being an alternative method in food control laboratories for investigation of nitrite and nitrate content. This is the first study of the determination and survey of nitrite and nitrate and exposure assessment of the Iranian population to nitrite and nitrate level in milk, which was widely used in infants and adolescents as one of the basic food components.

Introduction of fuel hydrocarbons and inorganic compounds (heavy metals) into the soil, resulting in a change of the soil quality, which is likely to affect use of the soil or endangering public health and ground water. This study aimed to determine a series of parameters to remediation of TPH and heavy metals contaminated soil by non-ionic surfactants- chelating agents washing process. In this experimental study, the effects of soil washing time, agitation speed, concentration of surfactant, chelating agent and pH on the removal efficiency were studied. The results showed that TPH removal by nonionic surfactants (Tween 80, Brij 35) in optimal condition were 70–80% and 60–65%, respectively. Addition of chelating agent (EDTA) significantly increases Cd and Pb removal. The washing of soil by non- ionic surfactants and EDTA was effective in remediation of TPH and heavy metals from contaminated soil, thus it can be recommended for remediation of contaminated soil.

Contamination of agricultural commodities with ochratoxin A (OTA) is a worldwide concern in recent decades. Consumption of OTA‐contaminated baby foods exerts health implications especially in children as the most vulnerable subpopulations. In the current study, for the first time in Iran, 64 baby foods (rice, wheat, and multigrain) samples from five different brands available in the Iranian market were analyzed to determine OTA level, using a HPLC with fluorescence detector. Overall, OTA was observed in 41% of analyzed samples with a mean and maximum level of 0.42 ± 0.27 and 1.1 μg/kg, respectively. OTA levels in five of 64 samples (7.8 %) were higher than the permissible limit recommended by European Commission (permissible limit: 0.5 μg/kg) and OTA levels in two of 64 samples (3.1%) were higher than the standard set by Iranian standard organization (1 μg/kg). The highest OTA contamination was observed in rice‐based baby food cereals (1.1 μg/kg; 57% of the samples), followed by wheat‐based (23%) and multigrain (20%) samples. OTA intake in infants (≥9 months old) was more than established provisional tolerable weekly intake by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (100 and 120 ng OTA per kg of body weight, respectively). OTA content in baby food and cereals, as well as other raw foodstuff should be investigated comprehensively to reduce the exposure rate of young children to OTA.

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Purpose The present study aimed to investigate the effect of humic acid (as a NOM model) on the adsorption capacity of MWCNT. Methods Ethyl benzene and toluene were removed from aqueous solution and adsorbed on multi walled carbon nanotubes in batch adsorption experiments at the presence of different concentrations of humic acid. ResultsThe results showed that the highest adsorption of multi walled carbon nanotubes was 72 mg/g for ethyl benzene and 35 mg/g for toluene in an aqueous solution without humic acid. Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-second-order kinetic model were the predominant models of adsorption process. Pre-loading of humic acid on MWCNT reduced the adsorption capacity of MWCNT from 14 mg/g to 8 mg/g for toluene and from 25 mg/g to 10 mg/g for ethyl benzene, when the experiments were conducted with MWCNT pre-loaded by humic acid from 0 to 30% . Conclusions The batch adsorption experiments showed that the presence of dissolved humic acid in the aqueous environment slightly affected the adsorption of ethyl benzene and toluene by MWCNT but, Pre-loading of humic acid on MWCNT could reduce the adsorption capacity of multi walled carbon nanotubes.