Maximum levels for dioxins in food and feedstuffs have been recently established by the European Commission through two regulations. Dioxin-monitoring programmes of food and feedstuffs will therefore ...be undertaken by the European Member States to implement these regulations, which would be facilitated by fast and low-cost screening methods. Commission Directives 2002/70/EC and 2002/69/EC describe specific characteristics for such screening methods. In the present study, the performance characteristics of the DR CALUX method from BioDetection Systems were established in a validation study with 14 participants. The study was based on two materials (fish oil and feed), each containing four different levels of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs around the current limits. The results demonstrate that the test is very promising but that in particular the clean-up procedure was a source of variation and requires further optimization and standardization. In addition the quantification is improved by the use of control samples to correct for background contamination, recovery and differences between the TEF values and REP (relative potency) factors in the test.
Pyrolysis Mass Spectrometry (Py-MS) was used to investigate discrimination of honey samples from different floral (ten) and geographical (seven) origins. The data were analysed statistically (using ...Principal Component and Discriminant Factor Analysis) in order to check the possibility of the use of these profiles for characterising the botanical source of honey. Py-MS showed as a very useful tool for the rapid discrimination of honeys from different botanical origins. Separation of the geographical origin of honey was unsuccessful and this is likely to be due to the very large and varied botanical origins of honey located within a single geographical region.
This paper investigates the state-of-the-art of organic food with respect to the law (certification, inspection, and labelling), the market, the customer, and organic food itself.
In spite of ...research work carried out on different aspects of organic food, there is not yet a method/methods for routine use in authentication of organic food products. The issues of organic food safety and potential nutritional benefits are also under study as controversial claims.
Research work to support and meet the needs of farmers and markets concerning claims on authenticity, safety and nutritional values of organic crops is necessary and discussed in this paper.
Current methods for the authentication of cocoa butter (CB) are mainly based on a knowledge of its triglyceride (TG) composition. The performances of capillary GLC and nonaqueous HPLC with an ...evaporative light-scattering detector (ELSD) for the quantification of TG of CB of different geographical origins were compared. Use of capillary columns coated with a polarizable stationary phase or two reversed-phase HPLC columns coupled in series efficiently separated the major TG species contained in CB. The velocity of the GLC carrier gas influenced the FID response factors of TG standard compounds, which were linearly related to the retention times of the analytes studied. Within a certain mass range the ELSD response of standard TG solutions did not deviate from unity to a greater extent, independent of the molecular structure of the TG species. The quantities of individual TG as obtained by both methods were in close agreement, and the precisions of the methods were also of comparable magnitude, so that either method can be applied to assess the purity of CB. Capillary GLC has the advantage of higher sample throughput due to a shorter run time and because the consumption of chemicals is negligible. Keywords: Cocoa butter; triglycerides; capillary GLC; HPLC; evaporative light-scattering detector
Triacylglycerols (TGs) make up the major part of naturally occurring fats and oils. The composition and fine structure of TGs determine to a large extent the functionality of fats and oils as food ...ingredients and the physiological effects of fats and oils as component of the human diet. Analysis of intact TGs is usually performed by chromatographic methods. In this article the application of gas‐liquid chromatography, high‐performance chromatography in normal and reversed phase mode, thin‐layer chromatography and supercritical fluid chromatography for the qualitative and quantitative determination of TGs is reviewed. Emphasis is put on those factors that are decisive for obtaining reliable quantitative data. Furthermore, techniques for the stereospecific analysis of the fatty acid distribution along the glycerol backbone of TGs are presented briefly.
Three methods were compared for the quantitative extraction of fat from plain chocolate and cocoa products ranging from simple intermediary products such as cocoa butter, cocoa masses or liquors to ...market purchased chocolate samples. The classical method of extraction using an acid digestion followed by Soxhlet extraction was compared to two potentially alternative methods: microwave extraction and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE). The extracted intact triacylglycerols were then analysed directly by high temperature capillary gas chromatography (HT-GC). The results of extractions were compared by plotting the percentage areas of the three major triacylglycerols present one vs. the other. The results showed that the microwave extraction technique gave similar results to the more time-consuming classical extraction method. SFE gave results with higher standard deviations and a tendency to lower yields taking the acid digestion–Soxhlet method as the reference method. The minimal variations due to the methods did not impact the detection of foreign fats added to chocolate. However, the quantification of the foreign fats was impaired when using the SFE method compared to the other techniques due to the larger variations of replicate analyses of intact triacylglycerol profiles.
Peanut is a major allergenic food. Undeclared peanut (allergens) from mis‐formulation or contamination during food processing pose a potential risk for sensitized individuals and must be avoided. ...Reliable detection and quantification methods for food allergens are necessary in order to ensure compliance with food labelling and to improve consumer protection. The extraction of proteins from allergenic foods and complex food products is an important step in any allergen detection method. In this study, the protein extraction efficiency of various buffers prepared in‐house and some extraction buffers included in some commercial allergen enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test kits for peanut determination in food products were tested. In addition, the effect of roasting history on the extractability of peanut protein was investigated by the biuret and the bicinchoninic acid (BCA) assays. Elevated roasting temperatures in food processing were found to have a major impact on protein extraction efficiency by reducing protein yields of oil and dry roasted peanuts by 50–75% and 75–80%, respectively, compared with the raw material. Extraction buffers operating in the higher pH range (pH 8–11) showed best yields.
This article describes the current analytical approaches for the detection and determination of aflatoxins in food. Emphasis is on the development of simplified and cost-effective but efficient ...analytical methods for fast screening or for precise determination in order to comply with legislative requirements. An overview is also given of methods for the detection of aflatoxin-producing moulds.
