High pressure inactivation of Clostridium botulinum type E endospores in model emulsion systems

Clostridium botulinum type E is a cold-tolerant, neurotoxigenic, endospore-forming organism, primarily associated with aquatic environments. High pressure thermal (HPT) processing presents a promising tool to enhance food safety and stability. The effect of fat on HPT inactivation of C. botulinum type E spores was investigated using an emulsion model system. The distribution of spores in oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions and their HPT (300–750?MPa, 45–75?°C, 10?min) inactivation was determined as a function of emulsion fat content (30–70% (v/v) soybean oil in buffer). Approximately 26% and 74% of the spores were located at the oil–buffer interface and the continuous phase, respectively. Spore inactivation in emulsion systems decreased with increasing oil contents, which suggests that the fat content of food plays an important role in the protection of C. botulinum type E endospores against HPT treatments. These results can be helpful for future safety considerations.     

New era for mucosal mast cells: their roles in inflammation,allergic immune responses and adjuvant development

To achieve immune homeostasis in such a harsh environment as the intestinal mucosa, both active and quiescent immunity operate simultaneously. Disruption of gut immune homeostasis leads to the development of intestinal immune diseases such as colitis and food allergies. Among various intestinal innate immune cells, mast cells (MCs) play critical roles in protective immunity against pathogenic microorganisms, especially at mucosal sites. This suggests the potential for a novel MC-targeting type of vaccine adjuvant. Dysregulated activation of MCs also results in inflammatory responses in mucosal compartments. The regulation of this yin and yang function of MCs remains to be elucidated. In this review, we focus on the roles of mucosal MCs in the regulation of intestinal allergic reaction, inflammation and their potential as a new target for the development of mucosal adjuvants.     

Nature’s Chemical Signatures in Human Olfaction: A Foodborne Perspective for Future Biotechnology

The biocatalytic production of flavor naturals that determine chemosensory percepts of foods and beverages is an ever challenging target for academic and industrial research. Advances in chemical trace analysis and post‐genomic progress at the chemistry–biology interface revealed odor qualities of nature’s chemosensory entities to be defined by odorant‐induced olfactory receptor activity patterns. Beyond traditional views, this review and meta‐analysis now shows characteristic ratios of only about 3 to 40 genuine key odorants for each food, from a group of about 230 out of circa 10 000 food volatiles. This suggests the foodborn stimulus space has co‐evolved with, and roughly match our circa 400 olfactory receptors as best natural agonists. This perspective gives insight into nature’s chemical signatures of smell, provides the chemical odor codes of more than 220 food samples, and beyond addresses industrial implications for producing recombinants that fully reconstruct the natural odor signatures for use in flavors and fragrances, fully immersive interactive virtual environments, or humanoid bioelectronic noses.     

表面增强拉曼光谱在食品安全分析中的应用

拉曼光谱技术具有样品用量少、快速高效、无损分析等特点,表面增强拉曼光谱克服了常规拉曼光谱灵敏度低的缺点,可以获得更多物质结构信息,在现场快速筛查、检测和鉴别农兽残、限用或禁用添加剂分析检测中具有广阔的应用前景。本文综述了表面增强拉曼光谱在食品中农药残留、兽药残留和限/禁用添加剂检测中的研究进展,并展望了其发展前景。     

A review of silver nanoparticles in food packaging technologies: Regulation,methods, properties,migration, and future challenges

The development of antimicrobial food packaging is needed for food preservation and quality maintenance. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been widely used as an antimicrobial agent in food packaging technologies. However, the risks associated with their potential migration into foods are a major concern. This paper comprehensively reviews the use of AgNPs in food packaging technologies. The application of AgNPs in food packaging technologies has been regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration and the European Food Safety Authority. The addition of AgNPs into food packaging can improve their barrier, mechanical, and antibacterial properties, as well as maintain the quality of foods. Migration of AgNPs from food packaging into foods is still a concern as it has implications for human health associated with their toxicity properties. A study on the toxicological properties of AgNPs released from food packaging needs to be carried out intensively to ensure their safety before being widely implemented. Moreover, comprehensive economic evaluation to implement AgNPs in food packaging is needed as such a study is missing in the literature.     

液相色谱-四极杆-静电轨道阱高分辨质谱法测定保健食品中11种磷酸二酯酶抑制剂

保健食品样品用50%(体积分数)甲醇溶液超声提取15 min,提取液用水定容至50.0mL,离心,取上清液,经0.22μm微孔滤膜过滤,采用液相色谱-四极杆-静电轨道阱高分辨质谱法测定滤液中11种磷酸二酯酶抑制剂的含量。以Waters HSS T3色谱柱为固定相,以不同体积比的0.1%(体积分数)甲酸溶液和乙腈的混合液为流动相进行梯度洗脱,质谱分析中采用电喷雾离子源正离子模式和全扫描模式。11种磷酸二酯酶抑制剂的质量浓度均在2~100μg·L^-1内与其对应的峰面积呈线性关系,测定下限(10S/N)为0.02~0.5μg·L^-1。以空白样品为基体进行加标回收试验,所得回收率为75.7%~98.9%,测定值的相对标准偏差(n=6)为5.9%~14%。     

多模态教学模式在“食品理化检验”中的应用

基于学生自主学习能力的培养,为更好地帮助并引导学生理解晦涩难懂、枯燥抽象的知识点,以我校卫生检验与检疫专业65名学生为研究对象,将食品理化检验课程的部分章节内容采用多模态教学模式,其余内容采用传统讲授教学模式,课程结束后使用统一问卷进行调查,对多模态教学效果进行评价。结果表明2种教学模式在理解抽象实验技术或仪器、活跃课堂气氛、拓宽学习思路以及培养学习兴趣、自主学习能力和解决实际问题能力等方面均有统计学差异(p＜0.05),且有95%的学生建议继续采用多模态教学模式。教学实践及其效果评价证明多模态教学对理解抽象问题等有一定的促进作用,并可唤起学生学习兴趣、培养学生解决实际问题的能力、拓宽学习思路等。     

保健食品中非法添加物检测的前处理及分析方法研究进展

保健食品作为一种特定的食品种类,能调节人体的机能,适用于特定人群食用.但是在保健食品中添加化学药物和非法添加物的现象也层出不穷,因此迫切需要建立多指标的有效检测方法,为保健食品的质量安全提供技术保障.高效的前处理方法和高灵敏的分析方法为检测非法添加物提供了有效的技术手段.综述了近三年来溶剂萃取和固相萃取样品前处理方法,以及高效液相色谱、实时直接分析质谱、表面增强拉曼光谱及色谱-质谱串联技术等分析方法在微量及痕量非法添加物检测中的应用,为进一步研究建立高效简便的前处理方法和检测新方法、新技术提供理论参考.     

Leptospermum petersonii as a Potential Natural Food Preservative

Leptospermum petersonii (family Myrtaceae) is often cultivated for ornamental purposes but also serves as a rich source of bioactive essential oils. While several studies focused on the activities of the essential oils, this study analysed the potential of spent L. petersonii leaves as a natural food preservative. Method: We investigated the in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of crude L. petersonii extracts against activities of the purified isolated flavonoid, 6-methyltectochrysin, which was characterized using spectroscopic methods. The antioxidant assays followed ORAC, FRAP and TEAC tests. The antimicrobial activities of the extract and purified flavonoid were analysed against six multi-drug resistant microbial strains in broth dilution assays. Result: The results revealed that both the crude extracts and isolated 6-methyltectochrysin exhibited positive radical ion scavenging antioxidant potential, however the crude extract was about 6-fold more potent antioxidant than the purified 6-methyltectochrysin. The crude extract also showed strong antimicrobial activities against Bacillus cereus, and even more potent antimicrobial agent than the reference ampicillin antibiotic against Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae. A higher resistance was observed for the tested Gram-negative strains than for the Gram-positive ones. 6-methyltectochrysin was generally inactive in the antimicrobial assays. Conclusion: The crude methanolic extract showed significant bioactivity which validates the medicinal relevance of the plant. The observed biological activities, especially against a notorious strain of B. cereus, suggest that L. petersonii could be a promising natural source of food preservatives.     

Fast and efficient immunoaffinity column cleanup and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantitative analysis of aflatoxins in baby food and feeds

An ultra high performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometric method has been developed for the highly sensitive and selective determination of regulated aflatoxins. The extraction of aflatoxins from baby food matrices were performed using liquid–liquid extraction procedure followed by immunoaffinity column cleanup. The higher sensitivity for the determination of target aflatoxins was fulfilled by applying a preconcentration step with immunoaffinity columns after acetonitrile–water extraction. The enhanced selectivity was attained with the triple quadrupole mass analyzer operated in electrospray positive ionization mode. Method validation was tested in five different baby food matrices by recovery experiments. Satisfactory recoveries, between 92 and 103%, with relative standard deviations lower than 8% were achieved in all the tested matrices. The proposed method was found to be specific as no interference peaks were observed for blank samples. The limit of detection of the method was found to be in the range of 0.003–0.008 ng/mL. The validated method was fruitfully applied to the screening of aflatoxins in baby foods and feeds sample retailed in local markets of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The obtained levels of all analyzed aflatoxins were below the regulation limits set by European Agency.