Research Publications (Food Safety)

The non-destructive method for detection of fungal contamination in peach fruit using hyperspectral imaging was evaluated. Growth characteristics of three major spoilage fungi in peach fruit during decay were estimated. Three quantitative prediction models were then constructed to forecast the microbial content from the HSI datasets. The prediction of fungal contamination on the fruit was visualized with different colors.

In the present study, an elevated temperature homogeneous liquid extraction coupled with ionic liquid‑based dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction was developed to extract five carbamate pesticides (pirimicarb, carbaryl, methiocarb, aldicarb, and carbofuran) from packed fruit juice samples. The method consisted of a two-step procedure in which cyclohexylamine was used in order to extract the target analytes.

Reliable and sensitive detection of Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) is important to prevent potential human health risk from foods contaminated by SEB. Here, a triple-channel assay was developed for ultrasensitive detection of SEB.

Due to the legislative shortcomings, Atlantic salmon often shares the common name of San Wen Yu (Chinese ideogram 三文鱼) with other salmonids in China, therefore concealing the differences with the rest salmonids in price, nutrition, and even food safety aspect, and also paving the way for species adulteration.

In this study, the molecularly imprinted nano-polymer of minocycline was polymerized on the surface of a metal organic framework material to synthesize a novel composite. This composite was used as absorbent to develop a dispersive solid phase microextraction method for extraction of 7 tetracyclines in chicken muscle followed by determination with ultra performance liquid chromatography.

Food-borne diseases are widespread; one of the reasons is contamination with staphylococcal pathogens that can produce enterotoxins of the protein, causing numerous diseases in humans. The long-term stability of the toxins requires that the methods for foodstuff quality control be refined to prevent contamination with staphylococcal enterotoxins.

In this study, a real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification (Rti-LAMP) combined with immunomagnetic beads separation (IMS) assay and SDS rinse was developed for the rapid and sensitive detection of Salmonella in ready-to-eat (RTE) meat without prior enrichment. Polyclonal antibody and specific immunomagnetic beads (IMBs) for Salmonella flagellum were prepared.

In 2018, the European Food Safety Authority reiterated the need for continued monitoring and reduction of opium alkaloid contamination on culinary poppy seeds. In this study, we propose acidic potassium permanganate chemiluminescence as an alternative detection strategy for the selective determination of morphine on poppy seeds. Six different brands of poppy seed purchased in Australia were found to contain, on average, between 21 and 210 μg/g of morphine.

The current study made an attempt to develop a novel surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor using wheat germ agglutinin as a biomolecule for the rapid detection of Listeria monocytogenes. A selective biomolecular interaction of wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) lectin with surface carbohydrate components of L. monocytogenes was used as a biorecognition principle.

The liquid-phase extraction combined with newly green extraction solvent named deep eutectic solvent has been widely used. In this work, a simple and fast analytical method based on deep eutectic solvent (DES) was developed for simultaneous determination of aflatoxin G1, B1, G2, and B2 in rice samples.

Three sample preparation procedures were compared for a multi-residue analysis of pesticides in hops: (a) modified Hengel’s method based on extraction with acetonitrile in combination with clean-up on a C18 SPE column, (b) miniaturized Biendl’s method based on acetone extraction and PSA SPE sample clean-up, and (c) modified Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe (QuEChERS) method which utilizes a specific mixture of three sorbents (PSA, C18, and Z-Sep) for dispersive SPE sample clean

This work was carried out to develop a high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for simultaneous determination of 11 marker compounds in phytoestrogen-rich food and dietary supplements (raw materials and formulated products) prepared from various sources: soy, red clover, chastetree, hop, and flax.

An original method for the simultaneous determination of robenidine hydrochloride (ROBH) and its main metabolites 4-chlorohippuric acid (PCHA) and 4-chlorobenzoic acid (PCBA) in fish plasma and muscle was established by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with heat electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-HESI-MS/MS) using predefined time segments in the alternating positive/negative mode.

The illegal use of clenbuterol (CL), as a growth promoter in animal feeding, is banned in the majority of countries across the world, such as the European Union and China. In this study, a rapid and sensitive method for detecting CL in animal-origin food samples based on liquid-liquid extraction and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been developed for the first time.

In this work, a new method was developed for multi-element determination of Cd and Mn in samples of sugarcane spirit (cachaça) by FAAS using the air-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (AA-DLLME).

A modified QuEChERS protocol with a nitrogen-doped graphitized carbon derived from dicyandiamide sludge as a cleanup sorbent has been developed to determine 20 organochlorine pesticides in tomatoes using gas chromatography coupled to a triple-quadrupole mass analyzer. Compared with traditional QuEChERS adsorbents, N-doped graphitized carbon exhibited higher recoveries toward the target pesticides in tomatoes.

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is an important foodborne pathogen that causes food poisoning and severe infections. Herein, we design a novel and sensitive colorimetric immunoassay for the detection of S. aureus based on the formation of a magnetic bead-based sandwich complex and signal amplification via an enzyme mimic. Magnetic nanoparticles decorated with carbon dots offer rapid enrichment and separation of target bacteria in complex matrices.

Pecan nut is a crop of growing economic importance with a worldwide production around 124,000 tons during the 2017/2018 harvest. Thus, a simple and fast method for the determination of pesticide residues in this crop based on a QuEChERS sample preparation procedure and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis was developed and validated.

An enzyme immunoassay (EIA) was developed based on a generic and highly sensitive monoclonal antibody (mAb) enabling simultaneous detection of all fluoroquinolone/quinolone antibiotics (FQs) approved for the treatment of food-producing animals. To generate the group-specific antibody, norfloxacin was conjugated to glucose oxidase (GlcOX) by one-step carbodiimide method and used as immunogen.

Mepanipyrim is a new-generation anilinopyrimidine pesticide that is employed nowadays to fight fungal diseases in a variety of crops. Rapid and user-friendly analytical methods that can complement the instrumental techniques are demanded. To analyse residues of this toxic compound in foodstuffs, monoclonal antibodies were generated for the first time, and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was developed.

This study aimed to evaluate the performance of polyphenolic extraction from leaves of Eugenia uniflora by using solvent systems and different extractive conditions. The solvent systems containing water, methanol, ethanol, and acetone (binary, ternary, or quaternary mixtures) were used to produce extracts by turbo-extraction in accordance with a simplex centroid.

Geographical authentication of bone raw materials to determine whether they come from non-epidemic areas and natural pastoral areas is critical to quality control, food safety, and brand protection of gelatin. The establishment of an effective traceability method independent of paper records has become increasingly urgent.

In food analysis, a trend towards on-site testing of quality and safety parameters is emerging. So far, on-site testing has been mainly explored by miniaturized optical spectroscopy and ligand-binding assay approaches such as lateral flow immunoassays and biosensors. However, for the analysis of multiple parameters at regulatory levels, mass spectrometry (MS) is the method of choice in food testing laboratories.

Listeria monocytogenes, the causative agent of listeriosis, is a foodborne pathogen with significant public health and economic impacts. The control of pathogen presence in food requires rapid and sensitive methods. Real-time PCR is considered to be a fast and accurate tool for the detection of foodborne pathogens. A crucial step for the success of a culture-independent PCR-based detection is the template DNA extraction.

In this work, a graphene oxide-based composite (DABP-GO) was prepared by aminating graphene oxide (GO) with the diazonium salt of 4,4′-diaminobiphenyl (DABP). The DABP-GO composite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and nitrogen adsorption-desorption. The DABP-GO showed to be an effective solid-phase extraction (SPE) adsorbent for carbamate pesticides.