Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites synthesized by a variety of fungal species such as Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, and Alternaria. These secondary metabolites are toxic and have a significant impact if they enter the production and food chain. Mycotoxins have attracted worldwide attention because of their impact on human health, huge economic losses, and domestic and foreign trade. Although more than 400 mycotoxins have been identified, most studies have focused on aflatoxins (AF), ochratoxin A (OTA), Fusarium toxins, fumonisin (FUM), zearalenone (ZEA), trichothecenes (TCT), and deoxynivalenol/nivalenol due to food safety and economic losses. This chapter will be addressing the type of mycotoxins, its importance in food industry, preventive measures, and implementation of hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) to control mycotoxin.

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Phytochemicals are used often in vitro and in vivo in cancer research. The plant hormones jasmonates (JAs) control the synthesis of specialized metabolites through complex regulatory networks. JAs possess selective cytotoxicity in mixed populations of cancer and normal cells. Here, direct incubation of leaf explants from the non-medicinal plant Arabidopsis thaliana with human breast cancer cells, selectively suppresses cancer cell growth. High-throughput LC-MS identified Arabidopsis metabolites. Protein and transcript levels of cell cycle regulators were examined in breast cancer cells. A synergistic effect by methyljasmonate (MeJA) and by compounds upregulated in the metabolome of MeJA-treated Arabidopsis leaves, on the breast cancer cell cycle, is associated with Cell Division Cycle 6 (CDC6), Cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2), Cyclins D1 and D3, indicating that key cell cycle components mediate cell viability reduction. Bioactives such as indoles, quinolines and cis-(+)-12-oxophytodienoic acid, in synergy, could act as anticancer compounds. Our work suggests a universal role for MeJA-treatment of Arabidopsis in altering the DNA replication regulator CDC6, supporting conservation, across kingdoms, of cell cycle regulation, through the crosstalk between the mechanistic target of rapamycin, mTOR, and JAs. This study has important implications for the identification of metabolites with anti-cancer bioactivities in plants with no known medicinal pedigree and it will have applications in developing disease treatments

In this study, effect of temperature (4, 10, 25, and 35°C) on microstructural and rheological properties of royal jelly (RJ) was investigated. Our results indicated that pH and proximate composition of RJ was insignificantly affected by temperature, but °Brix values increased. Microstructural images showed that RJ particles were homogeneous at 10 and 25°C, but swelled at 35°C. RJ samples showed shear thinning behavior with yield stress. The increasing temperature caused the increase of yield stress due to swelling of particles. All samples were characterized as weak gel‐like behavior because G′ > G″ at up to 100 rad/s. Three interval thixotropic test (3ITT) showed that RJ samples could partially recover after high shear deformation, but increasing temperature decreased recovery percentage of samples. This study revealed that the temperature of RJ should never exceed to 10°C to obtain better recovery during the processing.Practical applicationsApicultural products such as royal jelly (RJ) have become very important nutritional products in recent times due to bioactive properties and are increasingly attracted by consumers. Bioactive properties of RJ can highly be deteriorated by process temperature and storage conditions. RJ has creamy and milk‐like structure and contains high amounts of proteins and carbohydrates. Therefore, the rheological characterization of RJ can provide significant information about structure, freshness, end product quality for consumers, as well as process equipment design and energy consumption for manufacturers. The freshness of RJ is determined with the analysis of 10‐HDA, furosine, superoxide dismutase and 57 kDa proteins. This study revealed that the rheological characterization of RJ at different temperatures may be helpful to estimate freshness and process conditions easier than analytical methods.

A high temperature, short time (HTST) pasteurization system was equipped with electronic sensors to determine the temperature, pressure, flow rate, and position of the flow diversion valve. A computer for data acquisition was wired to the sensors to monitor and to record processing conditions related to public health. The processing conditions were stored in safety files on the hard drive of the computer, transferred weekly to a tape drive, and stored. The processing conditions of the HTST system were monitored for 270 d to determine the accuracy and reliability of the data acquisition system. The size of the HTST safety files ranged from 6.2 to 9.1 MB when the sensors were monitored every second. The file size was reduced to < 1.8 MB when the monitoring frequency was increased to every 5 s. To determine accuracy, the temperatures recorded by the data acquisition system were compared with the temperatures recorded by an electronic recorder controller. To determine reliability, changes in the position of the flow diversion valve were examined to identify process deviations and were compared with the event marker on circular charts. The review of the data file by the actual time method was an effective alternative to the electronic recorder controller for monitoring the completeness of data in the safety files. Off-line review to determine reliability required approximately 10 min/d of records.

Ensuring food safety is becoming progressively important in frozen foods due to increased demand and consumption worldwide. The Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP) shall support daily operational activities and monitor the lack of process hygiene & sanitation actions to achieve food safety. The aim of this study was implementation of EMP in the frozen fruit and vegetable factory to identify the place that allows for pathogen/indicator microorganism growth and create preventive actions to reduce or eliminate the risk of cross-contamination. A total of 400 swab samples, Zone 1 (n = 228), Zone 2 (n = 90), Zone 3 (n = 52), Zone 4 (n = 30) were examined for E. coli and Coliform, Total Plate Count (TPC), yeast and mold and environmental Listeria spp. The percentage of satisfying target value before vs after the implementation of EMP was 82% vs. 100% for E. coli, 61% vs. 86% for Coliforms, 48% vs. 77% for TPC and 63% vs. 80% for yeast & mold respectively for Zone 1. Environmental Listeria was not determined in any of the zones. Integration of EMP to food safety management systems is essential to prevent outbreaks, recalls and economic losses. In addition to depending on the developing technologies, EMP should be supported with new corrective actions.

BACKGROUND Royal jelly (RJ) is a unique beehive product and has been recommended for human health since ancient times because of its antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiproliferative, neuroprotective, anti‐lipidemic and anti‐aging features. However, the biggest obstacle in the use of RJ is the need for cold storage and the instability of bioactive components over time. In the present study, 10‐hydroxy‐2‐decenoic acid (10‐HDA) content, as well as antioxidant [using 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazy and 2,2′‐azino‐bis(3‐ethylbenzthiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) methods] and antimicrobial activity (five Gram‐positive, five Gram‐negative and three yeasts), were comparatively evaluated for three RJ forms, two of which can be stored at 24 ± 1 °C during storage. RESULTS Microencapsulated royal jelly (MRJ) stored at room temperature succeeded in preserving its 10‐HDA content, a major bioactive compound, during the 6 months, with respect to lyophilized royal jelly (LRJ) and fresh RJ stored at 4 °C. The initial 10‐HDA contents of RJ, LRJ and MRJ were determined as 1.90%, 5.26% and 2.75%, respectively. Moreover, the total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity and antimicrobial activity mostly remained constant throughout the storage period (P ≥ 0.05). Gram‐positive strains were generally more sensitive than Gram‐negative strains. In the present study, the in vitro simulated digestion analysis showed that MRJ can tolerate the digestion process. CONCLUSION Overall, the encapsulation process was considered as one preservative technique for RJ. The microencapsulation of RJ as shown in the results of the present study are encouraging in terms of enabling the local beekeeping sector to achieve ease of production and increased product diversity. MRJ shows promise as a commercial product with a high export value for producers. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

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