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Edible ice is often produced by special machines that can represent a source of significant chemical and microbiological contamination. In this work, the presence of phthalic acid esters (phthalates, PAEs) and heavy metals in ice cubes distributed by 77 vending machines installed in two different zones in southern Italy and fed by water from the public water supply was investigated. Solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography−mass spectrometry (SPME-GC/MS) was used to evaluate contamination with four PAEs, which were selected because they are commonly used in the production of food-contact plastics, while inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP/MS) was used to quantify the heavy metals. It was found that ice samples, especially those from one of the two considered zones (zone 2), exceeded the dibutyl phthalate (DBP) threshold limit value; some ice cubes from the other zone (zone 1) instead showed levels of both lead (Pb) and nickel (Ni) up to one order of magnitude higher than those observed in samples collected in zone 2 and higher than the maximum permitted values (European Directive n. 2184/2020). Since the water source connected to the ice vending machines was found to be free from significant levels of all considered target compounds and metals, the high levels of DBP, Ni, and Pb in ice cubes could be attributed to the components and/or to the state of repair of the ice vending machines themselves.

Among numerous public health actions, the Prevention Departments of Local Health Authorities take charge of the migrant asylum-seeking population for health assessments, for the implementation of preventive activities, and for any consequent actions. This report describes two cases of tuberculosis in Belluno Province managed by a multidisciplinary team made up of healthcare workers that involved numerous diagnostic, clinical, and prophylactic implications, as well as an analysis of the epidemiological aspects related to the incidence of cases along the migration route. Although the cases occurred in a northeastern Italian territory, the management methods described here may represent good practices to share on this operational line, which can promote the strengthening of cooperation between Health Authorities and Emergency Reception Centers to correctly identify cases of active tuberculosis that may not have been initially screen-detected.

Ice consumption has widely increased over the last decade. Cases of ice contamination by various microorganisms (bacteria, viruses and fungi) have been documented in the literature. In this review, we summarize the findings of selected articles on the hygienic and sanitary quality of food ice from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2023. A total of 14 articles found via the PubMed search engine during the study period were reviewed. From the comparison between the ice produced on an industrial scale and the ice produced on a local scale in food businesses, the latter was found to be more contaminated by microorganisms. The most detected bacteria included Escherichia coli, coliforms, Pseudomonas spp., Staphylococcus aureus; three studies evaluated the presence of Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus; two studies highlighted the presence of viruses (Rotavirus and Norovirus). Finally, two studies detected the presence of fungi (molds and yeasts). Almost all authors of the studies argued that ice contamination also depends on the hygienic–sanitary quality of the ice-making machines. The results show that the information currently available in the literature on the hygienic–sanitary quality of ice is incomplete and that future national and international scientific studies need to be carried out.

School is one of the main settings where it is useful to guarantee health promotion actions, as it is well known that diet and eating habits that are shaped in the early stages of life are maintained through adulthood. The objective of this study was to carry out the “Healthy Snack” project to promote nutritional education in primary schools in the Province of Belluno in the 2022–2023 school year, in which 925 students were enrolled, and to evaluate the intervention in terms of changes in eating habits during their school breaks. Following the workshops performed by the healthcare workers (HCWs), medals were awarded, taking into account the quality of the participating students’ mid-morning snacks, considering the food pyramid. The results collected in the annual survey period were related to the type and quantity of snacks consumed at school, and allowed students to gain a final score, comparing the period before and after the educational intervention to demonstrate the effectiveness of the actions promoted by HCWs and the increased nutritional quality of meals. In light of this evidence, public health strategies must continue to emphasize the importance of implementing health promotion interventions and actions aimed at children in order to prevent weight gain in this age group, and the potential development of cardiometabolic pathologies over their lifetime.

The extraordinary vaccination campaigns of the COVID-19 pandemic era put organizational and operational systems to the test in numerous territorial contexts. In the Veneto region, the activation of population vaccination centers (CVPs) guaranteed the provision of vaccines to mountain areas. These centers, drive-in and building-based, improved the efficiency of dose administration in relation to similar conditions where healthcare workers (HCWs) were routinely involved in clinics. Overall, a comparison of the two models investigated, with the same numbers of HCWs involved and the same opening hours for the vaccination sites, has shown that the CVPs are able to guarantee three times as many vaccines administered, compared with the traditional outpatient model. This study aims to provide a detailed analysis of the adopted organizational model, highlighting the best practices and improvements required to guarantee a timely and effective public health response, and evaluating the opportunities to deploy these innovative methods actively in a standard context.

Ensuring safe meals with suitable hygienic-sanitary and nutritional features is an essential requirement to guarantee health in different settings. This study aims to evaluate the compliance of collective catering menus adopted in both school canteens and healthcare facilities in a regional area where specific guidelines have been issued, assessing many matters from food weight to single courses and from the use of wholegrain pasta and bread to the rotation of seasonal fruit and vegetables. Overall, 85 menus, edited by freelance professionals and endorsed by the Food Hygiene and Nutrition Service staff of the Local Health Authority, were assessed from 2018 to 2022, highlighting critical issues potentially attributable at a local level to the lack of complete knowledge of the existence of guidelines and official reference documents among nutrition professionals. Since the preliminary outcomes show non-compliance in both sectors investigated, it is essential to continue to strengthen the role of prevention departments entrusted with services dedicated to food and nutritional safety and promote joint official controls performed by healthcare workers and other professionals with different backgrounds in order to ensure safe food for the target population that use collective catering services. In school canteens and healthcare facilities, providing and administering food is an opportunity to promote health through a balanced diet and safe food and offers opportunities for the development of community well-being and the local economy in a sustainable manner, understood in economic, environmental and social terms.

Health visitors (HVs) and environmental health officers (EHOs) are the healthcare workers (HCWs) who, in the Italian National Health Service, mainly operate in the prevention departments of local health authorities, guaranteeing the territorial activities specifically declared with the respective professional profiles. During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, it was necessary to reallocate all HCWs supporting Hygiene and Public Health Services involved on the front lines of the emergency, in order to perform preventive activities and to take immediate action to fight the spread of the virus. By means of an IT survey consisting of three sections, this study investigated how 960 HVs and EHOs dealt with this reallocation, with the shifting in service assignment, and with the perceived level of fatigue and pressure, through the application of skills acquired from university training. The synergy among the preventive health professions, the ability to work in a multi-professional team, and the complementary training of HCWs represent the main strengths for overcoming future public health challenges, aimed at protecting human health.

Awareness of the importance of the microbial contamination of air and surfaces has increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of bacteria and fungi in the air and on surfaces within some critical areas of large supermarkets with and without an ozonation system. Surveys were conducted in four supermarkets belonging to the same commercial chain of an Apulian city in June 2021, of which two (A and B) were equipped with an ozonation system, and two (C and D) did not have any air-diffused remediation treatment. There was a statistically significant difference in the total bacterial count (TBC) and total fungal count (TFC) in the air between A/B and C/D supermarkets (p = 0.0042 and p = 0.0002, respectively). Regarding surfaces, a statistically significant difference in TBC emerged between A/B and C/D supermarkets (p = 0.0101). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating the effect of ozone on commercial structures in Italy. Future investigations, supported by a multidisciplinary approach, will make it possible to deepen the knowledge on this method of sanitation, in light of any other epidemic/pandemic waves.

Data concerning overweight and obesity in children and adolescent populations are alarming and represent one of the most serious public health problems of our time. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the school environment may play an important role in health promotion with regard to nutritional aspects. This article reports the results of a study conducted in the Apulia region (Southern Italy), aimed at providing an integrated surveillance of the behaviors related to nutrition habits in students and the hygienic and nutritional conditions of the school’s canteens attended by enrolled students. To this purpose, a sample of 501 students attending primary school (third class—children approximately eight years old) replied to a validated questionnaire, and official controls (OC), of both food and nutritional safety, were performed in 22 primary schools. A team of healthcare professionals carried out the study, and the implementation of all the prescribed improvement actions were subsequently verified through follow-up OC. The results of our study show a critical situation in the student sample, with 41.3% of children having a weight excess (overweight or obesity). With regard to the children’s behaviors, only 59.8% of children ate at least one fruit or had a fruit juice for breakfast, and 10.8% did not have breakfast at all. Overall, 40.1% of the total children played outdoors the afternoon before the survey and 45% reported going to school on foot or by bicycle. During the afternoon, 83.5% of the sample watched television or used video games/tablets/mobile phones, while 42.3% played sports. The schools had an internal canteen with on-site preparation of meals in 36.4%, the remaining 63.6% received meals from external food establishments. With regard to OC, for the hygienic–sanitary section, eleven prescriptions were issued, in the great part related to the structure and organization of the canteen. For the nutritional section, nine corrective actions were prescribed, mainly related to official documents and management. The follow-up OC showed that all prescriptions were subsequently addressed. Eating at school was less frequent among obese and overweight students compared with those with normal weight. Although this evidence needs to be further confirmed, it highlights the potential role that the school canteens may play in health promotion and prevention of nutritional disorders. On the other hand, in order to fulfill its health promotion task, the school canteens have to comply with official regulations and guidelines; therefore, OC during the management of the food service at school are needed.

We performed a comprehensive study encompassing chemical characterization and sensory evaluation of two types of dark chocolate, i.e., artisanal (Choco-A) and industrial (Choco-I), as well as an evaluation of onset of gastrointestinal symptoms and gastrointestinal motility in healthy subjects fed with dark chocolate. Proteomic, lipid and metabolite analysis were performed by LC-MS/MS analysis and the total phenol content and antioxidant activity were estimated in both types of chocolate. Fifty healthy volunteers joined the study of the sensory characteristics of both types of chocolate; another 16 subjects underwent the study of gallbladder and gastric emptying by functional ultrasonography and orocecal transit time by lactulose H2-breath test after ingestion of dark chocolate. Identification of polyphenols, amino acids and fatty acids was carried out in both types of chocolate analysed, and results confirmed their richness in polyphenols, amino acid derivatives and fatty acids (FAs) either saturated (stearic, myristic, palmitic, ecosanoic) or unsaturated (oleic and linolenic). For agreeability, Choco-A scored higher than Choco-I for smell, texture, and taste and they did not show significant differences in the gastrointestinal motility. In conclusion as for gastrointestinal motility studies, we report that the ingestion of a small amount of chocolate induced a mild gallbladder, gastric contraction and a fast transit time compared to the test meal in healthy subjects.