Research Publications (Food Safety)

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, Volume 19, Issue 6, Page 2885-2931, November 2020. The development of smart packaging and innovation in common food packaging technology will greatly help to meet market needs, including consumer preference for “safe” foods, high‐quality products and mitigate the negative environmental impacts of food packaging.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, Volume 19, Issue 6, Page 3574-3617, November 2020. Cell wall polysaccharides (CPSs) and polyphenols are major constituents of the dietary fiber complex in plant‐based foods. Their digestion (by gut microbiota) and bioefficacy depend not only on their structure and quantity, but also on their intermolecular interactions.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, Volume 19, Issue 6, Page 3439-3475, November 2020. The intention to send a crewed mission to Mars involves a huge amount of planning to ensure a safe and successful mission. Providing adequate amounts of food for the crew is a major task, but 20 years of feeding astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) have resulted in a good knowledge base.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, Volume 19, Issue 6, Page 2767-2796, November 2020. Marine‐polysaccharide degrading enzymes have recently been studied extensively. They are particularly interesting as they catalyze the cleavage of glycosidic bonds in polysaccharide macromolecules and produce oligosaccharides with low degrees of polymerization.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, Volume 19, Issue 6, Page 2994-3030, November 2020. The development of lipid‐based delivery systems has attracted much attention over the last years and a wide variety of strategies and formulations are currently available to encapsulate, protect, and target delivery of bioactive and functional lipophilic constituents within the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, Volume 19, Issue 6, Page 2932-2954, November 2020. In the meat industry, hydrocolloids and phosphates are used to improve the quality attributes of meat products. However, latest research results revealed that the usage of exopolysaccharide (EPS)‐forming lactic acid bacteria (LAB), which are able to produce EPS in situ during processing could be an interesting alternative.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, Volume 19, Issue 6, Page 3715-3754, November 2020. While wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) flour contains only low levels of lipids (2.0% to 3.0%), they tremendously affect fresh bread quality. They are either starch (30% to 40%) or nonstarch (60% to 70%) lipids.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, Volume 19, Issue 6, Page 4031-4061, November 2020. Phytonutrients are plant‐derived bioactives which are widely utilized as colorants or supplements in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical products. To meet the global demand for phytonutrients, oil palm has emerged as a promising source of phytonutrients on account of its large‐scale plantation worldwide and high oil productivity.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, Volume 19, Issue 6, Page 3886-3915, November 2020. Lupine is commonly utilized as a technological food and ingredient in a great variety of processed products (snacks, bakery, meat, and dairy products) principally owing to its nutritional value and technological properties. However, its ingestion, even at trace amounts (in the range of mg protein per kg of food), can lead to severe adverse reactions in allergic individuals.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, Volume 19, Issue 6, Page 3774-3801, November 2020. Beer chemical instability remains, at present, the main challenge in maintaining beer quality. Although not fully understood, after decades of research, significant progress has been made in identifying “aging compounds,” their origin, and formation pathways.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, Volume 19, Issue 6, Page 3683-3714, November 2020. Tofu is a traditional product made mainly from soybeans, which has become globally popular because of its inclusion in vegetarian, vegan, and hypocaloric diets. However, with both commercial production of tofu and scientific research, it remains a challenge to produce tofu with high quality, high nutrition, and excellent flavor.

Pesticide residues in food matrices, threatening the survival and development of humanity, is one of the critical challenges worldwide. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) possess excellent properties, which include excellent adsorption capacity, tailorable shape and size, hierarchical structure, numerous surface‐active sites, high specific surface areas, high chemical stabilities, and ease of modification and functionalization.

Cooking improves digestibility, palatability, and microbiological profile of meats, but can produce compounds with carcinogenic potential, such as heterocyclic amines (HAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). It has been shown that the formation of these compounds in meats can be inhibited by spiced marinades, but there is a complexity to check and compare the results of isolated studies with so many variables involved.

Alternatives to the use of conventional veterinary drugs in food‐producing animals have gained attention, such as the use of natural products (NPs), mainly to soften the risks to the animal, the environment, and consumer's health. Although NPs have consistent advantages over conventional drugs, they cannot be considered risk free under food safety matters.

Nonthermal plasma (NTP) is an advanced technology that has gained extensive attention because of its capacity for decontaminating food from both biological and chemical sources. Plasma‐activated water (PAW), a product of NTP's reaction with water containing a rich diversity of highly reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS), is now being considered as the primary reactive chemical component in food decontamination.

High‐pressure processing (HPP) has been the most adopted nonthermal processing technology in the food industry with a current ever‐growing implementation, and meat products represent about a quarter of the HPP foods.

Mycotoxins are naturally occurring fungal metabolites that are associated with health hazards and are widespread in cereals including maize. The most common mycotoxins in maize that occur at relatively high levels are fumonisins (FBs), zearalenone, and aflatoxins; furthermore, other mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol and ochratoxin A are frequently present in maize. For these toxins, maximum levels are laid down in the European Union (EU) for maize raw materials and maize‐based foods.

Salmonella is one of the main causes of foodborne infectious diseases, posing a serious threat to public health. It can enter the food supply chain at various stages of production, processing, distribution, and marketing. High prevalence of Salmonella necessitates efficient and effective approaches for its identification, detection, and monitoring at an early stage.

Microorganisms play a crucial and unique role in fish and fish product safety. The presence of human pathogens and the formation of histamine caused by spoilage bacteria make the control of both pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms critical for fish product safety.

Tropane alkaloids (TAs) are secondary plant metabolites derived mainly from Solanaceae plant families, with the most virulent invasive species being Datura stramonium. Datura stramonium commonly grows in cereal fields and produce TAs (e.g., hyoscyamine and scopolamine) which may accidentally contaminate cereals (and cereal‐based foods) at occasionally high levels.

Hydroxycinnamic acids (HCAs) are a major class of phenolic acids with the characteristic phenylpropanoid C6‐C3 backbone. Its typically conjugated status with plant cell wall components and liberation by limited enzymes might be the reason for its neglect by researchers compared to flavonoid‐type polyphenols. The polyphenol–gut microbiota interactions and their impact on human health have captured the interest of researchers recently.

The presence of chemical contaminant in alcoholic beverages is a widespread and notable problem with potential implications for human health. With the complexity and wide variation in the raw materials, production processes, and contact materials involved, there are a multitude of opportunities for a diverse host of undesirable compounds to make their way into the final product—some of which may currently remain unidentified and undetected.

Filamentous fungi represent a rich source of extrolites, including secondary metabolites (SMs) comprising a great variety of astonishing structures and interesting bioactivities. State‐of‐the‐art techniques in genome mining, genetic manipulation, and secondary metabolomics have enabled the scientific community to better elucidate and more deeply appreciate the genetic and biosynthetic chemical arsenal of these microorganisms.

Peru has a commodities‐based economy where agriculture plays an essential role in the nation's development. Among agricultural products, fruits and vegetables are foundational to Peruvian culture and a healthy and nutritious diet. Produce is also the primary income source for thousands of small‐scale farmers and producers throughout the country. Peru has significant potential to export agricultural and value‐added products.

Food allergies are global health issue with an increasing prevalence that affect food safety; hence, food allergen detection, labeling, and management are considered to be important priorities in the food industry. In this critical review, we provide a comprehensive overview of several fluorescence‐based platforms based on different biorecognition ligands, such as antibodies, DNA, aptamers, and cells, for food allergen quantification.