Current Opinion in Food Science最新文献

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.

Biogenic amines are relevant to human health, however, at high concentrations, some can cause adverse effects. Tyramine and histamine are the ones most associated with food intoxication. The symptoms of tyramine intoxication are increased blood pressure, migraine and hypertensive crisis in clretain-->individuals under monoamine oxidase inhibitor treatment. High levels of tyramine can be found in aged cheese, sausages, and alcoholic beverages. Histamine intoxication is characterized by pruritus, rash, urticaria, and the most incriminated foods are fish and cheese containing excessive amounts of histamine. Nowadays, histamine intolerance, with a wide range of nonspecific gastrointestinal, neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory, and skin symptoms, is prevalent with even low-histamine-level food. The severity of symptoms is enhanced when metabolization mechanisms are deficient, metabolizing enzymes are inhibited (e.g. by drugs), or in the concomitant presence of other bioactive amines, which can enhance and synergistically potentiate toxicity. In addition, some bioactive amines show cytotoxicity at the concentrations usually found in food, indicating the need to expand the studies about their chronic effects. Up-to-date information is provided in this paper allowing a better understanding of the factors involved and which can affect intoxications, thereby contributing to their avoidance.

Fungal contamination is among the leading causes of food spoilage promoting serious risks to human health and economic losses. In 2021, 135 billion pounds of food, estimated at $169 billion, were wasted due to food spoilage caused by fungi. So, the need for alternative methods against fungal resistance, including resistance to preservatives, becomes increasingly relevant. This review addresses the aspects involved in antimicrobial mechanisms of action and resistance while exposing recent advances in using synthetic peptides as agents to address foodborne fungal resistance. Here, is discussed how the properties of synthetic peptides may have sparked the food industry's interest in food preservation and display an overview of how these advances have contributed to the control of fruit-infecting fungi. Overall, this review aims to provide an overview of synthetic antimicrobial peptides, their potential applications in food safety, and their feasibility and main challenges.

Nowadays, there is a clear and growing demand for innovative analytical methods capable to provide reliable information of food components that allows not only to ensure the safety and quality of foods but also to reveal food–health associations. In this context, capillary electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry (CE-MS) is particularly useful in the analysis of polar and charged compounds. This review article aims to provide a critical overview of the most remarkable advances on the use of CE-MS-based approaches to assess different aspects of Food Science, including food quality and traceability, food safety, and food–health interactions. Besides, the most recent hardware and software developments are also discussed.

Fumonisins, mycotoxins commonly found in cereal and cereal-based products, are associated with a wide range of toxic effects. Dietary risk assessments for fumonisins have been conducted worldwide to evaluate the potential health risks that could arise from exposure. In this paper, the latest dietary risk assessments for fumonisins were summarized, the approaches used were evaluated, and challenges and prospects were raised. Few studies indicated a potential risk from the exposure to fumonisins through diet, but most of them could be refined (in a tiered approach) to show a more realistic scenario. For fumonisins, the inclusion of matrix-associated and modified forms in dietary risk assessments should be carefully evaluated, since they could greatly increase the total fumonisin content found in food products and may shift the current situation presented.

Pulsed electric field (PEF) stands out as a promising sustainable nonthermal technology in the dairy industry for minimizing the deleterious effects of conventional thermal processing without degrading the nutritional, functional, and sensory characteristics of milk and milk products. However, there still needs to be more commercial exploitation of this technology. Research on the effect of processing milk and dairy products by the PEF is scarce in the literature. Besides, up to the present moment, no technical–economic feasibility studies have been found regarding using high-intensity electric pulses in milk and dairy products. This review aims to critically examine the recent advances in the effectiveness of PEF treatment on the inactivation of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms in milk and milk products while considering the impact of process parameters, food properties, and microorganism characteristics on ensuring the quality and safety of milk and dairy products.

Propionibacterium freudenreichii is used as a cheese-ripening adjunct culture and also receives interest as de novo producer of vitamin B₁₂ (B₁₂) and for its probiotic potential. Recent advances suggest P. freudenreichii is adapted for growth in intestinal tracts enabled by the capacity to metabolize important gut cross-feeding metabolites such as lactate and 1,2-propanediol (1,2-PD), further supporting its potential as probiotic. Notably, P. freudenreichii was recently shown to capture and utilize low amounts of oxygen such as encountered in the gut. This enabled complete oxidation of lactate, further stimulating P. freudenreichii growth, resulting in increased biomass and B₁₂ production. In addition, bacterial microcompartment (BMC)-dependent utilization of 1,2-PD in anaerobic conditions, has implications for potential mutualistic interactions between P. freudenreichii and mucus-degrading bacteria such as bifidobacteria. The capacity to metabolize short-chain fatty acids and 1,2-PD may further support innovative applications of P. freudenreichii such as in situ B₁₂ enrichment of fermented foods.