Prevalence and virulence genes of Staphylococcus aureus from food contact surfaces in Thai restaurants.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common pathogens responsible for food poisoning due to its ability to produce staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE). S. aureus can form biofilms on the surfaces of food processing devices, enabling the distribution of SE on foods through cross-contamination events. Thailand is known for its exotic cuisine, but there is no data on the prevalence of SE-harboring S. aureus in restaurants in Thailand. Methods: In this study, we conducted surface swabs on surfaces of kitchen utensil that come into contact with food and on the hands of food handlers working in restaurants in the north part of Thailand. Isolated S. aureus was investigated for biofilm formation, virulence, and SE genes. Results: Two hundred S. aureus were isolated from 650 samples. The highest prevalence of S. aureus contamination was detected on the hands of food handlers (78%), followed by chopping boards (26%), plates (23%), knives (16%), spoons (13%), and glasses (5%). All of them were methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) and the mecA gene was not present in any strains. Biofilm formation was detected using the CRA method, and 49 (24.5%) were identified as biofilm-producing strains, with the hands of food handlers identified as the primary source of biofilm-producing strains. The prevelence of biofilm-related adhesion genes detected were: icaAD (13%), fnbA (14.5%), cna (6.5%), and bap (0.5%). Two classical enterotoxin genes, sec and sed, were also found in four and six of the S. aureus isolates, respectively, from hands and utensils. Conclusion: The highest prevelence of S. aureus was detected on the hands of food handlers. S. aureus strains with biofilm and enterotoxin production abilities were discovered on food contact surfaces and the hands of food handlers, implying significant risk of food contamination from these sources that could be harmful to consumers. To avoid cross-contamination of food with food contact items, the food handlers' hands should be properly washed, and all food preparation equipment should be thoroughly cleaned.

Effects of Using a Perforated Spoon on Salt Reduction When Consuming Ramen Noodles: A Randomized Crossover Study of Japanese Male University Students.

Salt reduction is a public health priority for the Japanese population. We focused on the effect of salt reduction by changing eating utensils to reduce salt consumption. As a test meal, we used ramen, which is commonly eaten by Japanese individuals and has a high salt content. In this randomized crossover study, we hypothesized that eating ramen with a perforated spoon would reduce the quantity of ramen soup and salt consumed compared to using a regular spoon without holes. Soup intake, after-meal fullness, and deliciousness were compared between eating with chopsticks and a regular spoon, and with chopsticks and a perforated spoon. In total, 36 male university students (mean age, 20.7 [standard deviation, 1.8] years) were included in the analyses. The median salt intake (25th and 75th percentiles) was significantly lower with perforated spoons (1.8 [1.5, 4.3] g) than with regular spoons (2.4 [1.8, 4.8] g; p = 0.019). There were no significant differences in after-meal fullness or deliciousness for both spoon conditions (p > 0.05). For young men, the soup intake when eating ramen with a perforated spoon was lower than that with a regular spoon; this suggests a reduction in salt intake.

Consumers' practices and safety perceptions regarding the use of materials for food preparation and storage: Analyses by age group.

Food Contact Materials (FCM) are those intended to be in contact with food, during its production, handling, and storage. FCM contain chemicals that could migrate to the foodstuff, posing potential health concerns, and usage practices influence the level of migration. This study assesses the preferences, safety perceptions, and usage practices of Portuguese consumers regarding FCM used for cooking and food storage (cookware). An observational, quantitative, and transversal study was performed through an online survey created for this purpose, which involved 1179 Portuguese adults. Results were analyzed according to age. Safety was the factor considered most important when choosing cookware materials, although the choice criteria varied with age. The majority of respondents recognize the risk of food contamination through cookware. Stainless steel and glass were considered the safest materials for cooking. The materials most used to reserve food are glass and plastic. Older individuals carry out more maintenance of cookware and have greater knowledge about how to wash and store it. Regarding the FCM symbology, there is a general lack of knowledge. Our study demonstrates the need to disseminate reliable information to the general public about cookware, contributing to greater literacy in health and to less exposure to food contact chemicals.

Metal exposures from source materials for artisanal aluminum cookware.

Artisanal aluminum cookware releases lead and other metals that pose significant health risk for people in low and middle-income countries. Cookware is made from recycled engine and electronic appliance parts, cans, and other materials. We obtained fourteen custom-made pots from Ghana, produced from seven different scrap aluminum sources. We sought to determine whether avoiding certain source materials could reduce leaching of metals. Cooking was simulated using dilute acetic acid and palm oil. Aluminum released from all pots exceeded recommended guidelines. Variable amounts of lead, cadmium, chromium, nickel and other metals were leached, with the most lead coming from auto radiators and mixed metals. Pots made from engine blocks did not yield detectable amounts of lead. All pots released potentially harmful concentrations of two or more metals. Selective scrap aluminum sourcing for recycled cookware does not avoid metal contamination of food, although some sources may release lower concentrations of certain metals.

Comida de Verdade 9: habilidades culinárias

Aula 9: Habilidades culinárias Para ter uma alimentação saudável, é essencial saber cozinhar. Porque, ao mesmo tempo que você ganha intimidade com os ingredientes, equipamentos e utensílios, conquista também uma enorme autonomia. Cozinhar faz bem para a saúde e é libertador. Nesta aula, Rita Lobo ensina os fundamentos da cozinha – mas, olha, mesmo quem já tem alguma prática pode fazer uma boa revisão ou aprender com as dicas dela.

Comida de Verdade 10: utensílios indispensáveis na cozinha

Comida de Verdade - Aula 10: Utensílios indispensáveis na cozinha. Cozinhar fica mais fácil quando você tem o arsenal adequado. Rita Lobo mostra os utensílios indispensáveis e ensina você a escolher e a usar facas, tábuas, panelas, colheres, abridores, assadeiras e demais equipamentos

Metabolic syndrome in rural Peruvian adults living at high altitudes using different cookstoves.

This study determined the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in open fire stoves and improved cookstoves users (ICS) in the rural Peruvian Andes. Participants answered a socioeconomic questionnaire, one 24-hour food recall and underwent a physical examination. We analysed data from 385 participants, 190 (112 women and 78 men) were ICS users and 195 (123 women and 72 men) were open fire stove users. The prevalence of MetS was 21.3, 26.4% in women and 13.3% in men. We found no statistically significant association between the type of cookstove and MetS. Body mass index and altitude were important determinants of MetS. Research on cardiometabolic diseases and open fire stove use contributes to understanding the effect of household air pollution on health in high altitude populations.

Flipping food during grilling tasks, a dataset of utensils kinematics and dynamics, food pose and subject gaze.

This paper presents a multivariate dataset of 2866 food flipping movements, performed by 4 chefs and 5 home cooks, with different grilled food and two utensils (spatula and tweezers). The 3D trajectories of strategic points in the utensils were tracked using optoelectronic motion capture. The pinching force of the tweezers, the bending force and torsion torque of the spatula were also recorded, as well as videos and the subject gaze. These data were collected using a custom experimental setup that allowed the execution of flipping movements with freshly cooked food, without having the sensors near the dangerous cooking area. Complementary, the 2D position of food was computed from the videos. The action of flipping food is, indeed, gaining the attention of both researchers and manufacturers of foodservice technology. The reported dataset contains valuable measurements (1) to characterize and model flipping movements as performed by humans, (2) to develop bio-inspired methods to control a cooking robot, or (3) to study new algorithms for human actions recognition.

Clinical utilization of a sous vide device in the acute rewarming of frostbitten extremities.

The current standard of care for acute frostbite rewarming is the use of a circulating warm water bath at a temperature of 37 °C to 39 °C. There is no standardized method to achieve this. Manual management of a warm water bath can be inefficient and time consuming. This case describes the clinical use of a sous vide cooking device to create and maintain a circulating warm water bath to rewarm acute frostbite. A 34 year-old male presented to the emergency department with acute frostbite. Each of the patient's feet were placed in a water bath with a sous vide device attached to the side of the basin and set to 38 °C. Temperatures were recorded every 2 m from 2 thermometers. Once target temperature was achieved, the extremities were rewarmed for 30 m. The water baths required an average of 25 m to reach target temperature and maintained the target temperature within ±1 °C for the duration of the rewarming. The extremities were clinically thawed in one session and there were no adverse events. The patient was seen by plastic and vascular surgery and admitted to the hospital for conservative management. He was discharged on hospital day 3 and did not require any amputations. A sous vide device can be used clinically to heat and maintain a water bath and successfully rewarm frostbitten extremities in one 30 m cycle. No adverse events were reported and providers rated this as a convenient method of water bath management.

Cidinha dá jeito: episódio 13 - panela de pressão não é só para feijão [libras]

Põe pressão que dá certo! Cozinhar na panela de pressão você ganha tempo e ainda economiza no gás.

Cidinha dá jeito: episódio 15 - cozinhando em uma panela só? [libras]

Experimente a praticidade de cozinhar toda a sua refeição em uma única panela! Mas, atenção! Alimentos duros devem ser cozidos primeiros e os mais macios depois. Para saber mais sobre como cozinhar em uma única panela.

Cidinha dá jeito: episódio 9 - utensílios na cozinha [libras]

Será que precisa de muitos utensílios para cozinhar? Não! Cidinha dá jeito de cozinhar com poucos, pois o que vale é a qualidade e conservação da panela, faca, tábua...A arrumação na cozinha também é importante para deixa-la mais funcional e convidativa! Para saber mais sobre os utensílios e arrumação na cozinha.

Impact of Portion Control Tools on Portion Size Awareness, Choice and Intake: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Portion control utensils and reduced size tableware amongst other tools, have the potential to guide portion size intake but their effectiveness remains controversial. This review evaluated the breadth and effectiveness of existing portion control tools on learning/awareness of appropriate portion sizes (PS), PS choice, and PS consumption. Additional outcomes were energy intake and weight loss. Published records between 2006-2020 (n = 1241) were identified from PubMed and WoS, and 36 publications comparing the impact of portion control tools on awareness (n = 7 studies), selection/choice (n = 14), intake plus related measures (n = 21) and weight status (n = 9) were analyzed. Non-tableware tools included cooking utensils, educational aids and computerized applications. Tableware included mostly reduced-size and portion control/calibrated crockery/cutlery. Overall, 55% of studies reported a significant impact of using a tool (typically smaller bowl, fork or glass; or calibrated plate). A meta-analysis of 28 articles confirmed an overall effect of tool on food intake (d = -0.22; 95%CI: -0.38, -0.06; 21 comparisons), mostly driven by combinations of reduced-size bowls and spoons decreasing serving sizes (d = -0.48; 95%CI: -0.72, -0.24; 8 comparisons) and consumed amounts/energy (d = -0.22; 95%CI: -0.39, -0.05, 9 comparisons), but not by reduced-size plates (d = -0.03; 95%CI: -0.12, 0.06, 7 comparisons). Portion control tools marginally induced weight loss (d = -0.20; 95%CI: -0.37, -0.03; 9 comparisons), especially driven by calibrated tableware. No impact was detected on PS awareness; however, few studies quantified this outcome. Specific portion control tools may be helpful as potentially effective instruments for inclusion as part of weight loss interventions. Reduced size plates per se may not be as effective as previously suggested.

Relationship between chopstick manipulation and cross-sectional shape in the developmental stages from infancy to early school age.

Motor development was investigated in 114 children aged 4-9 years, and the effects of different cross-sectional shapes of chopsticks (octagonal, square, and triangular) on manipulation ability were examined. Children's chopstick manipulation was found to be related to the developmental stage and their way of holding them. Manipulation was enhanced when they transmitted the optimal force to the tips when closing, the bottom chopstick was stabilized when opening, and the upper chopstick was encouraged to rotate moderately. In addition, opening chopsticks is more difficult than closing them. Square chopsticks increase the force of the tips, whereas octagonal chopsticks encourage more rotation of the upper chopstick, indicating that differences in the ability to manipulate chopsticks during development affect the preference for cross-sectional shapes. We plan to examine the effectiveness of chopsticks with different cross-sectional shapes of the upper and bottom chopsticks by focusing on the opening operation.

The Role of Dishware Size in the Perception of Portion Size in Children and Adolescents with Obesity.

PURPOSE: The influence of dishware on portion size perception in children and adolescents is inconclusive. This study investigated how children and adolescents with both obesity and a normal weight perceived portion size in different sized and shaped dishware items. METHODS: The study included 60 children and adolescents with overweight and obesity (OBE) and 27 children and adolescents with normal weight (NW) aged from 9 to 17 years. The participants estimated quantities in three pairs of drinking glasses, one pair of bowls and two pairs of plates which varied in size and shape. The children were instructed to state intuitively which portion they would choose for big or small thirst/hunger. Thereafter they were asked to determine the exact amount by answering which dishware item contained the larger/smaller portion (cognitive evaluation). RESULTS: There were no substantial differences in the intuitive evaluation of portion sizes between OBE and NW. During the cognitive evaluation, OBE estimated the amount of water in the glasses more correctly compared to NW (61% vs. 43%; p = 0.008); OBE estimated the amount of lentils in the bowls and on the plates significantly less correctly (39%) compared to NW (56%; p = 0.013). CONCLUSIONS: Habit formation and environmental stimuli might play a greater role in estimating food amounts in dishware than the child's and adolescent's body weight.

Determination of primary aromatic amines from cooking utensils by capillary electrophoresis-tandem mass spectrometry.

This paper describes a fast, sensitive, environment-friendly method for the determination of 19 primary aromatic amines (PAAs) in cooking utensils by capillary zone electrophoresis coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The best electrophoretic separation of PAAs was obtained in 0.1 mol l-1 formic acid (pH 2.4) as the background electrolyte, fused silica capillary (67 cm) with a run time below 6 min. The proposed method presented a linear calibration with correlation coefficients higher than 0.99 and reproducibility in a range of 1-25%. Limits of detection were in the range of 0.2-1.3 µg kg-1 and recoveries were in a range of 85-120% for all the PAAs. The validated method was employed to determine PAAs on 36 samples of cooking utensils using acetic simulant. The results showed that 4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane and aniline being the most frequently found PAAs in these samples and 28% of cooking utensils were not compliant.

New insights into early medieval Islamic cuisine: Organic residue analysis of pottery from rural and urban Sicily.

Sicily, during the 9th-12th century AD, thrived politically, economically, and culturally under Islamic political rule and the capital of Palermo stood as a cultural and political centre in the Mediterranean Islamic world. However, to what extent the lifeways of the people that experienced these regimes were impacted during this time is not well understood, particularly those from lesser studied rural contexts. This paper presents the first organic residue analysis of 134 cooking pots and other domestic containers dating to the 9th -12th century in order to gain new insights into the culinary practices during this significant period. Ceramics from three sites in the urban capital of Palermo and from the rural town of Casale San Pietro were analysed and compared. The multi-faceted organic residue analysis identified a range of commodities including animal products, vegetables, beeswax, pine and fruit products in the ceramics, with a complex mixing of resources observed in many cases, across all four sites and ceramic forms. Alongside the identification of commodities and how they were combined, new light has been shed on the patterning of resource use between these sites. The identification of dairy products in calcite wares from the rural site of Casale San Pietro and the absence of dairy in ceramics from the urban centre of Palermo presents interesting questions regarding the role of rural sites in food consumption and production in Islamic Sicily. This is the first time organic residue analysis of ceramics has been used to explore foodways in a medieval multi-faith society and offers new pathways to the understanding of pottery use and resources that were prepared, consumed and combined, reflecting cuisine in different socio-economic environments within the pluralistic population of medieval Sicily.

Use of Salt-Restriction Spoons and Its Associations with Urinary Sodium and Potassium in the Zhejiang Province of China: Results of a Population-Based Survey.

In China, a major source of sodium is salt added during cooking. In this context, use of a salt-restriction spoon (SRS) has been promoted in public health campaigns and by health care providers. To describe use of and factors associated with SRS use, knowledge of correct use, and actual correct use. This study is a population-based, representative survey of 7512 residents, aged 18 to 69 years, of China's Zhejiang Province. The survey, which was conducted in 2017 using a multistage random sampling strategy, collected demographic information, SRS use, and physical measurements; a 24-h urine collection was obtained from 1,496 of the participants. The mean age of the participants was 44.8 years, 50.1% were females, and over 1/3 (35.3%) were classified as hypertensive. Mean 24-h urinary sodium and potassium excretions were 167.3(72.2) mmol/24 h and 38.2(18.2) mmol/24 h, respectively. Only 12.0% (899/7512) of participants once used or were currently using SRS; of the 899 users, 73.4% knew how to use the SRS correctly, and just 46.5% actually used it correctly. SRS use was more commonly associated with behavioral factors rather than socio-demographic factors. Initiation of SRS use by health care providers was associated with correct technical knowledge of SRS. Lower sodium-to-potassium ratio was associated with SRS use, while SRS use was not associated with urinary sodium and potassium excretion. Use of SRS was uncommon in Zhejiang Province of China. Given that a common source of sodium in China is salt added during cooking, use of SRS is an appealing strategy, ideally as part of a multi-component campaign.

What do "barbarians" eat? Integrating ceramic use-wear and residue analysis in the study of food and society at the margins of Bronze Age China.

The Siwa archaeological culture (ca. 3350 and 2650 cal yr BP) has often been associated with the tribes referenced in textual sources as Qiang and Rong: prized captives commonly sacrificed by the Shang and marauding hordes who toppled the Western Zhou dynasty. In early Chinese writings, food plays a key role in accentuating the 'sino-barbarian' dichotomy believed to have taken root over 3000 years ago, with the Qiang and Rong described as nomadic pastoralists who consumed more meat than grain and knew little of proper dining etiquette. To date, however, little direct archaeological evidence has allowed us to reconstruct the diet and foodways of the groups who occupied the Loess Plateau during this pivotal period. Here we present the results of the first ceramic use-wear study performed on the Siwa ma'an jars from the site of Zhanqi, combined with the molecular and isotopic characterization of lipid residues from foodcrusts, and evidence from experimental cooking. We report molecular data indicating the preparation of meals composed of millet and ruminant dairy among the Siwa community of Zhanqi. Use-wear analysis shows that Zhanqi community members were sophisticated creators of ceramic equipment, the ma'an cooking pot, which allowed them to prepare a wide number of dishes with limited fuel. These findings support recent isotope studies at Zhanqi as well as nuance the centrality of meat in the Siwa period diet.