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Foods
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Risks Associated with Emerging Microorganisms Resistant to Food Preservation Methods
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Risks Associated with Emerging Microorganisms Resistant to Food Preservation Methods

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Packaging and Preservation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2022) | Viewed by 11333

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Elisa Gayan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Animal Production and Food Science, AgriFood Institute of Aragon (IA2), University of Zaragoza-CITA
Interests: food microbiology; food safety; predictive microbiology; nonthermal food-processing methods; resistance development in foodborne bacteria; adaptative evolution; molecular bacteriology; single-cell biology
Dr. Diego Garcia-Gonzalo

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Department of Animal Production and Food Science, AgriFood Institute of Aragon (IA2), University of Zaragoza-CITA
Interests: food preservation; food microbiology; food safety; next-generation sequencing; molecular tools

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The isolation of microorganisms with increased resistance to food-preservation methods and disinfectants in food environments is becoming a growing concern, especially for bacteria that can cause serious foodborne diseases or major issues in food spoilage.

Increasing evidence shows that the exposure of some microorganisms to certain food-preservation methods or disinfectants at mild intensity can select for resistant variants with improved or acquired novel adaptive responses realized through chromosomal mutations or horizontal gene transfer. Furthermore, these variants often display cross-resistance to several food-related stresses and even decreased susceptibility to antibiotic treatments.

Understanding which food-preservation methods, processing conditions and disinfectants promote resistance development in bacteria and the molecular basis underlying stress adaptation is crucial for preventing the appearance of resistant variants and combating them to improve food safety. This Special Issue aims to gather and provide novel insights into the prevalence of strains resistant to food-preservation methods and disinfectants in farm and industrial facilities, the ability of foodborne bacteria to become resistant, and the interplay between the development of resistance to food-related stresses and to antibiotics and molecular evolutionary pathways.

Dr. Elisa Gayan
Dr. Diego Garcia-Gonzalo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Food-borne pathogens
  • Resistance development
  • Food-preservation methods
  • Antimicrobial resistance
  • Adaptive responses

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2496 KiB  
Article
Hurdle Technology Approach to Control Listeria monocytogenes Using Rhamnolipid Biosurfactant
by Lowieze Lenaerts, Tathiane Ferroni Passos, Elisa Gayán, Chris W. Michiels and Marcia Nitschke
Foods 2023, 12(3), 570; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12030570 - 28 Jan 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2182
Abstract
This study evaluates the combination of mild heat with a natural surfactant for the inactivation of L. monocytogenes Scott A in low-water-activity (aw) model systems. Glycerol or NaCl was used to reduce the aw to 0.92, and different concentrations of [...] Read more.
This study evaluates the combination of mild heat with a natural surfactant for the inactivation of L. monocytogenes Scott A in low-water-activity (aw) model systems. Glycerol or NaCl was used to reduce the aw to 0.92, and different concentrations of rhamnolipid (RL) biosurfactant were added before heat treatment (60 °C, 5 min). Using glycerol, RL treatment (50–250 µg/mL) reduced bacterial population by less than 0.2 log and heat treatment up to 1.5 log, while the combination of both hurdles reached around 5.0 log reduction. In the NaCl medium, RL treatment displayed higher inactivation than in the glycerol medium at the same aw level and a larger synergistic lethal effect when combined with heat, achieving ≥ 6.0 log reduction at 10–250 µg/mL RL concentrations. The growth inhibition activity of RL was enhanced by the presence of the monovalent salts NaCl and KCl, reducing MIC values from >2500 µg/mL (without salt) to 39 µg/mL (with 7.5% salt). The enhanced antimicrobial activity of RL promoted by the presence of salts was shown to be pH-dependent and more effective under neutral conditions. Overall, results demonstrate that RL can be exploited to design novel strategies based on hurdle approaches aiming to control L. monocytogenes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Risks Associated with Emerging Microorganisms Resistant to Food Preservation Methods)
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15 pages, 989 KiB  
Article
Carvacrol Selective Pressure Allows the Occurrence of Genetic Resistant Variants of Listeria monocytogenes EGD-e
by Daniel Berdejo, Elisa Gayán, Elisa Pagán, Natalia Merino, Raúl Campillo, Rafael Pagán and Diego García-Gonzalo
Foods 2022, 11(20), 3282; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11203282 - 20 Oct 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1676
Abstract
Essential oils and their constituents, such as carvacrol, are potential food preservatives because of their great antimicrobial properties. However, the long-term effects of these compounds are unknown and raise the question of whether resistance to these antimicrobials could emerge. This work aims to [...] Read more.
Essential oils and their constituents, such as carvacrol, are potential food preservatives because of their great antimicrobial properties. However, the long-term effects of these compounds are unknown and raise the question of whether resistance to these antimicrobials could emerge. This work aims to evaluate the occurrence of genetic resistant variants (RVs) in Listeria monocytogenes EGD-e by exposure to carvacrol. Two protocols were performed for the RVs selection: (a) by continuous exposure to sublethal doses, where LmSCar was isolated, and (b) by reiterative exposure to short lethal treatments of carvacrol, where LmLCar was isolated. Both RVs showed an increase in carvacrol resistance. Moreover, LmLCar revealed an increased cross-resistance to heat treatments at acid conditions and to ampicillin. Whole-genome sequencing identified two single nucleotide variations in LmSCar and three non-silent mutations in LmLCar. Among them, those located in the genes encoding the transcriptional regulators RsbT (in LmSCar) and ManR (in LmLCar) could contribute to their increased carvacrol resistance. These results provide information regarding the mode of action of this antimicrobial and support the importance of knowing how RVs appear. Further studies are required to determine the emergence of RVs in food matrices and their impact on food safety. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Risks Associated with Emerging Microorganisms Resistant to Food Preservation Methods)
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14 pages, 3643 KiB  
Article
Antibacterial Activity and Mechanism of Action of Whey Protein-ε-Polylysine Complexes against Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis
by Yuecheng Meng, Li Lou, Zhipeng Shao, Jie Chen, Yanhua Li and Tianqi Zhang
Foods 2022, 11(15), 2311; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11152311 - 2 Aug 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2249
Abstract
ε-Polylysine (ε-PL) is a cationic antimicrobial peptide, which easily forms complexes with food polyanions to weaken its antibacterial activity. A whey protein-ε-PL complex delivery system was found to be able to solve this problem. This study investigated the antimicrobial activity of the complexes [...] Read more.
ε-Polylysine (ε-PL) is a cationic antimicrobial peptide, which easily forms complexes with food polyanions to weaken its antibacterial activity. A whey protein-ε-PL complex delivery system was found to be able to solve this problem. This study investigated the antimicrobial activity of the complexes and their mechanism against Gram-positive bacteria. The minimal inhibitory concentration of the complexes with different ε-PL contents against Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis were 19.53–31.26 and 3.90–7.81 μg/mL, respectively, which were similar to free ε-PL. Furthermore, the whey protein-ε-PL complexes had a strong bactericidal effect on Bacillus subtilis. The inhibition zone diameters of the complexes against Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis containing 5000 μg/mL of ε-PL were 14.14 and 16.69 mm, respectively. The results of scanning electron microscopy showed that the complexes could destroy the cell membrane structure in Bacillussubtilis, resulting in holes on the surface, but not in Staphylococcus aureus. The results of molecular dynamics simulation showed that under electrostatic interaction, the complexes captured the phospholipid molecules of the bacterial membrane through the hydrogen bonds. Parts of the ε-PL molecules of the complexes were embedded in the bilayer membrane, and parts of the ε-PL molecules could penetrate the bilayer membrane and enter the bacterial internal environment, forming holes on the surface of the bacteria. The antibacterial results in fresh meat showed that the whey protein-ε-PL complexes could reduce the total mesophilic and Staphylococcus aureus counts. This study on the antibacterial activity mechanism of whey protein-ε-PL complexes could provide a reference for the application of ε-PL in protein food matrices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Risks Associated with Emerging Microorganisms Resistant to Food Preservation Methods)
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15 pages, 16942 KiB  
Article
Antifungal Efficacy of Redox-Active Natamycin against Some Foodborne Fungi—Comparison with Aspergillus fumigatus
by Jong H. Kim, Christina C. Tam, Kathleen L. Chan, Luisa W. Cheng, Kirkwood M. Land, Mendel Friedman and Perng-Kuang Chang
Foods 2021, 10(9), 2073; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10092073 - 2 Sep 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4108
Abstract
The fungal antioxidant system is one of the targets of the redox-active polyene antifungal drugs, including amphotericin B (AMB), nystatin (NYS), and natamycin (NAT). Besides medical applications, NAT has been used in industry for preserving foods and crops. In this study, we investigated [...] Read more.
The fungal antioxidant system is one of the targets of the redox-active polyene antifungal drugs, including amphotericin B (AMB), nystatin (NYS), and natamycin (NAT). Besides medical applications, NAT has been used in industry for preserving foods and crops. In this study, we investigated two parameters (pH and food ingredients) affecting NAT efficacy. In the human pathogen, Aspergillus fumigatus, NAT (2 to 16 μg mL−1) exerted higher activity at pH 5.6 than at pH 3.5 on a defined medium. In contrast, NAT exhibited higher activity at pH 3.5 than at pH 5.6 against foodborne fungal contaminants, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus, and Penicillium expansum, with P. expansum being the most sensitive. In commercial food matrices (10 organic fruit juices), food ingredients differentially affected NAT antifungal efficacy. Noteworthily, NAT overcame tolerance of the A. fumigatus signaling mutants to the fungicide fludioxonil and exerted antifungal synergism with the secondary metabolite, kojic acid (KA). Altogether, NAT exhibited better antifungal activity at acidic pH against foodborne fungi; however, the ingredients from commercial food matrices presented greater impact on NAT efficacy compared to pH values. Comprehensive determination of parameters affecting NAT efficacy and improved food formulation will promote sustainable food/crop production, food safety, and public health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Risks Associated with Emerging Microorganisms Resistant to Food Preservation Methods)
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