Journey from food toxins to food safety: Transition over a century in service of nation

Since the first report of lathyrism in 1926, the ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) at Hyderabad, India, has made tremendous contributions in the field of food toxins/food safety for the benefit of the people. The present article highlights the Institute's work on various food toxins/foodborne diseases since its inception and discusses the important contributions made in the context of public health protection that formed the basis for several national policies on their prevention and control. The investigations on food toxins, in the initial decades, were limited to the description of lathyrism and its endemicity. Subsequently, the horizon was broadened to include the problem of mycotoxins and mycotoxicosis, which had received global attention and variety of other disease outbreaks investigations leading to total food safety transition in the forthcoming decades. Important contributions in epidemiological investigations, reproduction of the disease in experimental animals, surveillance and monitoring studies, development of methods for detection of food toxins and contaminants, evolving strategies for prevention and control and developing the concept of risk assessment and risk management for addressing food safety issues in the country are discussed.

Determination of perchlorate in food by ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry / 中国食品卫生杂志

Objective To establish a method for the determination of perchlorate in food by ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS).Methods The perchlorate residue in spices and condiments was extracted with water,that in vegetables and fruits was extracted with acetonitrile-water (1∶ 1,V/V),and that in meat,poultry,eggs,milk and aquatic products was extracted with acetonitrile-water (2∶ 1,V/V).The supernatant was cleaned up with C18 SPE (3 ml,200 mg),and the detection was carried out by UPLC-MS/MS with internal standardmethod for quantification.Results The calibration curve was linear in the concentration range of 0.3-20.0 pg/L (R2 ≥0.999),the recovery was in the range of 82.6％-108.6％,the relative standard deviation (RSD) was in the range of 1.0％-9.9％,and the limit of detection was 2.0 μg/kg for milk,and 10.0 μg/kg for other food.Conclusion The method was simple,accurate and highly sensitive,and suitable for the determination of perchlorate in food.

Determination of chloramphenicol and metronidazolel in honey by ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry with isotope-labelled internal standards / 中国食品卫生杂志

Objective To determine chloramphenicol and metronidazolel in honey by isotope-labelled internal standards ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.Methods Samples were extracted with ethyl acetate solution,and cleaned up on a MCS cartridge.The target analytes were separated on a ZORBAX SB-C18column with gradient elution using a mobile phase made up of methanol and 5 mmol/L ammonium acetate solution (containing 0.05％ formic acid).Detection was carried out using positive and negative electrospray ionization and multiple reaction monitoring (MRM),and quantified with isotope internal standardmethod.Results The chloramphenicol and metronidazolel showed good linearity in the range of 0.05-5.00 ng/ml.The recovery at three spiked levels of 0.5,2.0 and 5.0 μg/kg were in the range of 79.3％-96.7％.The relative standard deviation (RSD) was 5.5％-14.8％.The limits of quantitation were 0.15 μg/kg,the limits of detection were 0.05 μg/kg.Conclusion The method is sensitive and accurate.It could be applied to the high-throughput analysis of chloramphenicol and metronidazolel.

Rapid screening and confirmation of multiple pesticide residues in vegetable and fruit by ultra performance liquid chromatography-Q-time of flight mass spectrometry / 中国食品卫生杂志

Objective An analytical method for rapid screening and confirmation of multiple pesticide residues in vegetable and fruit was established according to GB 2763-2014 national food safety standard-maximum residue limits for pesticides in food,using ultra performance liquid chromatography-Q-time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS).Methods Pesticide residues in vegetable and fruit were screened by comparing the accurate mass,isotope distribution and abundance in the accurate mass database,and confirmed by comparing with the spectra in the spectra library or by the spectral analysis method.Results The method was verified by spiked samples,and all pesticides were detected at the addition level of 10.0 and 50.0 μg/kg.The recovery of 90％ of the pesticides was in the range of 70％-120％,with relative standard deviation (RSD) ≤ 20％ (n =5).The method was applied to screen pesticides in 30 samples of vegetables and fruits.Twenty-seven pesticides were found and 2 samples exceeded the limit.Conclusion The method was sensitive,accurate and reproducible.Hundreds of pesticides in GB 2763-2014 could be screened and confirmed in a short period of time even without standard substance.It could provide an effective method for food safety control.

Human Biomonitoring of Environmental Contaminants - Examples Offering Tools Towards Safe Food in Sweden.

Introduction: Humans are constantly exposed to a wide variety of environmental contaminants from different sources. The risk assessment of exposure to chemical compounds includes hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment and risk characterization. Human biomonitoring (HBM), as a method to measure the chemicals or their metabolites in human body fluids and/or tissues, might be used at any stage of risk assessment. However, the most used role of HBM in this process is in the exposure assessment. In order to estimate the body burden of the varied exposure, the Swedish National Food Agency (NFA) applies HBM to complement the traditional calculations based on chemical analyses of the food content and consumers' selfreported food intake, or food purchase statistics. Aim: To summarize the two main HBM studies performed by the Swedish NFA over the last two decades, i.e. POPUP (Persistent Organic Pollutants in Uppsala Primiparas) and RIKSMATEN (national food survey), and to show how they can give complementary information to improve risk assessment of environmental contaminants. Results: Levels of a wide range of compounds, including environmental contaminants, have been measured in human samples collected from these studies. These results, collected over a number of years, make it possible to study the general temporal trends for the measured environmental contaminants. Additionally, the identification of exposure determinants and exposure pathways has been conducted by aid of collected data on food consumption and life-style factors, and possible associations have been reported. Conclusion: Overall, the gained results demonstrate how HBM studies provide important information both on the current state and the temporal trends of human exposure to environmental contaminants. Combined with other imperative data collected, HBM is an important complementary tool for risk assessment of environmental contaminants, which in many cases have diet as main source. Consequently, HBM is important in risk management of these contaminants to implement and follow-up risk reducing or preventive actions within the food sector, as well as to provide an early warning on potential threats to public health.

Chemical characterization of the Allium sativum and Origanum vulgare essential oils and their inhibition effect on the growth of some food pathogens / Caracterização química e efeito inibitório dos óleos essenciais de Allium sativum e Origanum vulgare frente ao crescimento de alguns patógenos de alimentos

This study sought to evaluate the chemical composition of the Allium sativum and Origanum vulgare essential oils and their effect on the growth inhibition of microorganisms, such as P. aeruginosa, S. Choleraesuis, A. flavus, A. niger and P. simplicissimum, important food contaminants. The main constituents of the oregano essential oil were 4-terpineol (27.03%), γ-terpinene (20.04%), and β-cymene (6.34%), and the main constituents of the garlic essential oil were diallyl trisulfide (38, 81%), diallyl disulfide (25.23%), and methyl allyl trisulfide (12.52%). Inhibition zones were formed in in vitro tests on the bacteria S. Choleraesuis and P. aeruginosa, except for A. sativum against P. aeruginosa. The inhibition of mycelial growth caused by the oregano essential oil occurred with the concentrations of 0.10, 0.03 and 0.05 mg mL-1 for the A. flavus, A. niger and P. simplicissimum fungi, respectively. The CMI for the garlic oil began at the 0.03 mg mL-1 concentration for all species of fungi. The oils presented an inhibitory effect against the microorganisms studied and constitute an alternative for microbiological control in food.

Objetivou-se avaliar a composição química e o efeito inibitório dos óleos essenciais de Allium sativum e Origanum vulgare frente ao crescimento dos micro-organismos Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella Choleraesuis, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger e Penicillium simplicissimum, importantes patógenos causadores de contaminações em alimentos. Para quantificação e identificação dos constituintes químicos dos óleos, utilizou-se cromatógrafo gasoso acoplado a espectrômetro de massas. Os principais constituintes do óleo essencial de orégano foram o 4-terpineol (27,03%), γ-terpineno (20,04%), β-cimeno (6,34%), e do alho, o dialil trissulfeto (38,81%), dialil dissulfeto (25,23%), metil alil trissulfeto (12,52%). Os resultados dos testes in vitro sobre as bactérias S. Choleraesuis e P. aeruginosa indicaram a formação de halo de inibição e revelaram o efeito inibitório para os referidos óleos, exceto para o óleo de A. sativum frente a P. aeruginosa. Para os fungos A. flavus, A. niger e P. simplicissimum a inibição do crescimento micelial provocada pelo óleo essencial de orégano ocorreu a partir das concentrações de 0,10, 0,03 e 0,05 µg mL-1, respectivamente, sendo que a CMI para o óleo de alho iniciou-se a partir da concentração 0,03 µg mL-1 para todas as espécies de fungos. Foi possível verificar que os óleos possuem efeito inibitório sobre os microrganismos estudados, sendo, portanto, uma alternativa no controle microbiológico de alimentos.

Molecular identification of bacteria isolated from meat sample.

Contamination of food with bacteria moulds, yeasts, viruses, protozoa or parasites could occur within food premises and result in unfit or unsafe food. Microbial contamination is frequently the result of ignorance, carelessness or negligence by the food operator, or due to lack of space or inappropriate design of food areas. In this work we have identified meat contaminating bacteria through molecular techniques. The bacterium identified through morphological and biochemical tests was sporosarcina halofila. This was confirmed after amplification of genomic DNA with suitable primers. Plasmid was isolated and it was identified to be 11kb. PCR amplified product was 100bp and primers were designed accordingly to the suitable organism.

In-vitro antimicrobial activity screening of some ethnoveterinary medicinal plants traditionally used against mastitis, wound and gastrointestinal tract complication in Tigray Region, Ethiopia

Objective:To screen the antibacterial activity of nine ethnoveterinary plants traditionally used for the treatment of mastitis, wound and gastrointestinal complications. Methods:Hydroalcoholic exctracts of medicinal plants namely, Achyranthes aspera (A. aspera) L. (Family Asparagaceae), Ficus caria (F. caria) (Family Moraceae), Malvi parviflora (M. parviflora) (Family Malvaceae), Vernonia species (V. species) (local name Alakit, Family Asteraceae), Solanum hastifolium (S. hastifolium) (Family Solanaceae), Calpurinia aurea (C. aurea) (Ait) Benth (Family Fabaceae), Nicotiana tabacum (N. tabacum) L. (Family Solanaceae), Ziziphus spina-christi (Z. spina-christi) (Family Rhamnaceae), Croton macrostachys (C. macrostachys) (Family Euphorbiaceae), were screened against clinical bacterial isolates of veterinary importance from October 2007 to April 2009. The antibacterial activity was tested using disc diffusion at two concentrations (200 mg/mL and 100 mg/mL) and broth dilution methods using 70%methanol macerated leaf extracts. Results:With the exception of S. hastifolium all plant extracts exhibited antibacterial activity. Among the medicinal plants tested C. aurea, C. macrostachyus, A. aspera, N. tabacum and vernonia species (Alakit) showed the most promising antimicrobial properties. Conclusions:It can be concluded that many of the tested plants have antibacterial activity and supports the traditional usage of the plants for mastitis, wound and gastrointestinal complications treatment. Further studies into their toxicity and phytochemistry is advocated.