Research Publications (Food Safety)

This work evaluated the biochemical responses of the endogeic earthworm Balanteodrilus extremus exposed for 14 and 48 days (d) to soils collected from two tropical agricultural systems: maize-sorghum (MS) and soybean-sorghum (SS). A soil without agricultural management (WAM) and the use of pesticides was selected as a reference. The presence of organochlorine (OC) and organophosphate (OP) pesticide residues was quantified in MS and SS soils.

This study assessed the concentrations of trace metals in tissues of Mytilus californianus from the west coast of Baja California, Mexico, during the cold and warm seasons. The concentrations of silver, cadmium, copper and zinc in mussel tissues were measured using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. Silver concentrations ranged from 0.03 to 0.48 µg/g dry weight (d.w.) with significantly higher values registered at sites close to densely populated areas.

European oyster (Ostrea edulis) can be used for biological monitoring of water and sediment quality and serve as a conduit of trace elements to humans via consumption. Trace element concentrations in seawater, sediment, O. edulis edible tissues and shells from Boston Harbor were studied and found to be elevated relative to comparative studies in native ecosystems in the Adriatic Sea and Bay of Biscay.

Direct discharge of waste into water bodies and mining are two major sources of lead contamination in ecosystems. Water scarcity promoted the usage of industrial effluent-contaminated waters for crop production, mainly in peri-urban areas. These wastewaters may contain heavy metals and pollute crop ecosystems. These metals can reach the living cell via contaminated raw foodstuffs that grow under these conditions and cause various ill effects in metabolic activities.

Tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum L. is grown widely as an important day-to-day demand vegetable. The crop is attacked by various polyphagous insect pests like tomato fruit borer, stink bug, cabbage looper, flea beetle, aphids, whitefly, two-spotted spider mite, etc., and oligophagous insects like leaf-miner, five-spotted hawkmoth, etc. To combat the damage and yield loss, various chemical insecticides were sprayed on tomatoes under field conditions.

To understand the effects of mining activities on soil cadmium and rice, a typical mining area was selected. The Cd content in a considerable number of soils exceeded the standard limitation GB/T 36,783 − 2018, with a rate of 42.03%. Further analysis revealed soil total Cd content was strongly correlated with soil bioavailability of Cd (R2 0.721**), pH (R2 0.386**) and soil total content of lead(R2 0.678**).

Vegetable cultivation on solid wastes dumpsites (SWD) soils is very common in developing countries though unsafe due to heavy metals pollution. In order to evaluate the ecological and human health risks of this practice, Talium triangulare and Lycopersicon esculentum were grown in a greenhouse on soils from two abandoned and active SWD, and control site.

Se (Selenium) has been reported to be an important protective agent to decreases Cd (Cadmium) induced toxic in plants. However, it remains unclear how Se mitigates the uptake of Cd and increased the resistance to Cd toxicity. Hydroponic experiments were arranged to investigate the changes of physiological properties, root cell membrane integrity and Cd-related transporter genes in rape seedlings.

Elemental tracer concentrations of copper, lead, nickel and zinc, were assessed in the muscles of Oreochromis amphimelas and Clarias gariepinus from Lake Manyara, Tanzania, to evaluate their safety to consumers, specifically humans. Results revealed that no elemental concentrations exceeded the FAO permissible levels, indicating fish from all sites are safe for human consumption.

In this study, heavy metal accumulation levels (Cu, Zn, Cr, Pb, As) in biotic [Carassius gibelio (Bloch, 1782), Squalius pursakensis (Hankó 1925)] and abiotic (sediments) components in a significant freshwater ecosystem in Türkiye were investigated on the basis of seasonal variations using geographic information systems (GIS) and some ecotoxicological risk assessment indices [PLI (pollution load index), PERI (potential ecological risk index), Igeo (geo accumulation index), C

In aquatic ecosystems, arsenate (As(V)) and lead (Pb(II)) frequently coexist but their joint toxicity on microalgae remains unknown. In this study, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was exposed to various levels of combined As(V) and Pb(II) treatments. The cell growth, respiration, pigment synthesis, polysaccharides and protein secretion as well as As speciation of C. reinhardtii were analyzed.

The widespread application of pesticides in the territories of the former USSR still exerts negative impacts on their ecological status. In this regard, dedicated programs for monitoring persistent organic pollutants (POP) in humans are implemented in several countries. Our study aimed to assess the accumulation of organic pollutants in breast milk of women residing the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (CAO).

A pot trial was conducted during the boro (dry) season to evaluate the impact of six traditional organic amendments (OAs) on the growth of SL-8 rice variety in both agricultural and cadmium (Cd) stressed soil at 2% and 4% application rates. Traditional OAs used in the study were cow dung, mustard oil cake (MOC), rice husk, saw dust, tea leaf and vermi compost (VC). Except for cow dung all other OAs were found to remove 99% of Cd from the aqueous solution, while cow dung removed 95%.

For minor crops such as jasmine, the lack of pesticide registration and maximum residue limits are important issues that need to be solved in order to facilitate trading and ensure food safety. Meanwhile, reliable and quick analytical methods for multi-pesticide residues in these commodities are few, but required by various stakeholders.

Pesticide use has grown rapidly in West Africa over the past decades. Regulatory capacity has not kept pace with the rapid proliferation of pesticide products and on-farm use. As a result, health and environmental impacts from the growing use of pesticides, despite their potential importance to food safety, remain largely unmonitored, underreported, and poorly understood by key stakeholders.

Phytoextraction is an efficient strategy for remediating heavy metal-contaminated soil. Chelators can improve the bioavailability of heavy metals and increase phytoextraction efficiency. However, traditional chelators have gradually been replaced due to secondary pollution.

This study analyzed the role of micro polyethylene (mPE) and micro polypropylene (mPP) on cadmium (Cd) adsorption and desorption in soil. Cd adsorption in soils reached equilibrium within 240 min with or without mPP/mPE. The largest Cd adsorption amount was 923.88 mg kg−1 in the control treatment (no MPs). The Cd adsorption amount in the mPP treatment was 872.21 mg kg−1, greater than that in the mPE treatment (780.21 mg kg−1).

The threshold is key to risk assessment of soil cadmium (Cd) pollution. However, there is limited research on the soil Cd risk threshold of potatoes. Soil and potato samples (n = 256) were used to establish and optimize the Cd risk threshold by using relative cumulative frequency, bioconcentration factor, and regression model.

Consumption of game meat may exert additional lead exposure with potential health risks. The purpose of the present pilot study was to determine blood lead concentration in game meat and no game meat consumers in southern Germany. Concentration of lead in blood (µg·L− 1) was significantly higher in game meat consumers (n = 190; 21.3 [20.0; 29.7]) compared to study participants consuming no game meat (n = 74; 20.0 [20.0; 20.0], p < 0.0001).

This study aimed to investigate the effect of 10–40 mg L-1 polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs), 0.05 mg L-1 cadmium (Cd) and their combination on the growth and related physiological and toxicological responses in Oryza sativa L. seedling roots.

The nano-zero valence iron (nZVI) via green synthesis for heavy metal remediation has attracted many attentions due to its low-cost, environmental-safety, relative reproductivity, and high stability. However, influence of synthesis conditions on the physiochemical properties of nZVI via green tea extracts and the responding suspensibility, which is required for high reactivity, has not been fully elucidated.

Biological and fishery features of Panopea sp. clams have been studied in northwest Mexico because of their importance for human consumption. However, the content of pollutants in their tissues, along with their implications have not been addressed yet. The concentrations of cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), and zinc (Zn) in soft tissues of Panopea generosa and P. globosa clams were examined in this region by atomic absorption spectroscopy.

Agricultural seed-coat treatments are prone to drift as seed coatings may scuff off and become incorporated into field particles during planting. Vacuum planters release exhaust and kick up field dust, laden with systemic pesticides that blow across the landscape, is taken up, and later expressed in the nectar and pollen of surrounding plants.

In this study, the contamination of arsenic, cadmium, nickel and vanadium in the surface sediments of Khazar Abad, in the southern part of the Caspian Sea was analyzed in 2019 using ecotoxicological indices.

To investigate the effects of different types of land use and soil depths on the distributions of heavy metals in the soil in mining areas, heavy metals in different soil layers of five types of agricultural land in the Tongguan gold mining area were studied. The results revealed that the land use type had a greater impact than soil layers on the distribution of heavy metals in the soil.