Narrow Results

Fluorescent probes have wide applications in biological and environmental analysis due to their advantages of simple operation, convenient flexibility, high sensitivity and efficiency. They are considered to be promising tools for accurate analysis of agriculture- and food-related hazardous substances. In this review, the types and characteristics of the near-infrared fluorescence probes (NIFPs) are briefly described. The recent advances of NIFPs for precisely detecting various hazardous substances including heavy metals, sulfite and related sulfiting agents and hydrogen peroxide are summarized. Finally, the present challenges and future perspectives faced by NIFPs in food safety analysis are discussed.

In the pursuit of ensuring global food security, enhancing food safety has emerged as a critical endeavor. Nanotechnology, with its multifaceted applications, has demonstrated significant potential in revolutionizing food safety measures. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the utilization of nanoparticles to enhance food safety across various dimensions. The antimicrobial activities of nanoparticles stand out as a promising approach to combat foodborne pathogens. Their unique physicochemical properties enable targeted and effective antimicrobial actions, mitigating microbial contamination in food products. This review delves into the diverse types of nanoparticles employed, highlighting their mode of action and outcomes in different food matrices. Another pivotal facet explored herein is the incorporation of nanoparticles in food packaging materials. This innovation addresses challenges related to shelf life extension and preservation of food quality. By imparting barrier properties, nanoparticles prevent the permeation of gases and moisture, thereby retarding spoilage and maintaining product freshness. Preservation of food quality, a paramount concern in the food industry, is also tackled within this discourse. The potential of nanoparticles to enhance sensory attributes, nutrient retention and texture of food products is elucidated. The review also contemplates future directions and research gaps in the realm of nanoparticle-based food safety strategies.

International supply chains in the food industry have lengthened in recent years and new sources of risk have arisen. With increased consumers' incomes, perceptions about food safety have become sharper and food safety has become an important issue in public policy both domestically and internationally. The safety of food is a credence characteristic which gives rise to a particular form of market failure involving either asymmetric information and moral hazard or symmetric imperfect information. An example from a recent experience in the UK was used to illustrate the issue of moral hazard, as well as the possible responses to it. A partial equilibrium model of an open economy was developed to investigate how the moral hazard problem that is caused for importing firms by the actions of exporting firms could be solved by the market rather than by government intervention.

In view of the current consumer trust crisis in food safety, some researchers proposed to build a reliable food safety traceability system solution. Because the food safety traceability system requires storing and processing of massive video data, this paper proposes to build a reliable food safety traceability system by introducing cloud storage technology into video surveillance system. Hadoop platform is built to store and process massive monitoring of video data. In addition, in order to make use of Map Reduce framework for parallel computing, this paper optimizes the traditional particle filter target tracking algorithm, and proposes using the parallel computing framework Map Reduce in Hadoop to achieve the parallel computing of all particles in particle filter. Finally, the simulation results show that when the number of videos is large, the time of parallel processing is obviously shorter than that of single-machine mode. And as the video data becomes larger and larger, the advantages of parallel processing become more and more obvious.

AUSTRALIA – Second-Generation Diagnostic Achieves 98% Accuracy in Detecting Early Stage Ovarian Cancers

AUSTRALIA – New Center Brings Australian and Chinese Researchers Together to Fight Infectious Diseases

AUSTRALIA – Co-developing New Treatment Guidelines for Melanoma

AUSTRALIA – Australia Leads World's First Global Effort to Improve Genetic Disorders Diagnosis

CHINA – China Bans Illegal Food Additives to Reinforce Food Safety Control

CHINA – China Steps Up Tighter Inspection in Food Safety

CHINA – WHO and China to Do More for Chinese with Hearing Impairment

CHINA – First TCM Drug for Arrhythmia

CHINA – First Human-Human Transmission of Tick-Borne Disease Reported in China

CHINA – Bird Flu Found in Chickens in Eastern China

CHINA – First Bird Flu Death Reported for 2009, No Bird-flu Outbreak

HONG KONG – Hong Kong Alerts New Bird Flu Outbreak

INDIA – India Also Confirmed Bird Flu Incidence

INDIA – India Plans 20 More Biotech Parks for Life Sciences Research

KOREA – An Economic Share in Medical Tourism Market

JAPAN – Brain Tissues Made from Stem Cells

NEW ZEALAND – Newly Merged Research Institute Leverage Greater Synergy

NEW ZEALAND – Kiwi's Green Plastic Well-Acclaimed in International Awards

NEW ZEALAND – Sea Sponge Indigenous to NZ Could Reduce Chemo Side Effects

PHILIPPINES – Ebola-Reston Virus Jumped Species

SINGAPORE – Human Sewage, the Potential Source of Clean Energy

SINGAPORE – No More Heart-stopping Incidents for Heart Patients

SINGAPORE – China Milk Products Get All-Clear from Singapore

SINGAPORE – Discovery of New Properties in Imidazolium Salts Yield Multi Applications

SINGAPORE – S'pore Ranked World's Most Prolific for Eye Research Per Capita

SINGAPORE – Outdoor Sun Reduces Incidence of Myopia in Children

TAIWAN – University Hospital in Taiwan Collaborates with Neuralstem

VIETNAM – Return of Bird Flu, Vietnam Runs High Risk of Human Infection

VIETNAM – Conjoined Twins Successfully Separated

VIETNAM – Rise in Off-Season Dengue Fever Cases

NORTH AMERICA – Epilepsy Drugs Prescription to Carry Suicide Risk Warning

NORTH AMERICA – U.S. Doctors Succeeded Near-total Face Transplant

NORTH AMERICA – Vaccinating Pacific Girls against Cervical Cancer

NORTH AMERICA – Manipulating Love and Emotions by Spray

EUROPE – Cambridge Pips Oxford in Research

EUROPE – Adapting Car Manufacturing Technology to Produce Synthetic Bone Implants

EUROPE – Dioxin-tainted Irish Pork Products Recalled

China approves five genetically modified crops.

China’s science awards further encourage innovation.

Severe and prolonged air pollution affects productivity of workers.

Negative population growth looms ahead for China.

Genetically-enhanced human blood vessel cells.

New bat-borne virus related to Ebola.

China’s homegrown anti-cancer drug wins international recognition.

Tariff changes aim to cut drug prices.

New procurement scheme to reduce drug prices.

China brings more new drugs to market with fast-track approval.

Tougher supervision vowed over food and drugs.

Project seeks uniformity in treatment of China’s number one killer.

Great potential seen in AI-powered medical imaging.

Updates from China’s life sciences industry.

Food safety and food security are interrelated concepts with a profound impact on the quality of human life. Food security describes the overall availability of food at different levels from global to individual household. While, food safety focuses on handling, preparation and storage of foods in order to prevent foodborne illnesses. This review focuses on innovative thermal and non-thermal technologies in the area of food processing as the means to ensure food security through improving food safety with emphasis on the reduction and control of microbiological risks. The antimicrobial efficiency and mechanism of new technologies to extend the shelf life of food product were also discussed.

This paper discusses the history and operation of the tegong (special supplies) system for foodstuffs operated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The system has been in existence since the Yan’an period and is still being practiced today. It was originally introduced to deal with China’s shortage economy during the era of Mao Zedong. Nowadays, the issue of food safety has made China a risk society, making it necessary for the CCP to provide its privileged class with food that is safe for consumption. We distinguish two categories of food supplies in terms of their operation: dedicated supplies for special needs and routine tegong. In addition, we believe that an alliance relationship between the government and food enterprises has emerged within the tegong system, with government officials and businesses colluding to their mutual benefit and profit. The paper concludes that the continuation of the tegong system signifies the persistence of a high degree of social inequality in modern-day China.

This study reports the synthesis, characterization, and biological application of indium(III) porphyrin complexes for in vitro photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (PACT) against foodborne pathogens Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, salmonella sp, and Clostridium perfringens. Three complexes P1(5,10,15,20-tetra-(4-methoxyphenyl) porphyrin), P2(5,10,15,20-tetra-(4-bromophenyl)porphyrin), and P3(5,10,15,20-tetra-(4-chlorophenyl)porphyrin) were synthesized, and validated by FTIR, mass spectrometry, and NMR spectroscopy. Photophysical studies revealed unique fluorescence emissions for each complex. P2 had the lowest fluorescence quantum yield (Φ_F = 0.0002) attributed to bromine atoms inducing a heavier atom effect, enhancing intersystem crossing and reducing radiative decay, leading to higher singlet oxygen production (ϕ_Δ = 0.52 in DMF). P2 also demonstrated the highest bacterial photoinactivation in a dose-dependent manner, with IC${}_{50}$ values from 9.57 to 13.52 μM. Time studies showed a significant decrease in bacteria survival after 30 min of exposure, highlighting potent antimicrobial properties. Structural differences among P1, P2, and P3 influenced their interactions with bacterial cells and their antimicrobial activity. This study highlights the potential of indium(III) porphyrin complexes as promising candidates for PACT against foodborne pathogens and offers insights into structure-activity relationships for optimizing antimicrobial properties.

With the continuous exposure of major food safety issues in recent years, food safety has become the focus of people’s attention. As a widely distributed bacterium, excessive levels of Escherichia coli in food may cause gastrointestinal discomfort symptoms, as well as adverse consequences such as food poisoning, acute gastroenteritis, food allergies, and gastric ulcers. Therefore, to ensure food safety and achieve rapid detection of E. coli, this study uses CdS quantum dots (QDs) nanomarkers to detect E. coli in water. Moreover, electrochemical square wave voltammetry is used to determine the relationship between Cadmium (Cd) ion concentration and E. coli concentration in the complex after enzyme-linked immunosorbent reaction. The experiment showed that the average particle size of CdS QDs nanoparticles was 5 nm and they had good biocompatibility. The current magnitude of electrochemical square wave voltammetry was positively correlated with the concentration of Cd ions and E. coli. When the concentration of E. coli was 50-1.0 $\times 10^5$ cfu/mL, its concentration was linearly positively correlated with the magnitude of the current, with a linear correlation coefficient of 0.9873. Compared to the flat plate counting method, its relative error did not exceed 10%, and in addition, the detection time was only 2 h. The above results indicate that CdS QDs nanomarkers can achieve rapid detection of E. coli, effectively improve the detection sensitivity of E. coli, and weaken non-specific adsorption.

In this study, the development of a graphite paste electrode (GPE) modified by copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO@GP) to be used as a practical and economical sensor for the electrochemical sensing of malachite green (MG) has been elucidated. The sol–gel technique was applied for the synthesis of CuO nanoparticles (NPS) from copper chloride (CuCl${}_2)$, where the surfactant cetylpyridinium chloride (C${}_{21}$H${}_{38}$NCl) played the role of a capping agent. The synthesized CuO NPS were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A bare GPE was modified using these CuO NPS and thus developed; the new electrode was used as a working electrode (WE) in a 3-electrode system for studying the cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) responses of MG. Phosphate buffered saline (PBS) with a pH value of 6 was used as the optimum buffer. Using DPV, a widely linear operational range of 1–1000 $\mu$M was obtained with a detection limit of 0.18 $\mu$M. This CuO@GP provided excellent repeatability, reproducibility and prolonged stability for the MG molecule. For the selectivity study, various common interfering agents were used to observe MG’s corresponding peak current variation. Moreover, this electrode demonstrated a successful application for detecting MG in pond water and fish flesh. This method is effective for similar other applications.

An antibody-based sensor (immunosensor) has been developed that features an all-in-one extraction and detection of the enteric pathogen E. coli O57 : H7 using the same redox-active polyaniline-coated iron oxide nanoparticles (PIONs). Capture efficiency for E. coli O57 : H7 is shown to be 81–99% in various food matrices with varying properties. The immunosensor's detection range is 10⁰ to 10⁵ CFU/mL with a detection limit of 5 CFU. Furthermore, magnetic separation is showing great promise as an alternative to existing conventional sample processing systems. Given the bacteria's low contamination level in food and water, this biosensor technology has great potential in monitoring enteric microbial contaminants in the food supply chain where simplicity, sensitivity, and ease of use are important.

Brunei is seeing a proliferation of bottled companies established in the country in the last decade, driven by cheap water supplies, easily available water filtering systems and demand by the public. This research found 16 ‘companies,’ ’producing’ and distributing over 34 brands of bottled waters in the country. Since bottled water industry is ’popular,’ it is necessary to understand how the industry is being monitored and regulated by the government as it involved products consumed by the public. Since most of the bottled water companies use water drawn from the pipes supplied by the government, it is also important to understand how the government is protecting, monitoring and regulating this valuable resource from exploitation. This paper is a preliminary research on the bottled water industry in Brunei Darussalam.

Agriculture and food (agri-food) supply chains have been suffering from many issues such as lack of traceability, poor visibility and low efficiency. These issues directly and significantly affect management efforts to ensure compliance of agri-food production, improve food safety and quality, prevent food waste and reduce supply chain operation costs. This chapter will be discussing the application of blockchain technology in agri-food supply chains to address the identified issues. In this chapter, we will evaluate the potential of blockchain technology in this application area. We also point out several challenges one may face during the application process.

Product quality scandals are a major issue in China. Not only do they erode public trust and consumer confidence but they can also destroy the image of a company, even an entire industry. Enter the role of public relations as it relates to crisis management. This case will detail a dispute involving Nongfu Spring Company (Nongfu) and the Beijing Times.

In 2014, Shanghai Husi Food Company Ltd. (Husi) was found guilty of supplying reprocessed and expired meat to their western fast food clients operating all over China. The company lied about production and expiration dates and provided false guarantees about the storage life of their products. Many Western fast food clients such as McDonalds and Starbucks were affected by the scandal. The case discusses the scandal, whistleblowing, and food safety issues in the People’s Republic of China.

China is a country of over one billion people. All of those people need to eat every day. And, not only eat but eat well. Unfortunately, over the past decade, a series of high-profile food safety scandals have deteriorated the country’s confidence in the quality of its food. People are skeptical about everything from meat to lettuce to cooking oil. What can be done? Many, who feel the food industry is too far corrupted, say “mei ban fa” (没办法), or “nothing can be done.”

However, all hope is not lost. There are entrepreneurs and innovative business leaders who are taking strong action to counter this poor public perception of China’s food industry. They see this social problem as a responsible business opportunity and are setting a new precedent in farming practice in China.

Organic farming is a development in agricultural practice that emerged in response to concerns about large-scale industrial farming or so-called agribusiness. As we shall see in this case study, the widespread use of synthetic chemicals, growth hormones, and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in industrial farming has come under heavy criticism in recent years. The industry has been scrutinized from many angles, including consumer health, sustainability, entrepreneurship, and business ethics. However, industrial farmers engaged in these practices have defended themselves and their behavior, presenting their own research aimed at assuaging anxiety about the risks associated with eating food produced under these conditions.

Nonetheless, the organic farming movement is international and gaining momentum, with much of the progress being pioneered through agricultural entrepreneurs. This case study will compare the organic farming movement in China and the United States (US) and provide examples of industry entrepreneurs.

Each day, China’s food delivery platforms process 57 million orders. Every order is delivered in a food container leading to an enormous amount of plastic bags, containers, and disposable chopsticks consumed and disposed every day. Food delivery has led to serious waste problems. The case looks at different perspectives on this problem and asks what can producers, platforms, and consumers do to decrease garbage in food deliveries.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a naturally occurring mycotoxin produced by some species of the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium. OTA affects agricultural products all over the world and causes harmful effects on human and animal health because of its highly toxic properties. OTA has been detected in foods and beverages including grape juice and wine. New decontamination opportunities have been created by biological methods that involve elimination of mycotoxins by microorganisms. Several authors have observed that some bacteria and fungi show the ability to remove OTA. Reliable methods to reduce OTA level in food and beverages are highly desired to protect consumer health. The aim of this work was to assess the potential capability of some Lactobacillus species and Oenococcus oeni, all of them obtained from wine or must, to remove OTA from culture media. Two strains of both Lactobacillus hilgardi, and L. paracasei sb. paracasei, and 3 strains of both L. brevis and O. oeni were assayed. Lactobacillus spp. were grown in Man, Rogosa and Sharpe medium and O. oeni in Medium for Leuconostoc oenos (MLO). The culture media were spiked with 5 ng of OTA/ml. After incubation for 10 days at 28°C, OTA level was determined by liquid chromatography. OTA removal in the cultures of Lactobacillus spp and O. oeni strains averaged 27.1% and 49.9%, respectively. Further studies were carried out with the most efficient O. oeni strains to evaluate the OTA reduction dynamics in MLO media spiked with 2 and 5 ng of OTA/ml. OTA was determined when cultures of the different strains arrived to 8 × 10⁸ CFU/ml (time 0) as well as 5, 10 and 14 days later. OTA reduction levels ranged from 18.81% to 59.71% in the media contaminated with 5 ng/ml, and from 13.94% to 58.27% in the media contaminated with 2 ng/ml.