Research Publications (Food Safety)

Background Aflatoxins, a kind of carcinogen, have attracted increasing attentions due to their toxicity and harmfulness to human health. Traditional methods for aflatoxins analysis usually involve tedious extraction steps with subsequent derivatization process. Herein, a simple and efficient liquid phase micro‐extraction (LPME) method based on deep eutectic solvents (DESs) for direct analysis of aflatoxins was developed.

European hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) is the major species of interest for nutritional uses within the Betulaceae family and its nuts are widely used throughout the world in the chocolate, confectionery and bakery industries. Recently his cultivation has been expanded in traditional producer countries as well as established in new places in the Southern Hemisphere, including Chile, South Africa and Australia.

BACKGROUND The use of pesticides during tea plant cultivation support agricultural production and prevents and controls pests, diseases, and weeds. It is of the utmost importance to balance pesticide application with tea quality, safety, and consumer health. The uptake of pesticides into plants may lead to the presence of residues that are hazardous to human health, especially for some foliar‐applied insecticides.

A dozen or so chemicals modify both cholesterol and copper metabolism. Ascorbic acid and cadmium, etc., inhibit copper metabolism and raise cholesterol. Calcium and clofibrate, etc., enhance copper and lower cholesterol. Perhaps the doses of dietary cholesterol and fructose in this experiment were too severe to permit fenofibrate to lower cholesterol in a manner similar to clofibrate. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry

Background Iprodione has better control effect, but it is considered an endocrine disturbing chemical and it could inflict some serious damage to consumers. The garlic crop has three edible portions based on its growth stage, including the garlic, green garlic and garlic shoot. In this study, iprodione residue dissipation and distribution on these three edible portions were investigated, and dietary risk assessment was evaluated.

BACKGROUND In Taiwan, nearly 90% of apples and raw ingredients for apple‐based products are imported. Apple juices (137 samples) and apple‐containing beverages (35 samples) were collected in Taiwan from imported food and analyzed for patulin content. RESULTS The results revealed that the incidence levels of patulin for apple juice and apple‐containing beverages are 5.84% and 5.71%. The mean contamination levels were 1.7 μg kg−1 and 1.4 μg kg−1 for apple juice and apple‐containing beverages.

Background Polygonatum sibiricum Liliaceae perennial herb, as a commonly used medicine and food homologous plant, has been widely used in clinical practice of Chinese medicine since ancient times, with a history of 2000 years. As the main active ingredient, Polygonatum sibiricum polysaccharides have important pharmacological effects in blood sugar reduction, antitumor, antioxidant and liver protection.

BACKGROUND Irradiation can cause lipid oxidation of fish. This study aimed to examine the effect of radiation (method, dose, and dose rate) on the acid value (AV), peroxide value (PV), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) content, and fatty acid profile of fresh and freeze‐dried largemouth bass fleshes. RESULTS The AV, PV and TBARS presented dose dependent increase in fish meat for both cobalt‐60 (60Co) and electron beam (EB) irradiation.

Edible plant Jiaosu (EPJ), a kind of plant‐based functional food fermented by beneficial bacteria, has gained publicity in recent years for its potential benefits to health. An important progress in relevant manufacturing technology has been made in the past decade, including the raw materials, fermentation microorganisms and fermentation conditions.

BACKGROUND The polishing process plays a key role in determining the beneficial quality of rice. However, the effects of polishing on human exposure to essential and toxic elements are not well reported. This study evaluated the effects of polishing on the levels of essential and toxic elements in rice grains and evaluated the status of their daily intake using probabilistic assessment. RESULTS The levels of essential elements decreased as the degree of polishing increased.

Background An innovative pilot‐plant packaging was developed and evaluated for applying oregano essential oil (OEO) vapours in conditions of high vacuum for exploring the antimicrobial effect of essential oil vapours applied immediately before packaging of fish fillets. Farmed sea bream (Sparus aurata) fresh fillets have been used as a model for validating this new technology.

Background The aims of this study are to (i) evaluate the effects of color enhancers, caramel (C) and molasses (M), on acrylamide and 5‐hydroxylmethylfurfural (HMF) formation in non‐centrifugal cane sugar (NCS), and to (ii) perform nine‐point hedonic scale and evaluation of sensory attributes, encompassing the appearance, flavor, texture, and aftertaste, by 71 consumers on NCS, NCS_C, and NCS products made with a blend of molasses and sugar (NCS_MS) and steam processing (NCS_S).

Background Nutritional and environmental benefits of mycoprotein verify its health beneficial role on humankind in next decades. Agro‐industrial wastes can be used as cheap substrates to decrease total cost of product. However, fungi may produce toxins or lead to allergic reactions in consumer. So, the study of the safety and nutritional aspects of this product are very imperative. Results Fusarium (F) venenatum IR372C was cultured on date wastes and ammonium salts in submerge fermentation.

BACKGROUD Pesticides are widely used to control insect infestation and weeds in agriculture. However, concerns about the pesticide residues in agricultural products have been raised in recent years because of public interest in health and food quality and safety. Thus, rapid, convenient, and accurate analytical methods for the detection and quantification of pesticides are urgently required.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Cyromazine and acetamiprid are widely applied as pesticides in agriculture, causing increasing concerns about their residues in crops. In this study, cyromazine, acetamiprid and their mixture were applied to cowpea to investigate their degradation dynamics and perform a dietary risk assessment.

BACKGROUND Increased awareness of consumers on food safety promotes the development of rapid and sensitive detection techniques for pesticide residues. In this study, a new type of rapid detection card for organophosphorus (OPs) and carbamates (CMs) pesticide residues was developed by electrospinning.

BACKGROUND The fluorescence sensing method has been increasingly applied in food quality control because it is fast and sensitive. However, its application in quality evaluation is challenging. Using Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (CRP, dried mandarin orange peel) as an example, we developed a simple and low‐cost fluorescence sensing strategy based on nanoparticles combined with spectral splicing and chemometrics for quality evaluation.

BACKGROUND While it is generally accepted that fast‐cooking germplasm benefits consumers, benefits to the canning industry have not been established. Genotypes with good canning quality withstand the canning process while remaining intact with good appearance, but canning protocols used by breeders typically involve long processing times that may overcook some genotypes.

The market of ready‐to‐eat minimally processed vegetables (RTE‐MPV) is increasing in Brazil and many other countries. During processing, these vegetables go through several steps that modify their natural structure while maintaining the same nutritional and sensory attributes as the fresh produce. One of the most important steps is washing‐disinfection, which aims to reduce the microbial load, prevent cross‐contamination and inactivate pathogenic microorganisms that may be present.

BACKGROUND Jiuqu are vital saccharifying and fermenting agents for Chinese fermented foods. Natural ventilation during Jiuqu fermentation causes changes in temperature, oxygen and moisture content, resulting in mass and heat gradients from the outer to inner areas of Jiuqu blocks. In the present study, microbiota stratification in Jiuqu was investigated by single molecule real‐time sequencing and culture isolation.

BACKGROUND Sulfonylureas are potentially toxic broad‐spectrum herbicides. They pose a persistent threat to food safety and the environment. Therefore, it is important to develop a rapid and efficient pretreatment and detection method to prevent their harmful effects on human health.

BACKGROUND Maltotetraohydrolase, widely used in food and medical fields, possesses the ability to hydrolyze starch to produce maltooligosaccharides with maltotetraose as the main product. It also has the potential usage in delaying bread aging. RESULTS The Pseudomonas saccharophila maltotetraohydrolase was expressed in Bacillus subtilis WS11. SDS‐PAGE analysis revealed obvious bands at 57 kDa (maltotetraohydrolase I) and 47 kDa (maltotetraohydrolase II).

BACKGROUND Flavor rapeseed oil is a type of hot‐pressed oil in China. In this work, physicochemical properties, oxidative stability index (OSI), tocopherols, sterols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in flavor rapeseed oils were evaluated. Additionally, the cancer risk assessment pertaining to PAHs in flavor rapeseed oil was investigated.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Residual antibiotics are taken along with food consumed through the food chain is the main cause of the super‐bacteria and may damage organs such as liver and kidney. Therefore, monitoring residual antibiotic levels of products in the food chain is both important and a requirement. Maximum residual limits for kanamycin and neomycin are 150 ng mL‐1 and 500 ng mL‐1 respectively, which are challenging for most sensor platforms.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Barley is one of the most important winter crops in the world, with multiple uses such as human consumption, animal feed and for the malting industry. This crop is affected by different diseases, such as Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), that causes losses in yield and quality. In the last years F. graminearum and F.