Fermented cereal-based foods play a crucial role in attaining food and nutrition security for resource-poor populations in sub-Saharan Africa. These products are widely produced by spontaneous fermentation using of cereal grains as raw material. They have a unique taste and flavour, are rich sources of energy and their non-alcoholic nature makes th...
In this PhD thesis, the potential of outgrowth of L. monocytogenes was assessed in Dutch-type Gouda cheese. It was demonstrated that L. monocytogenes, which can cause listeriosis, is not able to grow in or on Dutch-type Gouda. The factors present in Gouda cheese that can lead to full inhibition of growth of L. monocytogenes were identified and safe...
Here we propose to use bacterial cells as factories that generate EVs harboring both the RNP complex (or any other CRISPR‐mediated tool) and a specific ligand molecule. The ligand would allow specific binding of EVs to cells with the matching receptors, adding a level of specificity to the delivery, hence stimulating precise genome editing.
Foodborne illnesses are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and are therefore important to manage for the protection of public health. In the course of the last half century, when it comes to prioritizing resources for their management, there has been a gradual shift of focus from the hazards that cause the illnesses (microorga...
The mathematical models used in predictive microbiology contain parameters that must be estimated based on experimental data. Due to experimental uncertainty and variability, they cannot be known exactly and must be reported with a measure of uncertainty (usually a standard deviation). In order to increase precision (i.e. reduce the standard deviat...
Spontaneously fermented food products contain a complex, natural microbial community with potential probiotic activity. The addition of a health-promoting, probiotic bacterium to these products ensures the delivery of that probiotic activity to consumers. Here, we assess the microbial community of a traditional Senegalese milk product produced by s...
Fermented dairy products can be rich in beneficial microbes and one such product with potential is mabisi. Mabisi is a traditional fermented milk product from Zambia made through spontaneous fermentation of raw milk at ambient temperature using a calabash (gourd), clay pot, plastic or metal container. The fermentation takes about 48 hours after whi...
Fermentation is the oldest technology used in the production of many traditional cereal-based beverages across Africa. Munkoyo, a spontaneously fermented cereal-based beverage from Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo is one of those beverages and the focal product studied in this thesis. It is consumed by large parts of the population, as an en...
Pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment, or electroporation, can be used to load molecules into cells. The permeabilizing effect of the PEF treatment on the cellular membrane can be either reversible or irreversible depending on the severity of the PEF treatment conditions. The influence of PEF on the reversibility of membrane permeabilization in Lac...
