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The risk of fungal spoilage of sports drinks produced in the beverage industry was assessed using quantitative microbial spoilage risk assessment (QMSRA). The most relevant pathway was the contamination of the bottles during packaging by mould spores in the air. Mould spores' concentration was estimated by longitudinal sampling for 6 years (936 samples) in different production areas and seasons. This data was analysed using a multilevel model that separates the natural variability in spore concentration (as a function of sampling year, season, and area) and the uncertainty of the sampling method. Then, the expected fungal contamination per bottle was estimated by Monte Carlo simulation, considering their settling velocity and the time and exposure area. The product's shelf life was estimated through the inoculation of bottles with mould spores, following the determination of the probability of visual spoilage as a function of storage time at 20 and 30 °C using logistic regression. The Monte Carlo model estimated low expected spore contamination in the product (1.7 × 10 -6  CFU/bottle). Nonetheless, the risk of spoilage is still relevant due to the large production volume and because, as observed experimentally, even a single spore has a high spoilage potential. The applicability of the QMSRA during daily production was made possible through the simplification of the model under the hypothesis that no bottle will be contaminated by more than one spore. This simplification allows the calculation of a two-dimensional performance objective that combines the spore concentration in the air and the exposure time, defining "acceptable combinations" according to an acceptable level of spoilage (ALOS; the proportion of spoiled bottles). The implementation of the model at the operational level was done through the representation of the simplified model as a two-dimensional diagram that defines acceptable and unacceptable areas. The innovative methodology employed here for defining and simplifying QMSRA models can be a blueprint for future studies aiming to quantify the risk of spoilage of other beverages with a similar scope., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this study, P. fluorescens-infecting phages were isolated, characterized, and evaluated to their potential to control the bacterial counts and, consequently, the proteolytic spoilage of raw milk during cold storage. The UFJF_PfDIW6 and UFJF_PfSW6 phages showed titers of 9.7 and 7.6 log PFU/ml; latent period of 115 and 25 min, and burst size of 145 and 25 PFU/infected cell, respectively. They also were highly specific to the host bacterium, morphologically classified as the Podoviridae family, stable at pH 5 to 11 and were not inactivated at 63 °C or 72 °C for 30 min. These phages found to be effective against P. fluorescens, reducing bacterial count throughout the entire exponential growth phase in broth formulated with milk at both 4 °C and 10 °C. This effect on bacteria growth led to inhibition by at least 2 days in proteases production, delaying the degradation of milk proteins. When applied together in raw milk stored at 4 °C, they reduced the total bacteria, psychrotrophic, and Pseudomonas by 3 log CFU/ml. This study's findings indicate that these phages have a great potential to prevent the growth of Pseudomonas and, consequently, to retard proteolytic spoilage of raw milk during chilled storage., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Innovative technologies for the pasteurization of food products have increased due to the global demand for higher-quality food products. In this regard, the current article aimed to provide an overview regarding the latest research on US application in the decontamination of fungi in food products and highlight the parameters influencing the effectiveness of this method. Therefore, the related article with inactivation of fungi and mycotoxins by ultrasound among last four years (2018-2021) by using terms such as 'mycotoxin,' 'inactivation,' 'ultrasound,' 'decontamination' among some international databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Google Scholar" was retrieved. Ultrasound (US) is considered a non-thermal decontamination method for food products. In US, the release of energy due to the acoustic phenomenon destroys microorganisms. This technology is advantageous as it is inexpensive, eco-friendly, and does not negatively affect food products' food structure and organoleptic properties. The influence of the US on food structure and organoleptic properties dramatically depends on the intensity and energy density applied In addition, it can preserve higher levels of ascorbic acid, lycopene, and chlorophyll in sonicated food products. The treatment conditions, including frequency, intensity, duration, temperature, and processing pressure, influence the effectiveness of decontamination. However, US displays synergistic or antagonistic effects on bacteria, yeasts, molds, and mycotoxins when combined with other types of decontamination methods such as chemical and thermal approaches. Thus, further research is needed to clarify these effects. Overall, the application of US methods in the food industry for decreasing the microbial content of food products during processing has been applied. However, the use of US with other techniques needs to be studied further., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Emerging decontamination technologies have been attracted considerable attention to address the consumers' demand for high quality and safe food products. As one of the important foods in the human diet, cereals are usually stored for long periods, resulting in an increased risk of contamination by different hazards. Mycotoxins comprise one of the significant contaminants of cereals that lead to enormous economic losses to the industry and threats to human health. While prevention is the primary approach towards reducing human exposure to mycotoxins, decontamination methods have also been developed as complementary measures. However, some conventional methods (chemical treatments) do not fulfill industries' expectations due to limitations like safety, efficiency, and the destruction of food quality attributes. In this regard, novel techniques have been proposed to food to comply with the industry's demand and overcome conventional methods' limitations. Novel techniques have different efficiencies for removing or reducing mycotoxins depending on processing conditions, type of mycotoxin, and the food matrix. Therefore, this review provides an overview of novel mycotoxin decontamination technologies such as cold plasma, irradiation, and pulse light, which can be efficient for reducing mycotoxins with minimum adverse effects on the quality and nutritional properties of produce., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The contamination of food commodities in various conditions along the production chain is the point of concern, especially among recent years. While different conventional methods for microbial and mycotoxin decontamination of cereal and cereal-based products were introduced, approaching of newly introduced techniques such as Electron Beam Irradiation (EBI) attracted notable attention. EBI is classified as a non-thermal method for decontamination with several advantages over conventional thermal treatments, including environmental friendly, time effective, and lower detrimental effects on the nutritional value of food products. By contrast, the high needed investment for providing accelerators and low penetration power of the electron beam are among the limitations for the use of EBI in food industries. Importantly, the effectiveness of this method increased when applied in combination with other traditional approaches. In this paper, a review of available data regarding the application of EBI in reducing of the mycotoxin and microbial contaminations of cereal-based products is presented, indicating potential applications of this technique to significantly reduce the microbial load and main mycotoxins, especially when combined with fermentation methods. This promising technology can be considered as one of available alternatives in microbial and mycotoxin decontamination of cereal and cereal-based products., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to evaluate the perception of Brazilian dairy processors (n = 31) concerning food defense. The results showed that respondents consider the implementation of control procedures related to facilities, products, materials, and individuals as important measures in food defense. The higher agreement rates (strongly agreed + slightly agreed) of the companies in relation to the perception of food defense were 84% for external security, followed by personnel security (82%), generalities (81%), and internal security (74%). Thus, protecting facilities and controlling the traffic flow were considered to be the most important actions under the participants' perspectives. Employee satisfaction and identification of end products and raw materials are also considered relevant in the food defense program. Although food defense is not a formal requirement in Brazilian law, the results show that there is adequate awareness of this topic by the Brazilian dairy companies., (Copyright © 2020 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The study aimed to perform a meta-analysis on the fate of ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEN), deoxynivalenol (DON) and total aflatoxin (TAF) during steps of bread and pasta-based products processing. A total of twenty and eight articles (549 data) collected from 1983 through June 2017 were included. Some of the investigated processing such as milling and fermentation caused an increase in the concentration of DON and TAF; although they reduce the concentration of ZEN and OTA. Also, heat processing (cooking) decrease the DON, OTA, and TAF and increase the concentration of ZEN in bread. Cooking reduces the concentration of DON and ZEN in the biscuit. Cooking of pasta reduces the content of DON; however, it increases the concentration of TFA. The findings showed that the mycotoxins and their fate were influenced differently by the unit operations steps involved in the preparation of the different cereal-based products., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and concentration of total aflatoxin (TAF) ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEN) and deoxynivalenol (DON) in bread, cornflakes, breakfast cereals and pasta-based products through meta-analysis. The required databases including (PubMed and Scopus databases) were investigated to collect data on the concentration and prevalence of mentioned mycotoxins in cereal-based products. Among 2461 explored articles in identification step, 38 articles with 9627 samples were included in the conducted meta-analysis. The prevalence and concentration of studied mycotoxins varied with the cereal-based food studied. In this context, the overall rank order of mycotoxins prevalence in the cereal foods was OTA > DON > ZEN > TAF > 15-ADON > 3-ADON. Also, the overall rank order of mycotoxins based on concentration in the cereal foods investigated was DON > ZEN > 15-ADON > OTA > 3-ADON > TAF. The findings of this meta-analysis may be useful for the building of risk assessment models aiming to derive data for the development of specific actions to reduce the exposure to OTA, ZEN, TAF, and DON through the consumption of the cereal-based products., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this study, the contamination levels of aflatoxins (AFs) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in 88 collected samples from Iran's market including dried mulberry, date, fig, and apricot were evaluated. The margin of exposure (MOE) was estimated to assess the risk of dietary intake of aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) and OTA. The incidence of AFB 1 in dried mulberry, date, fig and apricot samples was 45.5, 40.9, 59.1, and 81.8%, respectively. Although the mean total AFs content in contaminated samples of date (2.61 μg/kg), fig (3.43 μg/kg) and apricot (2.91 μg/kg) was lower than the maximum limit set in the European Union (EU) (4 μg/kg), dried mulberry samples showed a higher contamination level (4.12 μg/kg). The co-occurrence of OTA and AFs were noted in 4 (18.9%), 2 (9.1%), 4 (18.2%), and 10 (45.5%) in the dried mulberry, date, fig and apricot samples, respectively. Based on the calculated MOE, the dietary exposure to AFs through the consumption of dried fruit in Iran poses a potential risk to consumer health. OTA was detected in 45.45%, 22.72%, 45.45%, and 50% of mulberry, date, fig and apricot samples, respectively. However, OTA levels in all types of dried fruit were below recommended level in EU regulation (10 μg/kg) and MOE >10000, representing no toxicological concerns for consumers., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this study was to develop a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) model to estimate the risk of illness caused by Salmonella in ready-to-eat (RTE) leafy greens, based on common practices in Brazilian processing plants. The risk assessment model considered five modules: in field, washing step, retail storage, home storage and dose-response. Fifty thousand iterations of a @Risk model built in Excel were run for each of sixty scenarios. These scenarios considered different initial pathogen concentrations, fractions of contaminated produce and chlorine concentrations. For chlorine, seven pre-set concentrations (0, 5, 10, 25, 50, 150 and 250mg/L) and three triangular distributions were considered [RiskTriang(0,5,10mg/L), RiskTriang(0,80,250mg/L) and RiskTriang(10,120,250mg/L)]. The outputs were risk of infection, estimated number of illnesses and estimated percent of illnesses arising from cross-contamination. The QMRA model indicated quantitatively that higher chlorine concentrations resulted in lower risk of illness. When simulation was done with <5mg/L of chlorine, most (>96%) of the illnesses arose from cross-contamination, but when a triangular distribution with 10, 120 and 250mg/L of chlorine was simulated, no illnesses arising from cross-contamination were predicted. Proper control of the sanitizer in the washing step is essential to reduce initial contamination and avoid cross-contamination., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The present study describes the implementation of a food safety system in a dairy processing plant located in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, and the challenges found during the process. In addition, microbiological indicators have been used to assess system's implementation performance. The steps involved in the implementation of a food safety system included a diagnosis of the prerequisites, implementation of the good manufacturing practices (GMPs), sanitation standard operating procedures (SSOPs), training of the food handlers, and hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP). In the initial diagnosis, conformity with 70.7% (n=106) of the items analyzed was observed. A total of 12 critical control points (CCPs) were identified: (1) reception of the raw milk, (2) storage of the raw milk, (3 and 4) reception of the ingredients and packaging, (5) milk pasteurization, (6 and 7) fermentation and cooling, (8) addition of ingredients, (9) filling, (10) storage of the finished product, (11) dispatching of the product, and (12) sanitization of the equipment. After implementation of the food safety system, a significant reduction in the yeast and mold count was observed (p<0.05). The main difficulties encountered for the implementation of food safety system were related to the implementation of actions established in the flow chart and to the need for constant training/adherence of the workers to the system. Despite this, the implementation of the food safety system was shown to be challenging, but feasible to be reached by small-scale food industries.

The growth parameters (growth rate, μ and lag time, λ) of three different strains each of Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes in minimally processed lettuce (MPL) and their changes as a function of temperature were modeled. MPL were packed under modified atmosphere (5% O₂, 15% CO₂ and 80% N₂), stored at 7-30 °C and samples collected at different time intervals were enumerated for S. enterica and L. monocytogenes. Growth curves and equations describing the relationship between μ and λ as a function of temperature were constructed using the DMFit Excel add-in and through linear regression, respectively. The predicted growth parameters for the pathogens observed in this study were compared to ComBase, Pathogen modeling program (PMP) and data from the literature. High R² values (0.97 and 0.93) were observed for average growth curves of different strains of pathogens grown on MPL. Secondary models of μ and λ for both pathogens followed a linear trend with high R² values (>0.90). Root mean square error (RMSE) showed that the models obtained are accurate and suitable for modeling the growth of S. enterica and L. monocytogenes in MP lettuce. The current study provides growth models for these foodborne pathogens that can be used in microbial risk assessment., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of Alicyclobacillus spp. in fruit/vegetable juices (concentrated pulps and clarified and non-clarified juices) marketed in Argentina between 1996 and 2009. The presence of Alicyclobacillus was determined in a total of 8556 samples of fruit and vegetable juices (apple, pear, grape, peach, blend of juices, tangerine, pineapple, orange, mango, plum, guava, apricot, lemon, banana, kiwi, carrot, strawberry, grapefruit, and beetroot) collected in seven Argentinean provinces. Multiple factor analysis (MFA) was carried out on a data matrix that contained the percentage of positive samples, type of juice, raw material and production year. Except for kiwi and orange, Alicyclobacillus was found in juices from all the evaluated raw materials. The highest percentage of positive samples was found for beetroot, strawberry, banana, peach, mango, carrot and plum juices. The percentage of positive samples for these juices ranged from 100% to 24%. Furthermore, the application of multivariate techniques provided an insight on the relationship between the incidence of Alicyclobacillus and production variables. This approach enabled the identification of the most relevant variables that increased the percentage of positive samples among the juices, which could help in developing strategies to avoid the incidence of this bacterium. By means of hierarchical cluster analysis seven groups (clusters) of juices which showed different percentages of positive samples for Alicyclobacillus spp. were identified. This analysis showed that pineapple, peach, strawberry, mango and beetroot juices had higher rates of positivity for Alicyclobacillus than the rest of the evaluated juices. MFA analysis also showed that some clear relationships could be highlighted between the percentage of samples positive for Alicyclobacillus and five types of fruit juices (strawberry, beetroot, grapefruit, pineapple and mango). It was observed that a large proportion of juices produced in 2000, 2005 and 2008 were located in clusters with higher incidence of Alicyclobacillus spp., whereas a larger proportion of clarified concentrate juice and concentrate pulp samples showed higher probability of incidence of Alicyclobacillus in these products. Data presented in this study brings a contribution to the ecology of Alicyclobacillus in fruit/vegetable juices marketed in Argentina. This information would be useful to enhance the microbiological stability of fruit juices regarding the presence of Alicyclobacillus spp., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Minimally processed vegetables (MPV) may be important vehicles of Salmonella spp. and cause disease. This study aimed at detecting and enumerating Salmonella spp. in MPV marketed in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. A total of 512 samples of MPV packages collected in retail stores were tested for Salmonella spp. and total coliforms and Escherichia coli as indication of the hygienic status. Salmonella spp. was detected in four samples, two using the detection method and two using the counting method, where the results were 8.8 × 10(2) CFU/g and 2.4 × 10(2) CFU/g. The serovars were Salmonella Typhimurium (three samples) and Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica O:47:z4,z23:- (one sample). Fourteen samples (2.7%) presented counts of E. coli above the maximum limit established by the Brazilian regulation for MPV (10(2) CFU/g). Therefore, tightened surveillance and effective intervention strategies are necessary in order to address consumers and governments concerns on safety of MPV., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The objectives of this study were to isolate psychrotrophic clostridia from Brazilian vacuum-packed beef cuts (spoiled or not) and to identify the isolates by using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Anaerobic psychrotrophic microorganisms were also enumerated and samples were collected to verify the incidence of psychrotrophic clostridia in the abattoir environment. Vacuum-packed beef cuts (n=8 grossly distended and n=5 non-spoiled) and environmental samples were obtained from a beef packing plant located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Each sample was divided in three subsamples (exudate, beef surface and beef core) that were analyzed for vegetative forms, total spore-forming, and sulfide reducing spore-forming, both activated by alcohol and heat. Biochemical profiles of the isolates were obtained using API20A, with further identification using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The growth temperature and the pH range were also assessed. Populations of psychrotrophic anaerobic vegetative microorganisms of up to 10(10)CFU/(g, mL or 100 cm(2)) were found in 'blown pack' samples, while in non-spoiled samples populations of 10(5)CFU/(g, CFU/mL or CFU/100 cm(2)) was found. Overall, a higher population of total spores and sulfide reducing spores activated by heat in spoiled samples was found. Clostridium gasigenes (n=10) and C. algidicarnis (n=2) were identified using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Among the ten C. gasigenes isolates, six were from spoiled samples (C1, C2 and C9), two were isolated from non-spoiled samples (C4 and C5) and two were isolated from the hide and the abattoir corridor/beef cut conveyor belt. C. algidicarnis was recovered from spoiled beef packs (C2). Although some samples (C3, C7, C10 and C14) presented signs of 'blown pack' spoilage, Clostridium was not recovered. C. algidicarnis (n=1) and C. gasigenes (n=9) isolates have shown a psychrotrophic behavior, grew in the range 6.2-8.2. This is the first report on the isolation of psychrotrophic Clostridium (C. gasigenes and C. algidicarnis) in Brazil. This study shows that psychrotrophic Clostridium may pose a risk for the stability of vacuum-packed beef produced in tropical countries during shelf-life and highlights the need of adopting control measures to reduce their incidence in abattoir and the occurrence of 'blown pack' spoilage., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to verify the pasteurization efficiency and the microbiological quality of milk sold in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The microbial quality of pasteurized milk samples was assessed by sample testing for the presence of Salmonella spp., coliforms at 35 degrees C, coliforms at 45 degrees C, and mesophilic bacterial counts. In addition, the pasteurization efficiency was verified through tests of neutral phosphatase and peroxidase enzymes. Salmonella spp. were not detected in any (100%) of the analyzed samples. However, 85 (70.8%) and 69 (57.5%) of the samples were noncompliant with current legal standards for coliforms at 35 degrees C and 45 degrees C, respectively. As for the aerobic mesophilic bacteria, 48 (40.0%) of the samples were noncompliant. From the 120 samples of pasteurized milk studied, 100% were negative for neutral phosphatase, whereas 12 (10.0%) were negative for peroxidase. Logistic regression indicated the absence of relationship between present lactoperoxidase and all the microbiological parameters studied, which suggested that the quality of pasteurized milk was associated with factors related to steps before or after heat treatment.