Abstract
Soft-shell turtle (SST; freshwater terrapin or tortoise) is a popular and important health functional food (HFF) product in many Asian countries. HFFs containing SST must be safe, but several HFFs have been found to be contaminated with dangerous substances, such as nitrofuran metabolites (NFMs). This finding suggests that the consumption of HFFs results in the regular exposure of vulnerable individuals to hazardous substances. Importantly, nitrofuran antibiotics have been banned for use in food-producing animals since the 1990s by the European Union. Thus, in this study, we propose a reliable and quick method to reduce the time required for the detection of four NFMs in SST powder that conventional methods are unable to quantify. Our method involves the derivatization and hydrolysis of SST powder and was validated in accordance with the requirements of European Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. The method achieves an apparent mean recovery of 82.2–108.1%, repeatability of 1.5–3.8%, and reproducibility of 2.2–4.8% for 0.5–10.0 μg kg−1 of 1-aminohydantoin, semicarbazide, 3-amino-2-oxazolidinone, and 3-amino-5-morpholinomethyl-2-oxazolidinone. In addition, linearity was achieved with correlation coefficients of 0.999, and the detection capability (CCβ) and decision limit (CCα) were found to be reliable, indicating that this is a fast and accurate method for the analysis of SST powder. The validated method was successfully applied to detect NFMs in SST powder in commercial HHFs.
Highlights
Health functional foods (HFFs, known as health-promoting foods or health beneficial foods) represent the fastest growing area in the food industry and health food market [1]
nitrofuran metabolites (NFMs) have been found in products containing soft-shell turtle (SST), but conventional methods are not capable of sufficient analytical accuracy. us, we aimed to develop a reliable method to enable the detection and quantification of NFMs in SST food products to enable the better protection of the thousands of people, including children, pregnant women, and the elderly who use these HHFs regularly
When SSTP samples were analyzed using the conventional method, no chromatographic peaks were detected, indicating that derivatization did not occur in the SSTP samples with the conventional method
Summary
Health functional foods (HFFs, known as health-promoting foods or health beneficial foods) represent the fastest growing area in the food industry and health food market [1]. The production of HFFs containing plant or animal extracts is rapidly gaining importance [2]. In this context, soft-shell turtle (SST; freshwater terrapin or tortoise) products are sold as dietary supplements, as well as for traditional Chinese medicinal purposes. SST has a high nutritional content and is known for the beneficial effects in preventing osteoporosis and bone loss in old age, promoting childhood development, and improving conditions such as back pain, diabetes, allergy, hypertension, asthma, and thyroid disorders, as reported by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine, which has resulted in its increased popularity and scale of farming [6,7,8]
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