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Listeria monocytogenes is one of the most dangerous food-borne pathogens and is responsible for human listeriosis, a severe disease with a high mortality rate, especially among the elderly, pregnant women and newborns. Therefore, this bacterium has an important impact on food safety and public health. It is able to survive and even grow in a temperature range from -0.4°C to 45°C, a broad pH range from 4.6 to 9.5 and at a relatively low water activity (aW < 0.90), and tolerates salt content up to 20%. It is also resistant to ultraviolet light, biocides and heavy metals and forms biofilm structures on a variety of surfaces in food-production environments. These features make it difficult to remove and allow it to persist for a long time, increasing the risk of contamination of food-production facilities and ultimately of food. In the present review, the key mechanisms of the pathogen’s survival and stress adaptation have been presented. This information may grant better understanding of bacterial adaptation to food environmental conditions.

Listeria monocytogenes is an important foodborne pathogen responsible for human listeriosis, which is a disease with high hospitalisation and mortality rates. The bacteria are usually susceptible to most antibacterial substances, but resistance to some of them has been recently observed. The present study introduces the evidence on the emergence of antibiotic resistance among L. monocytogenes strains isolated from food and food-production environments in Poland.

Campylobacteriosis is the most common human foodborne bacterial infection worldwide and is caused by bacteria of the Camplylobacter genus. The main source of these bacteria is poultry, but other food-producing animals such as pigs are also responsible for human infections. An increasing number of strains with resistance to fluoroquinolones and other antimicrobials such as macrolides were recently noted. The aim of the study was to investigate Campylobacter contamination of porcine carcasses and determine the antimicrobial resistance of the obtained isolates.

The consumption of organic food has increased in recent years. In organic rearing animals are exposed to outdoor conditions, which may increase their risk of infection from various pathogens. In the present study the occurrence of the most significant foodborne pathogenic bacteria in organic meat and ready-to-eat organic meat products was assessed. Out of 100 raw organic meat samples tested, 72 were contaminated with bacterial pathogens. The highest percentage of contaminated samples was observed in poultry meat (92.5%) followed by pork meat (66.7%). Furthermore, 50.0% of beef origin samples were positive for the bacteria tested. L. monocytogenes was found in 39.0% of samples, S. aureus was identified in 37.0%, Campylobacter in 20.0%, Salmonella in 8.0% and Shigatoxin-producing E. coli in 4.0% of raw meat samples. In 31.0% of samples a co-occurrence of two (83.9%) or three (16.1%) pathogens was observed. Among 100 samples of organic meat products tested, only L. monocytogenes was found in 5.0% of samples. The result of the present study indicated that organic food may be a source of harmful microorganisms that may pose foodborne infections to consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyurethane foams constitute highly problematic waste due to their low density and consequently large volume. Among the most promising recycling approaches, the glycolysis of polyurethane waste stands out and was extensively discussed in this article. Existing literature reviews lack a detailed analysis of glycolysis processes and a clear presentation of the most important data. However, in this review, the scientific literature on glycolysis has been thoroughly examined and updated with the latest research in the field. The article provides an overview of glycolysis methods, categorized into rigid and flexible foams, along with a review of the catalysts and process conditions employed. Additionally, this study offers a comprehensive analysis of industrial methods protected by active patents, which has not been previously explored in the literature. This detailed examination of patent information adds significant value to the review and distinguishes it from others. Furthermore, this review also aims to introduce the main types of polyurethanes and their properties. It outlines the fundamentals of recycling strategies, thermomodernization trends, and environmental considerations, highlighting the critical role of recycling in the industry. The article serves as a complete foundation for exploring new alternative methods in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contaminations with cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli across the food chain may pose a significant threat to public health because those antimicrobials are critically important in human medicine. The impact of the presented data is especially significant concerning Poland's role as one of the leading food producers in the EU. This work aimed to characterize the genomic contents of cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli (n = 36) isolated from retail meat to expand the official AMR monitoring reported by EFSA. The ESBL mechanism was predominant (via blaCTX-M-1 and blaSHV-12), with the AmpC-type represented by the blaCMY-2 variant. The strains harbored multiple resistance genes, mainly conferring resistance to aminoglycosides, sulfonamides, trimethoprim, tetracyclines. In some isolates, virulence factors—including intimin (eae) and its receptor (tir) were detected, indicating significant pathogenic potential. Resistance genes showed a link with IncI1 and IncB/O/K/Z plasmids. Cephalosporinases were particularly linked to ISEc9/ISEc1 (blaCTX-M-1 and blaCMY-2). The association of virulence with mobile elements was less common—mostly with IncF plasmids. The analysis of E. coli isolated from retail meat indicates accumulation of ARGs and their association with various mobile genetic elements, thus increasing the potential for the transmission of resistance across the food chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In November 2023, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), published latest report on the monitoring of zoonoses and zoonotic agents in the European Union (EU) in 2022. The numbers of zoonoses cases were usually higher comparing to 2021. Campylobacteriosis was again the first, most reported zoonotic disease in the EU with 137,107 laboratory confirmed cases, including 528 in Poland. Poultry meat was still the most important food-borne source of Campylobacter organisms. Salmonellosis was the second most commonly recorded zoonosis with 65,208 confirmed cases (6,054 in Poland), and Salmonella spp. was mainly identified in fresh poultry meat and products thereof. In 2022, yersiniosis was the third reported zoonosis in the EU, with a total of 7,912 cases (180 in Poland), followed by E.coli VTEC infections (7,117 infected persons in the EU and only 34 in Poland). The number of listeriosis cases was 2,738 (142 persons in Poland) and the mortality was still high, since 286 persons have died. The number of Francisella tularensis food-borne infections and Q fever cases, were 620 (33 in Poland), and 719 (two in Poland), respectively, which were lower and higher than in the previous year, respectively. Brucella and Mycobacterium bovis or M. caprae infected persons identified in 2022 were of 198 and 130, respectively, with only one case of brucellosis in Poland. This article presents current data on this important health issue in EU countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction:Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most frequently reported causes of foodborne bacterial enteric disease worldwide. The main source of these microorganisms is contaminated food, especially of poultry origin. There are several molecular methods for differentiation of Campylobacter isolates at the subgenus level, and one of these is porA-typing based on the sequencing of the major outer-membrane protein (MOMP) encoding gene. The aim of the study was to test the molecular relationship of C. jejuni strains isolated at different points along the poultry food chain and assess the population structure of the isolates.

In 2015 in the European Union member states listeriosis caused 270 deaths. Food is the route of transmission in 99% of all human infection cases. Several studies from different countries have shown that the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in food can be as high as 58.3%. One of the most important ways to protect food from these microorganisms is to prevent the spread of the bacteria at processing plants at different stages of food production chain. The ability of L. monocytogenes to survive in extreme conditions and to form biofilms on various surfaces is a significant challenge for food safety. Removal of these bacteria from niches in processing plants is difficult and requires the use of sanitisers and precise equipment cleaning. The presence of L. monocytogenes in processing environment at slaughterhouses, deli meat factories or in retail may be a reason of cross-contamination. Proper hygienic systems applied by workers in food preparing places and knowledge about different routes of spreading of these bacteria may effectively decrease the risk of food contamination. Standardised legal regulations and control of meat product manufacture should be a fundamental way to protect food from L. monocytogenes contamination.

Introduction: The study objective was to develop and evaluate a new TaqMan multiplex real-time PCR method for Salmonella, L. monocytogenes, and verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) detection in slaughtered animal carcasses.

In December 2022, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), published the recent report on the monitoring of zoonoses and zoonotic agents in the European Union (EU) in 2021. The numbers of zoonoses cases were higher when compared with 2020. Campylobacteriosis remained the first most reported zoonotic disease in the EU with 127,840 laboratory confirmed cases, including 616 in Poland. Poultry meat was still the most important food-borne source of Campylobacter. Salmonellosis was the second most commonly recorded zoonosis with 60,050 confirmed cases (7,702 in Poland), and Salmonella was mainly identified in fresh poultry meat and products thereof. In 2021, yersiniosis was the third most often reported zoonosis in the EU, with a total of 6,789 cases (142 in Poland), followed by VTEC infections (6,084 infected persons in the EU and only 7 in Poland). The number of listeriosis cases was 2,183 (120 in Poland). However, the mortality of the disease was still high. The number of Francisella tularensis infections and Q fever cases in 2021 were 876 (43 in Poland) and 460 (none in Poland), respectively, what was higher than in the previous year. Brucella spp. and Mycobacterium bovis or M. caprae infected people identified in 2021 were of 162 and 111, respectively, with only one case of brucellosis in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In November 2022 the European Medicines Agency (EMA), published the 12th report on sales of antimicrobial agents used in veterinary medicine in 31 European countries in the year 2021. A total of 5,295.8 tons of those products were sold for animal treatment, which was 5.6% less when compared to 2020. In Poland 778,,7 tons were sold, which was 14,7% of total European consumption in 2021. Differences of sales of the various antimicrobial classes between the countries (mean 84,4 mg/population correction unit [PCU] in Europe), were observed, from 2,5 mg/PCU in Norway to 296,5 mg/PCU in Cyprus, while in Poland – 175,5 mg/PCU. These values show European and Polish decreases of 4,6% and 12,4% between 2020 and 2021, respectively The largest proportions of the sold antimicrobials were accounted for penicillins (31,2%), tetracyclines (25,8%), sulfonamides (9,9%), and macrolides (,5%). For the antimicrobial classes belonging to the list of critically important antimicrobials with highest priority in human medicine, namely 3rd and 4th generation of cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, and polymyxins, the sales for food-producing animals accounted for (in mg/PCU) 0,2%, 2,4, and 2,2%, of the total sales in the 31 countries in 2021, respectively. In Poland, these values were 0,4%, 1,7%, and 6,1%, respectively. For the period 2018–2021, an overall decline in sales (mg/PCU) of 28,7% was observed, from 118,3 mg/PCU in 2018 to 84,4 mg/PCU in 2021. During this period, sales also decreased in Poland by 6,6%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In November 2021, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), published the recent report on the monitoring of zoonoses and zoonotic agents in the European Union (EU), in 2020. The number of cases was usually much lower than in 2019, mainly due to lack of the United Kingdom data (non-EU Member State since January 31, 2020). Campylobacteriosis was still the first most reported zoonotic disease in the EU with 120,946 laboratory confirmed cases, including 414 in Poland. Poultry meat is probably still the most important food-borne source of Campylobacter due to remained a high level of these bacteria. Salmonellosis was the second most commonly recorded zoonosis with 52,702 confirmed human cases (5,205 in Poland), and Salmonella was mainly identified in fresh poultry meat and products thereof. In 2020, yersiniosis was the third on the list of reported zoonoses in EU, with a total of 7,048 cases (87 in Poland). VTEC infections in humans were identified in 4,446 people in the EU (only three cases in Poland), whereas the number of listeriosis cases was 1,876, including 62 people in Poland. However, the mortality was still high, since 167 (almost 9%), patients have died. The number of Francisella tularensis infections and Q fever cases were 641 and 523, respectively, which were much lower than in the previous year. Brucella and Mycobacterium bovis or M. caprae infected people identified in 2020 were 128 and 88 (none in Poland), respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As in previous years, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), published Report on the monitoring of zoonoses and zoonotic agents in the European Union (EU), in 2019. Campylobacteriosis still remains the first, most reported zoonotic disease in humans, in the EU, with 220,682 laboratory confirmed cases, including 715 in Poland. This means, that the trend for confirmed human cases of this disease was stable during years 2015–2019. Poultry meat is probably the most important source of food-borne Campylobacter. Salmonellosis was the second, most commonly recorded zoonosis with 87,923 confirmed human cases (8,373 in Poland), which is was at the a slightly lower level when compared to 2018. Salmonella was identified mainly in fresh poultry meat and products thereof. VTEC infections in humans, with regard to frequency, were the third reported zoonosis in the EU, with a total of 7,775 confirmed infections (14 in Poland), which was less than in the previous year (8,161 cases). Yersiniosis was identified in 7,048 people (196 in Poland), which was slightly less as compared to the previous data (7,204 cases). The number of listeriosis cases moderately increased to 2,621, including 121 people in Poland. However, the mortality rate was high and in the EU 300 persons have died, including 54 in our country. On the other hand, Listeria monocytogenes rarely exceeded the EU food safety limits in ready-to-eat food. The number of Francisella tularensis infections and Q fever cases were 1,280 and 950, respectively. For the first time since 2014, Q fever was identified in Poland (4 cases). Then, in 2019, Brucella and Mycobacterium bovis or M. caprae infected people were identified as 310 and 147 (two and 0 in Poland), respectively. This article aims at the presentation of the Report findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]