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1.
Occurrence of Bisphenol A and its analogues in some foodstuff marketed in Europe.
Russo, G, Barbato, F, Mita, DG, Grumetto, L
Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association. 2019;:110575
Abstract
Bisphenol A and its analogues belong to the class of endocrine disrupting chemicals, massively employed by industries to produce polycarbonate and epoxy resins, designed to be in direct contact with foodstuffs. Their leaching from the canned packaging into its content results in food contamination. This review aims at offering a country-specific overview of the occurrence of bisphenols in six main categories of foodstuff marketed in the EU, based on monitoring studies performed in the 27 EU countries for which data are available and prevalently published in the last five years. The general overview of the literature data shows that concentration values of BPs detected into foodstuff is lower in Northern Europe than Southern Europe. A probable daily intake was hypothesized for some countries to provide an EU population exposure assessment. The consumption of canned meat and vegetables is responsible of PDI values higher than those of other food categories. These data emphasize that food and beverage monitoring should deserve greater attention especially by European countries for which no studies are available and especially with regards to bisphenols other than BPA whose limits are not set by the European regulations and whose toxicity has not been fully established.
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2.
Factors controlling the fate of pyrethroids residues during post-harvest processing of raw agricultural crops: An overview.
Albaseer, SS
Food chemistry. 2019;:58-63
Abstract
Control of residual levels of synthetic pyrethroids in fresh fruits and vegetables as well as in foodstuff made of fresh agricultural produces is of utmost importance. Apart from the need to more control on application of pesticides by farmers, simple and effective postharvest practices by consumers and/or manufacturers usually applied to produces before consumption may enhance food safety from potentially harmful pesticide residues. The present review discusses the underline factors that control the effectiveness of crops postharvest treatments and the possible mechanisms of loss of pesticides during food processing. It is shown that the effectiveness of postharvest processes is controlled by various factors and that understanding such factors is essential for more control of residual pesticides. Though postharvest processes may lead to substantial reduction of residual pesticides, metabolites of broken pesticides are of great concern.
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3.
Critical Assessment of Streptomyces spp. Able to Control Toxigenic Fusaria in Cereals: A Literature and Patent Review.
Colombo, EM, Kunova, A, Cortesi, P, Saracchi, M, Pasquali, M
International journal of molecular sciences. 2019;(24)
Abstract
Mycotoxins produced by Fusarium species on cereals represent a major concern for food safety worldwide. Fusarium toxins that are currently under regulation for their content in food include trichothecenes, fumonisins, and zearalenone. Biological control of Fusarium spp. has been widely explored with the aim of limiting disease occurrence, but few efforts have focused so far on limiting toxin accumulation in grains. The bacterial genus Streptomyces is responsible for the production of numerous drug molecules and represents a huge resource for the discovery of new molecules. Streptomyces spp. are also efficient plant colonizers and able to employ different mechanisms of control against toxigenic fungi on cereals. This review describes the outcomes of research using Streptomyces strains and/or their derived molecules to limit toxin production and/or contamination of Fusarium species in cereals. Both the scientific and patent literature were analyzed, starting from the year 2000, and we highlight promising results as well as the current pitfalls and limitations of this approach.
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4.
Diagnostic detection systems and QuEChERS methods for multiclass pesticide analyses in different types of fruits: An overview from the last decade.
Alcântara, DB, Fernandes, TSM, Nascimento, HO, Lopes, AF, Menezes, MGG, Lima, ACA, Carvalho, TV, Grinberg, P, Milhome, MAL, Oliveira, AHB, et al
Food chemistry. 2019;:124958
Abstract
This manuscript is a bibliographic review about analyses of different classes of pesticide in fruits using QuEChERS as sample preparation methodology. The aim is to clarify different trends and facilitate decision-making by the scientific community in order to carry out further studies in this field. It is well known that different countries have different pesticides regulations for maximum level of pesticide residue permitted. The comparative analysis amongst the main producer countries reveals that for some fruits they are not studied enough. Recent improvements to QuEChERS make it possible to minimize the pesticides instability due the matrix pH, and achieving cleaner extracts. Regarding the detection systems, the tandem MS are preferred once they have high sensitivity and selectivity, although traditional techniques (GC-ECD and HPLC-DAD) are still commonly used due to their accessibility and good sensitivity to some pesticides. Also, studies involving metabolites usually show that they are more toxic than their precursor compounds.
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5.
Rice Intake and Emerging Concerns on Arsenic in Rice: a Review of the Human Evidence and Methodologic Challenges.
Karagas, MR, Punshon, T, Davis, M, Bulka, CM, Slaughter, F, Karalis, D, Argos, M, Ahsan, H
Current environmental health reports. 2019;(4):361-372
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Rice is a major staple food worldwide and a dietary source of arsenic. We therefore summarized the state of the epidemiologic evidence on whether rice consumption relates to health outcomes associated with arsenic exposure. RECENT FINDINGS While epidemiologic studies have reported that higher rice consumption may increase the risk of certain chronic conditions, i.e., type 2 diabetes, most did not consider specific constituents of rice or other sources of arsenic exposure. Studies that examined rice intake stratified by water concentrations of arsenic found evidence of increasing trends in cardiovascular disease risk, skin lesions, and squamous cell skin cancers and bladder cancer associated with higher rice consumption. Further studies are needed to understand the health impacts of arsenic exposure from rice consumption taking into account all sources of rice intake and potential confounding by other dietary constituents or contaminants and arsenic exposure from sources such as water.
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6.
Mycotoxins during the Processes of Nixtamalization and Tortilla Production.
Schaarschmidt, S, Fauhl-Hassek, C
Toxins. 2019;(4)
Abstract
Tortillas are a traditional staple food in Mesoamerican cuisine, which have also become popular on a global level, e.g., for wraps or as snacks (tortilla chips). Traditional tortilla production includes alkaline cooking (nixtamalization) of maize kernels. This article summarizes the current knowledge on mycotoxin changes during the nixtamalization of maize and tortilla production. Upon nixtamalization, mycotoxins can be affected in different ways. On the one hand, the toxins can be physically removed during steeping and washing. On the other hand, mycotoxins might be degraded, modified, or released/bound in the matrix by high pH and/or high temperature. This also applies to the subsequent baking of tortillas. Many studies have shown reduced mycotoxin levels in alkali-cooked maize and in tortillas. Most of the available data relate to aflatoxins and fumonisins. The reduction (and detoxification) of aflatoxins during nixtamalization might, however, be partially reversed in acidic conditions. The loss of fumonisin concentrations is to some extent accompanied by hydrolyzation and by lower toxicity. However, some studies have indicated the potential formation of toxicologically relevant modified forms and matrix-associated fumonisins. More data are required to assess the influence of alkaline cooking regarding such modified forms, as well as mycotoxins other than aflatoxins/fumonisins.
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Presence of unreported carcinogens, Aflatoxins and their hydroxylated metabolites, in industrialized Oaxaca cheese from Mexico City.
Carvajal-Moreno, M, Vargas-Ortiz, M, Hernández-Camarillo, E, Ruiz-Velasco, S, Rojo-Callejas, F
Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association. 2019;:128-138
Abstract
Aflatoxins (AFs) are toxic secondary metabolites of the fungi Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus and A. nomius. The fungi produce these AFs in cereals, oilseeds and spices. AFs have damaging effects on all organisms, including humans, and their symptoms can be classified as acute (vomiting, hemorrhage and death) or chronic (immunodepression, Reye syndrome, Kwashiorkor, teratogenesis, hepatitis, cirrhosis, and various cancers). Basic AFs (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, and AFG2) are metabolized in the liver or by microbes that produce hydroxylated metabolites (AFM1, AFM2, and AFP1) and aflatoxicol (AFL), soluble in water and easy to dispose. Thus, AFs can be excreted in fluids, such as milk. AFs are not destroyed in the process of making cheese. The purpose of this study was to identify and quantify the AFs present in 30 samples of industrialized Oaxaca-type cheese sold in Mexico City. The average concentrations of AFs detected in the 30 samples of industrialized cheese were as follows: AFB1 (0.1 μg kg-1) in 20% (6/30); a trace amount of AFB2 (0.01 < LOD) in only 3% (1/30); AFG1 (0.14 μg kg-1) in 10% (3/30); AFG2 (0.6 μg kg-1) in 30% (9/30); AFM1 (1.7 μg kg-1) in 57% (17/30); AFP1 (0.03% μg kg-1) in 3% (1/30); and AFL (13.1 μg kg-1) in 97% (29/30). AFB1 and AFL were the most abundant aflatoxins in Oaxaca-type cheese. However, eight aflatoxins were present, contributing an average of 15.7 μg kg-1 AFs distributed among the 30 samples. The risk assessment analysis showed that there was no substantial risk for cancer due to AFs in industrialized Oaxaca cheese from Mexico City.
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8.
Dietary exposure assessment to mycotoxins through total diet studies. A review.
Carballo, D, Tolosa, J, Ferrer, E, Berrada, H
Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association. 2019;:8-20
Abstract
Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of fungi that contaminate food in several stages and their increasing presence in food chain demand further control. Assessment of mycotoxins human exposure through processed diet is an important component of food safety strategies. The present review explores and summarises total diet studies (TDS) carried out in different countries focusing on mycotoxins determination. TDS were classified by samples preparation, mycotoxins analysis and dietary exposure evaluation. Most of reviewed TDS performed multi-mycotoxins analysis in composite samples mainly, prepared taking into account local culinary habits. High performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detector was the predominant and the most sensitive technique used for determination. Ochratoxin A was the most analyzed mycotoxin, followed by trichothecenes, aflatoxins, zearalenone, fumonisins, patulin, enniatins, and beauvericin respectively. Alternaria toxins and ergot alkaloids were also included. Food commonly analyzed were cereals, meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts and beverages. The findings in food were in below the current European legislation, except for some sporadic samples of wine and milk meaning less than 1% of total analyzed samples. Dietary exposure was evaluated, through the estimated daily intake mycotoxin evaluation and risk assessment concluded that relatively scarce toxicological concern was associated to mycotoxins exposure. However, a special attention should be paid to meat and cereal products high percentile consumers.
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Recent advances in the detection of 17β-estradiol in food matrices: A review.
Pu, H, Huang, Z, Sun, DW, Fu, H
Critical reviews in food science and nutrition. 2019;(13):2144-2157
Abstract
Pollution of endocrine disrupting chemicals has become a global issue. As one of the hormonally active compounds, 17β-estradiol produces the strongest estrogenic effect when it enters the organism exogenously including food intakes, bringing potential harmfulness such as malfunction of the endocrine system. Therefore, in order to assure food safety and avoid potential risks of 17β-estradiol to humans, it is of great significance to develop rapid, sensitive and selective approaches for the detection of 17β-estradiol in food matrices. In this review, the harmfulness and main sources of 17β-estradiol are firstly introduced, followed by the description of the principles and applications of different approaches for 17β-estradiol detection including high performance liquid chromatography, electrochemistry, Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence and colorimetry. Particularly, applications in detecting 17β-estradiol in food matrices over the years of 2010-2018 are discussed. Finally, advantages and limitations of these detection methods are highlighted and perspectives on future developments in the detection methods for 17β-estradiol are also proposed. Although many detection approaches can achieve trace or ultratrace detection of 17β-estradiol, further studies should be focused on the development of in-situ and real-time methods to monitor and evaluate 17β-estradiol for food safety.
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Cadmium contamination in agricultural soils of China and the impact on food safety.
Wang, P, Chen, H, Kopittke, PM, Zhao, FJ
Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987). 2019;:1038-1048
Abstract
Rapid industrialization in China during the last three decades has resulted in widespread contamination of Cd in agricultural soils. A considerable proportion of the rice grain grown in some areas of southern China has Cd concentrations exceeding the Chinese food limit, raising widespread concern regarding food safety. In this review, we summarize rice grain Cd concentrations in national Chinese markets and in field surveys from contaminated areas, and analyze the potential health risk associated with increased dietary Cd intake. For subsistence rice farmers living in some contaminated areas of southern China who mainly consume locally-produced Cd-contaminated rice, their estimated dietary Cd intake is now comparable to that for the population in the region of Japan where the Itai-Itai disease was first reported. Interventions must be taken urgently to reduce Cd intake for these farmers. We also analyze i) the main reasons causing elevated grain Cd concentrations in southern China, ii) the dominant biogeochemical processes controlling the solubility of Cd in paddy soils, and iii) molecular mechanisms for the uptake and translocation of Cd in rice plants. Based on these analyses, we propose a number of countermeasures to address soil Cd contamination, including i) mitigation of Cd transfer from paddy soils to rice grain, and ii) intervention in those farmers who consume home-grown Cd-contaminated rice. Liming to increase soil pH to 6.5 and gene editing biotechnology are effective strategies to decrease Cd accumulation in rice grain. For these local farmers with high-Cd exposure risk, local governments should monitor the Cd concentration in their home-grown rice and exchange those high-Cd rice with low-Cd rice in order to reduce their dietary Cd intake.