Young university students have insufficient knowledge about preventive measures against Toxoplasma gondii infection in a region of Southern Brazil

A representative cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the knowledge about toxoplasmosis prevention, transmission routes, clinical features, and who can be infected among students from seven teaching areas of the State University of Maringá, Southern Brazil, using a self-administrated questionnaire. A total of 600 students participated in the study, 86 students did not answer or did not know about toxoplasmosis (14.3%), the other 514 (86.2%) had some information about toxoplasmosis and answered the questionnaires and most of them are unaware of the routes of transmission and prevention of this zoonosis. Less than 50% considered correct the options "do not feed cats with raw meat" (39.9%), "eat only well-cooked meats" (40.1%), and "ingest only filtered or boiled water" (42.6%). Also, misconceptions about prevention were identified when statements such as "doing fecal exams regularly" were considered correct by 20.0% of participants. Students' average of correct answers in the health and biological areas was statistically higher than in other areas. The agricultural sciences area had the worst performance. In conclusion, there is a critical need for effective educational programs to increase the population's awareness of toxoplasmosis since correct preventive practices are critical to control and reduce one disease's infection without definitive treatment.

Metabolism and biomarkers of heterocyclic aromatic amines in humans

Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) form during the high-temperature cooking of meats, poultry, and fish. Some HAAs also arise during the combustion of tobacco. HAAs are multisite carcinogens in rodents, inducing cancer of the liver, gastrointestinal tract, pancreas, mammary, and prostate glands. HAAs undergo metabolic activation by N-hydroxylation of the exocyclic amine groups to produce the proposed reactive intermediate, the heteroaryl nitrenium ion, which is the critical metabolite implicated in DNA damage and genotoxicity. Humans efficiently convert HAAs to these reactive intermediates, resulting in HAA protein and DNA adduct formation. Some epidemiologic studies have reported an association between frequent consumption of well-done cooked meats and elevated cancer risk of the colorectum, pancreas, and prostate. However, other studies have reported no associations between cooked meat and these cancer sites. A significant limitation in epidemiology studies assessing the role of HAAs and cooked meat in cancer risk is their reliance on food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) to gauge HAA exposure. FFQs are problematic because of limitations in self-reported dietary history accuracy, and estimating HAA intake formed in cooked meats at the parts-per-billion level is challenging. There is a critical need to establish long-lived biomarkers of HAAs for implementation in molecular epidemiology studies designed to assess the role of HAAs in health risk. This review article highlights the mechanisms of HAA formation, mutagenesis and carcinogenesis, the metabolism of several prominent HAAs, and the impact of critical xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes on biological effects. The analytical approaches that have successfully biomonitored HAAs and their biomarkers for molecular epidemiology studies are presented.

Heterocyclic Aromatic Amines in Meat: Formation, Isolation, Risk Assessment and Inhibitory Effect of Plant Extracts

Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) are potent carcinogenic compounds induced by the Maillard reaction in well-done cooked meats. Free amino acids, protein, creatinine, reducing sugars and nucleosides are major precursors involved in the production of polar and non-polar HAAs. The variety and yield of HAAs are linked with various factors such as meat type, heating time and temperature, cooking method and equipment, fresh meat storage time, raw material and additives, precursor’s presence, water activity, and pH level. For the isolation and identification of HAAs, advanced chromatography and spectroscopy techniques have been employed. These potent mutagens are the etiology of several types of human cancers at the ng/g level and are 100- to 2000-fold stronger than that of aflatoxins and benzopyrene, respectively. This review summarizes previous studies on the formation and types of potent mutagenic and/or carcinogenic HAAs in cooked meats. Furthermore, occurrence, risk assessment, and factors affecting HAA formation are discussed in detail. Additionally, sample extraction procedure and quantification techniques to determine these compounds are analyzed and described. Finally, an overview is presented on the promising strategy to mitigate the risk of HAAs by natural compounds and the effect of plant extracts containing antioxidants to reduce or inhibit the formation of these carcinogenic substances in cooked meats.

The Impact of a Consecutive Process of Pulsed Electric Field, Sous-Vide Cooking, and Reheating on the Properties of Beef Semitendinosus Muscle

The effects of a consecutive process of pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment, sous-vide cooking, and reheating on the properties of beef semitendinosus muscle were investigated. Fresh meats were PEF-treated with different electric field strengths of 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 kV/cm, and then the control and PEF-pretreated beef samples were sous-vide cooked at 60 °C for up to 24 h. The PEF pretreatment resulted in tenderization of the fresh meat proportional to the increase in the electric field strength. A significant decrease in cutting force (by 35%) was observed after PEF treatment at 2.0 kV/cm. The hardness and chewiness of the meat were also significantly reduced by PEF treatment. After sous-vide cooking, the PEF-pretreated samples exhibited a significantly reduced cutting force, redness value (a*), and myoglobin content (mg/g) (p < 0.05). However, there were no significant differences in cooking loss and drip loss (p > 0.05). When the sous-vide-cooked meats were reheated in an oven (230 °C, 5 min), the reduced cutting force induced by the PEF pretreatment was retained.

The Inhibitory Effects of Heterotrigona Itama Honey Marinades on the Formation of Carcinogenic Heterocyclic Amines in Grilled Beef Satay

Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are carcinogenic food toxicants formed in cooked meats, which may increase the risk of cancer development in humans. Therefore, in this study, the effect of stingless bee honey from different botanical origins on the formation of HCAs in grilled beef satay was investigated. HCAs concentration in grilled beef satay was determined by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In total, six of the most toxigenic HCAs representing aminoimidazo-azaarenes (AIAs) (MeIQx, 4,8-DiMeIQx, and PhIP) and amino carbolines (norharman, harman, and AαC) groups were identified in all the beef samples investigated. A significant reduction in HCAs was observed in grilled beef marinated in honey as compared to beef samples marinated in table sugar (control), in which the reduction of 95.14%, 88.45%, 85.65%, and 57.22% was observed in gelam, starfruit, acacia, and Apis honey marinades, respectively. According to the partial least squares regression (PLS) model, the inhibition of HCAs in grilled beef was shown to be significantly correlated to the antioxidant activity (IC50) of the honey samples. Therefore, the results of this study revealed that the addition of stingless bee honey could play an important role in reducing HCAs in grilled beef.

P1861ARTIFICIAL PHOSPHATE- HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO AVOID IT?

Background and Aims Hyperphosphataemia has been independently associated with increased morbidity and mortality across the lifecycle of chronic kidney disease. Dietary phosphate restriction is the corner stone of hyperphosphataemia management. Traditionally the focus was on limiting foods that are naturally high in phosphate such as meats, dairy, wholegrain and nut products. However, phosphate-containing additives are a growing concern. Artificial phosphates are thought to be readily absorbed by the body and are increasingly being added to processed foods, at a time when there is an increased desire and reliance on convenience foods. It has been shown that educating patients with end stage renal disease to avoid phosphate-containing food additives can result in a modest but clinically significant improvement in serum phosphorus levels. 1 The aim of this study was to evaluate how feasible it is for a patient to source convenience packaged cooked meats/poultry that are free from artificial phosphate and if such products are a suitable option for the renal patient in relation to salt and protein content. Method Data was manually collected in a branch of the five leading supermarket chains. The ingredient list of each product food label was checked for artificial phosphate (phos), artificial potassium (K) or the corresponding E numbers and the nutrition table examined for salt and protein content (per 100g / 25g portion or slice). The price was checked in store and manually calculated per 7g protein exchange. Results

Microbial Quality of Ready-to-Eat Foods Sold in School Cafeterias in Chongqing, China

ABSTRACT The microbiological quality of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods from school cafeterias in Chongqing, People's Republic of China, was evaluated and compared with a guideline published by a provincial health commission. These RTE foods were divided into five types based on their preparation processes and potential risks: 1, general cooked and hot-held foods; 2, cooked meats; 3, heated aquatic products; 4, fresh fruits or vegetables; and 5, cooked foods with postcooking handling (e.g., cutting, cooling, or addition of ingredients or condiments). Food types 1 through 3 (subjected to thermal processes and hot-held) were microbiologically safer than types 4 and 5 (prepared by nonthermal process or with postcooking processes). None of the samples of types 1 through 3 were unsatisfactory based on their aerobic plate counts (APC) and total coliforms (TC), whereas 43.1% of type 4 and 8.3 and 71.7% of type 5 samples were unsatisfactory due to high counts of TC and high APC and TC, respectively. Two, 12, and 50 samples of types 2, 4, and 5, respectively, were unacceptable due to high levels of Staphylococcus aureus. Bacillus cereus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus were detected, but levels were below the unacceptable limits. None of the samples were positive for Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, or Escherichia coli O157. The bacterial profile can be used by policy makers and epidemiologists for microbiological risk assessments, which may be conducive to developing interventions to control hazards, improve food hygiene, and develop safety management systems for school cafeterias in China. HIGHLIGHTS