Safe water and food are essential for good human health. The contamination of water with infected fecal bacteria is common in areas with poor standards of hygiene and sanitation. This study investigated total coliform bacteria, fecal coliform bacteria, and E.coli in drinking water and food stalls using water from a rural community, where the rural living conditions increase the risk of water-related diseases. In total, 40 samples of bottled drinking water, 50 water samples from vending machines, 30 samples of household drinking water, 30 food samples were collected from household food, and 60 food samples were collected from food stalls, and coliform bacteria contamination was determined using the most probable number (MPN) technique. The results revealed that all the water and food samples contained coliform bacteria contamination, while all the water samples and 50% of the food samples contained fecal coliform bacteria. The numbers of household food samples contaminated with coliform bacteria and E.coli were 29 (97%) and 12 (40%), respectively. Entrepreneurs should be regularly maintaining clean drinking water vending machines. The government sector should be urgently solving the problem of drinking water standards to ensure suitable consumer safety.

In recent years, water, energy, food, and their nexus have become an increasingly significant and active area of research in economic and management science, especially in terms of safety, a research area where several important problems are emerging [...]

In recent years, the presence of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) has been assessed in several environmental matrices, including the marine environment and agricultural soil, suggesting those pollutants are likely to enter the food web. However, there is still a severe lack of information about the occurrence of plastic particles in our food, partially due to the multidimensionality of the data necessary to fully describe MP contamination and the consequent difficulty in validating analytical methods. In this review, consisting of two parts, preliminary results about the presence of MPs in food, water, and beverages are summarized (Part I) and several approaches for the characterization of micro- and nano-sized plastic particles are reported and discussed (Part II). The information gathered in this manuscript highlights the need for a more comprehensive knowledge of MP/NP occurrence along the food chain in order to assess the food safety risk related to those contaminants and implement strategies for their monitoring in products intended for human consumption. Therefore, an outlook of the field towards a coherent, consistent, and policy-relevant data collection and standardization is included in this review.

[ES] Los virus transmitidos por alimentos y por agua presentan un grave riesgo para la salud pública. En este trabajo se resumen las características generales de los virus transmitidos por alimentos y por aguas, así como los diferentes grupos de alimentos. Además, se define el ciclo reproductivo de los virus, llegando a hablar de los virus entéricos y la zoonosis. Gracias a las medidas de control vírico en aguas y a las medidas de seguridad alimentarias se evita la propagación de estas enfermedades. Las técnicas utilizadas para la detección vírica en alimentos y agua, evita la enfermedad siga propagándose, pudiendo detectar el virus causante de la enfermedad para establecer un tratamiento, en el caso de que lo hubiese, o las precauciones necesarias para frenar el avance de la enfermedad. Todo esto, nos permite evaluar la situación mundial y nacional de las enfermedades como la hepatitis A y la hepatitis E. | [EN] Foodborne and waterborne viruses present a serious risk to public health. This paper summarizes the general characteristics of foodborne and waterborne viruses, as well as the different food groups. In addition, the reproductive cycle of viruses is defined, including enteric viruses and zoonosis. Thanks to viral control measures in water and food safety measures, the spread of these diseases is prevented. The techniques used for viral detection in food and water, prevents the disease from continuing to spread, being able to detect the virus causing the disease to establish a treatment, if any, or the necessary precautions to stop the progression of the disease. All this allows us to evaluate the global and national situation of diseases such as hepatitis A and hepatitis E.

Plants are recognized as natural sources of antioxidants (e.g., polyphenols, flavonoids, vitamins, and other active compounds) that can be extracted by green solvents like water, ethanol, or their binary mixtures. Plant extracts are becoming more used as food additives in various food systems due to their antioxidant abilities. Their application in food increases the shelf life of products by preventing undesirable changes in nutritional and sensory properties, such as the formation off-flavors in lipid-rich food. This review summarizes the most recent literature about water or ethanol-water plant extracts used as flavors, colorings, and preservatives to fortify food and beverages. This study is performed with particular attention to describing the benefits of plant extract-fortified products such as meat, vegetable oils, biscuits, pastries, some beverages, yogurt, cheese, and other dairy products. Antioxidant-rich plant extracts can positively affect food safety by partially or fully replacing synthetic antioxidants, which have lately been linked to safety and health issues such as toxicological and carcinogenic consequences. On the other hand, the limitations and challenges of using the extract in food should be considered, like stability, level of purity, compatibility with matrix, price, sensory aspects like distinct taste, and others. In the future, continuous development and a tendency to use these natural extracts as food ingredients are expected, as indicated by the number of published works in this area, particularly in the past decade.

Published

This study evaluates the existing situation of the water energy and food resource interaction using an indicator-based approach and optimizes the resource use in the Karnafuli River Basin. A water allocation model based on an optimization tool, LINDO 6.1, with an objective function to maximize the economic return, is developed to allocate water to different water use sectors (domestic, agriculture, energy, industry, and environment) in the basin. It is observed that 14.58 m3 of water is required to generate 1 kWh of energy in Kaptai hydropower plant, while 4500 m3 of water is consumed to produce 1 ton of crops in the basin. Due to improper management, around 12,500 ha of land under the Karnafuli Irrigation Project remains un-irrigated, which can be cultivated with high-yield Boro crop. Results show that by prioritizing the agriculture sector, a maximum economic return of US$ 30.3 million can be obtained; however, with this only 55% of the satisfaction level is achieved for the environment sector. Systematic and integrated management of the resources is required in Karnafuli Basin for socioeconomic and sustainable development.