Can we cook away veterinary drug residues in food?

When most people think of food safety they think of food poisoning and bacteria. They also, one hopes, generally follow the well-understood public advice on bacterial risks and store their food properly and cook it thoroughly. But what about chemical risks in food? Do many consumers ask the question “if drug residues are in my food, does cooking make it safe?” Or do they assume that following the good advice on bacterial risks also affords some protection against the health risks of chemical contaminants? In this short report we highlight some difficulties in assessing the stability of veterinary drug residues during cooking and summarise our cooking studies on anthelmintics, nitroimidazoles and nitrofuran residues in various foods. safefood Knowledge Networks http://safefood.ning.com/

The current and potential applications of Ambient Mass Spectrometry in detecting food fraud

The adulteration of food has received substantial amounts of media attention in the last few years, with events such as the European horsemeat scandal in 2013 sending shockwaves through society. Almost all cases are motivated by the pursuit of profits and are often aided by long and complex supply chains. In the past few years, the rapid growth of ambient mass spectrometry (AMS) has been remarkable, with over thirty different ambient ionisation techniques available. Due to the increasing concerns of the food industry and regulators worldwide, AMS is now being utilised to investigate whether or not it can generate results which are faster yet comparable to those of conventional techniques. This article reviews some aspects of the adulteration of food and its impact on the economy and the public's health, the background to ambient mass spectrometry and the studies that have been undertaken to detect food adulteration using this technology.

Evaluation of an alternative spectroscopic approach for aflatoxin analysis: Comparative analysis of food and feed samples with UPLC-MS/MS

Increasing research has highlighted the effects of changing climates on the occurrence and prevalence of toxigenic Aspergillus species producing aflatoxins. There is concern of the toxicological effects to human health and animal productivity following acute and chronic exposure that may affect the future ability to provide safe and sufficient food globally. Considerable research has focused on the detection of these toxins, based on the physicochemical and biochemical properties of the aflatoxin compounds, in agricultural products for human and animal consumption. As improvements in food security continue more regulations for acceptable levels of aflatoxins have arisen globally; the most stringent in Europe. These regulations are important for developing countries as aflatoxin occurrence is high significantly effecting international trade and the economy. In developed countries analytical approaches have become highly sophisticated, capable of attaining results with high precision and accuracy, suitable for regulatory laboratories. Regrettably, many countries that are affected by aflatoxin contamination do not have resources for high tech HPLC and MS instrumentation and require more affordable, yet robust equally accurate alternatives that may be used by producers, processors and traders in emerging economies. It is especially important that those companies wishing to exploit the opportunities offered by lucrative but highly regulated markets in the developed world, have access to analytical methods that will ensure that their exports meet their customers quality and safety requirements.

This work evaluates the ToxiMet system as an alternative approach to UPLC–MS/MS for the detection and determination of aflatoxins relative to current European regulatory standards. Four commodities: rice grain, maize cracked and flour, peanut paste and dried distillers grains were analysed for natural aflatoxin contamination. For B1 and total aflatoxins determination the qualitative correlation, above or below the regulatory limit, was good for all commodities with the exception of the dried distillers grain samples for B1 for which no calibration existed. For B1 the quantitative R² correlations were 0.92, 0.92, 0.88 (<250 μg/kg) and 0.7 for rice, maize, peanuts and dried distillers grain samples respectively whereas for total aflatoxins the quantitative correlation was 0.92, 0.94, 0.88 and 0.91. The ToxiMet system could be used as an alternative for aflatoxin analysis for current legislation but some consideration should be given to aflatoxin M1 regulatory levels for these commodities considering the high levels detected in this study especially for maize and peanuts

The influence of socio-demographic, psychological and knowledge-related variables alongside perceived cooking and food skills abilities in the prediction of diet quality in adults: a nationally representative cross-sectional study

Background: Interventions to increase cooking skills (CS) and food skills (FS) as a route to improving overall diet are popular within public health. This study tested a comprehensive model of diet quality by assessing the influence of socio-demographic, knowledge- and psychological-related variables alongside perceived CS and FS abilities. The correspondence of two measures of diet quality further validated the Eating Choices Index (ECI) for use in quantitative research.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a quota-controlled nationally representative sample of 1049 adults aged 20–60 years drawn from the Island of Ireland. Surveys were administered in participants’ homes via computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) assessing a range of socio-demographic, knowledge- and psychological-related variables alongside perceived CS and FS abilities. Regression models were used to model factors influencing diet quality. Correspondence between 2 measures of diet quality was assessed using chi-square and Pearson correlations.
Results: ECI score was significantly negatively correlated with DINE Fat intake (r = -0.24, p < 0.001), and ECI score was significantly positively correlated with DINE Fibre intake (r = 0.38, p < 0.001), demonstrating a high agreement. Findings indicated that males, younger respondents and those with no/few educational qualifications scored significantly lower on both CS and FS abilities. The relative influence of socio-demographic, knowledge, psychological variables and CS and FS abilities on dietary outcomes varied, with regression models explaining 10–20 % of diet quality variance. CS ability exerted the strongest relationship with saturated fat intake (β = -0.296, p < 0.001) and was a significant predictor of fibre intake (β = -0.113, p < 0.05), although not for healthy food choices (ECI) (β = 0.04, p > 0.05).
Conclusion: Greater CS and FS abilities may not lead directly to healthier dietary choices given the myriad of other factors implicated; however, CS appear to have differential influences on aspects of the diet, most notably in relation to lowering saturated fat intake. Findings suggest that CS and FS should not be singular targets of interventions designed to improve diet; but targeting specific sub-groups of the population e.g. males, younger adults, those with limited education might be more fruitful. A greater understanding of the interaction of factors influencing cooking and food practices within the home is needed.