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Low water activity ingredients, including dried fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices, are widely used in ready-to-eat (RTE) and non-RTE foods. Although low water activity limits microbial growth, bacterial pathogens can survive for extended periods in these products. Pathogen virulence, incorporation of dried ingredients in foods, and subsequent handling of the finished foods can collectively contribute to foodborne illness risk. This review summarizes the microbiological hazards associated with dried ingredients and discusses the effectiveness of conventional and emerging decontamination treatments for reducing pathogen levels. To support the evaluation of dried ingredients for RTE and non-RTE food applications, a qualitative risk-based microbiological decision framework is presented, along with practical examples demonstrating its use to rank risks and identify appropriate mitigation strategies. The framework considers the ingredient supply chain from production and harvest through packaging of finished products and integrates available outbreak, pathogen prevalence and levels, and product-specific data. This framework is intended to support the food manufacturing and food service sectors by providing a transparent, structured approach for evaluating, managing, and communicating pathogen risks associated with dry ingredients.

Growing consumer demand for animal welfare and environmental sustainability in the poultry industry is driving the adoption of outdoor access for broiler chickens in the United States. However, shifting to outdoor access from conventional housing may pose tradeoffs for animal welfare, meat quality, and food safety. Research comparing conventional and outdoor access housing on these attributes has not been reviewed for approximately a decade. We reviewed and compared animal welfare, food safety, and meat quality outcomes in conventional versus outdoor access broiler production, focusing on recent research. Despite the prevailing notion that outdoor access improves animal welfare due to more behavioral opportunities, the utilization of the range is highly variable and affected by a variety of environmental, management, and bird characteristics. Outdoor areas containing vegetation and tree cover promote use by the birds, and slow-growing breeds appear to be best suited for these production systems. Typically, welfare-related health outcomes (i.e., footpad dermatitis, mortality, and lameness) are improved with outdoor access. However, birds with outdoor access are at a higher risk for endo- and ectoparasitic infections. Antimicrobial resistance is typically lower on outdoor access farms, and birds with outdoor access have more diverse microbiomes. There are mixed results for the prevalences of Salmonella and Campylobacter between conventional and outdoor access farms. Meat quality varies in complex ways related to rearing system, age, breed, diet, and behavior. Meat from outdoor access broilers may present better taste or flavor, yet there can be tradeoffs for texture and moisture, particularly for older, slower-growing breeds that are typical of outdoor access production. Taken together, studies to date indicate multiple benefits and tradeoffs for animal welfare, food safety, and meat quality. Variations in management between farms and certification criteria result in inconsistent outcomes. The majority of outdoor access research has been conducted outside of the United States. Region-specific research accounting for geography, climate, and available breeds would be beneficial for improving outdoor access production outcomes in the United States.

This work aims to evaluate the potential and limits of adhesiveness measurement using a texturometer to assess the ropiness of acid dairy gels for starter selection. Commercial yogurts of various formulations and textures were used to assess the ability of adhesiveness to detect ropiness and to compare performance of different probes. Chemically acidified gels using different concentrations of glucono-delta-lactone (GDL) were tested to determine the effect of pH on adhesiveness. In addition, acidified (GDL) milk containing 3 exopolysaccharide-producing adjunct strains was produced to evaluate the detection of ropy strains using adhesiveness, compared with an inoculation loop stretching test. The adhesiveness of commercial yogurts was mainly affected by its formulation. Visually ropier commercial yogurts with high protein and fat contents presented higher adhesiveness. Globally, adhesiveness analysis was not affected by probe material, but larger probes resulted in higher adhesiveness values. The addition of adjuncts increased the adhesiveness of GDL gels compared with the controls. Results between inoculation loop stretching test and adhesiveness were similar, except for Lactobacillus delbrueckii lactis LMA-1511, which exhibited high adhesiveness but no threading with the loop stretching test. When varying GDL concentration, adhesiveness increased with decreasing pH until pH 4.45, and remained stable until pH 4.18. In the pH zone from 4.18 to 4.45, differences in adhesiveness could indicate the presence of a ropy strain. This method is promising for industries as a quality control or screening method for starter cultures due to its simplicity and the availability of texturometers.

Accurate vitamin D measurement in pet food is crucial to pet health due to the important role in animal health and subsequent risks of deficiency and toxicity. We therefore aimed to investigate the differences in performance between three commercial laboratories (Lab 1: Europhins, Des Moines, IA; Lab 2: Midwest Laboratories, Omaha, NE; Lab 3: Merieux NutriSciences, Crete, IL). Eight canned diets with varying vitamin D concentrations [from natural sources (67% chicken, and/or salmon) and synthetic vitamin D (+ 0, 100, or 200 IU)] were formulated and mixed in small batches. Ingredient pre-retort samples were tested (n = 1 sample laboratory). Paired t-test showed Lab 1 had significantly lower (P< 0.05) vitamin D concentrations than Lab 2 and Lab 3, which did not differ significantly (P >0.05) from each other. Utilizing laboratory-specific ingredient data we predicted vitamin D concentration for each diet (Table 1). Model fit (predicted vs measured) was high (R2 > 0.9) with Lab 1 (R2=0.98) and Lab 2 (R2=0.97) showing a slightly more accurate fit than Lab 3 (R2=0.91). Analysis of prediction errors using Paired t-tests on prediction errors (difference between measured and predicted) revealed no significant difference (P > 0.05) in accuracy between laboratories. Bland-Altman plots (i.e., difference vs. mean of predicted and measured) for each laboratory showed similar pattern with lower vitamin D diets (i.e., Chicken, and Chicken and Salmon diets) being closer to 0 with more values over-predicted, and higher vitamin D diets (i.e., Salmon diets) tending to be further from 0 and under-predicted. Predictive performance metrics (Table 2) were all lowest for Lab 1 indicating better predictive accuracy and lower variation. With the highest values seen for Lab 3. While all labs showed a high correlation (R2 > 0.9) between predicted and measured vitamin D, Lab 1 consistently showed lower values. Lab 1 also had the lowest variation and best predictive accuracy when examining performance metrics. Additional investigations are warranted.

In light of increasing global demand for a diversity of protein sources in pet nutrition, blood meal (BLDM; crude protein: 86%, crude fat: 3.4%, crude fiber: < 0.2%, ash: 2%) was assessed for nutrient digestibility, and palatability in adult cats and dogs and urine pH in cats. The BLDM was included at 0%, 1%, 2.5% and 5% in chicken-based extruded dog diets (35% crude protein, 16.7% crude fat, 4% crude fiber, 7.6% ash) and cat diets (39% crude protein, 17% crude fat, 4.3% crude fiber, 8.1% Ash). The study was approved by the facility’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. A standard 2-bowl palatability test over a 2-day period was executed (n=30 animals each) to determine intake ratios between each diet (e.g., 0% vs. 1% BLDM). Total tract nutrient digestibility was evaluated (n=6 animals per diet) with 5 days of diet acclimation followed by 5 days of total fecal collection. Stool quality was evaluated on a 1 to 5 scale. Palatability data were analyzed using pair t-test. Urine pH was evaluated (n=10 cats per diet) with diets fed for 7 days and urine pH recorded on day 7. To test for mean differences in digestibility and stool quality outcomes between 0%, 1%, 2.5%, and 5% BLDM, we applied the Kruskal-Wallis test. Statistical significance was set at 5% type 1 error rate. Dry matter, protein, fat, and energy digestibility, and stool quality were similar between diets for cats and dogs (P > 0.05). For cats, palatability was not impacted (P > 0.05) with inclusion of BLDM. For dogs, palatability declined (P < 0.05) with inclusion of BLDM (i.e., preference for 0% vs 1, 2.5 and 5% inclusion) preference declined (p < 0.05) at higher levels (e.g., preference for 1% vs 2.5 and 5% inclusion). For cats, a linear increase (p < 0.05) was seen for urine pH with inclusion of blood meal. Decreased palatability could be linked to the high biogenic amine index of the ingredient (14, with > 10 being considered very poor quality). The blood meal was high in iron (3100 ppm). Excessive iron can contribute to oxidation in the diet and for the pet and should be accounted for during formulation. For diets fed herein, iron increased in the diets with increasing blood meal from 235 ppm in 0% BLDM diets to 315 ppm in 10% BLDM diets. Although digestibility was maintained for both species, and palatability maintained in cats, the higher biogenic amine index and poor palatability in dogs indicates that additional development work would be recommended prior to leveraging blood meal in pet foods.