Aflatoxin M1 absorption by non-viable cells of lactic acid bacteria and Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains in Frescal cheese.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of heat-killed cells (121 °C, 10 min) from two strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) (Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactococcus lactis) and one strain of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), alone or in combination, to reduce the levels of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in Frescal cheese during 30 days of storage. The experimental design was totally randomized, in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, corresponding to two levels of LAB (0 and L. rhamnosus at 1010 cells/kg + L. lactis at 1010 cells/kg), two levels of S. cerevisiae in milk (0 and 1010 yeast cells/kg) and two AFM1 levels (0 and 0.5 µg/kg) added to the cheese curd, totaling 8 treatments with three replicates per treatment. AFM1 levels in Frescal cheese were evaluated by using a high-performance liquid chromatography. Cheese fat and protein contents were not affected (P > 0.05) by any of the treatments, and only pH decreased (P < 0.05) in all treatments from days 2 to 30 of storage (usual shelf life of this type of cheese). AFM1 levels detected in contaminated cheeses decreased on day 2 of storage, varying from 0.09 µg/kg (cheese with addition of bacterial cells) to 0.29 µg/kg (no addition of LAB or yeast cells), this may have occurred due to loss of AFM1 in the Frescal cheese whey. The concentrations of detected AFM1 decreased (P < 0.05) in all treatments from days 2 to 10 of storage, and the maximum percentage reduction of the detectable levels (100%) was achieved after 10 and 20 days of storage in cheeses containing LAB and yeast cells, or prepared with yeast cells alone, respectively. The addition of heat-killed LAB (cells of L. rhamnosus and L. lactis) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae alone or in combination, has a potential ability for adsorbing the AFM1 in Frescal cheese during 30 days of storage.

Antibiotic Residues in Chicken Meat: Global Prevalence, Threats, and Decontamination Strategies: A Review.

Poultry production is among the most rapidly growing industries around the globe, and poultry is one of the major sources of meat. Poultry farmers use disease preventive and growth promoter antibiotics for faster growth of chickens in the shortest possible time to increase the rate of feed assimilation and to lower the incidence of mortality caused by a pathogen attack. Antibiotics may result in dysfunctionality of beneficial gut microbiota and increase resistance among microbial pathogens in poultry. Residues of these antibiotics in poultry meat have been determined in many of the studies globally and are considered one of the possible causes of antibacterial resistance in human pathogens. The presence of residues of antibiotics in poultry meat and meat products beyond maximum permissible limits is a matter of serious concern. Heat treatments can reduce the risk of some sulfonamides, tetracyclines, and fluoroquinolones but do not guarantee the complete elimination or degradation of these antibiotic residues present in broiler meat. Some of the developed countries, including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the European Union have already prohibited the application of antibiotics for preventive, as well as growth-promoting purposes. Training farmers to monitor withdrawal periods, banning the use of antibiotics as growth promoters, and adopting the veterinary feed directive of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are important parameters to mitigate the emergence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria related to poultry production.