Research Publications (Food Safety)

BACKGROUND Acrylamide in foods has been widely studied due to its possible carcinogenicity. Most foods investigated were prepared using low moisture and high temperature conditions. Non‐centrifugal sugars (NCSs), which have been promoted as ‘non‐chemical’ natural sweeteners, contain precursors of acrylamide and their production processes involved prolonged heating.

BACKGROUND The ultrasensitive monitoring strategy of zearalenone (ZEN) was essential and desired for food safety and human health. In this work, a coupling of gold nanoparticles‐DNA barcode and direct competitive immunoassay based real‐time PCR signal amplification (RT–IPCR) for ZEN close to the sensitivity of PCR‐like level was described and evaluated.

BACKGROUND The greatest hurdle to commercial marketing of fresh‐cut fruits and vegetables is limited shelf‐life due to microbial hazards and quality deterioration. Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) is an emerging non‐thermal technology with significant potential to improve the safety and storability of fresh products.

BACKGROUND Rice grains can be easily contaminated by certain fungi during storage and market chain, thus generating risk for humans. Most classical methods are complex and time‐consuming for manufactures and consumers. However, E‐nose technology provides analytical information in a non‐destructive and environmentally friendly manner. Subsequently, two feature fusion data combined with chemometrics were employed for the determination of Aspergillus spp. contamination in milled rice.

BACKGROUND Fermentation, a traditional food preserving technique and an effective process, widely used to enrich the nutrients diversity and bioactivity of the fermented foods since ancient times. This study aimed at investigating the effects of various fermentation starters on the physicochemical, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antidiabetic properties of the blueberry juices.

Background In recent years high‐pressure processing (HPP) of fruit products has steadily increased due to antimicrobial effectiveness and the retention of nutritional and quality attributes compared to conventional thermal technologies. Edible coatings are already being used to enhance the quality of minimally processed fruits. Thus, apple cubes (AC) and alginate‐vanillin coated apple cubes (AVAC) were high‐pressure processed (HPP, 400 MPa/5 min/35 °C).

ABSTRACT Background Nanoscale tapioca starch (NTS) was successfully developed by high speed jet in our previous study. In this study, the adsorption capacity of Cu2+ onto NTS was further discussed. The optimal adsorption conditions ( pH, contact time, contact temperature, Initial Cu2+ concentration, and adsorbent concentration), adsorption kinetics, isotherms and thermodynamic were also evaluated.

BACKGROUND α‐lactalbumin (α‐La) was of great interest to the industry due to its excellent functional properties and nutritional value. Aqueous two‐phase flotation (ATPF) of thermo‐sensitive polymer poly (ethylene glycol‐ran‐propylene glycol) monobutyl ether (UCON) and KH2PO4 was applied to directly separate and purify α‐La from milk whey, which was purposed to simplify the production process and reduced cost of production.

BACKGROUND Chlorpyrifos (CPF) is a broad‐spectrum organophosphorus pesticide widely used to control tea geometrid (Ectropis oblique) and tea green leafhoppers (Empoasca pirisuga Matumura) in tea trees. The major metabolite of CPF in water, plants and animals is 3,5,6‐trichloro‐2‐pyridinol (TCP), which is more toxic than CPF. However, dissipation pattern of CPF in tea is unknown.

Background Pymetrozine is a widely used pesticide. It is challenging‐to‐analyse and difficult to manage due to the large gap in its global maximum residue limits (MRLs) in tea. Therefore, development of a high‐efficiency detection method for the evaluation of the transfer of residual pymetrozine from tea plantations to tea cups is of prime significance.

Background The replacement of synthetic preservatives with their natural alternatives is a growing demand in the food industry, which has led to the development of novel methods such as encapsulation of plants essential oil with appropriate physicochemical stability, and antibacterial and organoleptic properties. This study aimed to prepare an optimal nanoemulsion of Thymus daenensis L. essential oil for use as a natural preservative in mayonnaise.

BACKGROUND Raw ewe's milk, used to manufacture Serra da Estrela Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheese, was pre‐treated by high pressure processing (HPP), using previously optimized conditions (121 MPa/30 min), in order to evaluate its effect on milk technological properties for subsequent cheese production, namely the impact on resulting curd, whey, and cheese throughout ripening.

BACKGROUND Corn grains are commonly contaminated with mycotoxins and fungi. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reduction of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2 and the inhibition of Aspergillus niger in corn grains using ultrasound, ultraviolet radiation (UV), electrolyzed water, and sodium bicarbonate. The determination of aflatoxins was performed by HPLC‐FD and postcolumn derivatization, and analysis of A.

BACKGROUND Pesticide residues in agricultural products and foods pose a serious threat to human health, therefore a simple, rapid and direct method is urgently needed for pesticide residue detection. In addition to completing the detection of acetamiprid in the cabbage extracting solution, the main target of this study was to establish an in‐situ surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) method, which could directly detect acetamiprid residue on cabbage leaf without extracting it out.

BACKGROUND Raphanus sativus var. caudatus or Thai rat‐tailed radish (RTR) contains glucosinolates and isothiocyanates with chemopreventive effects; however, only mature plants have been studied to date.

ABSTRACT Background Fruit and vegetable consumption has increased among masses due to their tremendous health benefits. However, recent studies have shown that contaminated products may serve as a vehicle for foodborne pathogens and harmful chemicals. Therefore, fresh vegetables must be decontaminated before consumption to ensure food safety.

BACKGROUND Carbon dots (C‐dots) with antimicrobial activity were synthesized from the white mulberry extract in order to fabricate anti‐listeria nanopaper using bacterial nanocellulose (BNC). A highly dispersed synthesized C‐dots with a size smaller than 10 nm (~4.9 nm) was impregnated into BNC by an ex‐situ coating method and mechanical, morphological, UV‐protectant, and antibacterial activity were assessed.

BACKGROUND Bananas are vulnerable to disease and insect pests after producing fruit. In order to increase the yield and produce high‐quality fruit, the insecticides and fungicides are mixed and applied 2‐3 times on banana, then the fruit is bagging. Buprofezin, imidacloprid, difenoconazole, and pyraclostrobin are widely used on banana. However, there is a lack of research on the effect of fruit bagging on pesticide dissipation and residues on banana.

BACKGROUND In maritime growing environments, blueberry yield often exhibits excessive season‐to‐season variation, associated with poorly adapted photosynthetic responses to low light conditions.1 It is therefore necessary to develop methods that stabilise yield whilst maintaining or improving fruit quality.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Nitrogen fertilization can increase sorghum yield and quality and the hydrocyanic acid (HCN) accumulation in plants, increasing the risk of animal toxicity, particularly under drought conditions.

BACKGROUND Ginkgo biloba seeds are used as a functional food across Asia. However, the presence of toxic compounds has dwindled its application. In this study, freeze‐drying, infrared drying, hot‐air drying and pulsed‐vacuum drying were used to dry GBS. A comprehensive analysis was performed on their product quality, antioxidant activities, bioactive and toxic components.

Background: Porphyra haitanensis (P. haitanensis) now faces serious heavy metal pollution problems. Natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs) have been recognized as a novel class of sustainable solvents, which can be used for heavy metal removal. In this study, 28 kinds of NADESs were prepared and investigated as eluent in the removal on Pb, Cd, Cr, As, Cu from P. haitanensis for the first time, and the adsorption mechanism of NADESs was also studied.

BACKGROUND Eleven Lactobacillus (L.) strains were newly isolated from traditional Turkish Tulum cheeses and were characterized regarding their potential probiotic characteristics (bile and acid tolerance, gastric and pancreatic juice tolerance, lysozyme tolerance, adhesion ability), virulence determinants (haemolytic activity, antibiotic resistance, biogenic amine production), and functional properties (antibacterial activity, β‐galactosidase activity, production of exopolysaccharides, choles

BACKGROUND Penicillic acid (PA) is produced by Aspergillus spp. and Penicillum spp., which are common postharvest and storage fungi of fruits. PA can be of concern for human health due to its toxicity and high fruit consumption by the population. However, no data on PA occurrence in various fruits was yet reported. A quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) approach for PA determination in various fruits was developed and applied to explore PA incidence in fruits.

BACKGROUND Dietary intervention is an important approach to improve intestinal function of weaned piglets. Phytogenic and herbal products have received increasing attention as in‐feed antibiotic alternatives. This study investigated the chemical composition of guava leaf extract (GE) by ultrahigh‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC‐MS/MS).