Objectives: Microbial spoilage of food is one of the leading causes of food scarcity worldwide, which could have devastating effect on the socioeconomic of any country. Along with classical food preservation methods, various innovative approaches can significantly increase the food safety. Biosurfactants are the amphiphilic microbial metabolites, while many of them have potential antimicrobial properties and therefore can be used for food preservation. Results: During this study, among three surfactants only Pseudomonas sp. biosurfactant (rhamnolipid) exhibited significant antifungal activity against A. oryzae, F. solani, and Curvularia sp. Further, the rhamnolipid coating (1 mg/ml) on lemon, potato and tomato protected them from fungal spoilage up to 15 days at room temperature in contrast to untreated samples which started spoiling in 6-7 days.

Background-The aim of our study is to determine the drinking water quality monitoring and assessment of safe water supply in tertiary care hospital. Water samples which are collected from different sites of Adesh Medical College and Hospital, Shahabad, Haryana were processed. Material and methods- Most Probable Number (MPN) test was done to detect the coliform bacteria in drinking water, samples were collected from different sites of AMCH, bacterial isolate was identied by culture, colony morphology, Gram's staining and biochemical characterization of bacteria. Results- Out of 40 samples of drinking water 7(17.5%) were positive in which coliform bacteria were present, while 33(82.5%) were negative. In which 1(14.2%) of the total water samples were contaminated with mix growth organism, 1(14.2%) harbored Klebsiella sp., while 5(87.5%) among 7 water samples were highly contaminated with E.coli species. Out of 7 positive samples, 4(57.1%) water sample were satisfactory, 1(14.2%) were unsatisfactory sample and 2 (28.5%) were suspicious samples. Conclusion- On the basis of the results obtained, the quality analysis revealed that most of water samples were satisfactory and were not contaminated with coliforms and various pathogenic bacteria. The water cooler samples showing positive results have E.coli while less of Klebsiella species. Therefore, we suggest that all the water sources of drinking water should be properly sanitized, continuously monitored and bacterial load should be estimated on daily basis.

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