Consuelo Pérez-Arquillué

Quality evaluation of Spanish rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) honey

The qualities of 27 samples of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) honey from Aragon (Spain) was evaluated. Most samples showed a proper maturity considering the low moisture content. The low electrical conductivity and ash content were typical of pale honeys. Optical rotation was mostly levorotatory except for four samples with high sucrose content. Since the hydroxymethyl-furfural content was low and the diastase activity was high, a good freshness was estimated. The total acidity (below 40 meq/kg) indicated absence of undesirable fermentation; additionally the mean pH around 3·70 is usual in this kind of honey. The fructose/glucose ratio was 1·17 ± 0·01 and sucrose content averaged 1·97 ± 0·27%. The analysis of sediment showed a very low honeydew indication which explains the low trisaccharide content found in the samples by GC-FID quantitation.

Physicochemical attributes and pollen spectrum of some unifloral Spanish honeys

In the present work a total of 19 unifloral Spanish honeys were studied and botanically typified: willow (Salix sp.), sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.), chickweed (Hypecoum sp.), crucifer (Brassica type), fruiter (Prunus sp.), thyme (Thymus sp.), blueweed (Echium sp.), spike lavender (Lavandula latifolia Med.), French lavender (Lavandula stoechas L.), and vetch (Vicia sativa L.). Unifloral honeys were considered as such whenever the dominant pollen was found at over 45% of total pollen, except for lavender and thyme types of honey where a finding above 15% of Lavandula or Thymus pollen, respectively, was enough to typify them. All samples were organoleptically examined and the following determinations were carried out: moisture, optical rotation, electrical conductivity, ash, hydroxymethylfurfural, diastase activity, pH, acidity (free, lactone, and total) and carbohydrate composition. These samples were found to meet all major national and international honey specifications.

Note. Pollen Analysis and Antibacterial Activity of Spanish Honeys

Antibacterial activity of twenty-five samples of honey from different botanical origin was evaluated. Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 was used as the resistant microorganism. Pollen analysis revealed different botanical origins: Labiatae, rosemary, eucalyptus, heather and multifloral. The pH and acidity values were in the normal range, except for four samples that showed acidity values over 40 meq/kg, but none exhibited a state of fermentation. We have not found correlation between antibacterial activity and free acidity in the samples. Labiatae and rosemary honeys have exhibited the largest inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC, conversely to heather honeys, which showed lowest inhibition ability against this microorganism. Our results may indicate the presence of antimicrobial agents in Labiatae and rosemary honeys that have inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC. Likewise, the free acids of heather honeys have not shown inhibitory activity over this microorganism.

Toxoplasma gondii in Commercially Available Pork Meat and Cured Ham: A Contribution to Risk Assessment for Consumers

Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by Toxoplasma gondii, whose transmission has usually been attributed to ingestion of undercooked or raw meat. Dry-cured ham is a high-quality meat product of increasing economic relevance, and epidemiological studies point to cured meat products as a risk factor for acquiring toxoplasmosis. With the aim of contributing to the risk assessment process, 50 samples of fresh pork meat and commercial cured ham were collected in the city of Zaragoza (northeastern Spain), and the presence of viable forms of T. gondii was analyzed. A mouse concentration bioassay technique was used, and the presence of the parasite in mice was determined by indirect immunofluorescence assay. T. gondii was detected in two samples of rib, reflecting a frequency of 8% positive fresh pork meat (4% positivity of total samples analyzed). Brains of seropositive mice were analyzed by histology and PCR, although the parasite was not isolated in the seroconverted mice. No viable forms were detected either in other types of fresh meat or in the samples of cured ham.

Determination of the viability of Toxoplasma gondii in cured ham using bioassay: influence of technological processing and food safety implications.

Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii and distributed worldwide. Ingestion of viable cysts from infected raw or undercooked meat is an important route of horizontal transmission of the parasite to humans. Little information is available concerning the effect of commercial curing on cysts of T. gondii. This study is the first in which the influence of processing of cured ham on the viability of T. gondii has been evaluated, using bioassay to assess the risk of infection from eating this meat product. Naturally infected pigs were selected for the study, and a mouse concentration bioassay technique was used to demonstrate viable bradyzoites of T. gondii in porcine tissues and hams. No viable parasites were found in the final product (14 months of curing) based on results of the indirect immunofluorescence assay and histological and PCR analyses. Our results indicate that the consumption of hams cured as described here poses an insignificant risk of acquiring toxoplasmosis. However, additional studies are required to evaluate the safety of ham products cured under different conditions of curing time, salt, and nitrite concentration.

Toxoplasma gondii: Pig seroprevalence, associated risk factors and viability in fresh pork meat

This study was conducted on 161 fattening pig farms located in Aragón (Northeast Spain). Serum samples from 1200 pigs were tested for antibodies against T. gondii by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Antibodies to T. gondii (≥1:20) were detected in 301 pigs (24.52%). The seroprevalence observed in the present study indicates a widespread exposure to T. gondii, as seropositive pigs were found in 96.67% of the farms studied although low pig titers were determined. Risk factors associated with T. gondii seroprevalence were presence of cats in or around the farms, presence of dogs around the facilities, low number of animals in the farms, poor hygiene and bad maintenance of the farms. Finally, it was observed that where rodent baits were used, Toxoplasma prevalence was lower. Risk management measures including control of cats and rodents on the farms, among others, could help to reduce the observed prevalence levels. By mouse bioassay, T. gondii was detected in 73.7% and isolated from 42.1% of seropositive pigs and a significant relation between the titers of pigs and the presence and viability of T. gondii in the tissues was found. The detection of T. gondii is not possible by currently practiced meat inspection. Nevertheless, the increased probability of detecting viable forms of T. gondii in tissues of pigs with titers ≥1: 80 could be used as the cutoff for discriminating higher risk animals, and could be used as an effective control tool for the industry of cured meat products. In practical terms, we propose that this value could be used as a critical limit in the HACCP system.

Evaluation of Heavy Metals and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Honeys from Different Origins

A survey of honey samples from different geographical and botanical origins, including some samples collected from a fire-affected area in Spain, was conducted to assess their content of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The levels of the determined toxic elements (Pb, Cd, As, and Sn) were low and were in the range of those reported by other studies. In our work the total amount of heavy metals and Pb was higher in dark honeys than in pale honeys. In the collected samples, no detectable levels of the 15 PAHs studied were found. The obtained data served to assess the levels of heavy metals and PAHs in honey samples from different geographical and environmental origins and to contribute to the scarce data about pollutant content of this matrix. In light of these results, the analyzed samples do not pose any serious concern to human health, and the data obtained in this study could serve to contribute to the establishment of specific maximum limits for honey.

Toxoplasma gondii in Meat and Food Safety Implications - A Review

Nevertheless, there are many reasons for foodborne disease remaining a global public health challenge. As some diseases are controlled, others emerge as new threats. New agents of risk have occupied the ecological niche of those on which control pressure has been exerted, replacing the previous ones. The proportions of the population who are elderly, immunosuppressed or otherwise disproportionately susceptible to severe outcomes from foodborne diseases are growing in many countries. Globalization of the food supply has led to the rapid and widespread international distribution of foods. This fundamental fact has motivated a radical change in the modern systems of management of the food safety, forced to the search of new methods of risk assessment, more effective preventive systems, permanent research of new systems of identification of these agents, to the development of the epidemiology applied to the food hygiene and the application of much more effective methods in the complex world of the decision making.

Multiresidue determination of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in honey by solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography.

An analytical procedure based on solid-phase extraction, using ethyl acetate as the elution solvent, and high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence and diode array detection was developed for the identification and quantification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in honey. The method has been optimized and validated in accordance with Commission Regulation 333/2007 and Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. This method allows the identification of the 15 PAHs that should be monitored in food matrices, as proposed in 2002 by the Scientific Committee on Food and later by the European Union in the Commission Recommendation 2005/108/EC, because of their genotoxic and carcinogenic properties. The results of the validation study were in agreement with quality criteria described in European legislation in terms of sensitivity, accuracy, and ruggedness, and the method was applied to the analysis of 42 honey samples (21 from Spain and 21 from other regions). The honey samples were not contaminated by PAHs at detectable levels and thus could be marketed without health risk.