Research Publications (Food Safety)

Cytochrome P-450 (CYP) enzymes have a key role in the metabolism of xenobiotics of food origin, and their highly polymorphic nature concurs with the diverse inter-individual variability in the toxicokinetics (TK) and toxicodynamics (TD) of food chemicals. Ochratoxin A is a well-known mycotoxin which contaminates a large variety of food and is associated with food safety concerns.

An electrochemical aptasensing strategy was developed with a novel bioplatform based on a multivariate titanium metal–organic framework, i.e. MTV polyMOF(Ti), to detect zearalenone (ZEN). MTV polyMOF(Ti) was prepared by using mixed linkers of polyether polymer (pbdc-xa or L8, pbdc = poly(1,4-benzenedicarboxylate) and 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid (H2bdc or L0) as well as tetrabutyl titanate as nodes (MTV polyMOF(Ti)-L8,0).

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) and tungsten disulfide nanosheets (WS2 NTs) have been widely studied in photocatalysis and photoelectrochemistry as representative electron donor–acceptor pairs but rarely in fluorescence sensing. In this study, we investigated the effect of WS2 NTs on the fluorescence signal of cadmium telluride (CdTe) QDs by grafting an aptamer as a bridge between them.

Breast milk is considered the ideal form of nutrition for newborns and infants. However, it can carry over contaminants, namely mycotoxins, with biological effects to which this population is particularly vulnerable. Human biomonitoring and surveillance programs are particularly scarce in low-income countries, where food security is a more urgent priority in comparison with food safety.

Maize is affected by Aspergillus flavus and by the contamination of its kernels with aflatoxins, of which AFB1 is the most important. The Chaco Semi-arid is a region of Argentina in which the climate conditions increase this problem and due to the use of resistant cultivars is the best available tactic to reduce aflatoxin accumulation, we analyzed six hybrids against artificial inoculation with native aflatoxin-producing isolates of A. flavus.

This study investigated the content of deoxynivalenol (DON), sugars, proteins, phenolics, amino acids, the antioxidant capacity and antioxidant enzymes activities of Fusarium naturally contaminated wheat (FCW) during soaking and germination.

Harmful secondary metabolites produced by fungi, mycotoxins, are found worldwide in a multitude of products. Roquefortine C (ROQ-C) is a mycotoxin produced by Penicillium roqueforti, the major fungus used to ripen blue-veined cheeses. To facilitate the screening of cheeses for ROQ-C, a method based upon the ambient ionization technique of direct analysis in real time-mass spectrometry (DART-MS) was developed.

The Fusarium toxins constitute one of the largest groups of mycotoxins produced by Fusarium species, which are major pathogens of cereal plants.

This study evaluated the presence of aflatoxin B1 in five different animal feeds collected from manufacturers, suppliers and consumers and its possible reduction by heating at 100°C for 180 min. A total of 160 animal feed samples were collected and analyzed by using lateral flow immunoassay method.

The present study aimed to determine the presence of the aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in breast milk samples from 123 nursing women and the degree of exposure of infants to this toxin, in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon state (northeast Mexico). Upon analysis, 100% of the samples were found to be contaminated with the toxin at an average concentration of 17.04 ng/L, with a range of 5.00 to 66.23 ng/L.

This study evaluated the fungal incidence through direct plating in Agar Dichloran Glycerol, and the presence of aflatoxins in maize samples from the Highlands and Coast of Ecuador by HPLC, investigating the influence of the temperature, altitude, water activity, and humidity of the collection regions on the maize samples’ contamination using Principal Components Analysis (PCA).

To evaluate the effect of L-Threonine (L-Thr) and Mycofix® Plus (MP) on aflatoxicosis, an experiment with a 3-way ANOVA model was carried out with 8 replicates and 640 birds. Treatments included two levels of L-Thr (100% and 125% of the requirements, Cobb 500, Cobb-Vantress), Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) (0, 500 ppb), and MP (0, 1 g/kg).

High levels of mycotoxin contamination have been reported in various food commodities in Pakistan, however, there has been no exposure assessment study using multiple mycotoxins’ biomarkers. This study aimed to simultaneously assess the exposure to the five major mycotoxins: aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), deoxynivalenol (DON), fumonisin B1 (FB1), ochratoxin A (OTA) and zearalenone (ZEN) in a Pakistani population using an integrated approach of human biomonitoring.

The first 1000 days of life are very sensitive to any event that alters health programming, and they represent a window for intervention to improve population health. Pregnant women, fetuses, and infants are particularly vulnerable to exposure to food contaminated with mycotoxins.

Milk, the most consumed dairy product, is often contaminated by the carcinogenic aflatoxin M1. Here, we present a one-step automatic sample pretreatment method using immunomagnetic beads and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis for the detection of aflatoxin M1 in milk with good linearity and sensitivity (detection limit = 0.0008 μg/kg and quantitation limit = 0.0027 μg/kg).

We investigated the occurrence of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in yogurt and milk, including pasteurized, ultra-high temperature (UHT), and extended shelf life (ESL) milk samples, from central-eastern China and assessed the risk of AFM1 exposure in consumers.

Zearalenone (ZEN) and fumonisins (FUM) jeopardize fertility and health in cattle; yet, their toxigenic effects on rumen health and microbiota, both being crucial for animal health, are not clarified. This study determined the effects of a short-term exposure to ZEN or FUM on the rumen ecosystem, and further evaluated acute implications on health parameters.

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, Accepted Article. There are many problems of peanuts, such as lipid instability, high microbial content and aflatoxin. In this study, effect of superheated steam (SS) treatment on the security quality of grounded peanut (GP) was evaluated. Results indicated that concentrations of total bacteria, mold and Bacillus spp. were maximum reduced 99.26%, 100% and 98.57%, respectively.

Aflatoxin-contaminated grain consumption over the years has been known to cause serious health hazards on its consumers. This study investigated the effects of harvest seasons and drying methods on aflatoxins in freshly harvested maize.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) plays significant roles in enhancing human health and preventing human diseases. The heterotrophic marine dinoflagellate Crypthecodinium cohnii is a good candidate to produce high-quality DHA. To overcome the inhibition caused by the fermentation supernatant in the late fermentation stage of DHA-producing C. cohnii, fermentation supernatant-based adaptive laboratory evolution (FS-ALE) was conducted.

Food safety is related to the national economy and people’s livelihood. Fumonisins are widely found in animal feed, feed raw materials, and human food. This can not only cause economic losses in animal husbandry but can also have carcinogenicity or teratogenicity and can be left in animal meat, eggs, and milk which may enter the human body and pose a serious threat to human health.

Development of in vitro new approach methodologies has been driven by the need for developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) hazard data on thousands of chemicals. The network formation assay characterizes DNT hazard based on changes in network formation but provides no mechanistic information. This study investigated nervous system signaling pathways and upstream physiological regulators underlying chemically induced neural network dysfunction.

Korean fermented soybean products doenjang, ganjang, and gochujang are vulnerable to contamination with aflatoxigenic fungi in the open fermentation environment. Therefore, simple and effective methods to determine aflatoxins (AFs) in these complex food matrices are needed. High-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection using two derivatization methods for AF determination in three fermented soybean products was optimized and validated.

The presence of patulin (PAT) in fruits poses a threat to human health. Herein, a dual-enzymes-driven target recycling (dual-EATR) strategy-based PAT electrochemical aptasensor was constructed. The branched structure of the labeling material silver-palladium nanoparticles (AgPdNPs) can effectively load thionine (Thi). Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs)/Fe metal-organic frameworks (FeMOF)-PEI-GO with effective catalytic activity can amplify the redox signal of Thi.

Paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) are a large group of biotoxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning. Their appearance in natural waters and their ingestion by aquatic species have a huge socio-economic impact, whereby their monitoring is of the upmost relevance to minimize the consequences. For earlier detection and faster response/action by stakeholders, validation of adjusted analytical methods, particularly for lower concentration levels, is important.