Accuracy of Declared Salt Content on Traffic Light Labelling of Nuts and Seeds in Isfahan, Iran.

BACKGROUND: Regarding the importance of the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and higher consumption of salt among the Iranian population than the level recommended by the World Health Organization, the aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the salt mentioned in the traffic light labelling of nuts and seeds. Study Design: A cross-sectional study. METHODS: A total of 53 packaged nuts and seeds, including 7, 8, 9, 9, 10, and 10 samples of pumpkin, pistachios, almond, sunflower, peanut, and watermelon nuts and seeds, respectively, with traffic light labelling, were randomly purchased from several local markets in Isfahan, Iran. The amount of sodium was measured by the inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy technique and then multiplied by 2.5 to achieve the amount of salt. RESULTS: Varying levels of traffic light labeling value accuracy were observed in most of the samples. In the almond, pistachio, peanut, and watermelon groups, the average amount of laboratory value had a statistically significant difference with the label value (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated that the salt content of 82% of the studied samples had discrepancies with the values stated on the traffic light labelling. The presentation of an accurate amount of salt content is essential for promoting healthy eating habits and enabling individuals to make informed choices about their diet. It is recommended that regulatory authorities should review labelling guidelines and enforce stricter compliance to ensure accurate representation of salt content on packaged foods.

Corrigendum to "Determination of metal(oids) in different traditional flat breads distributed in Isfahan city, Iran: Health risk assessment study by latin hypercube sampling" [Toxicol. Reports 10 (2023) 382-388].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2023.02.015.].

Determination of metal(oids) in different traditional flat breads distributed in Isfahan city, Iran: Health risk assessment study by latin hypercube sampling.

This survey was conducted to assess the metal(oids) content in 93 samples of bread, including barbari, lavash, and tafton, using inductive couple plasma/optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) method and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The amounts of measured element were compared with the permissible limit set for bread by FAO/WHO and Iranian National Standardization Organization (INSO). The limit of detection (LOD) was ranged from 6.6 × 10-5 to 2.1 × 10-2 mg l-1 with recoveries ranged from 92% to 102%. The average concentrations of aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), boron (B), cadmium (Cd), iron (Fe), mercury (Hg), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) in bread were 29.88 ±â€¯8, 0.03 ±â€¯0.004, 12.77 ±â€¯3.70, 0.01 ±â€¯0.006, 34.16 ±â€¯8.95, 0.01 ±â€¯0.008, 346.07 ±â€¯36.08, 3314.81 ±â€¯317.19, 0.24 ±â€¯0.11, and 19.65 ±â€¯4.66 mg Kg-1, respectively. Amounts of As, Cd, Hg, Mg, Pb, and Zn were lower, and those of Al, Fe, and Na were higher than the permissible limits defined by FAO/WHO. The Latin Hyper Cube (LHC) sampling results revealed that children were exposed to higher non-carcinogenic risk and adults were more threatened by carcinogenic risk. It is recommended to control the entrance of metals in bread in the farm-to-fork chain in order to prevent probable future health challenges.

Application of intelligent packaging for meat products: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Today, in response to consumer demand and market trends, the development of new packaging with better performance such as intelligent packaging has become more important. This packaging system is able to perform intelligent functions to increase shelf life, increase safety and improve product quality. OBJECTIVES: Recently, various types of packaging systems are available for meat products, especially cooked, fresh and processed meats. But because meat products are very perishable, monitoring their quality and safety in the supply chain is very important. This systematic article briefly reviews some of the recent data about the application of intelligent packaging in meat products. METHODS: The search was conducted in Google Scholar, Science Direct, Elsevier, Springer, Scopus, and PubMed, from April 1996 to April 2021 using a different combination of the following keyword: intelligent packaging, and meat. RESULTS: The results showed that the intelligent packaging presents several benefits compared to traditional packaging (e.g., antimicrobial, antioxidant, and shelf life extension) at the industrial processing level. Thus, these systems have been applied to improve the shelf life and textural properties of meat and meat products. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to control the number of intelligent compounds that are included in the packaging as they clearly influence the quality and nutritional properties as well as the final cost of the food products.

Value-added utilization of fruit and vegetable processing by-products for the manufacture of biodegradable food packaging films.

Currently, the demand for eco-friendly packaging materials to replace plastic is increasing. Edible or biodegradable packaging films prepared from natural compounds such as proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids have emerged as alternatives to non-biodegradable packaging materials. Fruit and vegetable waste has potential as a bioplastic material promoting environmental sustainability. In this regard, the use of underutilized compounds, such as by-products of fruit and vegetable processing in the production of biodegradable packaging films, is attracting more and more attention due to the availability of raw materials, cheapness, abundance, environmental friendliness, suitable physical properties, unique sensory and nutritional properties, and increased physical properties and functionality. The food industry, such as oil, juice, jam, or sugar production, contributes significantly to food waste generation. The agricultural/food processing by-products such as husks, seeds, offal, leaves, and gums from the production and processing of food contain high amounts of fibrous and plant proteins such as starch, cellulose, and pectin. As a result, food waste can be reused for recycling and high-value-added purposes, reducing environmental pollution and enabling sustainable green development. The present review discusses the use of fruit and vegetable by-products for producing biopolymers as an alternative to synthetic plastic polymers and the application of these biopolymers as value-added functional packaging films and coatings.

Phenolic compounds of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.): Separation method, chemical characterization, and biological properties.

Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) is a good source of bioactive compounds. However, information on the biological properties of sugar beet root is limited and its beneficial effects have not been completely understood. In this work, 10 phenolic compounds have been separated and identified in various parts of sugar beet for the first time, including the most abundant epicatechin (31.16 ± 1.89 mg/100 g), gallic acid (30.57 ± 2.69 mg/100 g), and quercetin-3-O-rutinoside (30.14 ± 3.63 mg/100 g). The biological activity tests indicated that sugar beet peel potently scavenged the nitric oxide and DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radicals with IC50 values of 88.17 ± 05.14 and 28.77 ± 0.62 µg/ml, respectively. In addition, sugar beet peel exhibited the highest reducing power, IC50 values of 11.98 ± 1.20 µg/ml, and the highest ion-chelating activity, IC50 values of 48.52% and 55.21% for cupric and ferrous ions at 250 µg/ml, respectively. Compared to synthetic antioxidants, sugar beet showed promising biological activities, which could be considered further in future studies.