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Funnel plot of the overall random-effects models of proportions of

Funnel plot of the overall random-effects models of proportions of

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Article
The dairy industry is of great importance to the European economy contributing towards € 8.7 billion of the total trade surplus. Caprine and ovine milk amount to 3.1% of the 152 million tonnes of milk produced in Europe, 95% of which is transformed into dairy products such as cheese. These cheeses are mostly produced in small holdings from untreate...

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... Table S4, Fig. S4), 2.5% (CI: 0.9 -7.4%) with Salmonella spp. (Table S5, Fig. S5), and 25% (CI: 17 -36%) with Staphylococcus spp. (Table S6, Fig. S6), when using the RE regression model (Fig. ...
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... funnel plot which relates the mean proportion from each sample set with its respective standard error as a measure of the level of confidence of the results of the estimated outcome of effect size [47], is given for the overall contamination of caprine and ovine cheese (Fig. 4) and can be used to assess the overall quality of the data. The symmetry of the distribution of data in the funnel plot is reflective of the ideal sample set where the observed outcome is symmetrically located between all the studies. Asymmetry of the funnel plot results when the number of studies is too low, the sampling error is high, ...
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... sample sets of Escherichia spp. and Staphylococcus spp. contamination show a wide distribution (Fig. 4B and 4F). Approximately half the studies have a ...
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... further understand these results, the funnel plot of the sample set of Listeria spp. contamination in caprine and ovine cheese was plotted (Fig. 4C), where most of the studies appear to be deviating from the funnel distribution. In fact, only 6 of the 16 sample sets fall within the funnel distribution and even then, have a moderate to high standard error. Out of the six studies in the funnel distribution, two are within the first standard deviation, two are within the second ...
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... sample sets of Penicillium spp. and Salmonella spp. have well distributed and symmetrical funnel plots ( Fig. 4D and 4E). The Egger's test for the asymmetry of these plots is also nonsignificant, indicating that the sample sets project the estimated effect size is well. However, the Salmonella spp. analysis is not necessarily appropriate as the four sample sets come from two studies only [31,37]. Of the four sample sets, two had a sample size of less ...

Citations

... After receipt, solid foods such as poultry, minced meat, perishable products, cheese, bolón, and fruits were aseptically cut into 2-5 g pieces. Broiler specimens were collected from fur-bearing areas, as suggested elsewhere 18 . For samples containing a mixture of liquid and solid foods such as ceviche, Encebollado, fruit salads, and sauces. ...
Article
The current study was carried out to estimate the risk of disease probability from the consumption of foods such as meats, poultry, unpasteurized cheeses, fruit-based drinks, ready-to-eat fruits, and typical preparations such as Encebollado, ceviche, and Bolón de Verde contaminated with Salmonella, Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes in Ecuador using a quantitative microbiological risk assessment (QMRA). A first-order Monte Carlo simulation probabilistic distribution approach was adopted to assess the occurrence of pathogens in the tested foods. The scenario was simulated using the concentration levels concerning the contaminant and food consumption obtained through an online survey with a sample size of 202 people. A model (100,000 iterations) was run and created in an Excel spreadsheet using @Risk software. The results obtained are the risk of infection (possibilities of becoming infected by eating the food evaluated) and the contaminant dose per portion consumed. Additionally, an exponential model with a single dose was used for risk characterization to determine the probability of becoming ill from contaminated food. The QMRA model performed a prediction for the mean risk of Salmonella infection from ground beef consumption of 1.33 E - 04 log 10 cfu / serving, while the exponential model estimated a value of 1.0 log cfu - serving. In the case of Listeria monocytogenes, the QMRA estimated an average probability of infection in unpasteurized fresh cheese of 5.9E-05 compared to the average disease risk estimated in the risk characterization for L. monocytogenes of 9.50E-13. The QMRA estimated an average risk of infection by E. coli for Encebollado and ceviches of 5.6E -03 compared to the average risk of disease estimated in the risk characterization for Escherichia coli of 0.387 log cfu -ration. These results suggest the need to adopt effective mitigation strategies. Control parameters such as temperature during the supply chain and good hygiene practices during manufacturing can effectively control food-associated pathogens. More data is necessary toimprove the evaluation of the risk developed. Keywords: Microbiological risk análisis, Infectious biological agents (Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli), QMRA (Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment), Typical foods in Ecuador, Population food consumption in three main cities of Ecuador.
... This may be due to the fact that Enterobacteriaceae spp is also strongly associated with spoilage and coercion of human health. Enterobacteriaceae spp were major bacteria in the spoilage of caprine and ovine cheese (Griffin et al., 2020), It is also the main microorganism responsible for the spoilage of dandelion (Dermesonluoglu et al., 2016). Enterobacteriaceae spp and so on were the main genera on the surface of the kitchens of food service facilities, posing a certain risk to food safety (Lim et al., 2021), and is also an important cause of healthcare-associated bloodstream infections (BSIs) in children (Boguniewicz et al., 2021). ...
Article
Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) composite films with the addition of mesoporous silica nanoparticles MSN (0, 2, 4 and 6 wt%) loaded with 10 wt% citral (CIT) were prepared for application in Chanterelles packaging. Composite films with added MSN/CIT showed good mechanical properties, especially 4MSN/CIT/PLA. Changes in physicochemical properties and bacterial flora of Chanterelles during packaging and storage were tested. Compared with CIT/PLA, Chanterelles packed with 4MSN/CIT/PLA showed about 1.62-times lower browning value, 1.53-times lower electrolyte permeability, and 1.83- and 1.78-times lower PPO and POD, respectively, at 12 day. Better physicochemical properties of Chanterelles can be maintained. For bacterial flora changes, Chanterelles packaged with 4MSN/CIT/PLA had more stable flora (p < 0.05) and lower species diversity during storage (p < 0.05), effectively controlling the growth and reproduction of their dominant spoilage bacteria (Enterobacteriaceae spp). In conclusion, the composite membranes obtained by the addition of MSN/CIT to PLA have great potential in the storage of Chanterelles.
... Therefore, raw caprine and ovine milk can be potential carriers of foodborne pathogens that could be linked to serious health risks. A recent meta-analysis study showed that the most prevalent genera are Listeria spp., Penicillium spp., Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus spp., and Escherichia spp., but data on the frequency of microbial contamination in cheese from small ruminants' milk (goat and sheep) are few [9]. The main sources of milk contamination are poor livestock salubriousness and herd health conditions, mastitis ubiquity, and improper milking and conservation practices [10]. ...
Article
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Milk is an excellent medium for the growth of several bacteria and other microorganisms and thus, it has been extensively studied. An always current issue in the dairy industry is mastitis, which causes losses in milk volume and profits. In many cases, milk is used raw or treated at low temperatures for further dairy processes while there are quite a few cases in which foodborne-related outbreaks have occurred. Both culture-based methods and PCR were used to assess the presence of certain pathogens related to both contagious and environmental pathogens, especially the emerging pathogenic bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae, as well as Staphyloccocus aureus and Enterobacter spp., which are associated with mastitis in milk samples from different lactating ruminant species (cows, goats, and sheep) and to further evaluate the significance of the isolated pathogens to public health. Even though significant mastitis contagious pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis were not detected, environmental pathogens related to poor hygiene conditions at the farm level (K. pneumoniae, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, and Enterococcus spp.) were detected. In particular, K. pneumoniae and Staphylococcus saprophyticus were present in ovine milk samples while bovine and caprine milk samples were contaminated with Enterococcus spp. The presence of these bacteria underlines the significant role of environmental hygiene especially since Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Enterococcus spp. are related to urinary tract infections and all of the tested pathogens may carry antibiotic resistance genes. More specifically, 20% of the isolated Klebsiella pneumoniae strains were found resistant to carbapenem antibiotics. The presence of emerging K. pneumoniae in ovine milk samples also indicates the need for new policies in terms of safety testing. Suggestions of monitoring processes carried out by the relevant authorities are discussed.
... The presence of foodborne pathogens and the inherent variability in artisanal food products characteristics are clearly interconnected. Some of them can be associated with contaminated raw materials, deficient hygienic-sanitary conditions, inappropriate fermentations, recontamination events, incorrect production settings or unexpected situations during the manufacturing process (Griffin et al., 2020). These situations have been frequently found in artisanal productions, which also highlight the need of considering raw milk cheeses as products of high concern for public health. ...
Article
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A harmonised microbiological survey was performed in two artisanal factories of raw goat milk cheeses (A and B) located in the Andalusian region (Spain). A total of 165 different control points or samples (raw materials, final products, food-contact surfaces [FCS], and air) were examined as microbial and pathogen sources of contamination of artisanal goat raw milk cheeses. For raw milk samples analysed from both producers, the concentrations of aerobic-mesophilic bacteria (AMB), total coliforms, coagulase-positive Staphylococcus spp. (CPS), lactic-acid bacteria (LAB) and moulds and yeasts ranged between 3.48 and 8.59, 2.45–5.48, 3.42–4.81, 4.99–8.59 and 3.35–6.85 log cfu/mL respectively. For the same microbial groups, the analysis of raw milk cheeses revealed concentrations ranging from 7.82 to 8.88, 2.00–6.82, 2.00–5.28, 8.11–9.57 and 2.00–5.76 log cfu/g, respectively. Although the raw material analysed from producer A presented higher microbial loads and between-batch variability, it was B the producer with the most loaded final products. Regarding the microbial air quality, the fermentation area, storage room, milk reception and packaging room were the most AMB loaded places, while the ripening chamber was the area with higher fungal loads in bioareosol from both producers. Conveyor belts, cutting machine, storage boxes and brine tank were highlighted as the most contaminated FCS evaluated. Staphylococcus aureus was the only pathogen detected within the set of 51 isolates from samples by MALDI-TOF and molecular PCR, with a prevalence of 12.5% for samples from the producer B. The public health risk attributed to the consumption of artisanal goat cheese should not be neglected, and may consider the whole cheesemaking processing chain, from microbiological quality of raw milk to the ready-to-eat final product, especially concerning the presence of S. aureus.
... FBOs associated with Brucella, Campylobacter, S. aureus and Flavivirus in cheese were also reported in the EU and a multicountry outbreak of STEC O26 was linked to Romanian cheese (in 2016). 23 The occurrence of Brucella has been mostly linked to artisan cheeses made with raw milk (Griffin et al., 2020). Similarly, originating in the raw milk, ...
Article
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High-pressure processing (HPP) is a non-thermal treatment in which, for microbial inactivation, foods are subjected to isostatic pressures (P) of 400–600 MPa with common holding times (t) from 1.5 to 6 min. The main factors that influence the efficacy (log10 reduction of vegetative microorganisms) of HPP when applied to foodstuffs are intrinsic (e.g. water activity and pH), extrinsic (P and t) and microorganism-related (type, taxonomic unit, strain and physiological state). It was concluded that HPP of food will not present any additional microbial or chemical food safety concerns when compared to other routinely applied treatments (e.g. pasteurisation). Pathogen reductions in milk/colostrum caused by the current HPP conditions applied by the industry are lower than those achieved by the legal requirements for thermal pasteurisation. However, HPP minimum requirements (P/t combinations) could be identified to achieve specific log10 reductions of relevant hazards based on performance criteria (PC) proposed by international standard agencies (5–8 log10 reductions). The most stringent HPP conditions used industrially (600 MPa, 6 min) would achieve the above-mentioned PC, except for Staphylococcus aureus. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), the endogenous milk enzyme that is widely used to verify adequate thermal pasteurisation of cows’ milk, is relatively pressure resistant and its use would be limited to that of an overprocessing indicator. Current data are not robust enough to support the proposal of an appropriate indicator to verify the efficacy of HPP under the current HPP conditions applied by the industry. Minimum HPP requirements to reduce Listeria monocytogenes levels by specific log10 reductions could be identified when HPP is applied to ready-to-eat (RTE) cooked meat products, but not for other types of RTE foods. These identified minimum requirements would result in the inactivation of other relevant pathogens (Salmonella and Escherichia coli) in these RTE foods to a similar or higher extent.
... Cheese is one of the utmost important fermented milk products produced and consumed by humans. In the European Union, 156.8 million tons of whole milk were processed in 2018, and 10.3 million tons of cheese was produced (Griffin et al., 2020). Of all the milk produced in the EU in 2018,37.7% was used for cheese production, being the main food obtained from milk. ...
Article
Enterococcus spp. were isolated from PDO-cheese of Azeitão and Nisa at six cheesemaking units (Azeitão: A1, A2, A3, A4; and Nisa: N9, N10), over four years (2016–2019). Genomic typing was performed using RAPD and distinct enterococci (n = 145) were identified at the species level by multiplex-PCR and evaluated regarding antimicrobial drug resistance (AMR). Antibiotics from nine distinct classes (aminoglycosides, macrolides, oxazolidinones, chloramphenicol, streptogramins, tetracyclines, glycopeptides, β-lactams, and quinolones) were selected for AMR surveillance and breakpoint criteria defined by EUCAST and CLSI were considered and compared. Regarding species allocation, 78 enterococci were identified as E. faecium, 37 confirmed as E. faecalis and 30 as E. durans. High levels of resistance to quinupristin-dalfopristin, tetracycline and teicoplanin were observed. Some resistances to clinically relevant antimicrobials were also detected, including β-lactams, aminoglycosides, and glycopeptides. Two isolates were considered multidrug-resistant, one according to EUCAST and the other to CLSI breakpoint criteria. Overall, considering the absence of reports regarding enterococcal-related toxinfections or infections resulting from the consumption of PDO-cheeses, traditional foods harbouring these bacteria should be considered safe. However, the possibility of horizontal gene transfer events associated with antibiotic resistance determinants further highlights the importance for AMR surveillance along the food chain.
Article
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The fungal component of the microbiota, the mycobiota, has been neglected for a long time due to its poor richness compared to bacteria. Limitations in fungal detection and taxonomic identification arise from using metagenomic approaches, often borrowed from bacteriome analyses. However, the relatively recent discoveries of the ability of fungi to modulate the host immune response and their involvement in human diseases have made mycobiota a fundamental component of the microbial communities inhabiting the human host, deserving some consideration in host–microbe interaction studies and in metagenomics. Here, we reviewed recent data on the identification of yeasts of the Ascomycota phylum across human body districts, focusing on the most representative genera, that is, Saccharomyces and Candida . Then, we explored the key factors involved in shaping the human mycobiota across the lifespan, ranging from host genetics to environment, diet, and lifestyle habits. Finally, we discussed the strengths and weaknesses of culture‐dependent and independent methods for mycobiota characterization. Overall, there is still room for some improvements, especially regarding fungal‐specific methodological approaches and bioinformatics challenges, which are still critical steps in mycobiota analysis, and to advance our knowledge on the role of the gut mycobiota in human health and disease. This article is categorized under: Immune System Diseases > Genetics/Genomics/Epigenetics Immune System Diseases > Environmental Factors Infectious Diseases > Environmental Factors
Article
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The mycobiome is the fungal component of the human microbial ecosystem that represents only a small part of this environment but plays an essential role in maintaining homeostasis. Colonization by fungi begins immediately after birth. The initial mycobiome is influenced by the gestational age of a newborn, birth weight, delivery method and feeding method. During a human’s life, the composition of the mycobiome is further influenced by a large number of endogenous and exogenous factors. The most important factors are diet, body weight, age, sex and antibiotic and antifungal therapy. The human mycobiome inhabits the oral cavity, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, urogenital tract and skin. Its composition can influence the gut–brain axis through immune and non-immune mediated crosstalk systems. It also interacts with other commensals of the ecosystem through synergistic and antagonistic relationships. Moreover, colonization of the gut by opportunistic fungal pathogens in immunocompromised individuals can lead to clinically relevant disease states. Thus, the mycobiome represents an essential part of the microbiome associated with a variety of physiological and pathological processes. This review summarizes the current knowledge on the composition of the mycobiome in specific sites of the human body and its role in health and disease.
Article
The massive food wastes pose a growing health concern for spreading of antibiotic resistance and pathogens due to food spoilage. However, little is known about these microbial hazards during collection, classification, and transportation before eventual treatment. Here, we profiled the temporal variations of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), pathogens, bacterial and fungal communities across four typical food wastes (vegetable, fish, meat, and rice) during storage at room temperature in summer (maximum 28-29 °C) of typical southeast city in China. A total of 171 ARGs and 32 mobile genetic elements were detected, and the absolute abundance of ARGs significantly increased by up to 126-fold with the storage time. Additionally, five bacterial pathogens containing virulence factor genes were detected, and Klebsiella pneumoniae was persistently detected throughout the storage time in all food types except rice. Moreover, fungal pathogens (e.g., Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Fusarium) were also frequently detected. Notably, animal food wastes were demonstrated to harbor higher abundance of ARGs and more types of pathogens, indicating a higher level of hazard. Mobile genetic elements and food types were demonstrated to mainly impact ARG profiles and pathogens, respectively. This work provides a comprehensive understanding of the microbial hazards associated with food waste recycling, and will contribute to optimize the food waste management to ensure biosecurity and benefit human health.