ABSTRACT
Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the food safety knowledge and behavior of housewives in the city of Tehran, Iran in 2015
Materials and Methods: In this qualitative study 12 Focus Group Discussions by directed content analysis method [n= 96], were conducted among the women who were responsible for food handling in their households in 10 health centers. Each session was held with 7-10 participants, and their voices were recorded. The final transcripts were read to obtain categories until developing themes by using constant comparison method
Results: Three categories in nine themes were emerged as follows: 1] Personal hygiene and poisoning [Washing hands as priority in personal hygiene]; 2] Food safety, preparation and storage [Inadequate knowledge about proper time for boiling raw milk, Lack of awareness about temperature of refrigerator, Incorrect storage of food in the refrigerator, Storage of unwashed and unpacked eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator, Thawing frozen raw meat and chicken at room temperature, Incorrect separation and sanitization of cutting boards for fresh vegetables, raw meat, chicken, and Inappropriate washing of fresh leafy vegetables]; and 3] Safety of cooked foods [Improper reheating of leftover foods]
Conclusions: The findings of this study illustrated that there was lack of knowledge about food safety. It was evident that the majority of the participants were not familiar with appropriate practices to prevent cross contamination and food handling. Therefore, home food safety education should be conducted for housewives
ABSTRACT
Carboxymethyl cellulose [CMC] is one of the most common cellulose derivatives. It has many applications such as edible films and coating. Antioxidant and antimicrobial of essential oils and their direct or indirect usage in foods have been investigated. This study focuses on the physical, chemical, antioxidant and antimicrobial characteristics of CMC edible film incorporated with clove essential oils [CEO]. In this experimental study, CMC edible films with or without clove essential oil were prepared by casting method and many characteristics such as thickness, water vapor permeability [WVP], tensile strength, elongation at break, optical characteristics, microstructure, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of the films were assessed. Tensile strength values were higher when compared with those of control film [pure CMC film], especially in 1% EO concentration. Elongation at break value in 1% EO was higher than control film, but by increasing of EO portion, it decreased. Antioxidant properties and total phenolic compounds as expected increased in higher concentration of EO. Antimicrobial properties of the films showed that films incorporated with EO are effective against selected pathogen bacteria, especially in the higher concentration of EO. Some variations in the structure of various films were shown by scanning electron microscopy [SEM]. Additions of EO into CMC film disrupted condense structure of film and produced a heterogeneous structure. As antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of CEO retain when it used in CMC edible film, it could be beneficial in food packaging to retard of deterioration
ABSTRACT
By increasing resistance of several bacterial and fungal species to many kinds of antibiotics, applications of natural base compounds e.g. honey and medicinal herbs have been more attractive. The aim of present research is evaluation of anti-bacterial and anticandida effects of three kinds of honey of Iran together with alcoholic extract of mint and zataria, as well as extract and starch of ginger on Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aueoginosa, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans, as pathogens of human body. Minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] and minimum additive inhibitory concentration [MAIC] were determined by the agar diffusion method by dilution method in Sabouraud agar. By inoculation of 10 micro L from suspension and appearance of colorless vesicles, MIC was determined. Growth inhibition was calculated by ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U and t-student tests. All experiments were conducted three times. MIC for three variety of honey on Staphylococcus aureus [32, 30, 29% v/v], Pseudomonas aeroginosa, [70, 67, 71% v/v], Escherichia coli [40, 35, 39% v/v] and Candida albicans [45, 48, 50% v/v] are reported. While, the MAIC for the growth inhibition of honeys together with extract of mint and zataria, as well as extract and starch of ginger were reduced. The results show that ginger extract has more significant impact on microorganism growth with respect to others. Pseudomonas aeroginosa was the most susceptible microorganisms to ginger extract. Growth inhibitory effect of ginger extract was more significant than ginger starch. Addition of herbal extract increases antibacterial and anticandida properties of honey thus letting hope for a honey benefit and would constitute an alternative way against the resistance to bacteria