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Toxic Residues and Risk Assessment in Food Safety

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A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Toxicology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 October 2024 | Viewed by 4264

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Silvia Pichardo

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Guest Editor

Area of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, C/Profesor García González 2, Universidad de Sevilla, 41012 Seville, Spain
Interests: food safety; in vitro assays; in vivo assays; risk assessment; toxic effects; toxicological evaluation; cyanotoxins; biomarkers; dietary exposure
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Ana Isabel Prieto

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Guest Editor

Area of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, C/Profesor García González 2, University of Sevilla, 41012 Sevilla, Spain
Interests: cyanotoxins; bioaccumulation; biomarkers; dietary exposure; food safety; in vitro assays; in vivo assays; risk assessment; toxic effects; toxicological evaluation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Increasing the production of toxic waste poses a substantial threat to public health and is of great concern to consumers, demanding rigorous risk assessment measures in the realm of food safety. These residues encompass a wide range of contaminants, including pesticides, heavy metals, toxins, and veterinary drug residues, among others. The risk assessment process is critical in evaluating the potential harm these residues may pose to consumers.

Risk assessment begins with hazard identification, wherein toxic substances are identified, characterized, and their potential health effects assessed. Following this, exposure assessment quantifies the levels of residues in various food products and estimates the likely intake by consumers. These data are then used in dose–response assessment to determine the relationship between exposure and adverse health effects.

Finally, risk characterization combines the findings from the previous steps to derive safe exposure levels or tolerable daily intake values. This process is necessary in order for regulatory agencies to establish maximum residue limits (MRLs) based on these assessments, guaranteeing that food products do not exceed safe levels. Regular monitoring and surveillance programs are essential to verify compliance with these limits.

This Special Issue welcomes original scientific articles and quality review papers related to hazard identification and characterization, exposure of toxic residues in foods and risk assessment.

Dr. Silvia Pichardo
Prof. Dr. Ana Isabel Prieto
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

toxic residues
food contaminant
risk assessment
risk management
food safety
dietary exposure
presence in foods

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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28 pages, 1366 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comprehensive Elemental Profiling of Romanian Honey: Exploring Regional Variance, Honey Types, and Analyzed Metals for Sustainable Apicultural and Environmental Practices

by Florin Dumitru Bora, Andreea Flavia Andrecan, Anamaria Călugăr, Claudiu Ioan Bunea, Maria Popescu, Ioan Valentin Petrescu-Mag and Andrea Bunea

Foods 2024, 13(8), 1253; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods13081253 - 19 Apr 2024

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Abstract

We investigated the mineral concentrations of 61 honey samples from eight Romanian regions, employing advanced techniques to assess 30 chemical elements. Potassium emerged as the dominant element, showcasing significant variations across geographical locations. Essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, sodium, and manganese maintained consistent levels, while zinc, copper, and chromium were present in smaller proportions. Critically, lead and cadmium levels exceeded established safety limits in some samples, suggesting potential environmental contamination. Additionally, elevated levels of lithium, strontium, nickel, and aluminum were detected, hinting at possible atmospheric pollution. These findings highlight the importance of regional analysis, as mineral content varied significantly between locations. Furthermore, correlation analysis revealed interdependencies among elements, suggesting shared environmental influences. Advanced statistical techniques like hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis effectively captured the impact of geographical origin on honey composition. These insights contribute valuable information for future efforts in honey quality control, traceability systems, and regulatory measures. By providing valuable insights into environmental influences on honey composition, this study informs future research endeavors and paves the way for the development of robust regulatory measures to ensure honey safety for consumers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxic Residues and Risk Assessment in Food Safety)

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16 pages, 2205 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Allium sativum L. var. Voghiera Reduces Aflatoxin B1 Bioaccessibility and Cytotoxicity In Vitro

by Álvaro Lázaro, Massimo Frangiamone, Annalisa Maietti, Alessandra Cimbalo, Pilar Vila-Donat and Lara Manyes

Foods 2024, 13(3), 487; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods13030487 - 02 Feb 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 744

Abstract

The present work focuses on the evaluation of AFB1′s bioaccessibility and cytotoxicity in vitro using bread (naturally contaminated) enriched or not enriched with fresh Voghiera garlic (2%). Two different experiments were carried out: experiment 1 (E1), with low-AFB1-concentration breads (1.6–1.7 mg/kg); and experiment 2 (E2), with high-AFB1-concentration breads (96.4–102.7 mg/kg). Eight breads were prepared, four for E1 (experiment 1) and another four for E2 (experiment 2), with each experiment having a control group (C), a garlic-enriched group (2%) (G), an AFB1 group (A), and an AFB1 + garlic group (A + G). Simulated digestion was performed on each type of bread, and gastric and intestinal digests were obtained. AFB1 content in flours, baked bread, and gastric and intestinal digests was measured by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled to Fluorescence Detection. The results demonstrate dose-dependent AFB1 bioaccessibility and that the presence of garlic contributed to its reduction in both doses (7–8%). Moreover, garlic’s presence in AFB1-contaminated bread increased cell viability (9–18%) in differentiated Caco-2 cells and mitigated the arrest of S and G2/M phases provoked by AFB1 on Jurkat T cells and reduced apoptosis/necrosis, cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), and mitochondrial ROS by 16%, 71%, and 24% respectively. The inclusion of garlic as a functional ingredient helped relieve the presence and effects of AFB1. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxic Residues and Risk Assessment in Food Safety)

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Review

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35 pages, 2572 KiB

Open AccessReview

Heavy Metal Bioaccumulation in Peruvian Food and Medicinal Products

by Teresa R. Tejada-Purizaca, Pablo A. Garcia-Chevesich, Juana Ticona-Quea, Gisella Martínez, Kattia Martínez, Lino Morales-Paredes, Giuliana Romero-Mariscal, Armando Arenazas-Rodríguez, Gary Vanzin, Jonathan O. Sharp and John E. McCray

Foods 2024, 13(5), 762; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods13050762 - 29 Feb 2024

Viewed by 2018

Abstract

To better query regional sources of metal(loid) exposure in an under-communicated region, available scientific literature from 50 national universities (undergraduate and graduate theses and dissertations), peer-reviewed journals, and reports published in Spanish and English were synthesized with a focus on metal(loid) bioaccumulation in Peruvian food and medicinal products utilized locally. The study considered 16 metal(loid)s that are known to exert toxic impacts on humans (Hg, Al, Sb, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Cr, Sn, Ni, Ag, Pb, Se, Tl, Ti, and U). A total of 1907 individual analyses contained within 231 scientific publications largely conducted by Peruvian universities were analyzed. These analyses encompassed 239 reported species classified into five main food/medicinal groups—plants, fish, macroinvertebrates and mollusks, mammals, and “others” category. Our benchmark for comparison was the World Health Organization (Codex Alimentarius) standards. The organisms most frequently investigated included plants such as asparagus, corn, cacao, and rice; fish varieties like trout, tuna, and catfish; macroinvertebrates and mollusks including crab and shrimp; mammals such as alpaca, cow, chicken eggs, and milk; and other categories represented by propolis, honey, lichen, and edible frog. Bioaccumulation-related research increased from 2 to more than 25 publications per year between 2006 and 2022. The results indicate that Peruvian food and natural medicinal products can have dangerous levels of metal(loid)s, which can cause health problems for consumers. Many common and uncommon food/medicinal products and harmful metals identified in this analysis are not regulated on the WHO’s advisory lists, suggesting the urgent need for stronger regulations to ensure public safety. In general, Cd and Pb are the metals that violated WHO standards the most, although commonly non-WHO regulated metals such as Hg, Al, As, Cr, and Ni are also a concern. Metal concentrations found in Peru are on many occasions much higher than what has been reported elsewhere. We conclude that determining the safety of food/medicinal products is challenging due to varying metal concentrations that are influenced not only by metal type but also geographical location. Given the scarcity of research findings in many regions of Peru, urgent attention is required to address this critical knowledge gap and implement effective regulatory measures to protect public health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxic Residues and Risk Assessment in Food Safety)

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