Validation and application of a method for determination of multi-class pesticides in muscle chicken breast fillets using QuEChERS extraction and GC/MS.

Introduction: The occurrence of pesticide residues in animal products deserves attention because of the contamination by environmental pollutants and pesticides that may be present in the food that animals are fed. The goal of this work was the validation of a method for detection of residues of multiple classes of pesticide and determination of their residues in chicken breast fillets. Material and Methods: Gas chromatography with mass spectrometry was used for analysis. A modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe (QuEChERS) method was put into practice for its validation and applied to real samples. The study optimised mass detection and investigated the effect of a freezing step during the preparation of samples. Pesticides were determined in samples from conventional and organic production. Results: The impact of the matrix effect decreased, with the largest number of pesticides and satisfactory recovery determined by the application of mixed solvent acetonitrile and ethyl acetate for extraction. Detection of pesticide residues was achieved in a linear range between 5 and 50 µg/kg with satisfactory excellent correlation coefficients greater than 0.99. The recovery of all the pesticide residues ranged between 71.2 and 118.80%. The relative standard deviation was from 2.9% to 18.1% for all validated pesticide residues. The limits of quantification were in the range of 3.0-4.9 µg/kg. Out of 56 pesticide residues analysed in real samples, 5 were detected: α endosulfan, cypermethrin, endosulfan sulphate, permethrin and p,p´-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and their concentrations ranged from 4.9 to 15.2 µg/kg. Conclusion: All tested samples were compliant with the evaluation criteria, and detected values of pesticide residues were lower than the maximum residual levels.

Assessing the Impact of Botanical Origins, Harvest Years, and Geographical Variability on the Physicochemical Quality of Serbian Honey.

This study summarized the physicochemical analysis of 609 honey samples originating from the Republic of Serbia. Variations among honey samples from different botanical origins, regions of collections, and harvest years were exposed to descriptive statistics and correlation analysis that differentiated honey samples. Furthermore, most of the observed physicochemical parameters (glucose, fructose, sucrose content, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) levels, acidity, and electrical conductivity) varied significantly among different types of honey, years, and regions. At the same time, no noticeable difference was found in diastase activity, moisture content, and insoluble matter. Based on the obtained results, 22 honey samples could be considered adulterated, due to the irregular content of sucrose, 5-HMF, acidity, and diastase activity. In addition, 64 honey samples were suspected to be adulterated. Adulterated and non-compliant samples present a relatively low percentage (14.1%) of the total number of investigated samples. Consequently, a considerable number of honey samples met the required standards for honey quality. Overall, these findings provide insights into compositional and quality differences among various types of honey, aiding in understanding their characteristics and potential applications.

The European Chub (Squalius cephalus) as an indicator of reservoirs pollution and human health risk assessment associated with its consumption.

Five reservoirs (Vlasina, Medjuvrsje, Zaovine, Perucac, and Garasi) in Serbia were chosen as study sites, which differ by their position, purpose, stages of eutrophication, management policies, and levels of anthropogenic pressure. The objectives of this research were to: determine the concentrations of 26 elements in muscle, gills, and liver of the European chub by inductively-coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES); determine the concentrations of 17 organochlorine pesticides in fish muscle by gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS); compare these findings with condition factor (CF) and histopathological (HP) biomarkers; and assess the potential human health risks due to consumption of chub muscle tissue. The highest elemental accumulation was found in the gills. The European chub was not a good indicator of Pb pollution between reservoirs. Concentrations of Hg, As, and Cu were low and did not exceed the proscribed maximum allowed concentrations (MACs). 4,4'-DDE was detected only in individuals from Vlasina, 4,4'-DDD from Perucac and Zaovine, and heptachlor from Zaovine. Low to moderate levels of HP were observed for both gills and liver in all studied reservoirs. HP index for gills was significantly higher for Zaovine compared to Vlasina. Significantly lower HP index for liver and the total HP index value were observed for fish from Vlasina compared to Perucac. No significant human health risks due to the intake of examined pollutants in each reservoir were recorded; women were at higher risk compared to men. A reason for concern is a few muscle samples from Garasi, Vlasina, Perucac, and Medjuvrsje in which Cd exceeded the MAC. A reservoir for water supply (Garasi) is generally considered the safest for fish consumption.

Influence of breed on selected quality parameters of fresh goat meat.

The potential of goats to produce a high-quality meat is mainly reflected in their healthy fats, low calorie intramuscular fats, saturated fats, and, especially, their high ratios of unsaturated (UFA) and saturated (SFA) fatty acids, as well as hypocholesterolemic and hypercholesterolemic fatty acids. The aim of this study was to collect and compare meat quality parameters for domestic Balkan, Alpine and Saanen goats of the same age. Samples for all tests were taken from musculus gluteus superficialis. Chemical composition, pH value, fatty acid composition, content of volatile compounds, color and overall sensory quality (appearance, texture and smell) were determined. In chemical composition, moisture, fat, protein and ash varied significantly between each of the examined groups as opposed to pH values. Furthermore, among all the examined groups a significant difference was found for fatty acids and volatile compounds. Determined ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) to SFAs was 0.089, 0.085 and 0.071 for Balkan, Alpine and Saanen goat meats, respectively. Regarding that ratio, Saanen goat meat had the most favorable characteristics. Saanen goat meat showed the highest nutritional value. On the other hand, Balkan goat meat had the lowest intramuscular fat content. Measurements of the meat color from all three groups, as well as overall acceptability, showed significant differences between breeds. Obtained results point to the impact of breed on chemical composition and fatty acid profile of goat meat.