No abstract

Raw beef is a food product that contains variety of proteins that provide good energy and other nutrients for supporting human health. However, this kind of meat is very easy to be spoiled by microorganism, which seriously affects the consumer's health. In addition, in most case, raw beef is popularly consumed raw or lightly cooked, so the level of microbial contamination is high. Interestingly, samples of raw beefs from three supermarkets were taken to be analyzed and evaluated in this study. This study was designed to (i) determine the presence of foodborne pathogens in raw beef; (ii) compare the prevalence of microbial contamination among the three supermarkets; and (iii) evaluate the sanitary quality of raw beef products. Also, six kind of microorganisms including Total Plate Count, Total Coliform and Fecal Coliform, which represented sanitary quality; and E. coli, S. aureus, and B.cereus, which determined the presence of foodborne pathogens, were analyzed. The results showed that there were no significant differences in Total Plate Counts, Total Coliform and Fecal coliform in the samples taken from the three supermarkets in Phnom Penh city, and they were found in unacceptable numbers in the raw beef products. However, the prevalence of foodborne pathogens including E. coli, S. aureus and B. cereus were found in acceptable numbers. Furthermore, the samples taken from the second supermarket had the highest level of microbial contamination among the three supermarkets, while the samples from the first supermarket had the lowest level of microbial contamination. This experimental finding demonstrated the need for sanitary improvement in the beef retails markets and strict sanitary guideline and implementation of these practices could guarantee consumers' health by consuming raw beefs with the lowest risk of foodborne pathogens.

This study was conducted (i) to improve storage systems of young shaped-coconut before delivering to markets; (ii) to identify optimal concentration of sodium metabisulfit on young shaped-coconut; and (iii) to introduce suitable packaging preventing browning on young shaped-coconut. The experiment was replicated three times with two factors (the concentration of sodium metabisufit and packaging). Young shaped-coconuts were dipped in sodium metabisulfit (2%, 5%) for 2 min before wrapping (MAP) with polyethylene resin (PE Resin) or non-wrap to serve as control. Fruits were evaluated for shelf life, color changes (browning) and quality changes by using of 5-point Hedonic scale, while the data was recorded daily and analyzed of variances using IRRISTART program and Microsoft Excel. The results had shown that there were no significant differences of color changes (browning) on young shaped-coconuts with wrapping (MAP) or unwrapping (P >0.05). Fruits washing with sodium metabisulfit was effectively reduced the color changes (P < 0.01) during the storage life. However, there was no significant difference between the concentration of sodium metabisulfit used (P > 0.05). In addition, fruits treated with sodium metabisulfit (2%, 5%) with wrapping extended the storage life up to 11 days, if compared to unwashed fruits that could store only 2 days. Fruits unwrapped and washed with sodium metabisulfit (2%, 5%) could be stored only 8 days. Moreover, wrapped fruits had the lowest percentage of weight losses and shriveling; whereas, pH, sugar, and titratable acidity slowly decreased coconuts' water quality in all treatments.

No abstract

Contaminations of E.coli and Salmonella on vegetables are the major cause of bacterial foodborne diarrhea in humans worldwide. Fresh vegetables normally carry natural non-pathogenic epiphytic microorganisms, but during growth, harvest, transportation and further handling the produce can be contaminated with foodborne pathogens from animals and human sources. In most cases, these products are consumed raw or lightly cooked, so that their microbial content may represent a risk factor for the consumers' health, which is a food safety concern. This study aimed to identify and compare the number of E.coli and Salmonella in Chinese Cabbage Supply Chain. Three replicates of samples were collected from farms, wholesalers, and retailers following by three supply chain actors/processes. By this three supply chains actor, 9 samples at farms, 9 samples at wholesalers, and 9 samples at retailers had collected for experiment. E.coli was confirmed by inoculating into sterile EC medium then streaking on Eosin Methylene Blue EMB agar and identified by Triple Sugar Iron (TSI) and Lysine Indole Mobility (LIM) agars. Furthermore, Salmonella was confirmed by inoculating in to sterile Brilliant Green Lactose Bile (BGLB) medium tube then streaking on selective Deoxycholate Hydrogen sulfide Lactose (DHL) agar and identified by TSI and LIM agars. The results showed that the contamination of E.coli was found in average of 11.9 × 10 2 CFU/g (or 3.1 log CFU/g) in farms, 27.33 × 10 2 CFU/g (or 3.4 log CFU/g) in the wholesaler, and 9.64×10 2 CFU/g (or 2.3 log CFU/g) in retailer. For the number of Salmonella, itwas found in average of 11.73×10 2 CFU/g (or 3.1 log CFU/g) in farm, 15.33×10 2 CFU/g (or 3.2 log CFU/g) in wholesaler, and also 10.27 × 10 2 (log = 3.0119) CFU/g in retailer. E.coli and Salmonella were found in highly number in the wholesaler comparing to the other two actors in supply chain which may be cause of poor hygiene conditions in their practice. Therefore, improving practice in this chain should be strongly taken into consideration before the produces continue supplying to the retailer as well as to the consumer.