Impact of Foodborne Disease in Taiwan during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background and Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic originated in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, the first case diagnosed since January 2020 in Taiwan. The study about the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on event, location, food source, and pathogens of foodborne disease (FBD) is limited in Taiwan. Our aim in this study is to investigate FBD in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: We collected publicly available annual summary data from the FBD dataset in the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration and Certifiable Disease on reported FBD in Taiwan from 2019 to 2020. We used logistic regression to evaluate changes in the occurrence or likelihood of FBD cases and Poisson regression to examine the relative risk (RR) between FBD and climate factors. Results: Similar events occurred in 2019 and 2020, but the total number of FBD cases decreased from 6935 in 2019 to 4920 in 2020. The places where FBD decreased were in schools, hospitals, outdoors, vendors, and exteriors. The top place in FBD shifted from schools to restaurants. The top food source for FBD has changed from boxed food to compound food. Bacillus cereus and Salmonella emerged as the top two observed bacterial pathogens causing FBD. The risk of FBD cases increased with a higher air temperature, with an RR of 1.055 (1.05-1.061, p < 0.001) every 1 °C. Conclusion: The incidence of FBD decreased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan. This decline may be attributed to protective measures implemented to control the spread of the virus. This shift in locations could be influenced by changes in public behavior, regulations, or other external factors. The study emphasizes the importance of understanding the sources and effectiveness of severe infection prevention policies. The government can use these findings to formulate evidence-based policies aimed at reducing FBD cases and promoting public health. Consumers can reduce the risk of FBD by following safe food handling and preparation recommendations.

Aqua-culture improved buckwheat sprouts with more abundant precious nutrients and hypolipidemic activity.

Nutritional values of buckwheat reach maximum on day 8 sprouting by solid-phase cultivation (BSSC). The precious nutrients surveyed included linolenic acid, total polyphenolics, rutin, quercetin, l-ascorbic acid and gamma-aminobutyric acid. To investigate whether a change of cultivation method could improve the nutritional status, we performed aquaculture. By performing chemical, biochemical and animal experiments, we found that maximization of nutrient levels in aquacultured buckwheat sprouts (BSAQ) occurred 2 days earlier than those from BSSC. Simultaneously, their bioactivities were much enhanced, being superior to BSSC regarding antioxidative, free radical scavenging (FRS), anti-low-density lipoprotein lipoperoxidative capabilities and hypolipidemic bioactivity with respect to serum total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in Syrian hamsters. In addition, serum low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels and the ratios LDL-C/HDL-C and total cholesterol/HDL-C were all more efficiently suppressed by BSAQ diets. In conclusion, aquaculture is more efficient than the solid-phase cultivation with regard to acceleration and maximization of precious nutrient levels in buckwheat sprouts.

Optimization of bioactive compounds in buckwheat sprouts and their effect on blood cholesterol in hamsters.

Nutrient levels in buckwheats that were maximized in day 8 sprouts (D8SP) included total phenolics, quercetin, and l-ascorbic acid, whereas those of oxalic, malic, tartaric, and citric acids, rutin, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) were found to reach maximum levels on day 10. Ethanolic extract of D8SP (2.5 mg/mL) revealed potent free-radical scavenging (FRS) and antioxidative (ANO) capabilities. However, its Fe2+-chelating capability was only moderate. To further study the hypolipidemic activity of D8SP, 36 Syrian hamsters were grouped into six groups and fed for 28 days, respectively, with (i) control meal, (ii) high fat plus high cholesterol meal, (iii) high fat plus high cholesterol plus 2.5% of buckwheat seeds, (iv) high fat plus high cholesterol plus 25% of buckwheat seeds, (v) high fat plus high cholesterol plus 2.5% of D8SP, and (vi) high fat plus high cholesterol plus 25% of D8SP. High seed meal prominently enhanced body weight gain, whereas high sprout meal exhibited the highest feed efficiency. Ratios of liver/body weight (L/B) were significantly lowered by all BS meals. Although low seed meal reduced serum total cholesterol (TC) levels (p<0.05), its effect was still inferior to the high seed and sprout meals (p<0.01). In contrast, serum triglyceride (TG) levels were lowered only by the high seed and sprout meals (p<0.05). Alternatively, levels of serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were significantly suppressed by all buckwheat meals (p<0.01). Serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels were increased, however, insignificantly. Nutraceutically more meaningful is that both LDL-C/HDL-C and TC/HDL-C ratios were significantly lowered (p<0.01). Apparently, hepatic TC levels were significantly reduced, whereas hepatic TG levels were totally unaffected. Conclusively, sprouting triggers a variety of nutritional changes in buckwheats. Day 8 sprouts, consisting of high polyphenolic and moderate quercetin contents, are nutraceutically maximized when hypocholesterolemic, hypotriglyceridemic, and antioxidative activities are concerned.