{"title":"Assessment of aflatoxin levels in whole and peeled ginger marketed in Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania","authors":"Isaac Makundi, Nicas Ngoyinde","doi":"10.18502/jfsh.v9i4.15005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18502/jfsh.v9i4.15005","url":null,"abstract":"Aflatoxins are naturally occurring toxins, predominantly produced by the fungi Aspergillus flavusand Aspergillus parasiticus. These toxins are often found in numerous agricultural and food products worldwide. The current study investigated the natural occurrence of total aflatoxins in dried split ginger purchased from different local markets in the Dar-Es-Salaam region, the eastern zone of Tanzania. Using a cross-sectional sampling design, a total of 50 ginger samples were analyzed in two preparations as a whole and peeled ginger based on Q+ Aflatoxin single-step lateral flow immuno-chromatographic assay. The results revealed that all ginger samples analyzed were positive for aflatoxins with levels ranging from 5.7–28.0 mg/kg and 3.1–21.5 mg/kg for whole and peeled ginger respectively. Forty (80%) and fifteen (30%) of the samples for whole and peeled ginge respectively were above the Tanzanian legally permissible limit of 10 mg/kg. Interestingly, aflatoxins level of contamination in whole ginger were significantly higher than in peeled ginger (p<0.0001). This is the first report on the natural occurrence of aflatoxins in whole and peeled ginger samples from Tanzania. The findings of this study indicated that ginger peels are relatively prone to aflatoxin contamination.","PeriodicalId":91000,"journal":{"name":"Journal of food safety and hygiene","volume":"10 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140424728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evaluation of bacteriological quality and safety of sugarcane juice locally processed and vended in Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania","authors":"Abdusudi Issa-Zacharia, Stephen Paul Rwabunywenge","doi":"10.18502/jfsh.v9i4.15003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18502/jfsh.v9i4.15003","url":null,"abstract":"The prevalence of foodborne illness linked to the intake of freshly squeezed juices sold by street vendors is on the rise, despite the widespread use of these beverages by millions of people in developing nations. Hence, a study was undertaken to evaluate the microbiological standard and safety of locally processed and street-vended sugarcane juices in Dar es Salaam to ascertain their present condition. A total of 60 samples of sugarcane juice were gathered and examined. Street vendors involved in the sugarcane juice business were interviewed followed by physical-chemical and microbiological laboratory analysis. The pH of unpasteurized sugarcane juice was 4.8 and 4.9 for iced and raw, respectively while the pH for pasteurized and pasteurized juice in which citric acid was added were receptively, 4.3 and 3.1. The average level of titratable acidity was 0.083%. The Soluble solids (°Brix) of unpasteurized raw, iced and pasteurized sugarcane juice ranged from 12.2- 22.1, 2.4-13.8 and 14.1-15.8. The total plate counts (TPC) of unpasteurized sugarcane juice showed a mean of 5.592 and 5.64 log cfu/mL for raw and iced sugarcane juice, respectively. About 90% of samples were above TBS and Codex recommended maximum limits of 3.7 to 4 log cfu/mL or 5×10³- 10⁴ cfu/mL. Unpasteurized raw and iced sugarcane juice were contaminated with 1.79 and 2.10 log cfu/mL of E. coli while no typical Salmonella spp. was detected in all 60 samples. The study concluded that the microbiological quality and overall handling practices associated with unpasteurized sugarcane juice sold in Dar es Salaam City were substandard.","PeriodicalId":91000,"journal":{"name":"Journal of food safety and hygiene","volume":"30 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140427299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hanieh Nobari Moghaddam, Shahrzad Alaeepajouh, Masoomeh Behzad, M. Hajimahmoodi, N. Sadeghi
{"title":"Evaluating the antioxidant activity and the level of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in honey","authors":"Hanieh Nobari Moghaddam, Shahrzad Alaeepajouh, Masoomeh Behzad, M. Hajimahmoodi, N. Sadeghi","doi":"10.18502/jfsh.v9i4.15000","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18502/jfsh.v9i4.15000","url":null,"abstract":"Honey is one of the richest sources of antioxidants due to a variety of phenolic acids and flavonoids. Another prime chemical indicator of assessing honey quality is 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) which indicates the freshness of honey as well as exposure to heat. Increasing HMF above the permissible limit could cause cytotoxic and mutagenic effects. In this study, we evaluate the antioxidant activity and radical scavenging capacity of forty samples of natural and commercial Iranian honey. Also, we determine the HMF content in these samples. This aim was achieved through ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, and white methods. Results of DPPH (in the range of 3.13% to 66.61%) revealed there was no significant difference between natural and commercial honey in terms of radical scavenging activity (p˃0.05). On the other hand, the results of FRAP showed that natural honey had a significantly higher total antioxidant capacity than commercial honey (p˂0.05). There was a significant difference between honey samples from different plants, too. Furthermore, there was a significant difference between natural and commercial honey in terms of radical scavenging activity and HMF levels (p˂0.05). The result of HMF content was in the range of 8.64 to 98.48 mg/kg. Eventually, it could be concluded that climate, plant source, process of production and storage have an impact on these parameters. Also, some honey samples have high HMF content due to heat-treated processes or dated products.","PeriodicalId":91000,"journal":{"name":"Journal of food safety and hygiene","volume":"67 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140424336","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nadia James Killa, Ombui Jackson Nyarongi, Gathura Peter Baaro
{"title":"Assessment of meat preservation methods used by retailers and the estimation of direct economic losses associated with meat spoilage in Kenya","authors":"Nadia James Killa, Ombui Jackson Nyarongi, Gathura Peter Baaro","doi":"10.18502/jfsh.v9i4.14999","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18502/jfsh.v9i4.14999","url":null,"abstract":"Meat spoilage reduces the meat quality and the revenue from the meat industry. This study assessed the direct impact of ineffective meat preservation methods on economic loss among meat retailers in the Dagoretti region of Nairobi, Kenya. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 87 butcheries and 9 supermarkets from low, middle, and high-income areas using a systematic sampling technique. The meat losses were measured by kilograms of spoilt meat and associated financial cost was estimated. Descriptive and Inferential statistics were used to establish the significance of the association between preservation and demographic factors. A correlation analysis was used to estimate the strength of the relationship between the factors. The study revealed that most of meat handlers heavily relied on refrigeration methods (73%) for storing meat, and 27% hung meat at room temperature due to the high cost of electricity and deep freezers. Furthermore, it revealed that each meat retail business lost 2.3 kg (1.0-3.0 kg) on average per week, which indicates financial losses of USD 11.5 (Range 5.0-15.0 USD) per week or USD 598 (Range USD 260-790) per year. These losses were mainly associated with moisture loss (49%) and microbial spoilage (22%). Poor storage and meat handling practices were blamed for spoilt meat. Meat retailers reported fly menace disturbing their business. It’s recommended that the government implement policies to reduce electricity bills and enhance the adoption of refrigeration methods, while industry stakeholders should facilitate initiatives for public awareness on appropriate methods of meat preservation. Additionally, retail cut meat products on display should be wrapped with permeable film to reduce moisture loss. Further study is needed for a comprehensive analysis of direct economic losses segregated by meat types and preservation forms.","PeriodicalId":91000,"journal":{"name":"Journal of food safety and hygiene","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140425435","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zeyana Nassor Mohamed, A. Issa-Zacharia, Frida Nyamete
{"title":"Evaluation of heavy metals contamination in Rabbit Fish (Signus Sutor) from selected landing sites in Zanzibar, Tanzania","authors":"Zeyana Nassor Mohamed, A. Issa-Zacharia, Frida Nyamete","doi":"10.18502/jfsh.v9i4.15001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18502/jfsh.v9i4.15001","url":null,"abstract":"The increase of heavy metals concentrations in aquatic and terrestrial environments and their toxicity is of global concern. The bioaccumulation of toxic metals in fish poses a serious risk to human health when consumed. This study assessed the quality of Rabbit fish (Signus Sutor) and their associated health risks from four landing sites (namely Malindi, Mazizini, Kizimkazi and Matemwe) in Zanzibar. The concentrations of toxic metals, including Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu), Chromium (Cr), Nickel (Ni), and Arsenic (As), in the fish muscle were scrutinized using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The detected mean concentration (mg/kg) of Pb, As, Cr, Cd, Cu, and Ni at Malindi were 0.25±0.14, 2.22±0.44, 0.02±0.02, 0.01±0.00, 0.02±0.02 and 0.00±0.00 respectively; at Kizimkazi were 0.39±0.39, 2.30±0.44, 0.11±0.01, 0.07±0.04, 0.17±0.13 and 0.15±0.04 respectively: at Matemwe were 0.38±0.12, 0.52±0.14, 0.04±0.02, 0.05±0.01, 0.65±0.21 and 0.09±0.03 respectively; and Mazizini were 0.21±0.12, 5.56±1.37, 0.02±0.02, 0.03±0.01, 0.05±0.02 and 0.15±0.05 respectively. The mean concentration levels detected for all the elements in the fish gathered from all four landing sites were below international and local maximum (FAO/WHO) permissible limits for human consumption, except for Arsenic (As) and lead (Pb). The study also investigated the relationship between fish size and metal concentration which shows a positive correlation for Cu and Ni. However, it was negative for the remaining metals, possibly due to ecological and metabolic differences. The study emphasizes the necessity for regular monitoring of the marine environment and enforcement of hygienic regulations, as well as the treatment of land-based pollutants before they are discharged into the marine environment to protect fish quality.","PeriodicalId":91000,"journal":{"name":"Journal of food safety and hygiene","volume":"1 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140427949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
B. Ally-Charles, Rashama Holder, Ede Tyrell, Andrew Hutson
{"title":"Bacteriological quality of street-vended beverages sold in two popular markets in Georgetown, Guyana","authors":"B. Ally-Charles, Rashama Holder, Ede Tyrell, Andrew Hutson","doi":"10.18502/jfsh.v9i4.15002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18502/jfsh.v9i4.15002","url":null,"abstract":"In Guyana, street-vended beverages can often be bought in the local markets and some eating establishments; and are popular, sought-after beverages. The demand and consumption of local beverages are likely to increase for both locals and foreigners. The safe production of fruit beverages by the fruit juice vendor will become crucial to prevent spoilage and microbial contamination. This study analyses the bacteriological quality of street-vended juices from two of the main markets in Georgetown, by enumerating the total viable count and identifying coliforms, Staphylococcus sp., Salmonella sp. and Shigella sp. This experimental study investigated street-vended juices. The standard plate count method was used to determine the total viable count on nutrient agar using serial dilutions. Selective media including MSA agar, EMB agar, and XLD agar; and other identification tests were used to select for and identify specific bacteria. The data were presented as mean±SD and numbers of positive samples. About 90% of samples were contaminated with bacteria with an average of 5.8±1.9 log cfu/mL or 2.1x107 cfu/mL. Of the 20 juices, 65% contained coliforms, 25% yielded E. coli, and 60% yielded Klebsiella sp. /Enterobacter sp., 65%yielded Staphylococcus sp., 25% were suspected to be Shigella sp. and 5% were suspected to be Salmonella sp. Standards for ready-to-drink, non-carbonated beverages state that coliforms and other pathogens must be absent; therefore our findings are very worrying. We recommend that governmental and non-governmental agencies collaborate to bring more awareness about hygiene and storage techniques for street vendors.","PeriodicalId":91000,"journal":{"name":"Journal of food safety and hygiene","volume":"8 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140424951","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Parisa Shavali Gilani, Mohadeseh Fesahat, Nabi Shariatifar
{"title":"Nitrosamine in meat and meat products: a review","authors":"Parisa Shavali Gilani, Mohadeseh Fesahat, Nabi Shariatifar","doi":"10.18502/jfsh.v9i4.14998","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18502/jfsh.v9i4.14998","url":null,"abstract":"Nitrosamines (Nams) have been demonstrated to possess carcinogenic properties in certain animal species, suggesting a potential link between the consumption of this compound and the development of cancer in humans. Multiple reports have highlighted the presence of nitrosamine contamination in various food groups, particularly meat and meat products. Consequently, the presence of nitrosamines in meat products has raised significant concerns. This study aims to examine the levels of nitrosamines in meat and meat products, explore the mechanisms underlying their formation in these foods, and identify potential strategies for reducing this compound in food. To achieve this objective, scholarly articles about the keywords Nitrosamine, Exposure, Meat and Meat Products, and Mechanism of Formation were retrieved from academic databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, among others. The formation of nitrosamines (Nams) can be influenced by several factors including nitrosating agents, pH levels, the presence or accessibility of nitrite and nitrosable amines, and oxidative status. Moreover, the rate at which Nams form can be impacted by reducing these factors. Additionally, processed meat products may contain natural components and additives that interact with these factors to either hinder or facilitate the formation of Nams. Given the increasing consumption of sausages in daily diets, evaluating the levels of nitrosamines in meat products can serve as a quality measure for assessing nutritional value and the effectiveness of processing and thermal treatments.","PeriodicalId":91000,"journal":{"name":"Journal of food safety and hygiene","volume":"10 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140426319","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"In-vitro effectiveness of a novel herboclean herbal solution in removing pesticides, heavy metals and microbial agents from fruits and vegetables","authors":"Shan Sasidharan, Prasannakumari Aiswarya, Janardhanan Hareendran Nair","doi":"10.18502/jfsh.v9i3.13906","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18502/jfsh.v9i3.13906","url":null,"abstract":"In recent years, the incidence of undesirable heavy metals, pesticide residues and microbial contaminants in fruits and vegetables has caused severe worldwide public health concerns. In this investigation, we intended to investigate the in-vitro effectiveness of a novel herboclean herbal solution in eliminating pesticides, heavy metals and microbes from the fruits and vegetables collected from various markets. The collected fruits and vegetables were immersed separately in a beaker containing an already prepared herboclean herbal solution for 30 min. The efficacy of the herboclean herbal solution in removing the pesticides and heavy metals was studied using Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS), and Inductively Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICPMS), respectively. The reduction in microbes was analyzed by the plate count method. From the result, it was clear that the average removal rate of pesticide residues from fruits and vegetables was 89.89±7.21%. In the case of heavy metals average removal rate was 94.74±9.12%. Whereas in the case of microbes, the removal rate was 90.98±8.38% after washing with Herboclean herbal solution. These results clearly demonstrated that the herboclean herbal solution was very effective in eliminating various pesticides, heavy metals and microbial agents from fresh fruits and vegetables without interfering with their integrity or sensorial parameters. Moreover, this is the first report regarding the efficacy of natural herboclean herbal solutions.","PeriodicalId":91000,"journal":{"name":"Journal of food safety and hygiene","volume":"37 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135943263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sibel Özçakmak, Ebrahim Molaee-Aghaee, Hüseyin Yıldız
{"title":"License obligation for bread safety and business and the effect of bakeries using oven under the building in earthquake damages; a case of February 2023 Earthquakes, Türkiye","authors":"Sibel Özçakmak, Ebrahim Molaee-Aghaee, Hüseyin Yıldız","doi":"10.18502/jfsh.v9i3.13911","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18502/jfsh.v9i3.13911","url":null,"abstract":"Food and water supply is important for people's health affected by earthquakes. Food manufacturing areas must be built earthquake-resistant and in accordance with the conditions specified in the legal legislation to provide food security and safety through disasters. A bread and bread varieties business using ovens could be damaged and pose a risk to their neighborhood due to their activities. Production of bread and bread varieties using stone/wood ovens could cause the separation of iron from concrete with the effect of warming and cooling. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of bread and bread varieties businesses located at the entrances of the apartments on the destruction or damage of buildings caused by earthquakes and lack of access to enough safe food. Therefore, the damage to buildings with stone/wood ovens at apartment entrances caused by the earthquake that occurred in Türkiye on 6 February 2023 was evaluated. Some bread producers with ovens that have no independent structures and obtained licenses before the regulation dated 2014, should determine their infrastructural features. Using stove/wood ovens under or at the entrance of the apartments in bakery places could be a risk of causing damage to the column structure. The inspections of bakery places of the municipality and the other authorized organizations must be done more often, and official monitoring should be mandatory for food and environmental safety.","PeriodicalId":91000,"journal":{"name":"Journal of food safety and hygiene","volume":"6 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135943261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Parisa Sadighara, Sara Mohammadi, Namra Irshad, Melina Sadighara, Reyhaneh Ramezankhani
{"title":"The potentially nephrotoxic substances in food: a review","authors":"Parisa Sadighara, Sara Mohammadi, Namra Irshad, Melina Sadighara, Reyhaneh Ramezankhani","doi":"10.18502/jfsh.v9i3.13905","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18502/jfsh.v9i3.13905","url":null,"abstract":"Food is the most unavoidable substance for contamination. It can be contaminated naturally and unintentionally by toxins. Some of these food contaminants contain nephrotoxins. For this purpose, a narrative review study was performed to identify the types of nephrotoxin found in food. This study was performed with the keywords; nephrotoxin, contamination, pollution, and food. The nephrotoxic toxins consist mainly of three categories of toxins; mycotoxins, heavy metals, and Aristolochic acids. About 70% of the selected studies investigated ochratoxin A (OTA). Evaluation of OTA contamination in baby food and infant formula should be considered. From the category of nephrotoxic heavy metals in food, we can mention nickel, lead, and cadmium. Also, from compounds with radionucleotide activity, contamination with uranium was observed. Onions and carrots can be good biomarkers for contamination of an area with Aristolochic acids. Some of the nephrotoxins occurred more than permissible levels. Given that the kidneys are a vital organ of the body, therefore, human biomonitoring of nephrotoxins is recommended in countries where food is over the permissible level.","PeriodicalId":91000,"journal":{"name":"Journal of food safety and hygiene","volume":"7 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135943266","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}