Food Hazards Research Articles

A Study on Extraction Methods and Primary Toxicity Level of Bio Colourants

Bio-colourants for food are extracted from plant sources that it is becoming a huge demand in the global market of processed foods and confectionaries. Natural colours play a vital role in food safety and also in meeting the needs of food consumption practices for the growing crisis in the availability of healthy foods. Aim of the bio colours is to replace synthetic colours like sunset yellow FCF, Allura Red, Ponceau 4R, Amaranth and Brown HT as they are becoming a wide range of threat to the human race, especially in bringing psychological changes in children and adolescents. Usually bio-colourants are extracted from almost all the parts of a plant. But majority of the colours are extracted from leaves and barks, whereas few colours in specific are extracted from fruits, seeds and some from petals of flowers. In this study, bio-colouring agents such as madder roots (Rubia cordifolia), eucalyptus bark (Eucalyptus grandis), annatto seeds (Bixaorellana), roselle petals (Hibiscus sabdariffa) and tamarind seeds (Tamarindus indica) were identified and used in extraction of colours. The colours obtained were of different shades of red like: sangria red, rusty red and yellow red. These natural food colours were extracted from their natural sources through two processes:10 per cent aqueous extraction (reflux, boiling) and powdering the substances. The pH of the extracts was taken to know their level of hydrogen ion concentration. To verify,if these extracts are edible and stable, preliminary toxicology study was carried out in brine shrimp assay. On the other hand, every fourth day the discolouring of the extracts was constantly measured using Food Colour Reader. The aqueous extracts showed discolouring and formation of microbial layer even when preserved in refrigerator in sterilized glass bottles, whereas the powdered substances remained the same with no discolouring or microbial activity in it. The toxicity study has practically proved that the powdered substances in various concentrations of 100, 250, 500, 1000 and 1500 µg/ml has the overall lowest mortality rate in consideration to mean and standard deviation (M ± SD) of 11.7 ± 10.7, than to the aqueous extraction samples of 73.7 ± 22.8 respectively. This study is carried out to promote and incorporate bio-colours in foods that can be consumed on daily basis, replacing the commercially available hazardous food colourants.

A Review of Qualitative Investigation of Food Safety Based on Good Governance

Food safety agencies (FSAs) were formed across the globe as part of a series of food risk (FR) governance changes made in reaction to ongoing food crises in an endeavor to control increasingly industrialized, globalized, and hazardous food chains. Given such substantial changes in governance, little research has been done on how consumers react to, reject, and/or participate with the mentioned new governance systems in non-crisis situations. As a result, the current study looks at how FR is managed on a daily basis from the consumers’ perspective, whose voices are often ignored in food policies. Consumer lived experiences, priorities, and views pertaining to FR governance and the food safety (FS) authority, in particular, are investigated using empirical data from focus groups performed with the general public. This study is framed by a normative framework of multi-scalar governance and what makes it successful or good. As a result, the study promotes FR policy discussions via the lens of normative good FR governance, involving a consumer-perceived assessment of the perceived accountability, openness, and efficacy of FR governing mechanisms. The article closes by constructively considering the potential and constraints of adopting more adaptable forms of governance in the multi-scalar and changing the policy framework that defines FR.

Application of biosensors in aflatoxins detection in food: a review

PurposeFood safety is among the most important topics in the world. According to WHO guidelines, aflatoxins are one of the most hazardous food toxins. Therefore, their detection in food products seems crucial due to health problems. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the different types of biosensors in aflatoxin determination.Design/methodology/approachTraditional detection methods are time consuming and expensive. As fast and accurate detection is important in monitoring food contaminants, alternative analytical methods would be essential. Biosensors are the intelligent design of sensitive sensors for precise detection of toxins in a short time. Various biosensors are being applied for aflatoxins detection in food products with many advantages over the traditional methods.FindingsBiosensors are cost-effective, stable and have possessed high selectivity, specificity and accuracy in aflatoxins detection. Applying biosensors has been increased recently, so biosensing methods (optical, electrochemical, piezoelectrical, immunosensors, surface plasmon resonance and calorimetric) are discussed along with their advantages in this article.Research limitations/implicationsMore efforts should be occurred to detect and decrease the aflatoxins by biosensors, and some traits like accuracy and selectivity would be the purpose of future projects. The combination of various techniques would also help in toxin detection issue in food products, so high efforts in this regard are also required for the upcoming years.Originality/valueThis article also reviews different types of biosensors simultaneously and explains their specificity for aflatoxin determination in different food products and also the future trends and requirements.

EU consumer awareness of food safety and healthy diets: Are there synergies to benefit a sustainable protein transition?

This paper aims to gain more insight into potential synergies between food safety and healthy diets with a sustainable protein transition (i.e., reducing protein over-consumption and replacing animal protein with plant protein) in the EU. The paper is based on a systematic analysis of the survey on food safety, organized by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) as part of Eurobarometer wave 97.2 (Spring 2022). Consumers responded somewhat differently to the survey items on chemical contaminants in food than to those on biological hazards in food, plant health and animal health and welfare. They were somewhat more aware of and concerned about the former than the latter. They also had different ideas on the most important healthy diet items. Cluster analysis identified five clusters who, inter alia, focused on conventional options (e.g., eating fewer calories) or the protein replacement options. Multilevel logistic regression analysis showed that food safety awareness and concern variables, explicitly including farm animal welfare, were somewhat stronger associated with the protein replacement cluster than with the conventional cluster. Hence, synergies between food safety and healthy diet issues may stimulate the replacement (not reduction) aspects of a sustainable protein transition. The Discussion suggests that further research should investigate how improving the quality of a week menu with a high diversity of protein sources can help to promote the reduction of over-consumption.

Developmental changes in food and non-food odor importance – Data from Scotland and Pakistan

Developmental changes in objective olfactory abilities are well-documented, but the subjective importance of odors and olfaction from a developmental perspective has received less scientific interest. Here, in Scotland and Pakistan, we tested the importance of olfaction in 704 respondents (48.9% females) aged between 5 and 75 years old using a novel questionnaire. The scale comprised 18 items targeting six main functions of odor perception: appetite and regulation of food intake, pathogen and hazard avoidance, mating, social relations, bonding, and sensual pleasure. We found that the importance of olfaction was well-developed in children and often exceeded that of the adult samples. Notably, the ingestion-related element of olfactory importance seems to be observable from an early age. Our findings complement and advance the theory of human olfactory learning and help us understand the significance of smells from a developmental perspective.

Economic costs related to foodborne disease in Burkina Faso and Ethiopia in 2017

IntroductionFoodborne diseases (FBD) are a significant problem in low- and middle-income countries, especially in Africa. Country-specific estimates of the economic costs related to FBD caused by different hazards in different food products can inform decision makers about this problem’s magnitude. This aids policy makers in prioritising actions to mitigate risks and prevent illness. Although estimates exist for many high-income countries, they are lacking for African countries.MethodsThis study estimates economic cost in Burkina Faso and Ethiopia related to FBD caused by non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica (NTS), Campylobacter spp. (CAMP) and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) in all foods, chicken meat and tomatoes. The World Health Organization’s estimates of FBD burden, updated from 2010 to 2017, were used as a basis. Economic cost estimates were the sum of estimates of willingness-to-pay (WTP) to reduce risk of death and of pain and suffering, and lost productivity. WTP was based on value of statistical life (VSL) and value of statistical life year (VSLY), extrapolated from USA data. We used sensitivity options to account for uncertainty in these values.ResultsMean economic costs related to FBD caused by NTS, CAMP and ETEC in 2017 were estimated at 391 million constant 2017 international dollars in Burkina Faso and 723 million in Ethiopia. These represent 3.0% of gross national income in Burkina Faso and 0.9% in Ethiopia. Lost productivity contributed 70%, WTP to reduce risk of death 30%, and WTP to reduce risk of pain and suffering 1-2%. NTS caused the highest costs, followed by ETEC and CAMP. Chicken meat caused 9-12 times higher costs than tomatoes. Children under five years (14.6-17.1% of populations) bore 20-75% of the costs. Due to uncertainty in disease burden and economic data, costs could be four times higher than mean estimates.DiscussionPolicies to control FBD likely result in substantial benefits, especially efforts aiming at this study’s hazards in chicken meat and children under 5 years. Efforts to reduce uncertainty in VSL, VSLY and disease burden estimates, estimate costs for other countries, attribute costs to other food products and hazards, further standardise estimation methodologies, and estimate treatment costs and illness prevention expenditures are recommended.

Laser Sensing and Chemometric Analysis for Rapid Detection of Oregano Fraud.

World health is increasingly threatened by the growing number of spice-related food hazards. Further development of reliable methods for rapid, non-targeted identification of counterfeit ingredients within the supply chain is needed. ENEA has developed a portable, user-friendly photoacoustic laser system for food fraud detection, based on a quantum cascade laser and multivariate calibration. Following a study on the authenticity of saffron, the instrument was challenged with a more elusive adulterant, olive leaves in oregano. The results show that the reported method of laser sensing and chemometric analysis was able to detect adulterants at mass ratios of at least 20% in less than five minutes.

Preparation of size-tunable Fe3O4 magnetic nanoporous carbon composites by MOF pyrolysis regulation for magnetic resonance sensing of aflatoxin B1 with excellent anti-matrix effect

Magnetic nanoporous materials represent a new emerging category of magnetic materials for construction of magnetic resonance sensors. In this study, we adopted the metal–organic framework materials, MIL-101(Fe), as the precursor to prepare series nanoporous-carbon-Fe3O4 (NPC-Fe3O4) composites. Results showed that Fe3O4 were uniformly distributed in MIL-101(Fe) and the size of MNP was precisely tuned at different pyrolysis temperatures, conferring the optimal NPC-Fe3O4-450 °C composite with dramatically improved T2 relaxivity. The NPC-Fe3O4-450 °C composite was modified with antibodies and antigens, respectively, for detection of aflatoxin B1 in various food samples with complicated matrix. Range from 0.010 ng mL−1 to 2.0 ng mL−1, extreme low detection limit of 5.0 pg mL−1, and satisfied recoveries were successfully achieved, indicating excellent anti-matrix effect. These findings offer a new dimension to engineer novel magnetic materials with improved relaxivity for simple and easy sensing of food hazards in complicated food matrix without any purification or separation procedures.

European Union Reference Laboratories support the National food, feed and veterinary Reference Laboratories with rolling out whole genome sequencing in Europe.

The Inter European Union Reference Laboratories (EURLs) Working Group on Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) involves eight EURLs for microbiological food and feed hazards and has been working since 2017 to promote the adoption of NGS by the National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) in the European Union. This work illustrates the results of the first 5 years of activity. By working together, the EURLs involved have released guidance documents for assisting NRLs in all the steps of NGS, helping the transition from classical molecular methods towards whole genome sequencing while ensuring harmonization, with the final aim of improving preparedness in the use of NGS to characterize microbial hazards and trace the sources of infection.

Zebrafish as model organisms for toxicological evaluations in the field of food science.

Food safety has long been an area of concern. The selection of stable and efficient model organisms is particularly important for food toxicology studies. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are small model vertebrates, and 70% of human genes have at least one zebrafish ortholog. Zebrafish have advantages as model organisms due to their short life cycle, strong reproductive ability, easy rearing, and low cost. Zebrafish embryos have the advantage of being sensitive to the breeding environment and thus have been used as biosensors. Zebrafish and their embryos have been widely used for food toxicology assessments. This review provides a systematic and comprehensive summary of food toxicology studies using zebrafish as model organisms. First, we briefly introduce the multidimensional mechanisms and structure-activity relationship studies of food toxicological assessment. Second, we categorize these studies according to eight types of hazards in foods, including mycotoxins, pesticides, antibiotics, heavy metals, endocrine disruptors, food additives, nanoparticles, and other food-related ingredients. Finally, we list the applications of zebrafish in food toxicology studies in line with future research prospects, aiming to provide a valuable reference for researchers in the field of food science.

Global trends and research hotspots on HACCP and modern quality management systems in the food industry

HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) and modern quality management systems have a significant impact on public health in the food industry. These systems ensure that food products are safe for consumption by identifying and managing potential hazards at every stage of the production process. To stimulate ongoing studies in both developing and underexplored areas of inquiry, this research synthesizes and organizes the contributions made in this field. It examines more than 40 years of studies from Scopus data base on HACCP and modern quality management systems in the food industry using the VOSviewer software version 1.6.18 (Leiden University, The Netherlands) and bibliometrix R-package. This represents, to the authors’ knowledge, the first bibliometric analysis undergone in this direction. The graphical framework demonstrates the highest developments in research and the literature review investigates barriers and opportunities of implementing HACCP in food industry organizations. Findings indicate that until the beginning of the 1990s, there was not a large number of scientific production in the field of HACCP and modern quality management systems in the food industry. The USA were the most prolific affiliation terms of scientific production until 2012, when studies from Italy, the United Kingdom, China and Greece intensified. Currently, the most prolific country in terms of publications is Italy. In terms of global cooperation, the United Kingdom, The United States and The Netherlands represent most active nations on this topic Motor themes that reflect the main interest of the researchers include food diseases, quality control, hazards or food supply. The study also provides future research directions regarding food quality and safety management. These should be focused on improving the safety, quality, and sustainability of food products, while also adapting to changing consumer demands, emerging risks, and regulatory requirements.

Effects of Tiffin Practices on the Health of School Students in Makawanpur District, Nepal

The main goals of the study are to explore the existing tiffin practices among school students, and assess the effects of tiffin practices on their health. The study was conducted in 2023, among 100 students of four schools out of 65 community schools in Hetauda sub-metropolitan in Makawanpur district. Second stage cluster sampling method was adopted to select the study area and the students were selected with simple random sampling method from different grades (1-12) of the community schools of Hetauda sub-metropolitan. Semi-structured questionnaire and checklist were used to collect the data and information. Among them 66.00 % school students consumed packed food where only 21.00% of the students consumed homemade food as tiffin. Among the surveyed 64 students, 59.4% of students had faced stomachache, 29.7% students had faced vomiting, 4.7% encountered nausea and 6.3% underwent allergies. Chi-square test was employed to test the null hypothesis. Age, gender and grade were significantly associated with tiffin practices (p≤ .05). There was no significant association between packed food and health hazards (p= .347). Lack of time of the parents, imitation of the peers, taste of junk food, lack of awareness led the consumption of junk or packed food that caused various health hazards on school going children.

Electrochemical Sensor for Food Monitoring Using Metal-Organic Framework Materials

Feeding the world’s increasing inhabitants requires considerable quantities of food, whose quality is essential to personal and economic health. Food quality parameters are mandatory to control throughout the fresh produce supply chain to meet consumer requests. Until now, different analytical techniques have been employed in food safety control. However, most of these are laboratory needed, expensive, and time-consuming. To address these obstacles, many researchers have concentrated on developing electrochemical sensors (ECSs) as a powerful method with great sensitivity and reliability for food evaluation. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with surprisingly porous morphology provide uniform yet tunable features, a high specific surface, and established practical applications in various fields. MOF-based ECSs present novel routes for the fast and effective detection of food contaminants or nutrients. In this current review, we concentrate on the MOF-based ECSs for food evaluation by first overviewing the library of available MOF sensors from pristine to MOF-bio composites and then exploiting recent application fields, with an emphasis on how this novel material unlocks new opportunities to monitor food nutrients or hazards.

Valorization of Cold Plasma Technologies for Eliminating Biological and Chemical Food Hazards

Valorization of Cold Plasma Technologies for Eliminating Biological and Chemical Food Hazards

An Innovative Selective Fluorescence Sensor for Quantification of Hazardous Food Colorant Allura Red in Beverages Using Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Quantum Dots

An innovative simple, sensitive, and selective method has been developed and validated for quantification of hazardous Allura red (AR, E129) dye in beverages. Allura red (AR) is a synthetic dye that is commonly used in the food industry to give foods a bright and appealing color. The method is based on microwave-assistant nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N@CQDs) from a very cheap source with a high quantum yield equal to (36.60%). The mechanism of the reaction is based on an ion-pair association complex between AR and nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N@CQDs) at pH 3.2. The reaction between AR and N@CQDs led to a quenching effect of the fluorescence intensity of N@CQDs at 445 nm after excitation at 350 nm. Moreover, the quantum method’s linearity covered the range between 0.07 and 10.0 µg mL− 1 with a regression coefficient is 0.9992. The presented work has been validated by ICH criteria. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS), Zeta potential measurements, fluorescence, UV-VIS, and FTIR spectroscopy have all been used to fully characterize of the N@CQDs. The N@CQDs were successfully utilized in different applications (beverages) with high accuracy.

Controlling the amount of coupling agents on the synthesis of coating antigens to enhance the sensitivity of fluoroquinolone immunodetection

There is now increasing demand to improve the sensitivity of various immunoassays for fluoroquinolones (FQs) and other food hazards. In this study, different coating antigens were prepared by adjusting the content of 1-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) to explore its influence on the immunoassay sensitivity of FQs. The results indicated that, unlike traditional assumptions, a reasonable EDC dosage should be addressed to reach the best analytical efficiency, and excessive EDC could enhance the hapten-carrier conjugation but significantly reduce the detection sensitivity. For the FQs investigated, the hapten:EDC:BSA proportion of 20:2.5:50 (Mole ratio:74:34:1) seemed the best for preparation of coating antigens, and the sensitivity could be improved more than 1000 times both for indirect competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay ELISA (ic-ELISA) and gold immunochromatography assay (GICA) due to two key factors including coupling-ratios and amide bond groups. Such an improved efficiency was also validated well with different food samples, which indicated the reasonable optimization of EDC in coating antigen synthesis may be widely used as a new, simple and more effective strategy to improve the immunoassay for low molecular targets in medical, environment and food detection filed.

Plan for Imported Food Safety Management Using Imported Food Non-compliance and Global Food Hazard Information in Korea

Plan for Imported Food Safety Management Using Imported Food Non-compliance and Global Food Hazard Information in Korea

Ratiometric upconversion-luminescence in-situ sampling aptasensing platform integrated with smartphone-based device for visual detection of 17β-estradiol

Rapid initial screening of health markers and food hazards are crucial indicators for ensuring human well-being. Hence, an upconversion-luminescence based aptasensing platform for the in-situ sampling of hazards has been proposed with portable equipment for point-of-care testing (POCT). The aptasensing platform consists of a polymethylmethacrylate needle and a paper-based microfluidic strip patterned with a sacrificial valve, paraffin barriers, and three independent detection zones. The detection zones were assembled with a luminescence resonance energy transfer system constructed by the core/shell/shell structure of upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) as the donor, SYBR Green Ⅰ as the acceptor with an aptamer bridge. The biosensing platform has been extended for 17β-estradiol to validate its feasibility in a dual-mode signal readout system based on smartphone imaging and spectrometer. Under the optimal conditions, good linear relationships were achieved based on images (0.05–200 ng/mL) and ratiometric spectra (0.02–200 ng/mL), respectively. Thus, the biosensing platform with portable equipment might provide an economic and viable route for POCT.

A quasi-experimental study to assess the effectiveness of the structured teaching programme on knowledge and attitude regarding health hazards of the junk food among students in selected school of Himachal Pradesh 2019-21

Junk food consumption worldwide is increasing day by day which is not good for the future. Junk food is very harmful that is slowly eating away the health of the present generation.The aim of study was to assess the effectiveness of structured teaching programme on knowledge and attitude regarding health hazards of the junk food among students in selected school of Himachal Pradesh. Quantitative research approach and non-randomized control group pre-test post-test design was used for the present study. Non -probability Convenient sampling technique was used. Sample size was 100 i.e.50 for experimental group and 50 for control group. In experimental group comparison within group, mean post-test knowledge score was significantly higher than the mean pre-test knowledge score as evident from paired t value 19.66 and mean post-test attitude score was significantly higher than the mean pre-test attitude score as evident from paired t value 21.67. Comparison between experimental group mean post-test knowledge score was significantly higher than mean post-test knowledge score of control group as evident from Unpaired t value 12.39 and mean post-test attitude score was significantly higher than mean post-test attitude score of control group as evident from Unpaired t value 9.71 which was significant at 0.05 level of significance. Positive correlation was found between pre-test knowledge and post-knowledge r=0.46, post-test knowledge and pre-test attitude r=0.43, post-test knowledge and post-test attitude r=0.474, pre-test attitude and post-test attitude r=0.86 experimental group and control group positive correlation was found between pre-test knowledge and post-knowledge r=0.97, pre-test attitude and post-test attitude r=0.98 which was significant at 0.05 level of significance. Association of knowledge score and attitude score regarding health hazards of junk food among students with selected demographic variable in experimental and control group was not statistically significant. The study concluded that structured teaching Programme was effective to increase the knowledge and change the attitude regarding health hazards of junk food.

Porous-nanozyme-based colorimetric sensor for rapid detection of kanamycin in foods under neutral condition.

Most colorimetric methods based on nanozymes need to have excellent performance under acidic condition, so they are currently facing some challenges in the field of food hazard detection. Herein, a facile and rapid colorimetric sensor for kanamycin (KAN) detection in foods under neutral condition has been designed using the peroxidase-mimic activity of porous nanozyme like Co3 O4 nanodisk. Further investigations showed that the interaction mechanism between porous Co3 O4 nanodisk and substrates belongs to a ping-pong model, and the inhibition type of KAN on the peroxidase-mimic activity is noncompetitive inhibition. The constructed sensor has good sensitivity for KAN with the limit of 57nM, and the color changes can be discerned visually when KAN exceeds 0.5µM. Besides, the colorimetric sensor obtains excellent recovery results in chicken serum, milk, honey, and pork, which shows that the proposed sensing strategy can provide a rapid and convenient detection method for KAN in foods under neutral condition. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The established sensing strategy can rapidly distinguish whether KAN residue exceeds the permissible level within 10min, which meets the requirement for on-site monitoring of antibiotics in foods, and also open up a new idea for other hazards detection under neutral condition.