Challenges and trends in the determination of selected chemical contaminants and allergens in food

Abstract

This article covers challenges and trends in the determination of some major food chemical contaminants and allergens, which-among others-are being monitored by Health Canada's Food Directorate and for which background levels in food and human exposure are being analyzed and calculated. Eleven different contaminants/contaminant groups and allergens have been selected for detailed discussion in this paper. They occur in foods as a result of: use as a food additive or ingredient; processing-induced reactions; food packaging migration; deliberate adulteration; and/or presence as a chemical contaminant or natural toxin in the environment. Examples include acrylamide as a food-processing-induced contaminant, bisphenol A as a food packaging-derived chemical, melamine and related compounds as food adulterants and persistent organic pollutants, and perchlorate as an environmental contaminant. Ochratoxin A, fumonisins, and paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins are examples of naturally occurring toxins whereas sulfites, peanuts, and milk exemplify common allergenic food additives/ingredients. To deal with the increasing number of sample matrices and analytes of interest, two analytical approaches have become increasingly prevalent. The first has been the development of rapid screening methods for a variety of analytes based on immunochemical techniques, utilizing ELISA or surface plasmon resonance technology. The second is the development of highly sophisticated multi-analyte methods based on liquid chromatography coupled with multiple-stage mass spectrometry for identification and simultaneous quantification of a wide range of contaminants, often with much less requirement for tedious cleanup procedures. Whereas rapid screening methods enable testing of large numbers of samples, the multi analyte mass spectrometric methods enable full quantification with confirmation of the analytes of interest. Both approaches are useful when gathering surveillance data to determine occurrence and background levels of both recognized and newly identified contaminants in foods in order to estimate human daily intake for health risk assessment.

Determination of acrylamide levels in selected commercial and traditional foods in Syria

“…Based on these findings a series of further investigations were carried out by a number of international organizations, e.g., World Health Organization, and Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations [2], which detected AA in various foodstuffs. AA has now become a public health concern as it is one of the most common food contaminants in processed food at high temperature [3], with neurotoxic carcinogenic and genotoxic effects [5] and classified Group 2A carcinogen [6] and category 2 mutagen. Over the years, efforts have been carried out to build a deeper understanding of AA formation in foodstuff with evidence suggesting that there could be numerous mechanisms by which AA is formed.…”

Increased sensitivity of lateral flow immunoassay for ochratoxin A through silver enhancement

“…Methods of analysis for OTA based on liquid chromatography combined to fluorescence or mass spectrometric detection have been described and represent the methods of election for confirmatory purposes [16][17][18][19]. However, immunochemical analyses are largely employed as screening methods, thanks to their simplicity, rapidity and cost effectiveness [16,[20][21][22].…”

“…However, immunochemical analyses are largely employed as screening methods, thanks to their simplicity, rapidity and cost effectiveness [16,[20][21][22]. LFIAs aimed at measuring OTA in food, beverages and feed have been reported, as well [23][24][25][26][27].…”

Synthesis and characterization of hapten-quantum dots bioconjugates: Application to development of a melamine fluorescentimmunoassay

“…As a result, a strong demand on research and development of new methodologies for the detection, screening and determination of melamine at trace levels in food and particularly in infant formula milks [1][2][3] has arisen nowadays. Melamine structure (MEL, IUPAC name: 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine) has a high nitrogen content (around 66%), favouring its fraudulent use as food adulterant to increase the apparent protein content [1].…”