The Effects of Shading and Organic Domestic Waste on Brazilian Spinach Growth

The use of household waste in the form of rice washing water, pineapple skin waste, and leftover rice as liquid organic fertilizer (LOF) has the potential to create a good growing medium so as to increase plant growth. Brazilian Spinach (Alternanthera sissoo) is a leafy vegetable that has the potential to diversify vegetable consumption in urban areas where it is expected to grow well in tight spaces, particularly under shading. This study aimed to find out the effects of applying liquid organic fertilizer made of household waste and the shading on the growth of the Brazilian spinach plant. The study used a split plot design with a main plot consisted of 0%, 50% and 70% shading, while subplot consisted of LOF washing water (20 ml/l), pineapple peel waste (30 ml/l) and leftover rice (50ml/l). Each treatment was repeated 3 (three) times. The results of the study showed that the SPAD value of Brazilian spinach under shading treatment and LOF treatment of rice washing water linearly continued to increase until 8 (eight) weeks after planting. Regarding the vegetative growth of Brazilian spinach, the 0% shading treatment was the best treatment in terms of increasing the non-edible leaf fresh weight and root dry weight. Meanwhile, the LOF had an insignificant effect on all treatments. In conclusion, Brazilian spinach can grow more optimally in no-shade conditions

Effect of Food Residues on Norovirus Survival on Stainless Steel Surfaces

Background: In households and food processing plants, minute food residues left behind from improper cleaning may influence the survivability of human norovirus on surfaces. In this study, the survivability of norovirus on desiccated food residue-attached stainless steel coupons was investigated. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using murine norovirus-1 (MNV-1) as a surrogate of human norovirus, the survivability of norovirus was investigated on lettuce, cabbage, or ground pork-attached stainless steel coupons. A 6.2 log MPN/ml of MNV-1 infectivity was completely lost at day 30 in residue-free coupons, whereas only a 1.4 log MPN/ml reduction was observed in coupons with residues. Moreover, the disinfective effect of sodium hypochlorite was reduced when residues were present on the coupons. Conclusions/Significance: This study revealed that the food residues increased the survivability and the resistance to chemicals of norovirus, indicating the need of thorough cleaning in food processing plants and household settings

Rapid detection of Salmonella spp. in food by use of the ISO-GRID hydrophobic grid membrane filter

A rapid hydrophobic grid-membrane filter (HGMF) method was developed and compared with the Health Protection Branch cultural method for the detection of Salmonella spp. in 798 spiked samples and 265 naturally contaminated samples of food. With the HGMF method, Salmonella spp. were isolated from 618 of the spiked samples and 190 of the naturally contaminated samples. The conventional method recovered Salmonella spp. from 622 spiked samples and 204 unspiked samples. The isolation rates from Salmonella-positive samples for the two methods were not significantly different (94.6% overall for the HGMF method and 96.7% for the conventional approach), but the HGMF results were available in only 2 to 3 days after sample receipt compared with 3 to 4 days by the conventional method.</jats:p