Current Opinion in Food Science最新文献

Indigenous fermented foods and beverages are important sources of nutrients for the population, mainly in developing countries. These foods are made from various substrates, and the unique characteristics of each product are given by the diversity of metabolites produced by the microbiota during the fermentation process. The microbiota associated with different fermented foods and their physicochemical characteristics has been described in the literature. However, the safety of these foods is poorly reported. Most foodborne pathogens are the primary cause of unsafe foods and diseases, turning into a future public health issue. A brief description of the different fermented indigenous foods and beverages in the world is presented in this paper, relating the nutritional aspect, microbiota, process methodology, and food safety.

Marine shellfish and finfish are common vectors of biotoxins produced by bacteria, cyanobacteria, and microalgae, severely affecting public health worldwide. Monitoring the presence of toxigenic microorganisms in the water and toxic compounds in seafood can be effective in preventing/mitigating intoxication outbreaks, although the risks are still high for emerging, underregulated toxins and/or in places where toxin monitoring is deficient. This paper summarizes the latest findings on seafood contamination by marine biotoxins, including emerging toxic compounds, and presents the recent advances on analytical methods for toxin detection and regulation. Ultimately, the importance of adopting advanced techniques and an integrated notification system for mitigating the impacts of toxin contamination on human health worldwide is discussed, using Brazil as a case study.

Mycotoxins are natural metabolites produced by fungi. Owing to their extensive contamination in agricultural products and severe poisonous effects on humans and animals, the proper treatment of mycotoxins and their producers has received worldwide attention. Synthetic microbial consortia can remove mycotoxins and antagonize their producers more efficiently in comparison to monocultures. Therefore, this review mainly focuses on discussing the applications of synthetic microbial consortia in mycotoxin biodetoxification through degradation and adsorption, as well as in antagonism toward mycotoxin producers. Moreover, challenges and future perspectives for the synthetic microbial consortia to mitigate mycotoxin contamination and fungal infection have also been provided.

Strategies to estimate the risks from dietary exposure to multiple pesticides have been developed since the 1980s, based on the dose-addition of substances within a mixture with similar biological activity that differ in their potencies. In this paper, the different strategies to estimate the exposure and characterize the cumulative risks are presented and discussed, and some studies conducted in the last three years are reviewed. The main challenge is to define a cumulative assessment group (CAG), which depends primarily on a sound and high-quality toxicological database. Owing to the complexity of the process, harmonization has not yet been reached among regulatory agencies, and the process is not used for setting maximum residue levels. Most studies conducted around the world have shown potential health risks from cumulative exposure only when very conservative assumptions are used in the assessment.

Owing to their inherent toxicities, rigorous testing and critical evaluation of pesticides are required by many legislations. Pesticide residues in agricultural products are inevitable but must be kept below legal limits to guarantee that exposure of the consumer does not exceed safe levels. Substance-specific health-based guidance values for long-term or acute dietary exposure are currently based on studies in laboratory animals, in which doses without adverse health effects serve as the point of departure for their derivation. While the system has so far delivered well in terms of public health protection, it is increasingly challenged to develop further by using new approach methodologies. The potential of these methods not only lies in their reduced animal use but, more importantly, in their ability to use human-derived systems, thus producing data closer to the species of interest as well as enabling a more mechanistic interpretation of any toxicities observed.

This review categorizes findings from recent studies regarding powdered infant formulas (PIFs) to expand the range of microbial risk management. Evidence for underrecognized behaviors of bacterial contaminants (risky metabolism, communication among pathogens, and transfer of antibiotic resistance) and dominance of psychrotrophs or thermophiles unculturable by conventional inspection methods (total bacterial count) highlight unexplored roles of PIF microflora. Novel contamination routes and control points to inhibit bacterial activities during manufacturing and feeding stages could be revealed by prevalence analysis followed by risk assessment. Advances in pathogen detection and decontamination technologies have suggested effective and easy-to-implement methods for proactive risk management. Assessment for the interaction of infant gut microbiota with bacteria in PIFs should also be the background for establishing risk management strategies.