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Bacground/Aim. Cronobacter sakazakii (C. sakazakii) is an emerging food-borne pathogen that has increasingly raised interest among the whole public community and food industry, especially in the production of powder infant formula. It has been isolated from water, sediment and soil. The question is whether this pathogen can be present in herbal teas. Herbal teas are widely used for great number of health problems, as an additional or sometimes only “medicine” given. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of C. sakazakii in herbal teas which are traditionally used for all restricted populations, including newborns and immunocompromised infant and adults. Methods. In this study 150 samples of dried herbal teas were tested: Children (Baby) tea (11), Althaea officinalis (7), Sennae folium (4), Mentha piperita (8), Hypericum perforatum (3), Thymus serpyllum (5), Matricaria recutita (6), Fruit tea (18), Black, Green and Rooibos tea (11), Salvia officinalis (9), Arctostaphylos uva ursi (5), Urtica dioica (3), Achillea millefolium (2), Melissa officinalis (4), Cynosbati fructus (3), Flower Herbal tea (3) and 17 different mixtures of tea (48 samples). The presence of C. sakazakii was also investigated in previously positive samples of prepared teas (48 samples) after 2 h, 12 h and 24 h. C. sakazakii was isolated by the use of the official method ISO TS 22964 : 2006 and confirmed with the biochemical test API 20E (Biomerieux-France). Results. The obtained results showed that C. sakazakii was isolated from 48 (32%) samples dried herbal teas. C. sakazakii was not isolated only from 2 (4%) of the 48 tested samples of prepared tea and in 46 (96%) of the samples C. sakazakii remained viable after 2 h, 12 h and 24 h. Conclusion. Herbal teas should be carefully used, especially for infants and immunocompromited people with severe chronic diseases because of the possibility of infection by C. sakazakii. Better control and improve testing as well as new facts about this pathogen are necessarry

This study provides another perspective into the possible nature of cross-contamination and foodborne outbreaks originating in foodservice establishments and brings to attention the necessity of analysing various climatic conditions.

Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium that is pathogenic for man and for most animal species. Listeriosis is a generalized infection that starts after ingestion of the causative agent L. monocytogenes (Finlay, 2001). Food that is not properly thermically processed, long storage of such food, food that is produced in inadequate hygienic food plants, as well as cooked-cooled ready to eat food (RTE) is the ideal medium for listeria multiplication. High risk food originated from fish, fish products and sea products comprised of: molluscs (fresh of frozen shellfish, crustaceans shelled or not), fresh fish (ready to eat without cooking), fish products packed with brine (NaCl<6%), (salted, marinated, fermented, cold smoked and fish in brine), thermically treated fish and crustacean products (pasteurization, cooking, hot smoking, including pre-cooking and panning). In this research, fish samples, fish products and sea products from Serbian markets were examinated such as: fresh fish (cooled), frozen food (fish and sea products - cuttlefish, squid, octopus, shellfish, crustaceans and shrimps), panned products; smoked fish, salted fish, thermally treated fish and fish products, semi-canned fish and canned fish. Microbiological testing has been performed according to internationally prescribed standards ISO 11290-1 (1996) "Microbiology of food and animal feed stuffs - Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of Listeria monocytogenes". There were 470 samples from fish products and sea products. Presence of Listeria spp was registered in 58 samples (12.34%). Listeria monocytogenes was found in 1.92% samples (9 isolates), which makes 15.52% of the total Listeria that were isolated from the tested food. Other isolated Listeria belong to the following species: L. innocua (8.51%), L.welshimeri (1.28%), L.welshimeri/innocua (0.21%), L. grayi (0.21%) and L. seeligeri (0.21%). Exceptional viability of Listeria monocytogenes in the food tested was documented, also (freezing temperature - 18oC, five months)

Supercritical fluid extraction as an environmentally friendly technology was applied to isolate biologically active extracts from celery and parsley fruits for potential applications in the food industry. The extractions were performed under mild temperature conditions of 39.85 °C and at pressures of 10 and 30 MPa. The extracts were analyzed regarding their chemical composition, antibacterial activity, and cytotoxic effect. Sedanolide was the dominant component of the celery fruit extracts, comprising more than 70% of the obtained fraction, while the content of apiole in the parsley fruit SC CO2 extracts exceeded 85%. The celery fruit extracts showed strong and moderately strong antibacterial activity against tested Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus (B.) cereus, B. subtilis, B. circulans, Listeria (L.) greyi, L. seeligeri and L. welshimeri, with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values between 160 and 640 µg/mL, and weak activity against the selected Salmonella isolates with a MIC of 2560 µg/mL. The parsley extract obtained at 10 MPa showed strong and moderately strong antibacterial effects against Bacillus strains with obtained MICs of 160–640 µg/mL, and weak activity against Staphylococcus, Listeria, and Salmonella with a MIC of 2560 µg/mL. Cytotoxicity investigation showed that the extracts with proven antibacterial activity had no cytotoxic effect on rabbit kidney cells at concentrations of up to 640 µg/mL.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the microbial profile of food contact surfaces (FCS) in foodservice industry of Serbia. Design/methodology/approach The research covered 21,485 samples collected from 1,085 foodservice establishments during a period of 43 months. Results were deployed in terms of food contact materials, types of FCS and types of foodservice establishments. Findings Highest share of results=2 log10 CFU/cm2 were present on plastic surfaces during Autumn, while on ceramic and stainless steel surfaces highest share were observed during the Summer season. Take-away food establishments had the highest share of results=2 log10 CFU/cm2 for both stainless steel and plastic surfaces. Highest share of stainless steel surfaces with microbial load=2 log10 CFU/cm2 were cutlery, dishes and knives. Plastic dishes had the highest share of results=2 log10 CFU/cm2 while cutting boards had the majority of results between 1 log10 CFU/cm2 and 2 log10 CFU/cm2. Research limitations/implications Limitations of the research stem from the discussion of the nature of the FCS like porosity and other physical characteristics. Practical implications This research has a practical application in terms of establishing process hygiene levels depending on types of food contact materials and types of FCS and seasonal variations. Originality/value The findings of this study are worthy, in respect to possible correlation between seasonal variation and process hygiene requirements and can facilitate a better understanding of microbial risks associated with food preparation.