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-Ginkgo biloba L. is the eldest plant growing on the Earth; preparations made of its leaves and seeds represent an integral part of the Chinese medicine for over a millennium. The plant species was first discovered by Linnaeus in 1771, its name thereby originating from the Latin words bis (two) and lobus (lobe), which duly illustrate the specific shape of its leaf. Contemporary Ginkgo biloba L. plant based pharmaceuticals mostly comprise extracts recovered from leaves harvested during fall, when the concentration of active components reaches its peak. Recent investigations have managed to establish the chemical composition of the plant leaf, together with the mechanisms underlying its beneficial effects on rheological profile of the blood and acceleration of its flow. High price of these preparations and their vast popularity have soon become an incentive for counterfeiting Ginkgo biloba L. extracts and the release of bogus drugs comprising cheaper extracts coming from other plants. Namely, modern Ginkgo biloba L.-based medicinal products and food supplements comprise extracts recovered from the plant leaf that get to be standardized according to its key pharmacological active components, most often flavone glycosides (represented in the share of 22%-27%) and terpene trilactones (represented in the share of 6%-7%). The flavonoids that predominate such preparations and are most relevant from the pharmacological standpoint are quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin, their total amount and mutual ratios, thereby being an unquestionable indicator of the extract authenticity. Therefore, most of the analyses aiming at verifying the authenticity of a given Ginkgo biloba L.-based product boil down to the analysis of these parameters. Counterfeiting involves partial or full replacement of the Ginkgo biloba L. extract (GBE) with a cheaper plant extract of a similar composition, the latter occasionally being enriched with an additional amount of flavonoids, most often quercetin, not

BPA is a plasticizer for the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins and is widely used in the production of household goods, including food packaging. Free BPA is known to migrate from packaging to food, and its uptake has been associated with adverse health effect, particularly the disruption of endocrine activity. The presence and migration of BPA from plastic consumer products are subject to strict regulation in the EU. The aim of this study is to analyse the migration of BPA from different packaging items and household products sold on the Croatian market. To simulate real life exposure, we treated samples with a food simulant. The analytical performance was confirmed with the EU requirements. BPA levels were assessed in 61 samples by HPLC-FLD and the LOQ of the method was 0.005 mg kg−1 for the food simulant. These results showed that the levels of BPA that migrated to the food simulant were below LOQ and in accordance with the specific migration limit into food, which was defined as 0.05 mg kg−1 for all samples. None of the analysed products presented a health hazard. However, these regulations do not refer to products intended for children’s use, in which BPA is banned. Furthermore, regulations require testing before putting products on the market, and previous research shows that possible BPA migration occurs due to various uses, along with a cumulative effect of exposure from even very small concentrations. Therefore, for accurate BPA consumer exposure evaluation and possible health risks, a comprehensive approach is needed.

Med je po definiciji namirnica kojoj se ništa ne smije dodavati niti oduzimati kako bi zadržala svoja izvorna karakteristična svojstva. Podaci Food Fraud networka govore kako je riječ o hrani koja podliježe sve češćim prevarama potrošača, odnosno krivotvorenju. Med je specifičnog kemijskog i nutritivnog sastava koji mu daju status visokovrijedne hrane. Taj sastav, osim krivotvorenjem sastojaka, može se ugroziti i njegovim neadekvatnim skladištenjem ili pogrešnom manipulacijom tijekom prerade i prodaje. Cilj je ovoga projekta pratiti promjene osnovnih parametara kvalitete meda kao što su kiselost, elektrovodljivost, aktivnost dijastaze i količina hidroksimetilfurfurala (HMF), koji se mijenjaju s duljinom skladištenja, temperaturom i izloženošću meda Sunčevoj svjetlosti. Istraživanjem je utvrđeno da različiti uvjeti skladištenja meda povezani s promjenom temperaturnog režima imaju utjecaj na promjenu kvalitete meda. Ukupno je analizirano osam uzoraka meda (pet uzoraka meda bagrema i tri uzorka cvjetnog meda), a dobiveni rezultati prikazuju prosječne vrijednosti svih analiziranih uzoraka. Najveće promjene utvrđene su kod dijastaze i HMF-a. Med je skladišten na temperaturi od –20 °C, 0 °C, 20 °C te na temperaturi od 40 °C i 60 °C. Rezultati ukazuju da izlaganje meda višim temperaturama utječe na smanjenje aktivnosti dijastaze ispod 8DN. Jednako tako, rezultati ukazuju da vrijednosti HMF-a pri visokim temperaturama rastu i ako je izloženost meda visokim temperaturama dulja, vrijednosti HMF-a prelaze maksimalne vrijednosti (40mg/kg). Stoga je od velike važnosti da se pri distribuciji i skladištenju meda vodi računa o izloženosti meda utjecaju direktne svjetlosti i temperature okoliša u kojem se med skladišti kako bi se sačuvale prirodne vrijednosti meda. Potrebno je radi zaštite potrošača med skladištiti izvan dohvata Sunčeve svjetlosti i visokih temperatura, a sve u cilju zaštite zdravlja ljudi.