Research Publications (Food Safety)

Summary Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) belongs to the Rosaceae family. The fruit is very beneficial, with a delicious taste, attractive colour, and high vitamin and mineral content. The effect of chitosan on juice's transparency and phytochemical properties from the Camarosa cultivar was evaluated. Using chitosan as a clarifying agent for strawberry juice significantly reduced turbidity, phenolic content, flavonoids, protein, and antioxidant properties.

International Journal of Food Science &Technology, Accepted Article. Quantification of some important elements, including several heavy metals, and assessment of health risks associated with rice consumption was conducted. Twelve different rice varieties were analyzed for fourteen metals i.e. As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, Sr, U, and Zn using Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS).

International Journal of Food Science & Technology, Accepted Article. The effect of microwave roasting parameters (300, 450 and 600 W; 5, 10 and 15 min) on acrylamide content in sorghum grain was determined using High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)-photo diode array (PDA) detector coupled with C-18 column.

International Journal of Food Science & Technology, Accepted Article. The present study investigated the effect of ripening stages and chemical precursors on acrylamide formation in deep-fried chips of five plantains and one cooking banana. The highest level of acrylamide was found in the cooking banana, followed by False Horn plantain and French plantain, respectively.

Development of novel snack foods is an important area of research and different ingredients are being tested to develop and process new formulations. In this study, lupin chips prepared using different formulations (hulled lupin, whole lupin, wheat and corn flours) were cooked using baking and frying and changes in the sensory and colour parameters, acrylamide contents, fat absorption, peroxide number and p‐anisidine values of the final products were studied.

Pesticides play a key role in agriculture and food production by controlling the insects, weeds, plant pathogens and microbial contaminations. Although they are useful in some aspects, their inappropriate application can induce health problems including carcinogenicity, reproductive toxicity, neurodegenerative diseases and disruption of endocrine system. In this respect, efficient strategies should be applied to reduce pesticides residue in foodstuffs.

The effects of fat content and charcoal types on the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) in various barbecued fish (trout, seabream, seabass, salmon, and shad) were investigated. Fish samples were also analyzed in terms of fat content and fatty acid profile. Total saturated fatty acids (∑SFA) contents reduced while the total polyunsaturated fatty acids (∑PUFA) contents increased after barbecuing.

Peppers are rich in health‐promoting phytochemicals, which are involved in the defense mechanisms against cancer. To select a lead variety of pepper with anti‐proliferative activity against colon cancer cells and liver cancer cells, high antioxidant activity, and high concentrations of capsaicin, flavonoids, and phenolics, we compared these attributes in nine different pepper accessions belonging to Capsicum annuum and C chinense.

Lead (Pb), a well‐known toxic metal, has a potential of adverse effects on human health. Selenium (Se) can reduce the toxicity caused by heavy metals. In this study, we investigated the protection mechanism of the purified Se‐enriched rice protein hydrolysates (SPHs‐2) on the Pb2+‐induced cytotoxicity. A Caco‐2 cell model was established to characterize the effect of SPHs‐2 on Pb2+ absorption in the simulated small intestine.

Melanoidins, formed at the final stages of Maillard reaction (MR) present important physiological activities, but their structure and reaction pathways are largely unknown in real food systems. In the present work, these bioactive compounds derived from Brewers’ spent grain (BSG) with different roasting degrees were analyzed. Results showed that BSG could be considered a more important source of bioavailable antioxidants than what it was reported in previous studies.

The effect of cold plasma (CP) treatment on the degradation of anilazine fungicide in tomato juice was investigated. Anilazine solution of 5 mg/L was added to tomato juice samples and treated using a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) cold plasma (CP) system with exposure times of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 min. The gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) results showed that the reduction of anilazine in the tomato juice achieved 47% and 65% after treatments for 4 min and 5 min respectively.

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