A systematic review and meta-analysis of food handling practices in Ghana vis-a-vis the associated factors among food handlers during 2009 and 2022.

Foodborne diseases (FBDs) are a major public health concern, especially in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, such as Ghana, where poor food handling practices (FHPs) are prevalent. To estimate the pooled proportion of good FHPs and the associated factors among Ghanaian food handlers, this systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to aid scholars, practitioners and policymakers in devising FBD-preventable interventions. The scientific databases PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, African Journals Online, ProQuest, and Directory of Open Access Journals were systematically searched until April 19, 2023, for relevant literature. Observational studies meeting the inclusion criteria of reported good FHPs among food handlers were included. Three authors independently searched the database, assessed the risks of bias and extracted the data from the shortlisted articles. A random-effects model with the DerSimonian and Laird model was used to estimate the pooled effect size of FHPs and the pooled odds ratio (POR) of FHP-associated factors. Out of the 2019 records collated, 33 with a total sample size of 6095 food handlers met the inclusion criteria for meta-analysis. The pooled proportion of good FHPs among Ghanaian food handlers was 55.8% [95% Cl (48.7, 62.8%); I2 = 97.4%; p < 0.001]. Lack of food safety training [POR = 0.10; 95% CI (0.03, 0.35); p = 0.001] and inadequate knowledge of food hygiene [POR = 0.36; 95% CI (0.01, 10.19); p < 0.001] were identified as the critical good FHP-associated factors. The study showed that the proportion of good FHPs among Ghanaian food handlers was 55.8%. To increase knowledge of food hygiene among food handlers, the Ghanaian Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) is recommended to provide regular training on food safety for the well-being of the general public.

Toxicogenic fungal profile, Ochratoxin A exposure and cancer risk characterization through maize (Zea mays) consumed by different age populations in the Volta region of Ghana.

Maize (Zea mays) is an important staple food crop for the majority of Ghanaians. Maize is mostly contaminated by fungal species and particularly mycotoxins. This work aimed to identify and quantify the incidence of fungal infection and exposure to Ochratoxin A (OTA) as well as the health risk characterization in different age populations due to maize consumption in the Volta region. Maize samples were plated on Dichloran Rose Bengal Chloramphenicol (DRBC) agar, and Oxytetracycline Glucose Yeast Extract (OGYE) agar. All media were prepared in accordance with the manufacturers' instructions. The plates were incubated at 28 ± 2 °C for 5-7 days. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography connected to a fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD) was used to analyze the ochratoxin A (OTA) levels in maize. Cancer risk assessments were also conducted using models prescribed by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Additives (JECFA). The maize samples collected from the Volta region contained fungal population between the range of 3.08-4.58 log10 CFU/g. Eight (8) genera were recorded belonging to Aspergillus, Trichoderma, Penicillium, Fusarium, Saccharomyces, Mucor, Rhodotorula and Rhizopus. The species diversity includes A. flavus, A. niger, T. harzianum, P. verrucosum, F. oxysporum, Yeast, F. verticillioides, Rhodotorulla sp, A. fumigatus, R. stolonifer, M. racemosus species. Additionally, the ochratoxins level contained in the samples were very noteworthy and ranged from 1.22 to 28.17 µg/kg. Cancer risk assessments of OTA produced outcomes also ranged between 2.15 and 524.54 ng/kg bw/day, 0.03-8.31, 0.0323, and 0.07-16.94 for cases/100,000 person/yr for Estimated Daily Intake (EDI), Margin of Exposure (MOE), Average Potency, and Cancer Risks respectively for all age categories investigated. There was very high mycoflora load on the maize sampled from the Volta region, likewise the range of mycotoxins present in the maize grains, suggesting the potential to pose some adverse health effects with the populace of the Volta region.

Study on the Pasting Properties of Indica and Japonica Waxy Rice.

In this study, the physicochemical properties of indica (IWR) and japonica (JWR) waxy rice were investigated to find the critical factor that differentiates the pasting behaviors among the two cultivars. The results showed that the peak viscosity of 5 IWR flours was in the range of 1242 to 1371 cP, which was significantly higher than 4 JWR flours (667 to 904 cP). Correlation analysis indicated that all pasting parameters were not correlated (p < 0.05) with physicochemical properties of rice flours and the fine structure of isolated starches. The pasting profiles of IWRs were still significantly higher than those of JWRs after removing lipid, while there were no significant differences between the two cultivars after removing protein sequentially. Meanwhile, the addition of extracted protein from JWR to the isolated starch significantly decreased the viscosity compared to the addition of protein extracted from IWR. The protein composition results found that the IWR protein contained about 18% globulin and 64% glutelin, while the JWR protein contained 11% globulin and 73% glutelin. The addition of glutelin to isolated starch significantly decreased viscosity compared to the addition of globulin. Therefore, the differences in the content of globulin and glutelin might be the main reasons that differentiate the pasting behaviors of the two cultivars.

Analysis of kinetic parameters and mechanisms of nanocrystalline cellulose inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase in simulated digestion of starch.

This study evaluated the in vitro inhibitory influence of particle size of nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) fractions against α-amylase and α-glucosidase using cooked potato starch-protein food model system. The kinetics of the resulting inhibitions in the presence of NCC of the two tested enzymes were examined and characterised. Both the size and dose of NCC significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited α-amylase and α-glucosidase by modulating the rate of hydrolysis of starch in the food model system lower than that of the control (no added fibre). At equal concentrations of each NCC fraction, the smallest particle size (≤125 nm) exhibited the highest potency as an inhibitor (median inhibitory concentration (IC50) = 2.98 mg mL-1 and 4.57 mg mL-1 for α-amylase and α-glucosidase, respectively). Increasing concentrations of each NCC fraction caused an apparent significant decrease in Vmax values (p < 0.05) with insignificant change in the Km values for both the tested enzymes. Furthermore, binding assays demonstrated that NCC particles may bind to the two tested enzymes in a non-specific manner. Analysis of the kinetics of the enzymes suggested that the mechanism of inhibition showed that the two tested enzymes mainly exhibited non-competitive mode of inhibition. The observed inhibition of the two tested enzymes suggests that reducing the cellulose size ≤125 nm may enhance its inhibition potency and potentially attenuate starch hydrolysis when added to diet.

Enhancing the prebiotic effect of cellulose biopolymer in the gut by physical structuring via particle size manipulation.

Cellulose is generally recognised as dietary fibre with no limit of permissible quantity in food, and its consumption may modulate digesta content and impact positively on the gastrointestinal physiology and gut microflora. However, cellulose in its native form possessed inherent undesirable physical properties, making it unattractive for food applications. Here, we postulate that by changing cellulose size to nanometric scale, its prebiotic effect would be altered and fermented differently in contrast with micro size cellulose by the gut microbiome and promote the yield of metabolites such as short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Using faecal matter from three healthy human donors as microbial source, in vitro fermentation of variable size fractions of cellulose from the same were fermented under anaerobic conditions, and SCFAs as well Bifidobacterium selectively isolated and analysed. The increase in production of acetate (194%), butyrate (224%) and propionate (211%) after 24 h of fermentation was significantly promoted by the size reduction and revealed size-dependent relationship as exemplified R2 values >0.83. Consequently, gavaging rats with nanometric size cellulose (125 nm) significantly (p < 0.05) increased these SCFAs yields as well Bifidobacterium counts in contrast with both control and the micro scale size cellulose. Therefore, engineered nanocellulose might have beneficial physiological impact on the gut with improved prebiotic effect.

Interfacial Activity and Self-Assembly Behavior of Dissolved and Granular Octenyl Succinate Anhydride Starches.

The mechanisms of granular octenyl succinate anhydride (GOSA) and dissolved OSA (DOSA) starches in emulsion stabilization were investigated. In general, DOSA starch offered better emulsification activity by generating greater ζ-potential, lower particle size as well as long-term stability in comparison to GOSA starch of close degree of substitution (DS). A compact interface in DOSA starches was determined, resulting from an increased surface loading value of 2.37 mg/m2 in comparison to that of GOSA of 1.6 mg/m2. Additionally, the irreversibly adsorbed and predominantly elastic interface of both DOSA and GOSA starches indicated that the DOSA starch may be a Pickering emulsifier rather than a biopolymer surfactant. This assumption was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. Spherical micelles with average diameters of 100 nm were observed above the critical micelle concentration of 1 mg/mL. Moreover, samples G28 (representing DS of 0.028), D28, G16, and D16 could reach equilibrium interfacial tensions of 19.4, 16.5, 20.0, and 19.3 mN/m, respectively. However, due to the misleading contact angle as a result of rough surfaces and nonignorable gravity of GOSA starch, the energy escape equation failed to be employed in this study.

The resilience of nanocrystalline cellulose viscosity to simulated digestive processes and its influence on glucose diffusion.

Intake of dietary fibre may modulate digesta viscosity and suppress the rise of postprandial plasma glucose by attenuating glucose diffusion in the lumen of the gastrointestinal tract. In this study, nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC), extracted by sulfuric acid was morphologically characterised by atomic force microscopy. To investigate the influence of digestive processes on NCC viscosity, NCC-protein-starch systems, and NCC suspensions were subjected to two-step static in vitro digestions using Infodigest protocol. Changes in viscosity and subsequent release and diffusion of glucose were monitored. The results demonstrated that the crystalline rod-like NCC particles were sensitive to dilution and constituents in the simulated digestive fluids, and could modulate viscosity of the digesta. Consequently, glucose release and diffusion rates were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced in NCC-food system compared with control. NCC may be used as a dietary fibre in food systems to modulate viscosity and delay the digestion and diffusion of starch and glucose respectively.

Functionality and nutritional aspects of microcrystalline cellulose in food.

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) is among the most commonly used cellulose derivatives in the food industry. In order assess the recent advances of MCC in food product development and its associated nutraceutical implications, google scholar and database of journals subscribed by Jiangnan university, China were used to source literature. Recently published research articles that reported physicochemical properties of MCC for food application or potential application in food and nutraceutical functions were reviewed and major findings outlined. The selected literature reviewed demonstrated that the material has been extensively explored as a functional ingredient in food including meat products, emulsions, beverages, dairy products, bakery, confectionary and filling. The carbohydrate polymer also has many promising applications in functional and nutraceutical food industries. Though widely used as control for many dietary fiber investigations, MCC has been shown to provide positive effects on gastrointestinal physiology, and hypolipidemic effects, influencing the expression of enzymes involved in lipid metabolism. These techno-functional and nutraceutical properties of MCC are influenced by the physicochemical of the material, which are defined by the raw material source and processing conditions. Apart from these functional properties, this review also highlighted limitations and gaps regarding the application of material in food and nutritional realms. Functional, Nutritional and health claims of MCC.

Effects of ultrasound and chemical treatments on white mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) prior to modified atmosphere packaging in extending shelf-life.

Effects of pre-treatments of white mushrooms prior to modified atmosphere packaging on their physico-chemical and microbiological properties were studied during 12 days of storage at 4 °C. Physico-chemical and microbiological properties of differently treated mushrooms stored at 4 °C were significantly different (P < 0.05) from untreated ones. Washed samples exhibited the smallest respiration rate compared to all other samples. Hydrogen peroxide washing was effective in retaining mushrooms colour change. Furthermore, the diminishments in weight of ultrasound treated samples during storage were significantly (P < 0.05) low in comparison with the other four treatments. The weight loss for ultrasound treated samples were 3.52 %, 4.07 % and 4.59 % for Uca, UH2O2 and UH2O respectively. The lowest PPO activity was observed in Uca, UH2O2 followed by Wca, WH2O2, UH2O and WH2O treatments respectfully. Combined treatments showed lower polyphenol oxidase activity, retained antioxidants, delayed pseudomonas growth and did not cause any decline in tissue firmness during storage time implying that it could extend shelf life of white mushrooms up to 12 days at 4 °C.

Solvent optimization extraction of antioxidants from foxtail millet species' insoluble fibers and their free radical scavenging properties.

In this study, water and 80% of four organic solvents were employed to optimize the extraction of antioxidants from two species of foxtail millet's insoluble fibers under the same temperature, time, and solid/solvent ratio. The results showed that the acetone was able to extract the maximum amount of antioxidants (2.32 mg/g fiber for white specie and 3.86 mg/g fiber for yellow specie) followed by methanol and propanol from both samples. The neutral and the ethanol on the other hand extracted small amount of the antioxidants from the two fiber materials. While considerable level of Total Polyphenols Content (TPC) was recorded in both the water and the organic solvents' extracts, only traces of Total Flavonoid content (TFC) were observed in water, methanol and ethanol extracts. Propanol and acetone extracts was negative to the TFC test. The potency of both white and yellow foxtail millets' insoluble fibers antioxidant extracts was investigated using five different in vitro tests. It was realized that there was a variation in their capacities to quench DPPH and ABTS(+) radicals for the time running of 0-60 min. The samples from the yellow cereal exhibited high inhibition capacity against ABTS(+). No correlation was observed between TPC and radical scavenging capacities for DPPH and ABTS(+). In general, the yellow species contained more antioxidants in comparison with the white one and this accounted for its high antioxidant activity.

Formation mechanism of cross-linking Maillard compounds in peptide-xylose systems.

The formation mechanism of Maillard peptides was explored in Maillard reaction through diglycine/glutathione(GSH)/(Cys-Glu-Lys-His-Ile-Met)-xlyose systems by heating at 120 °C for 30-120 min. Maximum fluorescence intensity of Maillard reaction products (MRPs) with an emission wavelength of 420~430 nm in all systems was observed, and the intensity values were proportional to the heating time. Taken diglycine/GSH-[(13) C(5) ]xylose systems as a control, it was proposed that the compounds with high m/z values of 379 and 616 have the high molecular weight (HMW) products formed by cross-linking of peptides and sugar. In (Cys-Glu-Lys-His-Ile-Met)-xylose system, the m/z value of HMW MRPs was not observed, which might be due to the weak signals of these products. According to the results of gel permeation chromatography, HMW MRPs were formed by Maillard reaction, especially in (Cys-Glu-Lys-His-Ile-Met)-xylose system, the percentage of Maillard peptides reached 52.90%. It was concluded that Maillard peptides can be prepared through the cross-linking of sugar and small peptides with a certain MW range.

In vitro hypoglycemic and cholesterol lowering effects of dietary fiber prepared from cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) shells.

Three dietary fiber (DF) powders; soluble dietary fiber (SDF), insoluble dietary fiber (IDF) and total dietary fiber (TDF) were prepared from cocoa bean shells (CBS) by enzymatic treatment. These DFs were evaluated for their effects on glucose adsorption, glucose diffusion, starch hydrolysis, cholesterol binding, sodium cholate binding and oil binding capacities using in vitro model systems by simulating gastric intestinal conditions. The results showed that SDF generally exhibited significantly (p < 0.05) higher glucose adsorption capacity (GAC), α-amylase inhibition activity, cholesterol and sodium cholate binding capacity, but less significant (>0.05) glucose dialysis retardation index (GDRI) and oil binding capacity, when compared with IDF and TDF which both showed similar effects. Moreover, it was discovered that the three CBS dietary fiber powders contained intrinsic antioxidants (phenolic compounds). The study suggested that CBS could be an alternative cheap source of DF with additional benefits. Thus, CBS fibers could be incorporated as low calorie bulk ingredients in high-fiber diet to reduce calorie and cholesterol levels and control blood glucose level.