Food Hygiene and Safety Science最新文献

This study aimed to characterize the adverse events of dietary supplements provided by medical professionals and to examine whether there are challenges when applying each case to the causality evaluation algorithm. Data from 290 individual cases collected by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in cooperation with the Tokyo Medical Association and Tokyo Pharmaceutical Association were analyzed. The causality evaluation algorithm that was used in this study was reported previously. Female patients accounted for 73% of those who experienced adverse events. Both male and female patients who had adverse events were in their 60s and 70s. Many of the participants had underlying diseases and aimed to improve their medical conditions. Furthermore, skin symptoms were the most common. Many of the supplements were made from natural substances, with an average of 7.7 ingredients in each product. More than half of the products were used for less than one month. In most cases, symptoms improved after discontinuation of the products or after the administration of medications. When each event was applied to the causality assessment algorithm, it was necessary to understand the information as follows: in cases of product discontinuation with simultaneous medications recovery was not concluding the product discontinuation, and the physician's judgement should be place as objective evidence. The algorithm was successfully applicable to cases provided by medical professionals and the evaluated results for all cases were 30% possible and 62% highly possible. The evaluated results indicate the relationship between products/ingredients and the symptom, and by adding information on the symptom and its severity, it is possible to clarify the phenomenon to be noted.

For the analysis of nitrite ions in food, the stabilities of nitrite ions in meat products and their standard solutions were evaluated. Nitrite is easily oxidized or reduced; hence, products with standard solutions or colour retention agent must be carefully handled. To assess the stability and decreasing trend of nitrite, we examined the storage stability of standard solutions using calibration curves, the time course of nitrite in chopped meat products stored under different conditions, and the time course of nitrite in the sample solutions. Regarding calibration curves, the storage stability was determined for standard solutions that were prepared with ultrapure water at concentrations of 0.025 and 0.4 μg/mL and were stored at 5℃ for one year. The results revealed no changes in concentration of any solution over time, suggesting that no readjustments to the standard solution concentration were necessary before testing until one year after their preparation. Time course of nitrite in chopped meat products stored under different conditions showed a significant decrease in nitrite in refrigerated storage (5℃), whereas stability of nitrite was maintained for up to 1 day in frozen storage (-20℃) and for 14 days in frozen storage (-40℃). The time course of nitrite in the sample solutions showed that the quantitative values of nitrite in the extract remained unchanged within one week of extraction for the meat products tested in the study.

Microbial colony counts of food samples in microbiological examinations are one of the most important items. The probability distributions for the colony counts per agar plate at the dilution of counting had not been intensively studied so far. Recently we analyzed the colony counts of food samples with several probability distributions using the Pearson's chi-square value by the "traditional" statistics as the index of fit [Fujikawa and Tsubaki, Food Hyg.Saf.Sc., 60, 88-95 (2019)]. As a result, the selected probability distributions depended on the samples. In this study we newly selected a probability distribution, namely a statistical model, suitable for the above data with the method of maximum likelihood from the probabilistic point of view. The Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) was used as the index of fit. Consequently, the Poisson model were better than the negative binomial model for all of four food samples. The Poisson model was also better than the binomial for three of four microbial culture samples. With Baysian Information Criterion (BIC), the Poisson model was also better than these two models for all the samples. These results suggested that the Poisson distribution would be the best model to estimate the colony counts of food samples. The present study would be the first report on the statistical model selection for the colony counts of food samples with AIC and BIC.

This study proposes a method to determine flubendazole and metabolite R35475 in livestock products using tandem mass spectrometry coupled with positive ion electrospray ionization. Acetone is used to extract flubendazole and metabolite R35475 from the livestock samples. These extracts were purified using an SCX cartridge column (500 mg). Furthermore, high-performance liquid chromatography was performed on an Inertsil ODS-4 column with a gradient formed using methanol and water, both of which contain 5 mmol/L of ammonium acetate. The recovery tests using bovine muscle, fat, liver, milk, and egg fortified at the maximum residue limits of analytes or 0.005 mg/kg revealed that the trueness (n=5) of flubendazole and metabolite R35475 ranged from 89.4 to 106.4% with a repeatability rate of 1.7-7.8%.

Five kinds of anions namely fluoride, chlorate, chlorite, nitrate and nitrite ions, and bromic acid were determined in various mineral waters (MWs), and the methods were validated. MWs are varying in the degree of hardness and contents of carbonate. When the five anions were measured based on the official method of tap water, the peak shape of fluoride ion in MWs with high degree of hardness was different from the standard solution, making it difficult to determine. The same phenomenon was also observed when bromic acid was measured. In order to achieve accurate determination, five-fold dilution with ultrapure water was carried out on the samples. With the additional step, the abnormal peak of both analytes was improved, and no difference in the retention times between standard and sample solutions was observed. The validation tests were performed using the developed methods with the additional diluting step, and the results of all target substances met the criteria of the guideline on analytical method validation for MW in Japan. Our results suggested that the methods we developed could be useful for the accurate determination of the anions and bromic acid in various MWs on the market.

Spices have been known to be highly contaminated commodities with mycotoxins. The Codex Alimentarius reports that nutmeg is particularly contaminated with aflatoxins (AFs) and ochratoxin A (OTA). To eliminate contaminated commodities, visual sorting and bright greenish-yellow fluorescence (BGYF) sorting are used as low-cost technologies in production engineering. In Indonesia, nutmeg is mainly sorted by visual sorting and classified into three grades according to the Indonesian national standards, with importers further defining their own brand as imported products. In this study, we evaluate the efficacy of BGYF sorting as a further selection method to reduce AFs and OTA using the importer's own brand. Further, the level of these mycotoxins and the relationship between fungal flora and mycotoxin contamination were examined. These results showed that BGYF sorting effectively reduces AFs as well as OTA. In addition, BGYF-positive groups were infected by Aspergillus sections Flavi, Nigri, and Circumdati.

Gibberellic acid (GA₃) is commonly used as a plant growth regulator in many food crops owing to its essential signaling functions during plant growth and development. In Japan, a threshold for administrative action for GA₃ content of 0.3 mg/kg applies in produce in which maximum residue limits have not been established. Although the threshold is based on previous studies, the GA₃ concentrations in individual foods are still unknown. Thus, we surveyed the concentrations of GA₃ in banana, cherry, and kiwi fruit on the Japanese market. We developed and validated a method for the analysis of GA₃ using solid-phase extraction and LC-MS/MS in accordance with accepted criteria of trueness, repeatability, and selectivity. The limits of detection and of quantification were determined as 0.005 and 0.05 mg/kg, respectively, in all fruits. Concentrations of GA₃ did not exceed 0.3 mg/kg regardless of ripeness, suggesting the reasonability of the current regulation of GA₃ in banana, cherry, and kiwi fruit. These findings can support prompt administrative action on these fruits, contributing to the regulation of GA₃ in Japan.

The conventional analysis method has problems with extraction efficiency, operability, and reproducibility. In this study, we attempted to solve these problems and improve the analytical method to obtain sufficient extraction efficiency and good operability and accuracy. The conventional method was able to get sufficient extraction in dried meat products, where the extraction efficiency of the conventional method was low, by increasing the concentration of sodium hydroxide solution at the time of homogenization. Suction filtration after adding the defoaming agent was added allowed for accurate volume adjustment. The turbidity of the extract caused by insufficient addition of zinc acetate solution was removed by increasing the amount of zinc acetate solution that was added. Turbidity caused by starch was removed by adding pancreatin. The RSD of the quantitative values was improved by adding sodium hydroxide solution and 80-90℃ water and immediately homogenizing. Furthermore, by changing the dilution factor of the extract solution in the colorimetric method, the inhibition of coloration by reducing substances was suppressed, and more accurate quantitative values could be obtained than with the conventional method. The recovery rate was 78.5-105% (RSD 0.7-5.8%), which was a good result. This method was considered to be a useful analytical method that can contribute to improving the inspection accuracy of nitrite ion analysis.

A simple method of identification using a color reaction was developed for Omphalotus guepiniformis. Only Omphalotus guepiniformis turned turquoise green. Other edible mushrooms resembling the mushroom did not change color when the beam reagent (5 w/v% potassium hydroxide ethanolic solution) was dripped onto the mushroom pileus. Furthermore, ethanol extract and mock cooking products of this mushroom exhibited the same color reaction. These results demonstrate this method as useful for identifying Omphalotus guepiniformis during mushroom hunting or during investigations of food poisoning.