Research Publications (Food Safety)

A simple, rapid, and efficient liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method, operated in electrospray ionization (ESI) and quadrupole linear ion trap modes, has been developed for the identification and structural characterization of zearalenone (ZEN) in corn oil. Samples (5 g) were extracted with acetonitrile/water (80:20, v/v).

Fumonisins are mycotoxins and corn has been considered the foodstuff presenting the highest contamination levels by these compounds. In recent years, the presence of hidden fumonisins in corn and corn products has aroused the interest of public health authorities.

As a novel detection method of CuSO4, terahertz (THz) spectroscopy detection has great application prospects, but the terahertz detection with the tablet method has low sensitivity, and with the metamaterials has complicated manufacture. This work has proposed a high-sensitivity pesticide THz spectroscopic detection method with a novel metal grating. The metal grating was composed of a circular hole array.

A β-cyclodextrin functionalised graphene oxide-grafted silica (β-CD@GO/SiO2) sorbent was synthesised and used as a solid-phase extraction (SPE) sorbent for the extraction of trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from fried food extract. The prepared β-CD@GO/SiO2 was characterised using Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) and elemental analysis (EA).

Food is intricate, and food quality and safety are indispensable elements. With the rising public demands for safe and nutritious food products, a range of innovative, interdisciplinary, and multidimensional concepts have emerged in the last few decades. Nanozymes, apart from their therapeutic efficacies, are gaining increasing interest in safety and quality monitoring in the agri-food sector.

Tomato is well-known to be one of the most cultivated and consumed vegetables worldwide and frequently contain pesticide residues. Therefore, a simple multiresidue method was established and validated to determine 129 pesticides and metabolites in tomato samples using a modified acetate QuEChERS without cleanup for sample preparation and determination by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS).

A simple, rapid, and accurate method for determination of selenocystine (SeCys2), methyl selenocysteine (MeSeCys), selenourea (SeUr), selenite (Se(IV)), selenotmethionine (SeMet), and selenate (Se(VI)) in grain crops was developed, based on the coupling of ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (IP-RP-HPLC) and ultraviolet irradiation hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (UV-HG-AFS). The conditions of IP-RP-HPLC-UV-HG -AFS were studied.

Indonesian coconut sugar (n = 109 samples) from different local producers was analyzed over a 2-year period. A mean δ13C value of − 25.6‰ ± 0.4‰ was determined for unadulterated (pure) coconut sugar. Seasonal climatic differences of up to ± 0.4‰ increase the standard deviations of coconut sugar (− 25.6‰ ± 0.8‰). Up to 5% w/v of cane sugar is often added during production for seeding purposes which could increase the final coconut sugar δ13C values by up to 0.7‰.

The aim of this study was to develop an analytical method, which separates selected chlorinated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Cl-PAHs) from fat, and fat-free or vegetable matrices. The method contains extraction-, cleanup-, and quantification steps. Integration of automated analysis actions, as in extraction and cleanup, should enhance the reproducibility, precision, and efficiency of the method. This was confirmed by validation of the overall analytical process.

The illicit burn practices on farms promote food contamination that is harmful and must be controlled by improved analytical methods. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which have high toxic and carcinogenic potential, can contaminate foods, mainly through fire exposure. Considering the toxicity of PAHs, development of sensitive, simple, and solvent-free methods to analyze PAHs in foods is necessary.

In the present work, a new and efficient sample treatment method based on the combination of stirring-dependent magnetic dispersive solid phase microextraction and ferrofluid-based dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction has been developed for the extraction of some pyrethroid pesticides (bifenthrin, phenothrin, tetramethrin, cyhalothrin, permethrin, and cypermethrin) from fruit juices prior to their determination with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry.

A simple methodology for the simultaneous determination of 67 pesticides, 25 veterinary drugs, and aflatoxin M1 in raw milk was developed and validated. After evaluating different combinations of sample preparation protocols, an extraction with acetonitrile:water (2:1) with QuEChERS citrate buffer salts and a combination of RP-C18 and anhydrous magnesium sulfate for the dispersive clean-up, using gas and liquid chromatography couples to mass spectrometry for determination, was selected.

Hemp is one of the most complete plants for industrial and consumer purposes. In the food industry, the main hemp product is the seed oil, which contains a wide spectrum of compounds such as amino acids and fatty acids that are essential for human health. Given its growing consumption, systematic studies were undertaken for the quantification of toxic elements (As, Cd, and Pb) in hemp products, such as seeds (shelled and peeled), oil, protein, and butter.

Minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium which are available in the Ajwa dates are known to play vital roles in the regulation of blood pressure due to their interaction with the arterial resistance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of various ions in these date seeds and their correlation to the cardiovascular parameters. The powder was subjected to the electron microscope scanning to investigate the texture.

Vegetables are potential vehicles for the transmission of parasites. Helminth eggs have been detected in produce in various countries around the world, with high prevalence rates. However, there is no standard validated method or ISO to the isolation, concentration, and identification of helminth eggs in salad vegetables, which makes comparison difficult since each study utilized different analytical methods and food matrix.

In this study, a real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification (Rti-LAMP) combined with immunomagnetic beads separation (IMS) and ethidium bromide monoazide (EMA) treatment was developed for the rapid and ultrasensitive detection of viable Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 in milk without enrichment. Polyclonal antibodies against E. coli O157:H7 flagellum and specific immunomagnetic beads (IMBs) were prepared.

To detect enrofloxacin (ENR) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) residues in fishery foods, a computer simulation was used to predict and analyze the binding sites existing aptamer specific to ENR and CIP. A new aptamer (SEQ.3) that can recognize ENR and CIP was screened and evaluated, and the dissociation constants (Kd) of SEQ.3 from ENR and CIP were determined to be 210.955 nM and 887.49 nM which are higher than other aptamers SEQ.4 and SEQ.5 by microscale thermophoresis (MST).

Tiamulin is a semi-synthetic derivative of the natural antibiotic pleuromutilin and is widely used as a veterinary drug for swine. Herein, we report the development of a sensitive and reliable method for determining 8α-hydroxymutilin as a marker residue for tiamulin in swine tissue using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Pollution of foods with chloropropanol fatty acid esters is a growing international food safety issue, especially contamination with 3-monochloropropane-1, 2-diol (3-MCPD) esters. Traditional GC/MS method using phenylboronic acid (PBA) as a derivatization reagent has been proven to be high selective.

In recent years, there was increasing concerns on food safety issues associated with fluorescent whitening agents from package materials. Here, we reported the development of a facile and reliable method suitable for high-throughput quantification and identification of two common fluorescent whitening agents (FWA 184 and FWA 367) in cereal products (wheat and rice flour), platformed by high-performance thin-layer chromatography.

The combination of ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ToF-MS) is one of the most powerful analytical tools in terms of selectivity, sensitivity and speed.

Polyaniline-modified magnetic halloysite nanotube composites (MHNTs@PANI) were evaluated for the first time as an efficient adsorbent for the magnetic micro-solid-phase extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from beer samples prior to gas chromatography-mass spectrometric detection. MHNTs@PANI were prepared from naturally available material halloysite by coating magnetic HNTs with polyaniline.

Tortoise shell is not only an armor, but also an important structure for storing nutrients for tortoise. The shell from one tortoise strain, Chinemys reevesii (CR), has long been used as a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Nowadays, massive CR shells are also processed into healthy food in Asian countries. Despite large-scale culture of CR in nowadays, there still exist massive counterfeit CR shells derived from other strains of tortoises in the market of TCM.

Macrolides are antimicrobials widely used in dairy farming, classified as critically important for human and animal health, and a priority for actions against antimicrobial resistance. Infant formula is used as a substitute for breast milk and should be safe to support child growth and development. In this context, the aim of this study was to validate an analytical method for macrolide analysis in infant formulas produced from bovine milk.

Vibrio cholerae is an important food-borne pathogenic bacterium that causes human disease, resulting in economic losses worldwide. Rapid diagnosis of cholera infection is important to avoid potential spread of disease. In this study, recombinase-aided amplification (RAA) primers labeled with biotin and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) at 5′ end were prepared for the ctxA pathogenic gene of V. cholerae.