Norrakiah Abdullah Sani

Antibiotic resistance and burden of foodborne diseases in developing countries

Foodborne diseases Infectious, FBDs acquired from contaminated cooked, raw, processed or unprocessed food are major courses of mortality and morbidity globally due to their wide and rapid spread [1,2]. This article aims to highlight the burden and causes of FBDs, and reduction measures in developing countries. Due to them being widespread, these diseases are of public health interest worldwide, as all countries suffer incidence of FBDs although the levels differ from country to country [2]. More than 250 FBDs originating from microbial, chemical or parasitic sources have been identified [3].

Food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices among consumers in developing countries: An international survey

An international survey among consumers in developing countries from Asia and Africa on food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) was carried out using structured questionnaires. Data were collected from 453 consumers comprising 265 from Africa and 188 from Asia. Significant difference (p < 0.05) on food safety knowledge attitude and practice between consumers from Africa and Asia was observed. In Africa, consumers in Cameroon had the least food safety knowledge (73.15 ± 16.43) compared to Ghana (78.19 ± 15.84) and Nigeria (88.16 ± 8.88). Similarly, consumers in Iran had the least food safety knowledge (73.33 ± 19.84) in Asia compared to Malaysia (88.36 ± 11.64) and Pakistan (89.42 ± 9.89). Among the respondents, 89% were aware of food poisoning while 304 (67.1%) consume food kept for long at room temperature. There was significant difference (p < 0.05) in food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices of consumers between Africa and Asia. Overall, respondents from Asia have better food safety knowledge than respondents from Africa.

Antihypertensive potential of bioactive hydrolysate from edible bird's nest

The aim of this study is to determine and compare the proximate composition, the degree of hydrolysis (DH) and the antihypertensive activity of edible bird’s nest (EBN) hydrolysates of two different drying methods. Four types of enzymes (alcalase, bromelain, pancreatin and papain) were used in this study and with different hydrolysis time (30, 60, 90, 120, 180 and 240 min). The highest DH for alcalase (79.48 – 84.09%), pancreatine (77.10 – 80.45%) and papain (82.33%) for EBN hydrolysates was produced with alcalase treatment at 60 – 90 min, pancreatine treatment at 30 – 90 min and papain treatment at 90 min. Bromelain generated hydrolysates showed low DH. EBN hydrolysed using alcalase, pancreatin and papain have significantly higher protein content compared to raw EBN and the moisture content of all hydrolysates treatments was significantly lower compared to raw EBN. For antihypertensive assay, freeze dried EBN hydrolysates have higher antihypertensive activity compared to spray dried hydrolysates. The highest antihypertensive activity for freeze dried samples was produced by alcalase, bromelain and pancreatin and in the range of 80.22 – 86.97%. Meanwhile, papain proved to be less effective in producing hydrolysate with antihypertensive ability. In conclusion, EBN hydrolysate prepared by alcalase, bromelain and pancreatin could be classified as a functional food as it showed significant antihypertensive activity.

Prevalence, isolation and characterization of Bacillus cereus strains from rice of local cultivators of Sabah, Sarawak, and Peninsular Malaysia

Bacillus cereus is a spore-forming, facultative anaerobic, motile microorganism that has been identified as a causative agent of two types of gastrointestinal diseases such as emetic and diarrhea. This foodborne pathogen is found in both vegetative cells and endospores form in foods such as rice either raw or cooked. The aim of this study is to investigate and determine the prevalence, characterize and identify the isolation of vegetative cells and endospores of B. cereus in thirty varieties (n=3) of raw rice from Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 90 (n=90) raw rice were examined and 84 (93.33%) samples were positive to vegetative cells of B. cereus. However, only 32 (35.56%) samples were positive for endospore cells that able to germinate after samples were heated at 75°C for 15 mins. The mean log cfu/g for vegetative cells were higher range (0.00 - 4.1533) than visible endospores (0.00 - 3.7533 mean log cfu/g). Sample of raw red rice (UKMRC9) had significantly higher contamination by bo...