Although the fishing and wine industries undoubtedly contribute significantly to the economy, they also generate large waste streams with considerable repercussions on both economic and environmental levels. Scientific literature has shown products can be extracted from these streams which have properties of interest to the cosmetics, pharmaceutical and food industries. Antimicrobial activity is undoubtedly among the most interesting of these properties, and particularly useful in the production of food packaging to increase the shelf life of food products. In this study, film for food packaging was produced for the first time using chitosan extracted from the exoskeletons of red shrimp (Aristomorpha foliacea) and oil obtained from red grape seeds (Vitis vinifera). The antimicrobial activity of two films was analyzed: chitosan-only film and chitosan film with the addition of red grape seed oil at two different concentrations (0.5 mL and 1 mL). Our results showed noteworthy antimicrobial activity resulting from functionalized chitosan films; no activity was observed against pathogen and spoilage Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, although the antimicrobial effects observed were species-dependent. The preliminary results of this study could contribute to developing the circular economy, helping to promote the reuse of waste to produce innovative films for food packaging.

The main goal of this research was to characterize the bacterial diversity of wooden boards used for aging traditional Sicilian cheeses and to evaluate whether pathogenic bacteria are associated with these surfaces. Eighteen cheese dairy factories producing three traditional cheese typologies (PDO Pecorino Siciliano, PDO Piacentinu Ennese and Caciocavallo Palermitano) were selected within Sicily region. The wooden shelf surfaces were sampled by a destructive method to detach wood splinters as well as by a non-destructive brushing to collect microbial cells. Scanning electron microscopy showed the presence of almost continuous bacterial formations on the majority of the shelves analysed. Yeasts and fungal hyphae were also visualized, indicating a complexity of the plank communities. The amplicon library of the 16S rRNA gene V3-V4 region was pair-end sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq system allowing the identification of 14 phyla, 32 classes, 52 orders, 93 families and 137 genera. Staphylococcus equorum was identified from all wooden surfaces with a maximum abundance of 64.75%. Among cheese surface ripening bacteria, Brevibacterium and Corynebacterium were detected in almost all samples. Several halophilic ( Halomonas , Tetragenococcus halophilus , Chromohalobacter, Salimicrobium , Marinococcus , Salegentibacter , Haererehalobacter , Marinobacter and Idiomarinaceae) and moderately halophilic ( Salinicoccus , Psychrobacter and Salinisphaera ) bacteria were frequently identified. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were present at low percentages with the genera Leuconostoc , Lactococcus , Lactobacillus , Pediococcus and Streptococcus . The levels of wooden shelf viable microorganisms ranged between 2.4 and 7.8 log CFU/cm 2 . In some cases, LAB were counted at very high levels (8.2 log CFU/cm 2 ). Members of Enterobacteriaceae family were detected in a viable state only for six samples. Coagulase positive staphylococci, Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes were not detected. Seventy-five strains belonged to Leuconostoc , Lactococcus , Pediococcus , Enterococcus , Lactobacillus and Weissella genera. IMPORTANCE This study provides evidence for the lack of pathogenic bacteria on the wooden shelves used to ripen internal bacterially ripened semi-hard and hard cheeses produced in Sicily. These three cheeses are non-inoculated on their surfaces and surface ripening is not considered to occur or, at least, not at the same extent of surface inoculated smear cheeses. Several bacterial groups identified from the wooden shelves are typically associated with smear cheeses strongly suggesting that PDO Pecorino Siciliano, PDO Piacentinu Ennese and Caciocavallo Palermitano cheese rind contributes to their final organoleptic profiles.

In this study, almond skin of Prunus dulcis L. variety Casteltermini was 35 characterised for its chemical composition for inhibitory activity 36 food associated microorganisms belonging to pathogenic (Salmonella Enteritidis, 37 Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytgenes), spoilage 38 (Pseudomonas poae and Brochotrix thermospacta) and useful (Levilactobacillus 39 brevis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae) groups. The n-hexane extract of P. dulcis 40 skin, investigated by GC-MS, evidenced linoleic, palmitic, and oleic acids as the 41 main abundant compounds. Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 33862 growth was 42 strongly limited by n-hexane extract and the minimum inhibition concentration 43 (MIC) was 25.5 mg/mL. These results highlight the potential of almond by-44 products as food bio-preservatives as well as pharmaceutical products.

The microbiological and physicochemical traits of fresh ewe's Ricotta made with (40% w/w) and without sucrose were investigated. Sugar added Ricotta (SAR) and control Ricotta (CTR) were packaged and stored at 4°C for 90 d. Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, coagulase positive staphylococci, Enterobacteriaceae, total coliforms, Pseudomonas, yeasts, moulds and clostridia were undetectable during the entire monitoring. Total mesophilic and psychrotrophic microorganisms and mesophilic cocci lactic acid bacteria increased over time, but their development was li-mited in SAR production. The acidification was observed only for CTR. Water activity was consistently low (0.897 on average) in SAR that were also characterized by the highest percentage of dry matter (45.27 -47.36%). Fat, protein and salt contents were in the range typical for ewe's Ricotta. The results provided evidences on a 40-d shelf life for SAR product.