Contaminated fresh produce has been identified as a vehicle for human foodborne illness. The present study investigated the counts, antimicrobial resistance profile, and genome-based characterization of Escherichia coli in 11 different types of fresh salad vegetable products (n = 400) sampled from retailers in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. E. coli was detected in 30% of the tested fresh salad vegetable items, with 26.5% of the samples having an unsatisfactory level (≥100 CFU/g) of E. coli, notably arugula and spinach. The study also assessed the effect of the variability in sample conditions on E. coli counts and found, based on negative binominal regression analysis, that samples from local produce had a significantly higher (p-value < 0.001) E. coli count than imported samples. The analysis also indicated that fresh salad vegetables from the soil-less farming system (e.g., hydroponic and aeroponic) had significantly (p-value < 0.001) fewer E. coli than those from traditional produce farming. The study also examined the antimicrobial resistance in E. coli (n = 145) recovered from fresh salad vegetables and found that isolates exhibited the highest phenotypic resistance toward ampicillin (20.68%), tetracycline (20%), and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (10.35%). A total of 20 (13.79%) of the 145 E. coli isolates exhibited a multidrug-resistant phenotype, all from locally sourced leafy salad vegetables. The study further characterized 18 of the 20 multidrug-resistant E. coli isolates using whole-genome sequencing and found that the isolates had varying numbers of virulence-related genes, ranging from 8 to 25 per isolate. The frequently observed genes likely involved in extra-intestinal infection were CsgA, FimH, iss, and afaA. The β-lactamases gene bla_CTX-M-15 was prevalent in 50% (9/18) of the E. coli isolates identified from leafy salad vegetable samples. The study highlights the potential risk of foodborne illness and the likely spread of antimicrobial resistance and resistance genes associated with consuming leafy salad vegetables and emphasizes the importance of proper food safety practices, including proper storage and handling of fresh produce.

Particular interest in selenium (Se) was generated as a result of clinical studies showing that balanced Se dietary system is very important for many physiological processes. There is no recent information available on the Se content in Egyptian foods. The present study was conducted to measure Se content in different food groups. A cross-sectional study was designed; a total of 87 food items were randomly purchased from the main markets and hypermarkets in Alexandria governorate, then digested by wet ashing procedure and finally analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The highest mean Se value was obtained in protein-rich food followed by nuts and sweetened products (6.8, 6.2, and 5.89 μg/g respectively) shrimps had the highest value among all studied samples (6.8 μg/g), while the lowest one was in soft cheese (0.0036 μg/g). Selenium content in food groups is strongly correlated with food matrix and composition of food items, soil composition, and fortification process.

In many low- and middle-income countries, data limitations are a major challenge facing the development of food safety risk assessment. In the present study, a questionnaire data collection tool was designed with an emphasis on gathering specific data points required by a risk modeller for simulating a scenario of Campylobacter cross-contamination during handling of raw chicken meat at the consumer phase. The tool was tested in practice to support its value and applicability in settings where data limitations are a challenge. The study subjects were 450 consumers in two Middle Eastern settings: Alexandria in Egypt (n = 200) and Thi-Qar in Iraq (n = 250). The majority (78.5%) of respondents in Egypt opted for wet markets/live bird shops as their preferred source of chicken meat. In contrast, 59.6% of Iraqi respondents preferred to buy chicken meat from supermarkets. Added to that, 73.0% of consumers in Egypt and 56.8% of consumers in Iraq viewed the quality of frozen chicken as “inferior” to that of chicken from wet markets. Almost all respondents in both Egypt and Iraq shared the practice of washing chicken in water before cooking. The percentage of consumers who ‘very frequently’ or ‘frequently’ prepare chicken prior to making the salad was 32.5% and 55.2% in Egypt and Iraq, respectively. A sizeable proportion of respondents in Iraq (40.8%) reported that they did not consider washing their hands with soapy water after touching raw chicken and preparing a salad in their home kitchen. Finally, 28.8% and 6.5% of respondents in Iraq and Egypt, respectively, indicated that they would not consider using a separate cutting board to avoid cross-contamination between raw chicken and salad. The data collection tool used in this study was designed in the first instance to match a conceptualised risk assessment framework, and that enabled the simultaneous collection of data points on consumption frequency, serving sizes, purchasing patterns, retail chain diversity and food handling practices. Results from such study design could be used for future development of a quantitative risk assessment model and to support food safety promotion efforts for domestic consumers in two of the most populated Middle Eastern countries.

Comparing the effects of the natural nonnutritive sweetener (steviosides) and the artificial sweetener (aspartame) on the plasma glucose, urea, and creatinine levels of normal and type 2 diabetic rats revealed that treating normal and diabetic rats with different doses of both sweeteners reduced the plasma glucose levels except in normal rats treated with low dose of aspartame and high dose of steviosides that increased glucose levels by 17.3% and in normal rats treated with the high aspartame dose (3.8%) but fortunately they were still within the normal glucose range. All doses of both sweeteners increased urea levels in normal rats by percentages ranging from 5.2% to 41.7% though they were within the normal urea range except the low aspartame dose and high steviosides dose, moreover medium aspartame dose reduced urea level by 11.1%. All doses of both sweeteners reduced the urea levels in diabetic rats with the highest reduction percentage in those treated with the high steviosides dose (63.8%) while the lowest (40.9%) was in those treated with the medium dose of aspartame but unfortunately, no dose succeeded to lower urea levels to their normal ranges. Treating normal rats with different doses of both sweeteners increased the plasma creatinine by percentages ranging from 33.3% in the medium steviosides dose to 133.3% in the low aspartame dose although they were kept within the normal creatinine range. Treating diabetic rats with different doses of both sweeteners succeeded to lower creatinine levels to their normal ranges with reduction percentages ranging from 25.8% to 38.1%. The creatinine levels were more or less similar in diabetic rats treated with different doses of both sweeteners with no significant differences between the two sweeteners in any dose.

BACKGROUND: Acrylamide (AA) is considered as a carcinogenic and genotoxic food contaminant produced in carbohydrate-rich foods Canteen snacks available in school are among these carbohydrate-rich foods. The paper investigates the risk associated with consuming acrylamide rich canteen snacks. AIM: The aim of the work was to study the dietary risk of acrylamide in school canteen snacks among primary school students and to determine the concentration of AA in different snacks METHODS: The level of AA was detected in 73 samples for 16 different canteen snacks sold at school canteens. Samples were collected randomly from the canteens of primary schools in Alexandria city. All samples were extracted and cleaned-up then analyzed using HPLC techniques. A food frequency questionnaire was designed to determine the frequency and amount of consumption of different canteen snacks among primary school students during school day. The data was collected from six different primary schools in Alexandria city (3 public and 3 private schools). All interviewed school students (466 student) were weighted for the calculation of dietary exposure of AA during school day. RESULTS: The results showed that, the average and the 95th percentile of acrylamide exposure were 1.4 and 4 μgkg−1 BWsd−1, respectively. There is a statistically significant difference between dietary exposure to AA between private schools and public schools. The estimated margin of exposure (MOE) calculated from the average acrylamide exposure was 128 and 221 and from 95th percentile was 45 and 77, based on BDML10 values 0.18 mgkg−1 BWd−1 and 0.31 mgkg−1 BWd−1. With the highest risk calculated in schools offering fried foods prepared in school canteen. CONCLUSION: Dietary exposure to AA from canteen snacks among primary school students in Alexandria city is considered as a health concern according to the definition of the WHO, where the calculated MOE values were very close to the values set by the JECFA committee (45-310) for health problems of concern.

Nutrition plays a crucial role in the prevention of chronic diseases, as most of them can be related to diet. Diet is an important factor in determining cancer incidence in many countries and regions. Diet can have both positive and negative effects on carcinogenesis. Dietary carcinogens represent 30 to 35% of cancer causes. Several substances in diet such as mycotoxins, heterocyclic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, N-nitroso compounds and acrylamide have been associated with increased risk of cancer. Diet also contains bioactive food components (BFC) which prevent cancer development. Their beneficial effects could be either maintenance or promotion of a state of well being or health and/or a reduction of cancer risk. Research on BFC continues to evolve albeit with shared challenges among scientists in the field of cancer treatment and prevention. Certain compounds such as phytochemicals and probiotics have cancer preventing properties. Awareness of the importance of consumption of functional foods or BFC as well as the importance of the whole diet rather than the isolated compounds as a cancer-preventive strategy for the general public should be promoted.