Biofilms: A Community-Based Strategy for Bacterial Persistence and Relevance to Food Safety

2017 ◽  
pp. 107-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Govindaraj Dev Kumar ◽  
Shirley A. Micallef
PLoS ONE ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. e70654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumiko Takanashi ◽  
Dao To Quyen ◽  
Nguyen Thi Le Hoa ◽  
Nguyen Cong Khan ◽  
Junko Yasuoka ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 78 (12) ◽  
pp. 2150-2155 ◽  
Author(s):  
DEAN HARAPAS ◽  
ROBERT PREMIER ◽  
BRUCE TOMKINS ◽  
GRAHAM HEPWORTH ◽  
SAID AJLOUNI

Minor shoot injury significantly (P < 0.05) increased the level at which Salmonella enterica serovar Sofia persisted on cos lettuce in the greenhouse. Initial mean counts of the Salmonella on the injured and uninjured cos lettuce were on the order of 6 log CFU/g. After 3 days, the mean count decreased to 4.8 log CFU/g on the injured plants compared with the significantly (P < 0.05) smaller count of 3.4 log CFU/g on the uninjured plants. By the end of the 3-week experiment, the count from the injured plants was 2.9 log CFU/g compared with a count of below the level of detection from the uninjured plants. A similar pattern of bacterial persistence was observed on injured versus uninjured plants by using Listeria innocua on cos lettuce and S. enterica serovar Sofia on chive. The findings reaffirm earlier results with Escherichia coli and increase the impetus to avoid shoot injury during the production of cos lettuce and chive, if bacteria of food safety concern are present.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (17) ◽  
pp. 2947-2952
Author(s):  
Marwa Salem ◽  
Hanaa Yousof ◽  
Ola Abdelmoneim

BACKGROUND: Fostering a community-based approach is one of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) strategies to empower the public with the knowledge and tools required for improving the nutritional status. AIM: The current study was conducted to assess the knowledge of mothers/caregivers towards a healthy, safe, and affordable diet and to cover the detected knowledge gap using a community-based approach. METHODS: A pre-posttest experimental design was carried out at a community level at three Upper Egypt governorates: Assiut, Qena, and Sohag over six months from September 2017 till February 2018. In the preparatory phase, 22 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were selected per governorate, and 15 trainers were prepared at the central level to train 40 trainees from each governorate. In the implementation phase, 11,000 women were approached, 6548 of them agreed to participate in the baseline knowledge assessment: 1774 women from Assiut, 2337 from Qena, and 2437 from Sohag. RESULTS: A significant improvement in the participants’ subtotal and total knowledge scores in all dimensions of nutrition education which are: food economics, food safety, and a healthy diet. The highest percent change was in Assiut 77.1 (69.3: 109.9), followed by Qena 54.9 (27.2: 93.3), and then Sohag 43.7 (31.6: 61.4) which was noticed among the participants from the 3 governorates. CONCLUSION: This community-based approach was a successful intervention to deliver effective health education messages; thus, improving participants' knowledge regarding food safety, healthy diet, and food economics. It represented the success of NGOs to enhance health and nutrition literacy among the participating women living in underprivileged areas. It is recommended to encourage collaboration with NGOs to move the community towards healthy behaviours.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel I Watson ◽  
Evans A Asamane ◽  
Richard J Lilford ◽  
Karla Hemming ◽  
Cheick Sidibe ◽  
...  

Background Diarrheal disease remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among the under-fives in many low- and middle-income countries. Changes to food safety practices and feeding methods around the weaning period, alongside improved nutrition, may significantly reduce the risk of disease and improve development for infants. This article describes a protocol for a cluster randomized trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-faceted community-based educational intervention that aims to improve food safety and hygiene behaviours and enhance child nutrition. Methods We will conduct a mixed-methods, parallel cluster randomised controlled trial with baseline measures. 120 clusters comprising small urban and rural communities will be recruited in equal numbers and randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to either treatment or control arms. Participants will be mother-child dyads (27 per cluster period) with children aged 6 to 24 months. Data collection will comprise a day of observation and interviews with each participating mother-child pair and will take place at baseline and four and 15 months post-intervention. The primary analysis will estimate the effectiveness of the intervention on changes to complementary food safety and preparation behaviours, food and water contamination, and diarrhoea. Secondary outcomes include maternal autonomy, enteric infection, nutritional content of meals, and child anthropometry. A secondary structural equation analysis will be conducted to examine the causal relationships between the different outcomes. Conclusions The trial will provide evidence on the effectiveness of community-based behavioural change and educational interventions designed to reduce the burden of diarrhoeal disease in the under fives, and how effectiveness varies across different contexts.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henok Dagne ◽  
R. P. Raju ◽  
Zewudu Andualem ◽  
Tesfaye Hagos ◽  
Kidstemariam Addis

Background. Food safety practice is an important Public Health issue to prevent or control food-borne illnesses. Evidence shows that 10 to 20% of food-borne diseases outbreaks are because of contamination by food handlers in restaurants, butcher shops, markets, etc. However, the food safety practice and associated factors among mothers who are the food handlers at their homes are not well studied and understood. This study aimed to assess food safety practice and associated factors among mothers in Debarq town. Methods. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted during March and April, 2018. Four hundred and twenty-three study participants were included using simple random sampling techniques. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with food safety practice based on AOR with 95% CI and p < 0.05. Results. About 210 (49.6%) of study participants had good food safety practice. Food safety practice of mothers was significantly associated with their educational status; secondary educational status adjusted odds ratio, AOR 3.09, 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.54, 6.20; College and University education AOR 2.95, 95% CI: 1.22, 7.12; food safety knowledge AOR 2.49, 95% CI: 1.41, 4.40; and attitude towards food safety AOR 3.67, 95% CI: 2.27, 5.94. Conclusion. Half of the study subjects had a good level of self-reported food safety practice and the other half had a poor level. Educational status, food safety knowledge, and attitude towards food safety were the identified factors associated with food safety practice. Improving the knowledge and educational status of the mothers is important to enhance their food safety practices.


2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (S2) ◽  
pp. S48
Author(s):  
Robyn R. M. Gershon ◽  
Kristine A. Qureshi ◽  
Stephen S. Morse ◽  
Marissa A. Berrera ◽  
Catherine B. Dela Cruz

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document