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Trichinellosis is a worldwide zoonotic food-borne disease that causes public health problems. The present study investigated the role of domestic ducks (Muscovy) and catfish (Clarias lazera) in transmitting Trichinella spiralis infection in Egypt. Ducks, fish, and rats were inoculated by high doses of Trichinella spiralis (T. Spiralis) larvae in naturally infected muscles of pigs and by free larvae extracted from artificial digestion. Both methods failed to develop an infection in ducks. No worms or cysts could be detected in ducks slaughtered 10, 25, and 45 days after inoculation. Moreover, there was no significant increase in the mean ELISA optical density (OD) value, compared to the control non-inoculated ducks. Inoculation of fish resulted in a significant increase in the mean ELISA OD value, compared to the control non-inoculated fish. This elevation was associated with the temporary detection of a few adult worms in the intestine of these fish which decreased with time till disappeared 45 days after inoculation but a non-significant increase was observed, compared to that obtained in the inoculated rats at the same stages. A large number of T. spiralis adult worms and cysts associated with a significant increase in the mean ELISA OD were recorded in the inoculated rats. Infection of rats (xenodiagnosis) by muscles collected from the inoculated ducks or fish failed to induce infection or elevation in the level of anti-T. spiralis antibodies (ATs-Ab) in their sera. In conclusion, Muscovy ducks and Clarias lazera could not be infected by T. spiralis in their muscles and the consumption of their meat could not transmit this infection to consumers in Egypt. However, proper cooking of meat is still necessary to avoid infection with other species.

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A s a result of the hectic lifestyle and most people, especially youth spend a long time outside their homes, so this gives the chance for the fast food industry to grow up all over the world. Globally, there are approximately 2.5 billion persons eat fast food daily (FAO, 2007). Ready to eat foods (RTE), such as hot dogs, fermented sausage, burger, shawarma, and meatballs, are products that are sold at the quick-service restaurants and can be consumed immediately without further preparation (Tsang, 2002). Among these different types of fast foods, Sandwich is the most popular way of consumption because of its easy and quick preparation, delicious taste beside it contains different types of foods as producers add salads from fresh vegetables to sandwiches as cabbage, carrot, cucumber, onion, ketchup, and mayonnaise. However, the quality of these sandwiches greatly depends on several factors such as the initial load of microbial contamination of meat and raw vegetables, method of preparation, time, and temperature research Article Abstract | Sixty cheeseburger sandwiches were bought from sixty different fast food outlets and street vendors in Cairo as well as the governorate of Giza. Sandwiches were divided into three groups; room temperature (25°C), refrigerator (5°C), and high temperature (37°C). The three groups were examined after 30, 60, and 120 minutes for bacteriological quality (aerobic plate count, psychrotrophic, total coliform, fecal coliform, E.coli, total staphylococci, and salmonella) count and deterioration criteria (pH, TVBN, and TBA). The findings showed significant growth in aerobic plate count, psychrotrophic, total coliform and staphylococci count while salmonella failed to be detected under different storage temperatures. Moreover, Citrobacter diversus, Citrobacter freundii, Serratia fonticola, Enterobacter intermedius, Enterobacter aerogenes, Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella oxytoca, and E.coli can be isolated from sandwiches kept under high temperature (37 ºC) for 120 minutes. The deterioration criteria tests discovered that the increase of storage temperature as well as period of storage resulted in a significant raise in pH, TVBN, and TBA values. Moreover, deterioration criteria of examined leftover sandwiches kept under high temperatures (37 ºC) for the longest period (120 minutes) exceeded the permissible limit according to E.S.S. (2005). According to this, holding sandwiches at high temperature for an extended period increased microbial load and deterioration criteria resulting in food-borne diseases and health risks and consequently rendering them unfit for human consumption.

| Essential oils (EOs) are becoming more popular as natural preservatives alternatives to synthetic ones due to their powerful antibacterial action and increasing consumer concerns about synthetic preservatives. However, applications of EOs in food have been hampered by their pungent odor, which has a negative impact on customer acceptance. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of using low concentration (0.002%) of thyme (T), oregano (O), clove (CL), and their combination (TO, TCL, OCL, and TOCL) on the bacterial quality of chicken meat patties during frozen storage at -18 °C for 12 weeks by enumeration of aerobic plate count (APC), psychrotrophic, Enterobacteriaceae, and lactic acid bacterial (LAB) counts. The results revealed that the sole effect of T, CL, and O oleoresins caused non-significant reductions in all investigated bacterial counts. Among the treated groups (T, CL, or O alone), it was found that O oleoresin achieved the highest reduction rate, followed by CL while the least reduction rate was recorded in samples treated with T. Therefore, addition of O into the mixture of T-O, O-CL, or T-O-CL improved their antibacterial activity. Furthermore, treatment of chicken patties with TCL, TO, OCL, as well as TOCL completely suppressed the growth of LAB (< 2 log 10 CFU/g) at 0-time of examination and during the entire freezing storage. Additionally, the highest reduction rate in APC, psychrotrophic, and Enterobacteriaceae count was observed in samples treated with mixtures of three oleoresins (T-CL-O) as compared with other groups. In conclusion, the food industry could use a mixture of these oleoresins with a low concentration as a natural source of antibacterial during the processing of chicken meat products to improve their bacterial quality and extend their shelf life without causing odor problems.