends on the ability of DNA extraction methods to produce good quality DNA. In this study, seven methods were compared for DNA extraction from feeds using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of single copy maize (Zea mays) endogenous hmg (high mobility group) gene. Relative levels of hmg were used to evaluate the DNA quality. Spectrophotometer determination of DNA was also carried out to assess DNA yield and DNA purity, while electrophoretic analysis of genomic DNA extracts was carried out to investigate DNA integrity. The findings illustrate that the DNA extraction methods have a significant effect on DNA quality. Statistically, the Epicentre method extracted the highest DNA yield while the Wizard method had the lowest DNA yield with high DNA purity and integrity. However, the Wizard method recovered the most amplifiable DNA per reaction, indicating that template quality and integrity had greater influence over hmg amplification than DNA yield.
The main source of E. coli 0157:H7 is cattle, but recent studies showed high percentage of outbreaks
contributed by contaminated water. The occurrence of E. coli O157:H7 in environmental water samples poses a potential threat to human health. The aim of this study was to establish a protocol for the detection of the pathogen E. coli O157:H7 and E. coli virulence genes (eaeA, rfbE, hly, stx1, and stx2) in a multiplex PCR protocol using six specific primer pairs. The target genes produced species-specific amplicons at 625 bp, 397 bp, 296 bp, 166 bp, 210 bp and 484 bp for E. coli O157:H7 (fliCh7 gene) and virulence genes (eaeA, rfbE, hly, stx1, and stx2) respectively. The results obtained show that the established PCR protocol is suitable for a rapid and specific analysis of the pathogenic E. coli O157:H7 in environmental water samples for the assessment of microbiological risks.
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was used to assay for the detection of specific genes in the genomes of the Aeromonas spp. isolated from environmental and shellfish sources, particularly aero and hlyA genes, responsible for aerolysin and hemolysin toxins production in this genus. The results showed that: (i) the 1500 bp amplicon of the hlyA gene was detected in 20/38 of the Aeromonas hydrophila, 13/38 of the A. caviae and 6/9 of the A. veronii biovar sobria isolates; (ii) the 690 bp amplicon of the aero gene was detected in 20/38 of A. hydrophila, 17/38 of A. caviae and 6/9 of A. veronii biovar sobria isolates; (iii) the nucleotide blast results of aerolysin gene sequences of the representative strains of A. hydrophila, A. caviae and A. veronii biovar sobria revealed a high homology of 94%, 95% and 95% with published sequences, respectively and ; (iv) the protein blast showed 97%, 94% and 96% homology when compared to the published sequences, respectively. The finding of A. hydrophila virulence genes in other members of the genus Aeromonas, may give a new perspective to the significance of these results. The method described here may be a useful detection tool to assist in further investigation of aero and hlyA genes in the genus Aeromonas, especially for food microbiologist.
The effects of methanolic extract of Javanese turmeric (Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb.) at different level of concentrations on the inactivation of Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp. and Staphylococcus aureus in oyster mushroom (Pleurotus sajor-caju) were investigated. This study was conducted principally for the achievement on the best combination between the
susceptibility of C. xanthorrhiza extract on natural microflora and foodborne pathogenic bacteria with the sensory acceptability of the soaked oyster mushroom. Three different concentrations (g/ml), 0.05%, 0.50% and 5.00%, of C. xanthorrhiza extract prepared with dilution method were designed as sanitizing agent in treating the oyster mushroom at 5 minutes and 10 minutes.
There was significance reduction in the survival of microbial load between the untreated fresh oyster mushroom and those soaked with 0.05%, 0.50% and 5.00% rhizome extract (P
The introduction of new agricultural commodities and products derived from modernbiotechnology may have an impact on human and animal health, the environment and economiesof countries. As more Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) enter markets worldwide, themonitoring of GMOs is being preferred for obvious reasons such as determination of seed purity,verification of non-GMO status of agricultural crops and fulfilling GMO labeling provisions, tomention a few. Numerous GMO analytical methods which include screening, identification andquantification have been developed to reliably determine the presence and/or amount of GMOin agricultural commodities, in raw agricultural materials and in processed and refined ingredients.The detection of GMOs relies on the detection of transgenic DNA or protein material. For routineanalysis, a good sample preparation technique should reproducibly generate DNA/protein ofsufficient quality, purity and yield while minimizing the effects of inhibition andcontamination.
The key sample preparation steps include homogenization, pretreatment, extraction andpurification. Due to the fact that analytical laboratories receive samples that are often processedand refined, the quality and quantity of transgenic target analyte (e.g. protein and DNA) frequentlychallenge the sensitivity of any detection method. With the development of GMO analysistechniques, the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique has been the mainstay for GMOdetection, and the real-time PCR is the most effective and important method for GMOquantification. The choice of target sequence; for example a promoter, a terminator, a gene, or ajunction between two of these elements, is the single most important factor controlling the specificity of the PCR method. Recent developments include event-specific methods, particularlyuseful for identification and quantification of GM content. Although PCR technology has obvious
limitations, the potentially high degree of sensitivity and specificity explains why PCR in its various
formats, is currently the leading analytical technology employed in GMO analysis. Comparatively, immunoassays are becoming attractive tools for rapid field monitoring for the integrity of agricultural commodities in identity preservation systems, whereby non-specialised personnel can employ them in cost-effective manner. This review discusses various popular extraction methodologies and summarises the current status of the most widely used and easily applicable GMO analysis technologies in laboratories, namely the PCR and immunoassay technologies.
Local wood charcoal was used as the main component of the electrodes of an air-cathode microbial
fuel cell (air-cathode MFC) in current study. The air cathode was build with finely milled charcoal powder and cement plaster as binder; while anode was made up of a packed bed of charcoal granules. Mangrove estuary brackish water was inoculated in the anodic chamber as the fuel and a source of exoelectrogens. The constructed fuel cell was monitored by measuring the potential over time. The MFC generated a stable power density at 33mW/m2 (0.5V) under a load of 200Ω after 72 hours of operation. An open circuit voltage (OCV) of 0.7mV was obtained after 15 hours operating under open circuit. The result of power generation by the constructed fuel cell indicating that wood charcoal could be used as electrode in an MFC and that brackish water contained potential exoelectrogens. However, further investigation and modification is required to increase the performance of the fuel cell.
A total of 32 clinical strains of Vibrio cholerae, including members of the 01 and 0139 serogroup
were collected from Klang, Selangor; Penang Island; Samarahan, Sarawak and Miri, Sarawak in Malaysia. In general, all the isolates except the 0139 serotype expressed low resistance to all the antibiotics tested with their Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) indices ranged from 0.10 to 0.48. The presence of ctx gene that encoded the cholera toxin was confirmed in all these clinical isolates by polymerase chain reaction. The results from the RAPD-PCR were analyzed using the RAPDistance software (Version 1.04). From the dendrogram generated, two main groups were observed which were subdivided into two clusters each. The Selangor’s isolates and the 0139 Penang’s isolates formed one group whereas the Samarahan, Sarawak isolates and the Miri, Sarawak isolates made up the other group, thus delineating their different sources of origin based on their geographical location.
The prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in retailed sushi were examined using the techniques of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in combination with most probable number (MPN) to quantify the bacteria in 150 samples obtained from three supermarkets. The average prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in retailed sushi was 26.6% with 32%, 16% and 32% from supermarket I, II and III, respectively. Campylobacter jejuni was found to be the predominant species in retailed sushi with 82.49% of all Campylobacter spp. positive samples. Campylobacter coli was not detected in all samples. The maximum MPN number of Campylobacter spp. in retailed sushi purchased from supermarket I, II and III ranged from 3.6-11.0 MPN/g, 9.4->1100 MPN/g and 27-1100 MPN/g, respectively. The isolation of C. jejuni from a variety of ready-to-eat retail sushi may indicate that these products can act as possible vehicles for the dissemination of food-borne campylobacteriosis.
The antibacterial activity of solvent-extracted oil of noni (Morinda citrifolia L.), spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.), lady’s finger (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench), bitter gourd (Momordica charantia Linn.), and mustard (Brassica nigra L.) seed oils, and coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) oil, palm (Elaeis guineensis L.) mesocarp in hydrolyzed and unhydrolyzed form were determined in order to explore their potential usage as antibacterial agent. The hydrolysis process that was catalyzed by immobilized lipase of Rhizomucor miehei (RMIM) showed highest hydrolytic activity with 1.0 ml of added water volume except bitter gourd seed oil and palm mesocarp oil which has maximum hydrolytic activity with added water volume of 5 ml and 2.5 ml respectively. Before hydrolysis, all oil samples did not show inhibition ring zones (IRZ) on any of the tested bacteria strains (Salmonella typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7). Hydrolyzed lady’s finger and bitter gourd seed oil showed IRZ on all tested bacteria strains; hydrolyzed mustard seed oil on S. typhimurium and L. monocytogenes; hydrolyzed spinach seed oil and coconut oil on L. monocytogenes; hydrolyzed noni seed oil and palm mesocarp oil did not exhibit IRZ on any of the tested bacteria strains. Most of the hydrolyzed oil exhibit an inhibition activity that was different from their respective dominant fatty acids except noni seed oil and palm mesocarp oil.
Antibiotic susceptibility and genetic diversity of E. coli isolated from cultured catfish and their surrounding environment were determined. The levels of resistance of the E. coli isolates towards six different antibiotics tested differed considerably. Though the isolates displayed resistance towards some of the antibiotics tested, none of the isolates showed resistant towards norfloxacin, sulphametoxazole/trimethoprim and chloramphenicol. RAPD-PCR analysis using single primer and primers combination clustered the E. coli isolates into 3 and 5 groups, respectively. The results of this study suggest that the E. coli isolates from the catfish and their surrounding environment derived from a mixture of sensitive and resistant strains with diverse genetic contents. The use of the RAPD analysis is sufficiently discriminatory for the typing of the E. coli isolates.
Hepatitis A virus infection occurs globally and is causing a public health concern, primarily in developing countries due to its persistent circulation in the environment. The improved sanitary condition and increase in awareness of personal hygiene have led to the marked reduction of HAV prevalence in industrialized countries during childhood and to a shift of the infection towards adulthood. HAV is an environmentally stable, positive single stranded RNA virus that is primarily transmitted by the fecal-oral route, person to person contact or ingestion of contaminated food and drink. One of the main causes leading to HAV infection is epidemiologically linked to the consumption of raw or undercooked shellfish particularly oysters and clams. Due to their filter-feeding style, these shellfishes readily concentrate viruses from the surrounding water containing municipal sewage, and as a consequence pose a health threat to consumers. Therefore, development of detection techniques possessing the requisite sensitivity and specificity for the practical routine monitoring purposes is of great importance necessary for the protection of shellfish-consuming public. Nucleic acid based method such as reverse transcription PCR has emerged as the popular method of choice in view of its rapidity, accuracy and
sensitivity in contrary of the time-consuming conventional cell culture and hybridization techniques. However, detection of hepatitis A virus is firstly hampered by the non-cytophatic effect of wild type HAV strain, secondly, the low concentration of viral genome present in the environmental sample which requires effective isolation and concentration of virions and lastly the labor-extensive purification and thorough removal of the abundance of the PCR inhibitors which will unfavorably reduce the efficiency of PCR detection.