The role of nanomaterials in detection and mitigation of aflatoxins: a novel approach to global food safety

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate perspective in explaining how global food safety can be created through stringent implementation of Codex and World Trade Organization (WTOs) Sanitary and Phytosanitary food safety regulations and suggests the appropriate food safety system for India. Design/methodology/approach – The study has been deployed a survey questionnaire using a sample of Indian Processed food sector. In order to collect data 1,000 supply chain professional were contacted for seeking their consent to be part of the survey. Whereas total responses collected were 252 from Delhi and NCR, with response rate 25.2 percent. The data collected was empirical tested using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, regression and ANOVA. Findings – The results and discussions indicate that all the global food safety norms laid down by WTO such as goods manufacturing practices, good hygienic practice, hazard analysis critical control point, has been developed to embody principles of safe food processing sector globally. India has also developed their food safety norms as per laid down principles by WTO. Originality/value – The present research work makes an important contribution to the body of literature on global food safety. The paper has important implications for the processed food sector since it tries to bring out practices which would help in successful implementation of global food safety standards. It is useful for academic food research as well as for processed food corporate.

In an increasingly interconnected world, ensuring the safety of the global food supply has emerged as a paramount concern. With foodborne illnesses affecting millions annually and international trade in food products reaching unprecedented levels, the need for robust food safety standards has never been more pressing. This abstract explores the vital role of international collaboration and policy harmonization in enhancing global food safety standards, with a focus on the mechanisms, challenges, and potential solutions involved. At the heart of global food safety efforts lie collaborative endeavors among nations facilitated by international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the Codex Alimentarius Commission. These entities serve as platforms for harmonizing food safety regulations by developing science-based standards, guidelines, and codes of practice. Through regular consultations, expert committees, and consensus-building processes, these organizations foster agreement on key principles and practices governing food safety across diverse national contexts. However, achieving harmonization in food safety policies poses significant challenges. Divergent regulatory frameworks, varying levels of institutional capacity, and disparities in resources among countries can impede efforts to establish uniform standards. Moreover, geopolitical tensions and trade disputes may hinder cooperation, leading to fragmentation in global food safety governance. Addressing these challenges requires concerted efforts to build trust, enhance communication, and promote transparency among stakeholders. Technological innovations offer promising avenues for overcoming barriers to international collaboration and policy harmonization in food safety. Blockchain technology, for instance, enables transparent and tamper-proof recording of food supply chain data, enhancing traceability and accountability. Internet of Things (IoT) devices provide real-time monitoring of food storage and transportation conditions, helping to prevent contamination and spoilage. Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms analyze vast datasets to identify emerging food safety risks and inform regulatory decision-making. By leveraging these technologies, countries can strengthen their capacity to implement harmonized food safety standards and improve compliance with international regulations. Furthermore, public-private partnerships play a crucial role in advancing global food safety initiatives. Collaboration between governments, industry stakeholders, academia, and civil society organizations facilitates knowledge sharing, capacity building, and resource mobilization. By pooling expertise and resources, these partnerships enable more effective surveillance, response, and mitigation of food safety risks on a global scale. Moreover, they promote information exchange and best practice dissemination, fostering a culture of continuous improvement in food safety management. Policy harmonization efforts must also embrace risk-based approaches to prioritize interventions and allocate resources effectively. By identifying and assessing food safety hazards based on their likelihood and severity, countries can tailor their regulatory measures to address the most significant risks. Moreover, regular monitoring, evaluation, and review of food safety policies are essential to ensure their relevance, effectiveness, and adaptability in the face of evolving threats and challenges. Enhancing global food safety standards requires sustained international collaboration and policy harmonization. By fostering consensus, leveraging technology, and fostering partnerships, the international community can strengthen the resilience of the global food system, protect public health, and promote equitable access to safe and nutritious food for all.

Rice is the staple diet for more than 3.5 billion people around the world. Elevation of arsenic (As) in paddy rice ecosystems has become an environmental, economic, and public concern due to its adverse consequences on global rice production, food safety, and human health. Mining exploitation, weathering of As-bearing minerals, dissolution of aquifer sediments, and As-contaminated groundwater irrigation have extensively contributed to the contamination of paddy soil by As in high levels. Speciation, mobility and sequestration of As in paddy soil–water interfaces are controlled by iron (Fe) plaque formation, redox sensitive mineral surfaces (Fe and Mn), organic matter and competing substances (PO $$_{4}^{3-}$$ and Si(OH)4). During flooding season, paddy soil porewater is contaminated with high concentrations of inorganic As species, particularly by more toxic arsenite (As(III)) as result of arsenate (As(V)) reduction under anaerobic conditions. Microorganisms play a crucial role in As speciation dynamics promoting redox transformation, methylation and volatilization processes. Various metabolic pathways, including As(V) reduction, As(III) efflux, and As(III)-thiol complexation govern As uptake, translocation, and loading into rice grains. The translocation of As from rice root to shoot leads to the accumulation of toxic As species in grains affecting rice quality and yield. The worst scenario of grain As is associated with the human exposure to high amounts of As via consumption of As-contaminated rice and related food products. Hence, this chapter provides an overview of (i) As speciation and transformation dynamics, (ii) As uptake mechanisms from root to shoot, (iii) As metabolic pathways over root, shoot and grain loading, and (iv) recommendations for future research. Such a widespread understanding of As dynamics in paddy rice ecosystems is crucial to develop sustainable As mitigation strategies and alleviate adverse impacts on global food safety and human health.

Various studies and efforts have come to a common conclusion that, to, effectively implement management of aflatoxins in Kenya, capacity development in the form of human resource base and infrastructure is critical. Although the human capacity to address various facets of aflatoxins mitigation is still low. Up-to-date research facilities for mycotoxin research, for food commodities and human and animal exposure, is required particularly in public institutions. The relevance of social learning and networks in promoting aflatoxins mitigation efforts amongst smallholder farmers need to be considered, not ignoring the importance of provision of diagnostic tools and testing equipment must be properly targeted. Their application needs to ruminate on cost, availability, rapidity in decision-making process on the testing outcome, the scale of use, whether the grain is for home or market consumption, as well as the capacity of the end user to competently and appropriately use the testing methods. Alongside, sustained public awareness is necessary to develop a population that is conscious of the benefits of consuming safe food and consequently demand for it. Status and Management of Aflatoxins in Kenya is discussed and it gives an overview of the prevalence and mitigation of Aflatoxins.

Escherichia coli (E. coli) remains a major concern in poultry production due to its ability to incite foodborne illness and public health crisis, zoonotic potential, and the increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant strains. The contamination of poultry products with pathogenic E. coli, including avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC) and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), presents risks at multiple stages of the poultry production cycle. The stages affected by E. coli range from, but are not limited to, the hatcheries to grow-out operations, slaughterhouses, and retail markets. While traditional detection methods such as culture-based assays and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are well-established for E. coli detection in the food supply chain, their time, cost, and high infrastructure demands limit their suitability for rapid and field-based surveillance-hindering the ability for effective cessation and handling of outbreaks. Biosensors have emerged as powerful diagnostic tools that offer rapid, sensitive, and cost-effective alternatives for E. coli detection across various stages of poultry development and processing where detection is needed. This review examines current biosensor technologies designed to detect bacterial biomarkers, toxins, antibiotic resistance genes, and host immune response indicators for E. coli. Emphasis is placed on field-deployable and point-of-care (POC) platforms capable of integrating into poultry production environments. In addition to enhancing early pathogen detection, biosensors support antimicrobial resistance monitoring, facilitate integration into Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) systems, and align with the One Health framework by improving both animal and public health outcomes. Their strategic implementation in slaughterhouse quality control and marketplace testing can significantly reduce contamination risk and strengthen traceability in the poultry value chain. As biosensor technology continues to evolve, its application in E. coli surveillance is poised to play a transformative role in sustainable poultry production and global food safety.

Post-harvest losses caused by stored product pests are posing serious threats to global food security and safety. Among the storage pests, psocids were ignored in the past due to unavailability of the significant evidence regarding quantitative and qualitative losses caused by them. Their economic importance has been recognized by many researchers around the globe since the last few years. The published reports suggest that the pest be recognized as a new risk for global food security and safety. Psocids have been found infesting stored grains in the USA, Australia, UK, Brazil, Indonesia, China, India and Pakistan. About sixteen species of psocids have been identified and listed as pests of stored grains. Psocids generally prefer infested kernels having some fungal growth, but are capable of excavating the soft endosperm of damaged or cracked uninfected grains. Economic losses due to their feeding are directly proportional to the intensity of infestation and their population. The pest has also been reported to cause health problems in humans. Keeping the economic importance of psocids in view, their phylogeny, distribution, bio-ecology, management and pest status have been reviewed in this paper.

The past decades have witnessed a surge of foodborne illnesses of diverse sources on every continent of the world, a testament of the complexity of the transformed supply chain of production, distribution, and consumption as well as the importance of global food safety governance. While the global health community continues to look to the WHO to address problems as such, the organization is arguably losing its institutional legitimacy for persistent governance inertia. The mandates and normative tools assigned by the WHO Constitution empower the WHO to actively engage and provide leadership in the governance of food safety, but the organization has comfortably nested in a soft approach, abstaining from assuming any international agreement for over 60 years. This chapter examines the WHO’s normative capacities given by its Constitution and normative activities in practice to evaluate its influences in shaping and reshaping global food safety governance. While the mapping of this chapter resonates to the critiques that the WHO has not employed to the necessary extent the normative authority partly due to ossified bureaucracy, power politics, and budgetary weakness, this chapter further argues that the clear and enduring gap between the normative capacities and activities may ultimately render the organization’s institutional legitimacy vulnerable and compromise its relevance as a whole. As a preliminary conclusion, this chapter offers a couple of recommendations for a stronger pivotal role in global food safety governance. It suggests that the WHO take active steps to build functional links with multiple stakeholders and partners, such as WTO and non-state actors, some of which have emerged as valid alternatives to the organization. The WHO needs to further solidify such functional links to coordinate efforts in global food safety, which may merit a more formal inter-institutional framework.

Background: Food safety remains a global concern due to biological and chemical contaminants, including adulterants, pathogens, antibiotic residues, and pesticides. Traditional detection methods are accurate but limited by time requirements, complex sample preparation, high costs, and poor field applicability. Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) offers non-destructive analysis with low detection limits and high specificity, yet conventional SERS substrates face challenges with reproducibility, nanoparticle aggregation, and sensitivity in food matrices. Hydrogels have emerged as supporting materials for SERS due to their water content, tunable porosity, flexibility, and ability to entrap plasmonic nanostructures. Scope and Approach: This review examines recent advances in hydrogel-integrated SERS platforms for food safety applications. The three-dimensional structure of hydrogels enables homogeneous distribution of metal nanoparticles, prevents aggregation, and offers analyte enrichment. We analyze material design, functionalization strategies, and how hydrogel properties-crosslinking density, porosity, surface charge, and nanoparticle distribution-influence SERS performance in food matrices. Key Findings and Conclusions: Hydrogel-integrated SERS platforms demonstrate superior performance in detecting various food contaminants-including pesticides, adulterants, and additives-in real food matrices, often achieving detection limits in the nanomolar to picomolar range, depending on the analyte and substrate design. Current limitations include storage stability concerns, batch-to-batch variability, and regulatory acceptance hurdles. Future research directions should focus on multiplex detection capabilities, integration with smart sensing technologies, and industrial scalability to facilitate practical deployment in global food safety monitoring across diverse supply chains.

Foodborne pathogenic microorganisms and the escalating crisis of antibiotic resistance present significant threats to global public health and food safety. This necessitates the urgent development of sustainable, green, and safe antibiotic alternatives. Lipopeptides, a class of emerging natural antimicrobial agents, offer considerable promise due to their low toxicity, broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, and environmental compatibility. Bacillus smithii, a facultative anaerobic thermophilic bacterium, exhibits probiotic properties, including antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. However, research on its antimicrobial components, particularly their isolation, purification, and mechanistic understanding, remains limited. This study focused on strains of B. smithii XY1 and B. smithii DSM4216T. Comparative analysis of their secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters revealed high similarity to the fengycin cluster, suggesting both strains possess the potential for efficient expression of analogous lipopeptide antimicrobials. Lipopeptides were successfully isolated and purified using an ammonium sulfate-ethanol extraction method. In vitro assays demonstrated that these lipopeptides possess broad-spectrum inhibitory activity, effectively suppressing the growth, biofilm formation, and swarming motility of pathogenic bacteria. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for all pathogenic bacteria tested was less than 62.5μg/mL. Furthermore, the lipopeptides alleviated bacterial infection in a zebrafish model. Mechanistically, the lipopeptides inhibited the quorum sensing (QS) system of Burkholderia cenocepacia H111, specifically targeting the Burkholderia diffusible signal factor (BDSF) associated signaling pathway. This interference resulted in the suppression of the pathogen's group behaviors and virulence factor expression. This work establishes a theoretical foundation for developing B. smithii-derived lipopeptides as novel natural antimicrobial agents. The strategy of targeting QS inhibition demonstrates significant potential for future antimicrobial interventions.

In response to an apparent decline in global food safety, numerous public and private regulatory initiatives have emerged to restore public confidence. This trend has been particularly marked by the growing influence of private regulators such as multinational food companies, supermarket chains and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), who employ private standards, certification protocols, third-party auditing, and transnational contracting practices. This paper explores how the structure and processes of private food safety governance interact with traditional public governance regimes, focusing on Global Good Agricultural Practices (GlobalGAP) as a primary example of the former. Due to the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of public regulation in the face of global problems, private governance in food safety has gradually replaced states’ command-and-control regulation with more flexible, market-oriented mechanisms. The paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of constructive regime interaction instead of institutional boundary building to global food safety governance. Public and private ordering must each play a role as integral parts of a larger, dynamic and evolving governance complex.

Soil contamination with toxic heavy metals (HMs) poses a serious threat to global food safety, soil ecosystem and human health. The rapid industrialization, urbanization and extensive application of agrochemicals on arable land have led to paddy soil pollution worldwide. Rice plants easily accumulate toxic HMs from contaminated agricultural soils, which ultimately accumulated in grains and enters the food chain. Although, physical and chemical remediation techniques have been used for the treatment of HMs-contaminated soils, however, they also have many drawbacks, such as toxicity, capital investment and environmental-associated hazards. Recently, engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) have gained substantial attention owing to their promising environmental remediation applications. Numerous studies have revealed the use of ENMs for reclamation of toxic HMs from contaminated environment. This review mainly focuses on HMs toxicity in paddy soils along with potential health risks to humans. It also provides a critical outlook on the recent advances and future perspectives of nanoremediation strategies. Additionally, we will also propose the interacting mechanism of HMs-ENMs to counteract metal-associated phytotoxicities in rice plants to achieve global food security and environmental safety.

Food safety has been a critical issue from the beginning of human existence, but more recently the nature of concerns over food safety has changed. Further, in terms of both scale and impact, the modern problems of food safety are very different from the issues that confronted the past. For example, especially since the late 1990s, society has faced food safety crises and scares arising from threats as diverse as bovine spongiform encephalitis (BSE), dioxin contamination, melamine-tainted infant milk formula, and so forth. These phenomena show that an ever-increasing variety of contaminants such as chemical and microbial agents can potentially find their way into the food supply, while novel foods such as GM foods and cultured meat add new challenges when it comes to certifying food safety. Food safety has become a particularly complex issue in the context of the global economy because the governance of food safety is entangled with several larger trends at the global scale, including (a) trade liberalization in the 1980s; (b) the adoption of a risk analysis framework by global and national food safety administrations; and (c) the spread of food quality management regimes throughout the entire food industry, from food production to processing and retail. Furthermore, there are vast differences between developed and developing countries with respect to both food safety regulations and prominent food safety issues. These facts, combined with the borderless nature of sociotechnical food systems, contribute to a situation in which it is extremely challenging for any individual country to manage food safety issues within its jurisdiction. This observation underscores the importance of global food safety governance, a goal which is in itself difficult to achieve. Two especially significant dilemmas have emerged within the existing situation vis-à-vis global food safety governance. The first is the challenges arising from the tensions inherent in a “modern” food safety governance approach, a model that combines a science-based strategy of dealing with food safety problems, on one hand, and the ideal of participatory democracy, on the other hand, in trying to deal with food safety issues. Problems arise from the contradictions between the science-based risked management approach, focused narrowly on monitoring and mitigation of hazards, and the wide-ranging complexity of the social, political, and interpersonal factors that shape people’s real-world concerns about food safety. The second is cross-border application of risk management to food imports in the Global North and its implications for exporting countries in the Global South. Problems arise from disparities in approaches and expectations regarding food safety between the Global North and the South. These two dilemmas have one thing in common: Each inherently contains challenges arising from internal contractions, as when the goal of achieving sound and consistent solutions to food safety issues is pursued alongside the goal of building a broad consensus across varying actors whose values, norms, needs, and interests differ and who are situated in differing socioeconomic and political contexts. Drawing insights from the sociology of agriculture and food and from social studies of science, an attempt is made to unpack the societal and policy challenges of food safety governance in a globalized economy.

The extensive use of chemical pesticides has significantly boosted agricultural food crop yields. Nevertheless, their excessive and unregulated application has resulted in food contamination and pollution in environmental, aquatic, and agricultural ecosystems. Consequently, the on-site monitoring of pesticide residues in agricultural practices is paramount to safeguard global food and conservational safety. Traditional pesticide detection methods are cumbersome and ill-suited for on-site pesticide finding. The systematic review provides an in-depth analysis of the current status and perspectives of nanobiosensors (NBS) for pesticide detection in the agricultural arena. Furthermore, the study encompasses the fundamental principles of NBS, the various transduction mechanisms employed, and their incorporation into on-site detection platforms. Conversely, the assortment of transduction mechanisms, including optical, electrochemical, and piezoelectric tactics, is deliberated in detail, emphasizing its advantages and limitations in pesticide perception. Incorporating NBS into on-site detection platforms confirms a vital feature of their pertinence. The evaluation reflects the integration of NBS into lab-on-a-chip systems, handheld devices, and wireless sensor networks, permitting real-time monitoring and data-driven decision-making in agronomic settings. The potential for robotics and automation in pesticide detection is also scrutinized, highlighting their role in improving competence and accuracy. Finally, this systematic review provides a complete understanding of the current landscape of NBS for on-site pesticide sensing. Consequently, we anticipate that this review offers valuable insights that could form the foundation for creating innovative NBS applicable in various fields such as materials science, nanoscience, food technology and environmental science.

The need for agriculture phenotyping: “Moving from genotype to phenotype”

Food security and the protection of the environment are urgent issues for global society, particularly with the uncertainties of climate change. Changing climate is predicted to have a wide range of negative impacts on plant physiology metabolism, soil fertility and carbon sequestration, microbial activity and diversity that will limit plant growth and productivity, and ultimately food production. Ensuring global food security and food safety will require an intensive research effort across the food chain, starting with crop production and the nutritional quality of the food products. Much uncertainty remains concerning the resilience of plants, soils, and associated microbes to climate change. Intensive efforts are currently underway to improve crop yields with lower input requirements and enhance the sustainability of yield through improved biotic and abiotic stress tolerance traits. In addition, significant efforts are focused on gaining a better understanding of the root/soil interface and associated microbiomes, as well as enhancing soil properties.