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Sodium chloride (NaCl) is the most commonly used ingredient to provide salty taste to foods. However, excess sodium in the bloodstream has been associated with the development of several chronic noncommunicable diseases. In order to limit sodium intake to levels considered safe, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends for adults a daily intake of not more than 5 g of NaCl (less than 2 g of sodium). One of the strategic actions recommended by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to reduce sodium intake is reformulation of processed foods. This recommendation indicates there is an urgent need to find salt substitutes, and umami compounds have been pointed as an alternative strategy. Like salty, umami is also a basic taste and the major compound associated to umami is monosodium L‐glutamate (MSG). The available scientific data on the toxicity of MSG has been evaluated by scientific committees and regulatory agencies. The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and the Scientific Committee on Food of the European Commission established an acceptable daily intake (ADI) not specified, which indicated that the substance offers no health risk when used as a food additive. The United States Food and Drug Administration and the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology classified MSG as a Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) substance. In this paper, an overview about salty and umami taste physiology, the potential applications of MSG use to reduce sodium content in specific industrialized foods and safety aspects of MSG as food additive are presented.

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Aquaculture has become an important source of fish available for human consumption. In order to achieve greater productivity, intensive fish cultivation systems are employed, which can cause greater susceptibility to diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Antimicrobial substances are compounds used in livestock production with the objectives of inhibiting the growth of microorganisms and treatment or prevention of diseases. It is well recognized that the issues of antimicrobial use in food animals are of global concern about its impact on food safety. This paper present an overview of the aquaculture production in the whole world, raising the particularities in Brazil, highlighting the importance of the use of veterinary drugs in this system of animal food production, and address the potential risks arising from their indiscriminate use and their impacts on aquaculture production as they affect human health and the environment. The manuscript also discusses the analytical methods commonly used in the determination of veterinary drug residues in fish, with special issue for fluroquinolones residues and with emphasis on employment of LC-MS/MS analytical technique.

Hormones are used in fish farming to increase fish production when one sex of a species has the capacity to grow bigger and faster than the other sex. The technique to increase fish production based on sexual dimorphism mostly uses estrogens and androgens. These chemicals must be handled carefully to ensure environmental, biological and food safety, since they can contaminate the environment and promote changes in the endocrine system inducing adverse effects on the consumer health. Another important issue is the reliability of the analytical methods used to identify and/or quantify hormone residues in the meat of treated fish. Therefore, the aim of this review is to bring into view the use of hormones in fish farming, the possible impacts of this practice on humans and on the environment and to discuss the current methods of analysis for determining the hormone residues in food matrices, especially in fish.Una revisión sobre el uso de hormonas en la piscicultura. Métodos analíticos para determinar sus residuos RESUMEN Las hormonas se utilizan en la piscicultura para aumentar la producción de pescado cuando un sexo de una especie tiene la capacidad de crecer más y más rápido que el otro sexo. La técnica para aumentar la producción de pescado con base en el dimorfismo sexual utiliza, principalmente, estrógenos y andrógenos. Estas substancias deben manipularse cuidadosamente para garantizar la seguridad ambiental, biológica y alimentaria, ya que pueden contaminar el medioambiente e inducir cambios en el sistema endocrino provocando efectos adversos en la salud del consumidor. Otro importante problema es la fiabilidad de los métodos analíticos utilizados para identificar y/o cuantificar los residuos de hormonas en la carne del pescado tratado. Así, el objetivo de esta revisión es presentar el uso de hormonas en piscicultura, los posibles impactos de esta práctica en seres humanos y en el medioambiente y discutir los métodos actuales de análisis para determinar los residuos de hormonas en varios alimentos, especialmente en el pescado. ARTICLE HISTORY

A dieta influencia todos os estágios do ciclo da vida, fornecendo nutrientes necessários ao sustento do corpo humano. Alterações de ordem funcional e/ou estrutural, provocadas por doenças e infecções agudas ou crônicas, levam à utilização de medicamentos, cujo objetivo é restaurar a saúde. A via preferencial escolhida para a sua administração é a oral, entre outras razões, por sua comodidade e segurança. O fenômeno de interação fármaco-nutriente pode surgir antes ou durante a absorção gastrintestinal, durante a distribuição e armazenamento nos tecidos, no processo de biotransformação ou mesmo durante a excreção. Assim, é de importância fundamental conhecer os fármacos cuja velocidade de absorção e/ou quantidade absorvida podem ser afetadas na presença de alimentos, bem como aqueles que não são afetados. Por outro lado, muitos deles, incluindo antibióticos, antiácidos e laxativos podem causar má absorção de nutrientes.Portanto, o objetivo do presente artigo é apresentar uma revisão dos diversos aspectos envolvidos na interação fármaco-nutriente.

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The nitrate content of leafy vegetables (watercress, lettuce and arugula) produced by different agricultural systems (conventional, organic and hydroponic) was determined. The daily nitrate intake from the consumption of these crop species by the average Brazilian consumer was also estimated. Sampling was carried out between June 2001 to February 2003 in Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil. Nitrate was extracted from the samples using the procedure recommended by the AOAC. Flow injection analysis with spectrophotometric detection at 460 nm was used for nitrate determination through the ternary complex FeSCNNO+. For lettuce and arugula, the average nitrate content varied (p < 0.05) between the three agricultural systems with the nitrate level in the crops produced by the organic system being lower than in the conventional system that, in turn, was lower than in the hydroponic system. For watercress, no difference (p < 0.05) was found between the organic and hydroponic samples, both having higher nitrate contents (p < 0.05) than conventionally cultivated samples. The nitrate content for each crop species varied among producers, between different parts of the plant and in relation to the season. The estimated daily nitrate intake, calculated from the consumption of the crops produced by the hydroponic system, represented 29% of the acceptable daily intake established for this ion.