Research Publications (Food Safety)

In this work, pristine CeO2 and Zn-doped CeO2 nanorods were prepared through facile hydrothermal process and characterized. The Zn-dopied CeO2 was first used for dispersive solid phase micro extraction (d-SPµE) of lead in water and food. The conditions affecting d-SPµE of lead were optimized. They were pH, adsorption/elution contact time, and eluent type/volume/concentration, interfering ion effects and sample volume.

Background

Pesticides are hazardous chemical contaminants for the ecosystem that have been widely used in households and agriculture to eliminate pests for several decades, and have a variety of adverse effects on our health.

Objectives

A rapid, sensitive, accurate and precise micro solid phase extraction method for the determination of Pb (II) in Fish sample by ionic imprinted polymer was developed on the surface of mesoporous silica and based on graphene oxide nanobeads. Extraction parameters were optimized using Box-Behnken design to achieve the twin objectives of quantitative determination and removal of Pb (II).

Despite the nutritional importance of seafood, these marine organisms can bioaccumulate environmentally persistent and potentially toxic chemicals, such as arsenic (As) and its species. In this work, the influence of culinary treatments commonly performed before seafood consumption on the bioavailability of As and As species was evaluated.

Gas chromatography (GC) and liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode is widely used for pesticide residue analysis.

Imitation milks based on vegetables have become relevant in recent years as a substitute for cow´s milk. Total and inorganic content of arsenic (As) determination in food is of utmost importance due to toxicological concerns.

Occurrence of antibiotics in animal sourced foods not only affects economy but also poses potential health risks. The present study aimed to validate simultaneous detection of amoxicillin, penicillin – G and enrofloxacin in raw migratory goat milk (N=223) by HPLC-DAD and assess human health risks in Western Himalayan region, India.

This study aims to provide insights into the current status of pesticide residue contamination in Hainan province and to develop food safety regulations for controlling the excessive use of pesticides on cowpea. First, to assess the dietary exposure risks of pesticide residues in Hainan cowpea, more than 340 pesticides in 80 different fresh cowpea samples were investigated by HPLC-Q-TOF/MS/MS.

A piece of carbonized cotton textile (denim) was prepared and shown to be a viable sorbent for the fabric phase sorptive extraction of pesticide residues from various fruit juices. The presented sorbent was made by heating the acidified cotton textile in a furnace.

Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) in foods are a threat to global health. This study investigated concentrations of selected PTEs; cadmium, chromium, nickel and lead in fish and cultivated vegetables from and along the dams, respectively. Totally, 84 samples; 60 Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), 12 Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) and 12 Bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina) obtained from six dams in Southwestern Nigeria were digested using aqua-regia.

With emerging food safety concerns, our study aimed to assess the effect of different levels of soil As and Cd on the accumulation/translocation of toxic (As, Cd) and essential elements (Zn, Fe, Cu, and Mn) by ‘‘red raw samba’’, a hybrid rice variety (short grain; red pericarp; 3.5 months).

In this study, an activated charcoal-infused dental floss-based solid phase extraction procedure using as an efficient and easy–accessible carbon fiber adsorbent followed by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction was introduced for the extraction and preconcentration of some widely used pesticides from fruit juices. The adsorbent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray analysis.

Like many other small crops across the world, Goji berries are sprayed with a variety of unlicensed insecticides in China to protect them from insect pests. If the global pesticide business is unwilling to engage in pesticide registration for minor crops, this incorrect practice presents consumer health and safety concerns relating to pesticide residues.

Edible oil-based switchable-hydrophilicity solvent liquid–liquid microextraction (EO-SHS-LLME) was used prior to the determination of lead as its metal chelate with ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (APDC) by flame-atomic absorption spectrometry.

Toxic pesticide residues in edible vegetables cause major health risks for consumers, hence quantifying them is essential. However, simultaneous and trace level determination of xenobiotic residues of various classes in complex food matrices is still a challenging analytical task.

In this study, an efficient and simple analytical approach for the preconcentration and extraction of cadmium from sunflower oil, olive oil and hazelnut oil samples using environmentally friendly, easy and efficient vortex assisted reverse phase spray-based fine droplet formation liquid phase microextraction (VA-RP-SFDF-LPME) prior to flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) measurement was proposed.

The excessive and unreasonable use of fungicides can inevitably lead to increased residues in food and ultimately cause harm to human health. To detect the residues of 8 fungicides in agro-products from 2018-2021 in Hebei province China, the method with modified QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) by Ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectroscopy (UPLC-MS/MS) was developed.

A national survey of sixteen commonly used antibiotics in chicken meat was conducted for three consecutive years (2016–2018). A total of 4591 chicken meat samples were collected from 24 provinces in China and measured by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The results revealed that all of the antibiotics studied were detected with an overall detection frequency of 20.47% and an exceeding standard rate of 2.94%.

In China, the status and risks of pesticide residues in edible mint is essentially unknown. In this study, we evaluated the residual status and associated risks of 208 pesticides in edible mints. Among the 16 pesticide residues detected, there were eight fungicides, six insecticides, and two herbicides, with difenoconazole exhibiting the highest detection rate of 25.55%. A proportion of 53.28% of the mint samples were detected with at least one pesticide residue.

High concentrations of total arsenic (As) has been found in Agaricus blazei Murrill and Tricholoma matsutake samples. It is important to study the As species in A. blazei and T. matsutake for accurate health risk assessment. Total As was measured by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

Corn is the second most plentiful cereal grown for human consumption. Corn has several pests and diseases and various kind of pesticides are used for controlling these, and reducing their damage.

The main purpose of this study was to determine pesticide contamination levels in commonly consumed vegetable and fruit samples collected from three different regions of Gujarat state, India.

Although gas chromatography–triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) has been applied to the determination of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) in various food samples, there is insufficient evidence to evaluate its equivalence with gas chromatography–high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS).

Metals and pesticides pose risk to human health if accumulated in date fruits eaten for their distinctive sweetness and beneficial minerals. The present study evaluated the concentrations of metals and pesticides in Mazafati date fruit, soil, and irrigation water from three locations of Kerman province in Iran to show potential pollution hazards to consumers of date fruit in Iran.

A total of 57 pesticide residues were analyzed in 155 litchis and 153 longan samples collected from the three main producing provinces of China.