Evolution and antimicrobial resistance of enterococci isolated from Pecorino and goat cheese manufactured on-farm in an area facing constraints as per EU Regulation 1305/2013 in Umbria, Italy.

The latest EU regulation on geographical indications (EU Regulation No. 1151/2012) has introduced a set of new tools for the protection and enhancement of food products in rural areas, under the group name of optional quality term (OQT). The Commission Delegated EU Regulation, No. 665/2014, regulated the conditions for the use of the optional quality term mountain product (MP), to support the implementation of a mountain value chain. This new tool is aimed at promoting local development, maintaining the economic activities in mountain areas, and redistributing wealth, whilst, at the same time, promoting the territory. Pecorino and goat cheeses are typical Italian cheeses made usually with whole raw ewe's or raw goat's milk, without starter culture addition. In an attempt to characterize these productions, the aim of this study was to investigate the evolution of enterococci during the production and ripening of Pecorino cheese made in three different farms, located in Umbria, Italy in areas facing natural or other specific constraints as stipulated by Regulation 1305/2013 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). Enterococci are enteric organisms which are commonly isolated from ewe and goat's milk production in Umbria, Italy. Counts of enterococci in raw milk ranged from 1.75 for ovine milk to 3.62 for ewe milk and a marked reduction was observed after thermization especially in ovine milk. Out of 100 isolates, 69 were E. faecium, 23 E. durans, 8 E. faecalis and 2 E. casseliflavus and the distribution of species between farms and between samples showed a prevalence of E. faecium in ovine farms and E. durans in ewes farms, with an equal dis-tribution between samples. High percentages of susceptible isolates were found for amoxicil-lin/clavulanic acid, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, sulphamethoxazole, sulphamethoxazole/ trimethoprim, ticarcillin, vancomycin. A high prevalence of resistant strains (>30%) was ob-served for amikacin, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, kanamycin, tetracycline. A comparison of this re-sults with those of previous works on similar dairy products revealed high levels of resistance to antimicrobials which needs to be addressed.

Effect of packaging and storage conditions on some quality traits of bovine meat.

Packaging is considered one of the most interesting technological aspects of food production and is a constantly evolving subject in food production. The type of packaging is important for the quality and safety of the product and for the visual appearance of the product to be immediately evaluated by consumers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of four different types of modified atmosphere packaging (ATM) and vacuum packaging (VP) currently used by a company in central Italy, on the main qualitative characteristics of beef. For these two traditional and two new solutions with reduced environmental impact and compostable were evaluated. For each type of packaging, two different products were analyzed: steaks and hamburgers. The samples, immediately after production, were transported to the laboratory in refrigerated containers. Several parameters (color, pH, water holding capacity, drip loss, and microbiological characteristics) were evaluated at time 0 and after 7 (T7), 14 (T14) and 21 days (T21) of storage in the dark and at refrigeration temperature (+4°C ± 2°C). The results showed that the two types of packaging have very similar effects on the water-retaining capacity of the steaks. More noticeable differences were recorded by the colorimetric analysis: for both steaks and hamburgers, the products packaged in the traditional packaging appeared brighter and redder than those packaged in the new alternatives. The microbiological analysis of the steaks showed higher values in the "new" packaging. The formation of abundant ropy slime was observed in one of the samples in the "new" modified atmosphere package at T21. The results of this study showed that the technological characteristics (in particular, the color) and the microbiological characteristics of the steaks and hamburgers were better in "old" packaging, with a better appearance and a longer shelf life. The results obtained show how the research for eco-sustainable products for packaging must be addressed, taking into account the effect of the materials on the qualitative and hygienic- sanitary characteristics of the meat.

A risk assessment model for Salmonella spp. in swine carcasses.

Salmonellosis is one of the most important food-borne outbreaks that occurs in the EU/EEA. From the first production stages at slaughter, meat is susceptible to spoilage and can be a substrate for the pathogenic microorganisms growth. Among the pathogens, the presence of Salmonella is mainly due to mishandling during the evisceration stage. For the year 2019, according to the collected data from MSs, on the 17.9% of all food-borne outbursts, the presence Salmonella was confirmed. Pork meat is considered as one of the four most commonly reported foods in cases of salmonellosis. For the training purposes of this project, Salmonella isolation and identification along with RA for carcass contamination, was performed. Pig carcasses were sampled using the non-destructive technique. The sampling took place post dressing and before the stage of chilling. For the Salmonella detection, a three phases process was performed (pre-enrichment, enrichment, isolation). A total of 757 samples were collected, 19 were found to be positive for Salmonella. The most common was found to be Salmonella Derby, which was identified eight times. The main objective of the project was to determine the prevalence of Salmonella spp. in swine carcasses. Moreover, certain parameters were evaluated in terms of their influence on the prevalence of Salmonella. A stochastic simulation model was developed in Microsoft Office Excel 2019 by using the add-in @Risk v.8.1. The prevalence was estimated to be 2.6%. For the pigs sampled, the average value of the distance from farm to slaughterhouse was 200.92 km. Additionally, the average weight of the carcasses was 127.97 kg. The prevalence of Salmonella between the samples that came from farms with a distance above the average, was higher by 1.7 units, while the prevalence for the samples with weight above the average was higher by 0.2 units. According to the stochastic model, it is specified that the prevalence is higher with greater distance, and there is an 8.1% probability the prevalence will exceed the legislation's - hygiene criteria. In addition, the prevalence of Salmonella was shown to increase, as well in the case of samples from weightier animals, but to a lesser extent.

Effect of Culling Management Practices on the Seroprevalence of Johne's Disease in Holstein Dairy Cattle in Central Italy.

A study was performed in Umbria, central Italy, to find out whether different culling strategies adopted by farms to control Johne's disease (JD) infection exerted effects on the seroprevalence in dairy cattle. Fifty Fresian dairy herds in the Perugia and Assisi districts were visited and an audit of herd management was conducted. Among the 50 herds, 20 were selected for the consistency of management practices and, according to the culling strategy, two groups were created: group A (aggressive culling protocol, with average herd productive life <1100 days) and group B (lower culling rate, with productive life greater than 1500 days). The presence of antibodies to Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (Map) in the serum was determined using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. It was found that 3.3% (n = 14) of the cows of group B (n = 422, from 17 herds) were positive for Map antibodies, in comparison with 5.7% (n = 21) of the cows from group A (n = 366, from three herds). The odds ratio from multiple logistic regression (adjusted odds ratio 2.446, 95% confidence interval 0.412 to 14.525) showed that Johne's disease prevalence in herds with a greater productive life was not higher than in herds with typical modern management characterized by more aggressive culling. This is a significant finding, indicating that aggressive culling may not be necessary. Current JD control recommendations are derived from data obtained in high-prevalence paratuberculosis areas (northern Europe, including northern Italy), while methods of information transfer to dairy farms in low-prevalence areas should be reassessed to ensure that the correct measures, including basic calving management and calf-rearing practices, are thoroughly implemented. Using the manufacturer's suggested cut-off for a positive ELISA test and the sensitivity and specificity claimed, the overall true prevalence in Umbria dairy cattle was calculated as 7% (95% confidence interval 5.2% to 8.8%).