The prevalence of Bacillus cereus in a total of 585 samples of food products (herbs and spices, breakfast cereals, pasta, rice, infant formulas, pasteurized milk, fresh acid and acid/rennet cheeses, mold cheeses and ripening rennet cheeses) marketed in Poland was investigated. The potential of 1022 selected isolates of B. cereus to hydrolyze casein, starch and tributyrin, to ferment lactose, to grow at 7 °C/10 days, to produce Nhe and Hbl toxin and to possess the ces gene was verified. B. cereus was found in 38.8% of the analyzed samples, reaching levels from 0.3 to 3.8 log CFU g⁻¹ or mL⁻¹. From the 1022 isolates, 48.8%, 36.0%, 98.9%, 80.0% and 25.0% were capable of fermenting lactose, producing amylase, protease, lipase and growing at 7 °C/10 days, respectively, indicating spoilage potentiality. The occurrence of toxigenic B. cereus strains in all tested market products, both of plant (55.8% Hbl(+), 70.7% Nhe(+) and 1.7% ces(+) isolates) and animal origin (84.9% Hbl(+), 82.7% Nhe(+) and 0.9% ces(+) isolates) indicates the possible risk of foodborne infections/intoxications that occur as a result of the possibility of the development of B. cereus in favorable conditions and consumption of these products.

Probiotics are recommended, among others, in the diet of children who are under antibiotic therapy, or that suffer from food allergies or travel diarrhea, etc. In the case of toddlers taking probiotic preparations, it is highly recommended to first remove the special capsule, which normally protects probiotic strains against hard conditions in the gastrointestinal tract. Otherwise, the toddler may choke. This removal can impair probiotic survival and reduce its efficacy in a toddler’s organism. The aim of this study was to evaluate the survivability of five strains of lactic acid bacteria from the commercial probiotics available on the Polish market under simulated conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. Five probiotics (each including one of these strains: Bifidobacterium BB-12, Lactobacillus (Lb.) rhamnosus GG, Lb. casei, Lb. acidophilus, Lb. plantarum) were protective capsule deprived, added in a food matrix (chicken–vegetable soup) and subjected under simulated conditions of the gastric and gastrointestinal passage. Strain survivability and possibility to growth were evaluated. Obtained results showed that, among all analyzed commercial probiotic strains, the Lb. plantarum was the most resistant to the applied conditions of the culture medium. They showed a noticeable growth under both in vitro gastric conditions at pH 4.0 and 5.0, as well as in vitro intestinal conditions at all tested concentrations of bile salts.

Essential oils (EOs) are liquid preparations produced from plant materials. Their use as inhibitors of the growth of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms is a good alternative to the chemical additives in foods. The disc-diffusion method was used to screen the EOs from thyme, cinnamon, clove, peppermint, marjoram, cumin, rosemary, fennel, basil, lime, bergamot orange, orange, lemon, grapefruit, mandarin, cardamom, anise, and ginger, against 21 strains of Cronobacter species, including: C. sakazakii, C. muytjensii, C. turicensis, C. condimenti, and C. malonaticus. In addition, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the maximum tolerable concentration (MTC) of thymol, trans-cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, and menthol were determined for five strains of Cronobacter spp. The most effective EOs were: thyme > cinnamon > marjoram. In turn, EOs from clove, cumin, and fennel had a moderate inhibiting effect against only some of the analyzed strains. The majority of the tested EOs: peppermint, rosemary, basil, cardamom, anise, ginger, and all EOs from citrus fruits were ineffective against all the studied strains.