The use of telomeric length as authenticity marker in fish and seafood - a new perspective in the detection of adulteration.

In this review we propose the use of telomeric length (TL) as an authenticity marker that could provide an alternative method for differentiating fish and seafood samples or detecting fraud. Considering the ever-growing number of incidents of economically motivated fish and seafood adulteration using even more sophisticated methods to overcome current authenticity markers, the need to identify novel authenticity markers becomes essential. The TL of fish and seafood depends on individual characteristics (e.g., sex, age) and the environmental stimuli (e.g., temperature, water quality) to which these are exposed. Hence, both wild marine and freshwater populations occupying different geographical origin habitats might differ substantially because of the environmental cues affecting them. Moreover, the implementation of various rearing practices in aquaculture, such as different levels of fish and seafood density and increased ambient noise combined with site-specific environmental cues could affect TL, providing regulatory authorities with valuable information by distinguishing wild from reared populations and organic from conventional ones. In the present review the effects of both the environmental conditions and individual characteristics on the telomeric stability of fish and seafood telomeres are discussed, suggesting TL as a potential prospect authenticity marker that could be used to prevent fish and seafood adulteration.

The use of molecular markers in the verification of fish and seafood authenticity and the detection of adulteration.

The verification of authenticity and detection of food mislabeling are elements that have been of high importance for centuries. During the last few decades there has been an increasing consumer demand for the verification of food identity and the implementation of stricter controls around these matters. Fish and seafood are among the most easily adulterated foodstuffs mainly due to the significant alterations of the species' morphological characteristics that occur during the different types of processing, which render the visual identification of the animals impossible. Even simple processes, such as filleting remove very important morphological elements and suffice to prevent the visual identification of species in marketed products. Novel techniques have therefore been developed that allow identification of species, the differentiation between species and also the differentiation of individuals that belong to the same species but grow in different populations and regions. Molecular markers have been used during the last few decades to fulfill this purpose and several improvements have been implemented rendering their use applicable to a commercial scale. The reliability, accuracy, reproducibility, and time-and cost-effectiveness of these techniques allowed them to be established as routine methods in the industry and research institutes. This review article aims at presenting the most important molecular markers used for the authentication of fish and seafood. The most important techniques are described, and the results of numerous studies are outlined and discussed, allowing interested parties to easily access and compare information about several techniques and fish/seafood species.

The Role of Auditing, Food Safety, and Food Quality Standards in the Food Industry: A Review.

Food safety and quality audits are used widely in the food industry for various reasons (to evaluate management systems, obtain certifications to certain food safety and quality standards, assess the condition of premises and products, confirm legal compliance, and so on). Nowadays, the increased interest of consumers on food safety and quality matters, triggered mainly by recent food scandals, has enabled the public and private food sectors to develop a variety of food safety and quality standards. These standards have both advantages and disadvantages and their effectiveness depends on several factors such as the competency and skills of auditors and the standard used in each case. Although the industry continuously invests in developing and improving these systems, the number of foodborne outbreaks per year appears to be quite stable in both Europe and the United States. This may be an indication that additional measures and techniques or a different approach would be required to further improve the effectiveness of the food safety and quality management systems. This article examines the role of audits and food safety and quality assessment systems in the food industry, presenting the results of several studies and briefly describing the main food safety and quality standards currently used in Europe (with particular emphasis on the United Kingdom and Greece), the U.S., Australia-New Zealand, and Asia.

Use of ultrasounds in the food industry-Methods and effects on quality, safety, and organoleptic characteristics of foods: A review.

The use of ultrasounds has recently gained significant interest in the food industry mainly due to the new trends of consumers toward functional foods. Offering several advantages, this form of energy can be applied for the improvement of qualitative characteristics of high-quality foods as well as for assuring safety of a vast variety of foodstuffs, and at the same time minimizing any negative effects of the sensory characteristics of foods. Furthermore, the non-destructive nature of this technology offers several opportunities for the compositional analysis of foods. However, further research is required for the improvement of related techniques and the reduction of application costs in order to render this technology efficient for industrial use. This review paper covers the main applications of ultrasounds as well as several advantages of the use of the technology in combination with conventional techniques. The effects of ultrasounds on the characteristics, microbial safety, and quality of several foods are also detailed.

Membrane processing technology in the food industry: food processing, wastewater treatment, and effects on physical, microbiological, organoleptic, and nutritional properties of foods.

Membrane processing technology (MPT) is increasingly used nowadays in a wide range of applications (demineralization, desalination, stabilization, separation, deacidification, reduction of microbial load, purification, etc.) in food industries. The most frequently applied techniques are electrodialysis (ED), reverse osmosis (RO), nanofiltration (NF), ultrafiltration (UF), and microfiltration (MF). Several membrane characteristics, such as pore size, flow properties, and the applied hydraulic pressure mainly determine membranes' potential uses. In this review paper the basic membrane techniques, their potential applications in a large number of fields and products towards the food industry, the main advantages and disadvantages of these methods, fouling phenomena as well as their effects on the organoleptic, qualitative, and nutritional value of foods are synoptically described. Some representative examples of traditional and modern membrane applications both in tabular and figural form are also provided.

Rapid detection of chemical hazards (toxins, dioxins, and PCBs) in seafood.

Among the various hazards occurring in fish and seafood chemical hazards and in particular toxins (ciguatera, scombroid fish poisoning, paralytic shellfish poisoning, neurotoxic (brevetoxic) shellfish poisoning, puffer fish poisoning, diarrhetic shellfish poisoning) have an important place in food poisoning cases. On the other hand, some of the chemical hazards are often due to the pollution of the environment (heavy metals, dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls, and halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons) and their detection is neither rapid nor facile. As a result there was a great need for developing new rapid and effective methods toward the chemical hazards determination mainly because of their high toxicity. The aim of this review is to provide the information about the new up-to-date detection techniques (Immunological, Chemical and Biochemical, and Molecular assays) in conjunction with detection limits. The latter is made possible by means of inclusion of seven comprehensive and, in most case cases, very extended tables. A reference is also made on the risk characterization of toxins as regards their importance to food contamination or poisoning.

Life Cycle Assessment (ISO 14040) implementation in foods of animal and plant origin: review.

The importance of environmental protection has been recently upgraded due to the continuously increasing environmental pollution load. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), wellknown as ISO 14040, has been repeatedly shown to be a useful and powerful tool for assessing the environmental performance of industrial processes, both in the European and American continents as well as in many Asian countries (such as Japan and China). To the best of our knowledge, almost no information is provided in relation to LCA implementation in Africa apart from an article related to Egypt. Although food industries are not considered to be among the most heavily polluting ones, for some like olive oil, wine, dairy, and meat processing, their impact on the environment is a heavy burden. The introduction of LCA aimed at identifying both inputs and outputs to find out which are the most detrimental to the environment in terms of water/energy consumption and solid/liquid and gas releases. In this review, a thorough coverage of literature was made in an attempt to compare the implementation of LCA to a variety of products of both plant and animal origin. It was concluded that there is a high number of subsystems suggested for the same product, thereby, occasionally leading to confusion. An idea toward solving the problem is to proceed to some sort of standardization by means of several generic case studies of LCA implementation, similarly to what had happened in the case of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) implementation in the United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, and other countries.