Research Publications (Food Safety)

Arsenic (As) accumulation in plants is a global concern. Although the application of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) has been suggested as a potential solution to decrease As concentration in plants, there is currently a gap in a comprehensive, quantitative assessment of the abiotic and biotic factors influencing As accumulation.

This study investigated the determination of 207 pesticides in hot pepper powder and found patterns of pesticide use by production from five regions, detecting a total of 50 pesticides. The LOD, LOQ and recoveries of pesticides were 0.08–2.53, 0.25–7.60 μg kg−1, and 81.0–132.1%, respectively. The Horrat values ranged from 0.07 to 1.97. A total of 50 residual pesticides were detected in 963 hot pepper powder samples.

β-Lactam is one of the widely used veterinary drugs, but simultaneous analytical methods for β-lactam on various animal foods have not been established. In this study, we aimed to detect 34 β-lactam antibiotics simultaneously in livestock samples (beef, pork, chicken, egg, and milk) by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS).

Lycium barbarum L., also known as goji berry, is popular in China and across the world as both a food and a medicine. The pervasive use of chemical pesticides has led to widespread contamination of raw goji berries, although the impacts of pesticide contamination on goji berry-derived products have not yet been thoroughly characterized.

Background

Heavy metal pollution has become a global problem, which urgently needed to be solved owing to its severe threat to water ecosystems and human health. Thus, the exploration and development of a simple, cost-effective and environmental-friendly technique to remove metal elements from contaminated water is of great importance. Algae are a kind of photosynthetic autotroph and exhibit excellent bioadsorption capacities, making them suitable for wastewater treatment.

Abstract Conventional food preservation methods such as heat treatment, irradiation, chemical treatment, refrigeration, and coating have various disadvantages, like loss of food quality, nutrition, and cost‐effectiveness. Accordingly, cold plasma is one of the new technologies for food processing and has played an important role in preventing food spoilage. Specifically, in‐package cold plasma has become a modern trend to decontaminate, process, and package food simultaneously.

Cadmium (Cd) and high molybdenum (Mo) are injurious to the body. Previous research has substantiated that Cd and Mo exposure caused testicular injury of ducks, but concrete mechanism is not fully clarified.

Introduction

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have been demonstrated their ability to enhance the arsenic (As) tolerance of host plants, and making the utilization of mycorrhizal plants a promising and practical approach for remediating As-contaminated soils. However, comprehensive transcriptome analysis to reveal the molecular mechanism of As tolerance in the symbiotic process between AMF and host plants is still limited.

Methods

The aim of the present study was to analyze the response to exposure to pollutants (trace elements and organic pollutants) using biomarkers (micronucleated cells and glutathione S-transferase and catalase activity) in uçá crab Ucides cordatus. The study was carried out at four sites: Cacha Prego (CP) and Ponta Grossa (PG), areas with low anthropic activity; and Ilha de Maré (IM) and Pitinga (PT), areas affected by industrial activity.

Aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN) has drawn increasing public attention. Organic anion transporters (OATs) are considered to be responsible for mediating nephrotoxicity of aristolochic acids (AAs), as AAs are typical OAT1 substrates that exhibit anionic properties and contain one hydrophobic domain.

Abstract Background and Objectives Wheat porridge contributes to the intake of micronutrients but can also be a route of the toxic heavy metal, cadmium. This study aimed to determine the effect of processing on micronutrients, cadmium dialyzability, and cellular bioaccessibility. Findings Cadmium (0.21%), magnesium (0.19%), iron (0.17%), and zinc (0.07%) presented low bioaccessibility from raw whole wheat flour.

As lead molecules, cyclic lipopeptides with antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties have garnered a lot of attention in recent years. Because of their potential, cyclic lipopeptides have earned recognition as a significant class of antimicrobial compounds with applications in pharmacology and biotechnology.

In this work, monodisperse and nano‐porous poly(bismaleimide‐co‐divinylbenzene) microspheres with large specific surface area (427.6 m2/g) and rich pore structure were prepared by one‐pot self‐stable precipitation polymerization of 2,2′‐bis[4‐(4‐maleimidophenoxy) phenyl] propane and divinylbenzene. The prepared poly(bismaleimide‐co‐divinylbenzene) microspheres were employed as dispersive solid‐phase extraction (DSPE) adsorbent for the extraction of triazine herbicides.

Herein, a deep eutectic solvent (DES)‐based miniaturized pressurized liquid extraction in combination with DES‐based dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) was developed for the extraction of organophosphorus pesticides (parathion–methyl, triazophos, parathion, diazinon, and phoxim) from egg powder samples prior to their analysis by a high‐performance liquid chromatography‐diode array detector.

Abstract Biochar is a promising candidate for the sustainable remediation of soils, especially those contaminated with cationic heavy metals, because of its liming effect and tunable surface functionality. Despite its potential, prior studies have highlighted biochar's limitations in immobilizing soil oxyanions, such as arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb), particularly in the short term.

In this research, a straightforward sample treatment for multiresidue pesticide evaluation of onion samples was developed using the solid-phase extraction/quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and secure (SPE/QuEChERS) method. The suggested technique is based on acetonitrile liquid-liquid partitioning, then follows dispersive solid-phase extraction with ZrO2 particles for extract purification. ZrO2 is synthesized via co precipitation and analyzed via XRD, FTIR, and SEM.

Sustainability is a ‘buzzword’ often used within and outside of the agriculture industry. Southeastern beef cow-calf and stocker operations often utilize management practices which embody the core definition of sustainability to improve land resource, economic, and social viability. In forage-based production systems, year-round management practices are generally viewed by the scientific community in terms of production and economic responses.

Background The consumption of foods containing amphenicols, a type of antibiotic, is a major concern for human health. A stable and accurate detection method can provide technical support for food-safety monitoring. Objective An effective and efficient method was established for determining amphenicols in animal-derived foods through the simultaneous use of solid-phase extraction (SPE) cleanup and ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS).

This study explored the impact of aqueous ozone treatment on chlorpyrifos degradation in cucumbers, optimizing conditions using both response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network‐genetic algorithm (ANN‐GA). While both models demonstrated high predictability, the ANN optimized conditions surpassed RSM in chlorpyrifos degradation, resulting in enhanced physicochemical and microbial qualities in cucumbers.

Background and aims

Enhanced silicate rock weathering (ERW) on cropland soils can increase crop yield and promote carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration. Applying silicate rock powder to flooded rice paddies can promote weathering, but the effects of ERW on rice production and CO2 removal rates in the field remain unclear.

The excessive and uncontrolled application of antibiotics in the fish farming industry, coupled with a lack of health monitoring and medication practices, is a driving force behind the escalating development of antimicrobial resistance. The present study assessed and compared qualitative field diffusion (QFD) and disk diffusion (DD) assays for the detection of antimicrobial residues (ARs) in diverse freshwater aquaculture fish.

Abstract Following a request from the European Commission, the Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on Bacillus velezensis ATCC PTA‐6737 as a zootechnical additive (functional group: gut flora stabilisers) in regard to the renewal of the authorisation for weaned piglets, weaned minor porcine species, sows and minor reproductive Suidae species, and its extension of use for all Suidae.

Microplastics and heavy metals pollution is recognised as a major problem affecting aquatic ecosystems.

Evaluation of the arsenic content in food has always been an important issue due to its high toxicity. This is especially relevant for Vietnam, a country with high arsenic contamination. The present study focuses on the development of a model function to predict As uptake in the vegetable Brassica perviridis as a function of the conditions of plant growth and soil parameters.

Abstract Romaine lettuce outer leaves, as opposed to the more commonly marketed heart, are typically discarded and present an opportunity for upcycling as dried powders. Duquesne Romaine lettuce was evaluated to quantify and compare quality attributes of fresh outer and heart leaves, dried powders following hot air drying, and dried powders following an infrared (IR) blanching pretreatment before drying.