Background: Tuber aestivum Vittad., known as black summer truffle, represents high-value food especially used as garnishment in nouvelle cuisine. The aim of this study was to investigate on the viable microbial populations associated with T. aestivum ascomata collected in different sites of Sicily and one locality of Umbria (Italy). Methods: The ripe ascomata of black summer truffles were coll...

During the last decade an increased incidence of infections and outbreaks attributed to foodborne viruses, in particular noroviruses (NoV), was observed world wide. The awareness of the presence of viruses on food emphasized the need to acquire knowledge regarding the effect of preservation methods upon viruses. Most foodborne viruses cannot be cultured in the laboratory, which hinders studies ...

Pulsed electric field (PEF) processing has been developed for the inactivation of microorganisms in liquid foods at low to moderate temperatures. The efficiency of microbial decontamination by PEF is largely dependent on the applied electric field strength, exposure time and treatment temperature. Thus, detailed knowledge of the distribution of these process parameters is essential for successf...

As the consumer attitudes shift to healthier, low caloric value as well as to convenience products, the demand for whole and fresh-cut produce has proportionally increased over the last decade [19, 53, 55]. Together with the grown market, an increased number of outbreaks associated with fresh-cut produce brought the necessity to deal with microbial decontamination methods of the fresh-cut lettu...

High pressure (HP) processing is essentially a non-thermal decontamination process, in the present review, the basic principles underlying the effects of high pressure on food constituents and quality attributes and recent data concerning the following specific effects of high pressure on food products are discussed. Especially this paper provides a basic overview on preserving foods by high-pr...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of various chemical disinfectants in decontamination of gutta-percha (GP) cones contaminated with Bacillus subtilis spores. Sodium hypochlorite solution (4%), glutaraldehyde solution (2%), povidone-iodine solution (5%), and savlon solutions were compared for effectiveness in sterilizing gutta-percha cones contaminated with Bacillus sub...

Environments with high-salt concentrations are often populated by dense microbial communities. Halophilic microorganisms can be isolated from different saline environments and different strains even belonging to the same genus have various applications. Wastewater and soil rich in both organic matter and salt are difficult to treat using conventional microorganisms typically found in wastewater...

To address the Defense Department's need for safe, effective protection against biological warfare agents (BWA's), natural products with a historical record of bactericidal efficacy such as bacteriocins, biosurfactants, lytic enzymes and essential oils or their active components were tested against non-pathogenic Bacillus anthracis and the plague pathogen surrogate Yersinia intermedia. Unlike t...