Phytosterol: nutritional significance, health benefits, and its uses in poultry and livestock nutrition.

Medicinal plants with active ingredients have shown great potential as natural and sustainable additives in livestock and poultry diets as growth promoters, performance, feed conversion ratio, digestibility of nutrient enhancers, and antioxidants and immune system modulators. Among active ingredients, phytosterols, which are plant-based bio-factors that may be found in seeds, fruits, grains, vegetables and legumes, are thought to be involved in the aforementioned activities but are also widely known in human medicine due to their efficacy in treating diabetes, coronary heart disease, and tumors. Nevertheless, phytosterols can also promote carcinogens production, angiogenesis inhibition, metastasis, infiltration, and cancer cells proliferation. This review focuses on the deepening of the biological role and health benefits of phytosterols and their new potential application in poultry and livestock nutrition.

Seasonal variations of Italian Mediterranean Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) Mozzarella cheese quality.

Water buffalo Mozzarella cheese is more appreciated in the summer, but milk production is higher during wintertime, as water buffalo are seasonally polyoestrous animals. The aim of the study reported in this Research Communication was to evaluate the effect of the reversing of the calving period on Mozzarella cheese composition and quality traits. Ten batches of Mozzarella cheeses produced during the summer and winter periods were analysed for pH, colour, chemical composition. Seasonal differences were observed for cheese yield (26·66% in winter and 25·61% in summer), moisture content (66·54% in winter and 61·18% in summer) colour and consumer evaluation.

A Time-Course Study on a Food Contact Material (FCM)-Certified Coating Based on Titanium Oxide Deposited onto Aluminum.

Aluminum is the second most widely used metal worldwide. It is present as an additive in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food, and food contact materials (FCM). In this study, we confirm the bactericidal effect of a special anodizing method, based on TiO2 nanoparticles (DURALTI®) deposited on aluminum disks with different roughness and subjected to two sanitizing treatments: UV and alcohol 70%. Consequently, we perform a time-course evaluation against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria to better frame the time required to achieve the best result. Approximately 106 CFU/mL of Escherichia coli ATCC 25922; Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 1402; Yersinia enterocolitica ATCC 9610; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27588; Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538; Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212; Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579 and Listeria monocytogenes NCTT 10888 were inoculated onto each aluminum surface and challenged with UV and alcohol 70% at 0, 15", 30", 1', 5', 15', 30', 1, 2, 4 and 6 h. DURALTI® coating already confirmed its ability to induce a 4-logarithmic decrease (from 106 to 102 CFU/mL) after 6 h. Once each sanitizing treatment was applied, an overall bacterial inhibition occurred in a time ranging from 15'' to 1'. The results are innovative in terms of preventing microbial adhesion and growth in the food industry.

Antibacterial Effect of Stainless Steel Surfaces Treated with a Nanotechnological Coating Approved for Food Contact.

Stainless steel, widely present in the food industry, is frequently exposed to bacterial colonization with possible consequences on consumers' health. 288 stainless steel disks with different roughness (0.25, 0.5 and 1 µm) were challenged with four Gram-negative (Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 1402, Yersinia enterocolitica ATCC 9610 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27588) and four Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579 and Listeria monocytogenes NCTT 10888) and underwent three different sanitizing treatments (UVC, alcohol 70% v/v and Gold lotion). Moreover, the same procedure was carried out onto the same surfaces after a nanotechnological surface coating (nanoXHAM® D). A significant bactericidal effect was exerted by all of the sanitizing treatments against all bacterial strains regardless of roughness and surface coating. The nanoXHAM® D coating itself induced an overall bactericidal effect as well as in synergy with all sanitizing treatments regardless of roughness. Stainless steel surface roughness is poorly correlated with bacterial adhesion and only sanitizing treatments can exert significant bactericidal effects. Most of sanitizing treatments are toxic and corrosive causing the onset of crevices that are able to facilitate bacterial nesting and growth. This nanotechnological coating can reduce surface adhesion with consequent reduction of bacterial adhesion, nesting, and growth.

Time-Course Study of the Antibacterial Activity of an Amorphous SiOxCyHz Coating Certified for Food Contact.

One of the most-used food contact materials is stainless steel (AISI 304L or AISI 316L), owing to its high mechanical strength, cleanability, and corrosion resistance. However, due to the presence of minimal crevices, stainless-steel is subject to microbial contamination with consequent significant reverb on health and industry costs due to the lack of effective reliability of sanitizing agents and procedures. In this study, we evaluated the noncytotoxic effect of an amorphous SiOxCyHz coating deposited on stainless-steel disks and performed a time-course evaluation for four Gram-negative bacteria and four Gram-positive bacteria. A low cytotoxicity of the SiOxCyHz coating was observed; moreover, except for some samples, a five-logarithm decrease was visible after 1 h on coated surfaces without any sanitizing treatment and inoculated with Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Conversely, a complete bacterial removal was observed after 30 s-1 min application of alcohol and already after 15 s under UVC irradiation against both bacterial groups. Moreover, coating deposition changed the wetting behaviors of treated samples, with contact angles increasing from 90.25° to 113.73°, realizing a transformation from hydrophilicity to hydrophobicity, with tremendous repercussions in various technological applications, including the food industry.

Food chain information systems in medium- and smallsized slaughterhouses of central Italy and organ and carcass condemnations: A five-year survey.

The flow of information between farms and slaughterhouses about animal health, is a fundamental process for modern meat inspection. The information provided by Food Chain Information (FCI) systems in medium-small sized slaughterhouses in central Italy, focusing on the data provided on the animal's health status, was performed through a five-year survey together with the number of organ and carcass condemnation for bovine, swine and ovine. The annual prevalence of condemnation was higher in bovine (from 10.49% in 2015 to 17.16% in 2019) than swine (from 6.39% in 2015 to 12.64% in 2019) and ovine (from 8.05% in 2019 to 8.98% in 2017), and an overall prevalence increase was observed in bovine and swine, throughout the years. The frequent lack of Food Chain Information (FCI) from farms to slaughterhouses should be emphasised, taking into consideration that a poor implementation of the system by farmers, could lead to a persistent risk of disease at farm level for these two species.

Repeated administration of a flavonoid-based formulated extract from citrus peels significantly reduces peripheral inflammation-induced pain in the rat.

Depression-related disorders are the first cause of disability worldwide according to the World Health Organization, and there is limited availability of effective antidepressant medications without side effects. Similarly, pain management is a public health concern particularly due to the increase in use of opioid medications, which have a significant side effect profile. Flavonoids can modulate numerous physiological functions including emotional and anti-nociceptive processes. Gold lotion (GL) is a natural product based on the extract of six citrus peels rich in flavonoids (0.45 mg/ml) with numerous reported biological activities. In the present study, we investigated the effect of repeated administration of GL in a battery of behavioral tests, including the open field test (OFT), forced swim test (FST), and von Frey test (vFT), in rats. While the OFT measured anxiolytic-related effects, the FST evaluated depression-related behavior. The vFT evaluated mechanical allodynia in two rat models of peripheral inflammation induced by carrageenan or complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) administration. Treatment with GL reduced mechanical allodynia after either carrageenan or CFA administration. On the other hand, repeated GL administration did not modulate any behavior evaluated by OFT or FST. Consumption of GL inhibits behavioral signs of inflammatory pain. Therefore, GL may be a valuable analgesic product to be used for inflammatory pain.

"Burrata di Andria" PGI Cheese: Physicochemical and Microbiological Features.

In the last century, the exponential increase of industrial food production led to the disappearance of "Italian traditional niche products". However, national regulations allowed the preservation of several of these products, including the burrata cheese. Twenty-one samples from three different batches of "Burrata di Andria" Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) were purchased from dairy factories of the PGI consortium. Moisture value of PGI Burrata cheese was significantly higher than that before the PGI release. Moreover, a significantly lower NaCl value was detected in PGI raw milk Burrata cheeses with respect to non-PGI ones, while an opposite situation was detected in pasteurized milk Burrata cheeses. As for pH, in all PGI products lower values were observed with respect to non-PGI products, which resulted significant only in pasteurized ones. No Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, and Bacillus cereus were detected, while nine samples were positive for a nonpathogenic strain of Yersinia enterocolitica. Total viable count (TVC) and Escherichia coli resulted significantly lower in pasteurized than in raw milk PGI Burrata cheese samples. Although samples analyzed can be considered microbiologically safe, these were borderline and/or unsatisfactory for E. Coli and coagulase-positive staphylococci (CPS) according to process hygiene criteria established by European regulation. Therefore, different strategies should be adopted to improve products hygiene in the considered dairy factories.

Antibacterial Effect of Aluminum Surfaces Untreated and Treated with a Special Anodizing Based on Titanium Oxide Approved for Food Contact.

One of the main concerns of the food industry is microbial adhesion to food contact surfaces and consequent contamination. We evaluated the potential bacteriostatic/bactericidal efficacy of aluminum surfaces with different large-scale roughness (0.25, 0.5 and 1 µm) before and after the surface treatment with a special anodizing based on titanium oxide nanotechnology (DURALTI®) and after 3 different sanitizing treatments, e.g., UV, alcohol and a natural product named Gold lotion. Four Gram-negative (Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 1402, Yersinia enterocolitica ATCC 9610 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27588) and four Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579 and Listeria monocytogenes NCTT 10888) bacteria were screened. As far as concerns aluminum surfaces without nanotechnology surface treatment, an overall bacteriostatic effect was observed for all strains with respect to the initial inoculum that was 106 CFU/mL. Conversely, an overall bactericidal effect was observed both for Gram-negative and -positive bacteria on DURALTI®-treated aluminum disks, regardless of roughness and sanitizing treatment. These results are innovative in terms of the great potential of the antibacterial activity of nanotechnologically treated food contact surfaces and their combination with some sanitizing agents that might be exploited in the food industry.

Survey on broiler pre-slaughter mortality in a commercial abattoir of central Italy.

The pre-slaughter mortality was investigated on broilers, in the Mediterranean climate condition, considering the most significant risk factors as the journey length, waiting time, season and the space allowance in cages. At first, the pre-slaughter mortality was studied considering the totality of birds and then by examining in detail three broiler categories: large, medium and small size. The average dead on arrival (DOA) recorded on the totality of birds throughout the year was 0.38% and the values obtained in winter, spring, summer and autumn were 0.52, 0.48, 0.31 and 0.22%, respectively. The mortality rate observed during the year was 0.52, 0.47 and 0.31% for large, medium and small broilers, respectively. In all three groups, the maximum values of mortality were obtained in winter, whereas the minimum ones were recorded in autumn, spring and summer for large, medium, and small size birds, respectively. The increase of journey length could cause a higher mortality rate whereas the increase of the waiting time in the facilities at controlled environmental conditions did not seem to be a risk factor, but rather a mean to reduce the number of dead animals (all P < 0.05). It is concluded that the resistance to the hostile weather conditions, long journeys and extended waiting times was strongly related with the body weight of broilers; therefore, the planning of the slaughtering activity should consider this aspect, in order to avoid animal suffering and the economic loss.

Differences in Chemical, Physical and Microbiological Characteristics of Italian Burrata Cheeses Made in Artisanal and Industrial Plants of Apulia Region.

The burrata cheese is a traditional product from Southern Italy, consisting of an envelope of pasta filata (stretched curd) filled with cream and pasta filata strips (usually leftovers from mozzarella production). Physical [water activity (aw), pH], chemical (moisture, NaCl content) and microbiological [total viable count (TVC), Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Yersinia enterocolitica, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Enterobacteriaceae, coagulase-positive staphylococci] characteristics of burrata cheeses manufactured in artisanal and industrial plants were evaluated. The artisanal burrata showed lower aw values in the filling and the final product. The same was recorded in the filling for the moisture, probably due to differences between the types of cream used in the artisanal and the industrial cheesemaking. The pH value of the filling differed between the two groups but no difference was recorded in the final product. Microbiological differences were also recorded, with higher values for TVC and E. coli in artisanal than industrial burrata. All samples were negative for the other microbial determinations, with the exception of coagulase-positive staphylococci and Y. enterocolitica, which were detected in artisanal burrata. Differences in cheesemaking process were probably responsible for the strong variability of the physical and chemical data between the two cheeses; furthermore, differences in the hygienic features were also recorded. Even though artisanal products showed lower aw and pH values and higher NaCl concentration, the higher E. coli loads highlighted the need for a more accurate compliance with hygienic procedures along the artisanal cheesemaking process.

Effect of Selected Starter Cultures on Physical, Chemical and Microbiological Characteristics and Biogenic Amine Content in Protected Geographical Indication Ciauscolo Salami.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the biogenic amine (BA) content of Ciauscolo salami made with and without the use of a selected started culture. Two batches of salami were made following the guidelines of the Protected Geographical Indications: with and without adding a commercial starter culture made of Lactobacillus plantarum and Staphylococcus xylosus. Six samples of salami per batch were collected at different ripening times (0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 days) for physical, chemical and microbiological analyses and for the determination of BA content. No differences were recorded for physical, chemical and microbiological analyses except for Staphylococcus spp. count at the time of casing (T0) and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) from 30 days (T2) to the end of the ripening time (60 days, T4). After 60 days of ripening, the use of selected starter culture significantly affected the amount of putrescine (195.15 vs 164.43 mg/100 g in salami without and with starters, respectively), cadaverine (96.95 vs 104.40 mg/100 g in salami without and with starters, respectively), histamine (81.94 vs 69.89 mg/100 g in salami without and with starters, respectively), and spermine (36.88 vs 33.57 mg/100 g in salami without and with starters, respectively). Despite significantly higher values of TVBN, the use of selected starter culture determined no significant effects on the BA content of the products.

Animal Welfare Evaluation at a Slaughterhouse for Heavy Pigs Intended for Processing.

The Council Regulation (EC) No. 1099/2009 requires slaughterhouse managers to implement specific standard operating procedures for all pre-slaughter stages considered at risk, aimed at achieving adequate levels of animal welfare. This survey was aimed at testing the applicability to an abattoir for heavy pigs of an assessment system of animal welfare through animal-based measures. In the monitoring of handling operations, the number of animals fallen/slipped and prodded, and that of vocalising pigs were recorded. In the monitoring of the immobilisation stage, carried out on the same pigs, vocalisations were recorded at the entrance to the box and falls/slips occurring inside it. Animal welfare assessment during the stunning-sticking-bleeding steps, was carried out by recording the head-only electrical stunning basic parameters set by legislation, vocalisations resulting from hot wanding, and clinical signs of consciousness, sensibility and certain death. Except for immobilisation, the percentage of occurrence of these events above acceptability limits was detected in all other pre-slaughter steps. The most critical stages were: handling in the unloading area and along the single-file chute, stunning and especially bleeding, where 84.13% of animals showed one or more signs of consciousness and/or sensibility recovery. Wrong placement of electrodes observed in 53.98% of the animals, insufficient voltage and low amperage may explain why a high percentage of pigs recovered consciousness and/or sensibility before death. Some simple restructuring of unloading area, slowdown of slaughter line speed, increase of personnel involved in pre-slaughter management and regular calibration of the electrical stunning device could be effectively corrective measures aimed at raising the animal welfare level at the slaughterhouse under study.

Evaluation of Carcass Hygiene in Sheep Subjected to Gas De-Pelting With Different Skinning Procedures.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the hygienic status of sheep carcasses skinned with two different procedures, the pulling down and Y cut methods, with and without the use of compressed filtered air inflation. Five sheep carcasses per day for each of the four skinning methods considered were sampled on ten different slaughtering days using wet and dry swab techniques at a local abattoir specialised in ovine slaughtering. A pool of four different sampling sites (brisket, shoulder, thorax and rump) was considered for each animal. Furthermore, ten animals were also randomly selected on different slaughtering days for each of the four skinning techniques and the four sampling sites were separately swabbed and analysed in each animal. The total viable count (TVC) and Enterobacte riaceae count were performed and the presence of Salmonella spp. was also tested. The daily average mean value of each parameter was in compliance with limits set by Regulation (EC) 1441/2007, falling into satisfactory or acceptable category for Enterobacteriaceae and within the acceptable level range for TVC for both the methods used with and without air de-pelting. For both TVC and Enterobacteriaceae count, no statistically significant differences (P>0.05) were recorded between samples obtained from carcasses skinned with and without air inflation for either of the skinning methods used and any of the sites sampled. No Salmonella spp. were detected in any of the tested samples. Nonetheless, no improvement in the carcass hygiene was detected either and, for this reason, other aspects should be taken into consideration when considering adopting the gas de-pelting method.

Influence of Rainfall on E. Coli Concentrations in Clams: Results of Collaboration Between Competent Health Authority and Producers' Association in the Province of Fermo (Italy).

The Area Vasta di Fermo (the competent health authority of the Marche Region), in collaboration with the local producers' Association conducted a series of studies on the presence of E. coli as an indicator of faecal contamination in the environment, in shellfish and in fishery waters, and on the factors that can affect their presence. These studies, carried out from 2008 to 2011, included an assessment of the currents along the coast, of the precipitations, and data from the monitoring of E. coli on shellfish harvested in the collection areas were examined. The results showed that in most cases, small concentrations of microorganisms in shellfish corresponded to little or no precipitations, while an increase in the levels of E. coli was preceded by more or less abundant rainfalls. The conclusions suggest that it is advisable to carry out a more detailed risk analysis which should take into account the above-mentioned factors. Furthermore, monitoring alone based on the determination of indicator organisms, especially when carried out as a single analysis or with a small number of E. coli determinations, does not provide a satisfactory indication of safety. The regional surveillance plans should be applied timely and rigorously, together with onsite investigations aimed at identifying changes that can affect the presence of E. coli in shellfish. Food business operators themselves could implement good manufacturing practices to verify whether the microbiological parameters are within the prescribed limits after rainfalls, especially if heavy.