A novel chemometric classification for FTIR spectra of mycotoxin-contaminated maize and peanuts at regulatory limits.

The rapid identification of mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol and aflatoxin B1 in agricultural commodities is an ongoing concern for food importers and processors. While sophisticated chromatography-based methods are well established for regulatory testing by food safety authorities, few techniques exist to provide a rapid assessment for traders. This study advances the development of a mid-infrared spectroscopic method, recording spectra with little sample preparation. Spectral data were classified using a bootstrap-aggregated (bagged) decision tree method, evaluating the protein and carbohydrate absorption regions of the spectrum. The method was able to classify 79% of 110 maize samples at the European Union regulatory limit for deoxynivalenol of 1750 µg kg-1 and, for the first time, 77% of 92 peanut samples at 8 µg kg-1 of aflatoxin B1. A subset model revealed a dependency on variety and type of fungal infection. The employed CRC and SBL maize varieties could be pooled in the model with a reduction of classification accuracy from 90% to 79%. Samples infected with Fusarium verticillioides were removed, leaving samples infected with F. graminearum and F. culmorum in the dataset improving classification accuracy from 73% to 79%. A 500 µg kg-1 classification threshold for deoxynivalenol in maize performed even better with 85% accuracy. This is assumed to be due to a larger number of samples around the threshold increasing representativity. Comparison with established principal component analysis classification, which consistently showed overlapping clusters, confirmed the superior performance of bagged decision tree classification.

Detection of the food allergen celery via loop-mediated isothermal amplification technique.

Since 2005, celery and celery products have to be labeled according to Directive 2003/89/EC due to their allergenic potential. In order to provide a DNA-based, rapid and simple detection method suitable for high-throughput analysis, a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for the detection of celery (Apium graveolens) was developed. The assay was tested for specificity for celery since closely related species also hold food relevance. The limit of detection (LOD) for spiked food samples was found to be as low as 7.8 mg of dry celery powder per kilogram. An evaluation of different amplification and detection platforms was performed to show reliable detection independent from the instrument used for amplification (thermal cycler or heating block) and detection mechanisms (real-time fluorescence detection, agarose gel electrophoresis or nucleic acid staining). The analysis of 10 commercial food samples representing diverse and complex food matrices, and a false-negative rate of 0% for approximately 24 target copies or 0.08 ng celery DNA for three selected food matrices show that LAMP has the potential to be used as an alternative strategy for the detection of allergenic celery. The performance of the developed LAMP assay turned out to be equal or superior to the best available PCR assay for the detection of celery in food products.

Detection of the 35S promoter in transgenic maize via various isothermal amplification techniques: a practical approach.

In 2003 the European Commission introduced a 0.9% threshold for food and feed products containing genetically modified organism (GMO)-derived components. For commodities containing GMO contents higher than this threshold, labelling is mandatory. To provide a DNA-based rapid and simple detection method suitable for high-throughput screening of GMOs, several isothermal amplification approaches for the 35S promoter were tested: strand displacement amplification, nicking-enzyme amplification reaction, rolling circle amplification, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and helicase-dependent amplification (HDA). The assays developed were tested for specificity in order to distinguish between samples containing genetically modified (GM) maize and non-GM maize. For those assays capable of this discrimination, tests were performed to determine the lower limit of detection. A false-negative rate was determined to rule out whether GMO-positive samples were incorrectly classified as GMO-negative. A robustness test was performed to show reliable detection independent from the instrument used for amplification. The analysis of three GM maize lines showed that only LAMP and HDA were able to differentiate between the GMOs MON810, NK603, and Bt11 and non-GM maize. Furthermore, with the HDA assay it was possible to realize a detection limit as low as 0.5%. A false-negative rate of only 5% for 1% GM maize for all three maize lines shows that HDA has the potential to be used as an alternative strategy for the detection of transgenic maize. All results obtained with the LAMP and HDA assays were compared with the results obtained with a previously reported real-time PCR assay for the 35S promoter in transgenic maize. This study presents two new screening assays for detection of the 35S promoter in transgenic maize by applying the isothermal amplification approaches HDA and LAMP.