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Fungi are widely disseminated in the environment and are major food contaminants, colonizing plant tissues throughout the production chain, frompreharvest to postharvest, causing diseases. As a result, grain development and seed germination are affected, reducing grain quality and nutritional value. Some fungal species can also produce mycotoxins, toxic secondary metabolites for vertebrate animals. Natural compounds, such as essential oils, have been used to control fungal diseases in cereal grains due to their antimicrobial activity thatmay inhibit fungal growth. These compounds have been associated with reduced mycotoxin contamination, primarily related to reducing toxin production by toxigenic fungi. However, little is known about the mechanisms of action of these compounds againstmycotoxigenic fungi. In this review, we address important information on the mechanisms of action of essential oils and their antifungal and antimycotoxigenic properties, recent technological strategies for food industry applications, and the potential toxicity of essential oils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Chitosan (CS) nanoparticles were formed by two different methodologies: ionic (with sodium tripolyphosphate ‐TPP) and chemical (with genipin ‐GN) cross‐linking. CS–TPP and CS–GN nanoparticles showed positive zeta potential (+46.24 and +62.86 mV, respectively) and sizes ranging from 83.70 to 835.91 nm, respectively. Ionic cross‐linking (with TPP) resulted in particles smaller than those formed by chemical cross‐linking (with GN). The in vitro antibacterial activity revealed an efficient inhibitory effect, especially regarding CS–TPP. In situ, antibacterial and antioxidant studies were carried out on O/W emulsions. The mesophilic and psychrotrophic counts, peroxide value and quantification of conjugated dienes and trienes during time revealed that nanoparticles tend to improve the microbiological and oxidative stability of emulsions. These findings underline the direct relationship between the reduction of particle size and the increase in biopolymer functional properties and expand the possibilities of CS application as a natural preservative of emulsified systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The aim of this study was to evaluate biofilm production by Staphylococcus sp on stainless steel using brain heart infusion (BHI) broth and Minas Frescal cheese broth, at different levels of contamination and under different temperatures, atmospheres. The cheeses were classified according to their microbiota. It was evaluated biofilm formation on stainless steel chips at 8, 15 and 35°C after 48, 72 and 96 h under different conditions. Both Staphylococcus isolates formed biofilm on stainless steel chip in BHI broth and cheese broth, under all temperatures and atmospheres studied. In conclusion, BHI broth and Brazilian Minas cheese homogenate performed equally well for biofilm formation tests using Staphylococcus strains, and S. aureus can produce biofilm on stainless steel at 8°C, which may be a concern for the dairy industry. Finally, it is important to consider that S. aureus can be a good competitor, depending on the nature of the microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lactoferrin (L) and gellan gum (G) nanoparticles were produced in different biopolymer proportions through electrostatic complexation to enhance the antimicrobial properties of lactoferrin. The nanoparticles were characterized according to size, charge density, morphology and antimicrobial activity against S. aureus and E. coli, in two different broths to show the effect of the broth composition on the nanoparticle activity. The 9L:1G particles showed the highest positive zeta potential (+21.20 mV) and reduced diameter (92.03 nm) which resulted in a minimum inhibitory concentration six times smaller (0.3 mg/ml) than pure lactoferrin (2 mg/ml). However, the bacteriostatic action of nanoparticles was inhibited in the presence of divalent cations. When applied to strawberries as a coating, lactoferrin nanoparticles extended fruit shelf-life up to 6 days in the presence of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC). Therefore, lactoferrin-gellan gum complexation was proved to be a promising tool to enhance lactoferrin antimicrobial action and broaden its application as a food preserver., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2022 The Authors.)