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Background and Aims:Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common causes of foodborne disease worldwide, due to the consumption of food contaminated by their toxins. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and the antimicrobial resistance of S. aureus isolated from sausages in Meknes city of Morocco.Materials and Methods:A total of 156 samples (Beef sausages, Turkey sausages, and Artisanal sausages “Merguez”) were collected from different shopping sites (butchery, supermarket, street vendors, and weekly market “Souk”) and used for the isolation of S. aureus. All the isolated strains were tested for their antimicrobials resistance to 16 antibiotics.Results:Our results showed the presence of S. aureus in 63 samples (40.38%). Furthermore, the antimicrobial resistance study showed that 84.13% of isolated S. aureus were resistant to streptomycin, 76.20% to tetracycline, 42.86% to ampicillin, 41.27% to doxycycline, 38.1% to penicillin G, and 19.05% to chloramphenicol with the presence of 25 different phenotypic profiles. However, all isolated strains were sensitive to oxacillin, cefoxitin, gentamicin, and vancomycin.Conclusion:The findings of this study revealed consumption of sausages as a potential risk of foodborne poisonings because of its contamination with the multi-resistant strains of S. aureus. Moreover, this contamination is related to the season, sampling sites and the origin of the raw material.

The authors present a study that estimates the prevalence, sensitivity to antibiotics and distribution of Salmonella spp. serotypes in 20 broiler turkey farm buildings in the north-west of Morocco. Each farm was inspected three times for this purpose; one batch of ten pools of five droppings per farm was sampled on each visit (n = 600) for analysis. The high isolation rate observed for Salmonella spp. (35%) and the serotypes isolated were alarming. The authors found 62 Salmonella-positive isolates and identified nine serotypes: S. Kentucky (21 isolates, 33.8%), S. Parkroyal (10 isolates, 16.3%), S. Agona (7 isolates, 11.3%), S. Saintpaul (6 isolates, 9.6%), S. Typhimurium (5 isolates, 8%), S. Enteritidis and S. Heidelberg (4 isolates each, 6.4%), S. Newport (3 isolates, 4.8%) and S. Ruzizi (2 isolates, 3.2%). The Salmonella spp. antimicrobial resistance results showed that 93.5% (58/62) of the strains were resistant to at least one antibiotic. Multi-resistant strains (resistant to three or more antibiotics) accounted for 80.64% of the strains isolated. The percentage with resistance to ceftazidime (third-generation cephalosporin), ceftriaxone and cefotaxime was lower at 4.8%. Three strains of S. Agona with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase were detected, with a high level of resistance to ceftriaxone and a minimum inhibitory concentration of 16 µg/ml. The variables associated with contamination are linked to: the cleanout period (p = 0.037); antibiotic treatment (p = 0.001); infection of turkey poults at placement (p = 0.002); manure storage (p = 0.003); keeping sick turkeys in the turkey house (p = 0.009); the season (p = 0.001); and the age of the turkeys at the time of sampling (p = 0.01).

Oil mill wastewater (OMW) is the main liquid discharge from oil mills, it is considered as a dangerous pollutant due to its toxic chemical compounds which are unloaded directly in the environment without any treatment. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of OMW adsorption on clay as a good method for the elimination of toxic chemical compounds and to study the application of treated OMW as an irrigation source in agricultural field. For this, Clay was collected from the city of Agourai (Meknes region, Morocco) and characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, BET and FTIR analysis. Moreover, the treated OMW was analyzed using UHPLC-ESI-MS and the determination of total phenolic content (TPC) was also performed. However, the application of the treated OMW in agricultural field was performed by the determination of its effect on the germination of Lepidium sativum seeds (in vitro) and as a source of irrigation of Vicia faba plants (in situ). The results of this study showed that OMW had the following physicochemical characteristics: average pH of 4.88, TPC of 4.75 g/l, COD of 80 g/l, BOD5 of 18.72 g/l, conductivity of 16.05 cm-1, dry matter of 135.7 g/l and volatile matter of 58.7 g/l. The adsorption on clay had increased the pH from 4.88 to 6.14 and reduced significantly the organic matter (42% of COD and 57.4% of phenolic compounds). UHPLC-ESI-MS analysis showed the presence of a wide variety of organic compounds in OMW, with the appearance of new compounds after adsorption. Moreover, the use of treated OMW as a source of irrigation showed a significant effect on the germination of Lepidium sativum seeds and the growth of Vicia faba plants. From this study, we can conclude that the adsorption on clay is a good method for the treatment of OMW, which became non-toxic for environment and can be used as a source of irrigation in agricultural field.

Essential oils were proposed as natural additives to ensure food safety and quality in a more sustainable approach. The chemical composition of Thymus vulgaris essential oil (TV-EO) collected from Morocco, its antioxidant and antimicrobial activity against different serotypes of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica was investigated. A mathematical model was implemented to predict the Salmonella behavior when exposed to TV-EO. In situ antimicrobial activity and sensory influence were tested in minced poultry meat experimentally contaminated with Salmonella and treated with TV-EO. Hydrodistillation was used to extract TV-EO, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis found thymol as the most representative compound. Results of the antioxidant activity showed an IC50 of 0.29 ± 0.04 mg/mL, EC50 of 0.74 ± 0.08 mg/mL, and RC50 of 0.59 ± 0.06 mg/mL. All the Salmonella strains were susceptible to TV-EO with performing results for the disc diffusion method (inhibition diameters ranged between 24 ± 0.4mm and 32 ± 0.6 mm), determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC; 0.5%) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC; 1%), sublethal-injured cells (7.99 ± 0.08%), in situ activity (growth inhibition after 3 days), and meat sensory preservation (up to 1 week). The implemented mathematical model well fitted the Salmonella growth curve. TV-EO with significant antioxidant and antibacterial activities was suitable to ensure food safety and quality consistent with the new sustainable trends in the food field.

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Listeria monocytogenes is a pathogen contaminated food, it is the cause of listeriosis worldwide. The aims of this study were to investigate the occurrence, antimicrobial resistance, serotyping and virulence genes of L. monocytogenes isolated from foods in Meknes city of Morocco. From June 2017 to May 2018, 520 food samples were randomly collected from a traditional market and two overcrowded popular neighborhoods (Lahdim and Hamria) and subjected to the detection of L. monocytogenes. Then, the antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolated strains were evaluated using the standard disk diffusion method and the determination of serotypes and virulence genes was performed by PCR. The results showed the detection of L. monocytogenes in fifteen (2.9%) of 520 samples, including three (5.7%) isolates in traditional whey, raw minced meat and raw sausage, two (3.8%) in raw milk and one (1.9%) in smen (traditional butter), raw bovine meat, raw poultry meat and raw fish, while salads and rayeb (traditional coagulated milk) were not contaminated. Among the fifteen isolated L. monocytogenes, nine (60%) belonged to the serogroup (1/2a, 1/2c, 3a and 3c), two (13.3%) belonged to the serogroup (1/2b, 3b, 4b and 4d) and four (26.6%) do not belong to any studied serogroup. Furthermore, fifteen (100%) isolates showed the presence of actA gene, fourteen (93.3%) harbored hlyA, prfA and plcB genes, thirteen (86.7%) carried inlA and inlC genes and twelve (80%) showed inlJ gene. The antimicrobial susceptibility analysis showed that the isolated strains were more resistant to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (67.0%), erythromycin (60.0%), sulphamethoxazole (40.0%), ampicillin and sulphamethoxazole/trimethoprim (33.0%) and tetracycline (20.0%). Furthermore, 66.7% (10/15) were multidrug-resistant. From this study, we can conclude that foods marketed in Meknes city were contaminated by multidrug-resistant strains of L. monocytogenes harboring virulence genes, which may cause a serious risk to public health.