Bisphenol A in dairy products, amount, potential risks, and the various analytical methods, a systematic review.

This systematic study deals with the amount of bisphenol A (BPA) in milk and dairy products, its analytical methods, and risk assessment. Milk is one of the drinks that has a high consumption. Bisphenol A can be present both in raw milk and its amount undergoes changes during the pasteurization process. This review was conducted by searching for the keywords Bisphenol A, BPA milk, dairy product, cheese, cream, butter, yogurt, measurement, detection, and analysis in different databases. The search was done in three databases, Scopus, PubMed and Science Direct. The largest number of studies on the determination of bisphenol A belonged to Asian and European countries. The amount of bisphenol A in milks was observed in the range from ND to 640 ng/mL. Furthermore, the amount of BPA in the tested cheese samples was observed in the ND range up to 6.1 ng/g and in the yogurt samples in the ND range up to 4.4 ng/g. The most used analytical method was based on liquid chromatography. The most used solvent for extraction was methanol or acetonitrile. HQ (Hazard Quotient) was also calculated in some studies. There was no risk in terms of milk consumption due to BPA contamination in extracted data.

The effect of flavorings on PAHs level in the roasted sunflower seeds.

The amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can be reduced by food additives. In this study, the impact of various flavors was investigated on the formation of PAHs in roasted sunflower seeds. PAHs was measured in the shell and kernel of sunflower with the flavors of lemon, golpar (hogweed), salt, ketchup and raw sunflower. Measuring the amount of PAHs was analyzed by Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). PAHs with low molecular weight were detected. The total of PAHs of sunflower seeds were in the range of 0.4-3.2 mg kg-1. The lowest amount was related to the hogweed kernel, and the highest amount was related to the lemon. High molecular weight PAHs were not detected because the temperature did not rise above 100 °C during roasting. Some flavors, such as hogweed can reduce the amount of PAHs because of their antioxidant properties. On the contrary, the PAHs level with lemon juice was higher than other flavors.

Evaluation of Sodium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate Preservative Concentrations in Different Sauce Samples in Urmia, Iran.

Sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate are relatively common preservatives used in a wide range of foods including flavoring products like sauces. The potential health risks arising from these preservatives along with the high-consumption rate of these flavoring products worldwide highlight the importance of the quality and safety assurance of these products. So, this study aimed to evaluate the concentrations of these two common preservatives (i.e., sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate) in different sauce samples, including mayonnaise, salad dressings, Caesar sauce, Italian dressing, Ranch dressing, French dressing, using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and to compare them with the acceptable level of Codex standard. For this purpose, 49 samples, including three to five samples of each type of different brands of sauce samples, were randomly collected from supermarkets in Urmia, Iran. Based on the results, the mean concentrations ± standard deviation of sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate in the collected samples were found to be 249.9 ± 157 and 158.0 ± 131 ppm, respectively, which were lower than the general standard of the Codex Alimentarius and the European legislation. Due to the importance of hazardous side effects of these preservatives for consumers, regular and accurate evaluation of these preservatives in sauces as highly consumed food products is still recommended for consumer safety.

Residues of carcinogenic pesticides in food: a systematic review.

Most agricultural products are exposed to pesticides. Organochlorine (OCPs) insecticides have been banned for years due to their persistence in the environment and lipophilic properties. On the other hand, some carcinogenic organophosphates are used in high amounts. Therefore, this systematic review was performed with the keywords; pesticide, carcinogenic, carcinogen, residue, contamination, pollution, and food to determine the type of food and pesticide. 663 manuscripts were found by searching in databases. After initial screening and quality assessment of full text, 26 manuscripts were selected. In this study, by reviewing selected manuscripts, about 13 pesticides were associated with carcinogenic effects. These pesticides were Chlorothalonil, Glyphosate, Tetrachlorvinphos, Parathion, Malathion, Diazinon, heptachlor, Hexachlorobenzene, aldrin, dieldrin, DDT, chlordane, Lindane. Most of these pesticides were organochlorine. The organochlorine pesticides are primarily detected in foods of animal origin. In some studies, the amount of carcinogenic organochlorine was higher than the permissible levels. From the carcinogenic herbicide, Glyphosate. An important finding of this systematic review is that carcinogenic organochlorines are still a threat to cancer incidence.

Evaluation of iron content in bakery flour samples of Tehran, Iran.

Given that iron-deficiency anemia is a major nutritional problem in Iran and bread is one of the main foods in Iranian household basket, a flour fortification program with iron was established in 2001. Thereafter, to quality control of the mentioned program, the iron concentration was measured in flour samples. Accordingly, this study was conducted to investigate the iron content in wheat flour samples in Tehran, Iran. One hundred and twenty-one samples of wheat flour (i.e., Confectionery, Taftoon, Setareh, Barbary, Sangak wheat flour) were randomly collected from bakeries in Tehran by simple random sampling method. The content of iron was determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The mean levels of iron in Confectionery, Taftoon, Setareh, Barbary, Sangak flour were 18.56 ± 5.64 ppm, 28.32 ± 1.74 ppm, 17.21 ± 5.02 ppm, 32.81 ± 3.98 ppm, 14.02 ± 4.99 ppm, respectively. The mean iron concentration of all sample groups was not complied with the minimum recommended level set by the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical education (40 ppm). The mean iron content of all tested flour was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) lower than the minimum recommended level. The highest iron level was obtained in Barbary (32.81 ppm) and Taftoon (28.32 ppm) flour. While the lowest mean iron level was obtained in Sangak flour (14.02 ppm), followed by Setareh (17.21 ppm), and Confectionery (18.56 ppm) flour. In conclusion, it was identified that the iron fortification program in Tehran, Iran was not well performed as the minimum required level of iron in wheat flours (40 ppm) was not fulfilled. Therefore, the supervision and encouragement of the authorities to provide iron-fortified flours is highly recommended.

Contamination of potentially toxic metals in children's toys marketed in Iran.

Chemical exposure of heavy metals in children is of particular concern. However, using heavy metal-contaminated toys can threaten the life and well-being of children. Therefore, quality control of toys for avoiding children exposure to potentially toxic metals is important. The investigation of potentially toxic metals (arsenic, barium, antimony, cadmium, chromium, mercury, lead, selenium) in toys was performed in present study. A total number of 150 popular cheap priced plastic toy samples were purchased from the eight metropolitan and most visited provinces in Iran and analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer for arsenic, barium, antimony cadmium, chromium, mercury, lead, and selenium. As results showed As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Hg, Pb, Sb, and Se respectively were in the range of 0-0.9 mg/kg, 0.3-5 mg/kg, 0-3.1 mg/kg, 0.04-4.8 mg/kg, 0-0.03 mg/kg, 0.22-11.7 mg/kg, 0-1.2 mg/kg, and 0.03-1.1 mg/kg. Cadmium was higher than the European standard in Kurdistan province. The highest amount of mercury was also observed in Tehran. The highest amount of lead, selenium, and antimony was detected in Qom province. The results showed that all the toxic elements in the collected toys were within the permissible limit. Furthermore, market monitoring is needed to control toys safety on a large scale in metropolitan cities like Qom province.

The amount and detection method of styrene in foods: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The ingredients in food packaging migrate to the food inside. One of the most common compounds used for packaging of food is polystyrene. This systematic review aimed to investigate the level of styrene's pollution in food packed with polystyrene. The original articles include keywords styrene, polystyrene, food, contamination, pollution, "food packaging" were searched in Web of science, Medline, Scopus, and Science Direct. A total of 227 studies were achieved. The articles that did not meet the inclusion criteria were excluded with the initial evaluation. The quality assessment was conducted for full paper and finally data were extracted from 8 selected articles. Mata analysis, meta-regression, subgroup analysis, and publication bias was also conducted with comprehensive meta-analysis (CMA) software. Most of the examined samples were dairy products. The amount of fat in dairy products is an important factor in increasing the migration of styrene. The shelf life of product also had effect on migration of styrene. The overall average was estimated as 91.53 ± 26.18 µg/kg in food matrix. This amount is less than the permissible level. The results of meta regression showed that the type of food affects the pooled mean of styrene in the food. There was no publication bias for the selected articles.

Contamination and ecological risk assessment of trace elements in sediments of the Anzali Wetland, Northern Iran.

In this paper, concentrations of some heavy metals in surficial sediments of the International Anzali Wetland were measured, this wetland is located in the northern part of Iran. Sediment pollution levels were examined and analyzed using reliable pollution indices including Pollution Load Index (PLI), Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo) and Enrichment Factor (CF), and finally it was revealed that heavy metal pollution ranged from low to moderate loads in the wetland. According to Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs) and Ecological Risk Index (ERI), it was concluded that As and Ni may have significant toxic impacts on aquatic organisms and also according to Effect Range Median (ERM), the toxicity probability of sediments in the Anzali wetland was estimated at 21%.

A Combinational Strategy Mitigated Old-Aged Petroleum Contaminants: Ineffectiveness of Biostimulation as a Bioremediation Technique.

Hydrocarbon contamination emerging from the crude oil industrial-related activities has led to severe environmental issues. Prolonged contamination with the constant infiltration of crude oil into the soil is a severe problem in remediating contaminated soils. Hence, the current study focuses on comparing various bioremediation strategies, thereby isolating native bacteria competent to reduce TPH in both liquid and microcosm environments in an old-aged petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soil. Assays in the modified 6SW-Vit medium after 7 days of incubation revealed that Bacillus altitudinis strain HRG-1 was highly hydrophobic and had a suitable ability to decrease surface tension (40.98%) and TPH (73.3%). The results of biodegradation in the microcosm proved that among the designated treatments, including bio-stimulated microcosm (SM), bacterialized microcosm (BM), a combined bio-stimulated microcosm and bacterialized microcosm (SB), and natural attenuation (NA), the SB treatment was the most effective in mitigating TPH (38.2%). However, the SM treatment indicated the lowest TPH biodegradation (18%). Pearson correlation coefficient among microcosm biological indicators under investigation revealed that soil basal respiration had the highest correlation with the amount of residual TPH (r = -0.73915, P < 0.0001), followed by the microbial population (r = -0.65218, P < 0.0001), catalase activity (r = 0.48323, P = 0.0028), polyphenol oxidase activity (r = -0.43842, P = 0.0075), and dehydrogenase activity (r = -0.34990, P = 0.0364), respectively. Nevertheless, considering the capability of strain HRG-1 and the higher efficiency of the combined technique, their use is recommended to diminish the concentration of petroleum hydrocarbons in hot and dry contaminated areas.

Simultaneous extraction of 32 polychlorinated biphenyls by using magnetic carbon nanocomposite based dispersive microextraction, subsequent dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction with two miscible stripping solvents, and quantitation by GC-µECD.

A highly sensitive new method is described for performing dispersive microextractions. It is making use of a magnetic carbon nanocomposite and two miscible organic solvents. The method was applied to simultaneous extraction of 32 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) prior to their quantitation by gas chromatography with electron capture detection. The effects of pH value of sample for both micro solid phase extraction and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction, of the amount of sorbent, extraction time, type and volume of the miscible organic solvents and of salt addition were optimized. Figures of merit obtained under optimized conditions (sample solution: 500 ml, volume of disperser solvent, ACN, 1.5 mL; volume of extraction solvent, TCB, 30 µL; extraction time: 50 min, 20 mg magnetic sorbent, centrifuge, 5 min, 4000 rpm), include (a) preconcentration factors between 10,880 and 34,000; (b) repeatabilities of ≤14.9%, (c) detection limits between 0.01 and 0.2 ng kg-1, and (d) linear dynamic ranges from 0.05 to 100 ng kg - 1. The method was applied to the simultaneous analysis of residues in (spiked) real samples of fish, milk, packing sheet, and tap waters. Some of the analytes were found to be present in fish samples. The method is simple, rapid, and more sensitive than any of the previously reported ones. Graphical abstract Schematic presentation of simultaneous extraction of 32 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) by using magnetic carbon nanocomposites (MCNs) based dispersive microextraction (M-SPE), subsequent dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) with two miscible stripping solvents, and quantitation by GC-µECD.

Combination of hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction followed by HPLC-DAD and multivariate curve resolution to determine antibacterial residues in foods of animal origin.

In the present research, a carrier mediated hollow fiber based liquid-phase microextraction approach (HF-LPME) prior to high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) was developed for the simultaneous determination of the antibacterial residues of four tetracyclines (TCs) and five quinolones (QNs), which are commonly used as veterinary medicines. In order to obtain high extraction efficiency, the parameters affecting HF-LPME were optimized using a three-factor and three-level Box-Behnken design under response surface methodology. This method was validated according to the recommendations of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and, for the first time, successfully applied to a wide range of animal source food samples such as fish, milk, and honey as well as the liver and muscles of lamb and chicken. Analytical performance was determined in terms of linearity, intra- and inter-assay precision, detection and quantification limits, matrix effect, accuracy, and drug stability in real samples. Detection and quantitation limits for the different antibiotics ranged between 0.5-20ngg(-1) and 1.25-40ngg(-1), respectively. Intra and inter-day repeatability, expressed as the relative standard deviation, were in the ranges of 3.4-10.7% and 5.0-11.5%, respectively. The procedure allows good preconcentration factors of 175-700. The results of the validation process proved that the method is suitable for determining TCs and QNs residues in surveillance programs. Finally, the applicability of the proposed method was successfully confirmed by the extraction and determination of nine antibiotics in various animal source food samples. The importance of this methodology relies on the combination of HF-LPME/HPLC-DAD second-order data with multivariate curve resolution-alternative least squares (MCR-ALS) algorithm, which improves the resolution of some overlapped chromatograms and, hence, increases the accuracy and repeatability of drug determination.

Combination of solid-phase extraction with dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction followed by GC-MS for determination of pesticide residues from water, milk, honey and fruit juice.

In this work, an effective preconcentration method for the extraction and determination of traces of multi-residue pesticides was developed using solid-phase extraction (SPE) coupled with dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Variables affecting the performance of both extraction steps such as type and volume of elution and extraction solvents, breakthrough volume, salt addition, extraction time were thoroughly investigated. The proposed method resulted in good linearities (R(2)>0.9915) over the ranges of 1-10,000ngkg(-1), limits of detection (LODs) in the range of 0.5-1.0ngkg(-1) at S/N=3, and precision of RSD% of ⩽11.8. Under optimal conditions, the preconcentration factors were obtained in the range of 2362-10,593 for 100mL sample solutions. Comparison of the proposed method with other ones demonstrated that SPE-DLLME method provides higher extraction efficiency and larger preconcentration factor for determination of pesticides residues. Further, it is simple, inexpensive, highly sensitive, and can be successfully applied to separation, preconcentration and determination of the pesticides (and other noxious materials) in different real food samples.

A new concept of hollow fiber liquid-liquid-liquid microextraction compatible with gas chromatography based on two immiscible organic solvents.

A new concept of liquid-liquid-liquid microextraction (LLLME) was introduced based on applying two immiscible organic solvents in lumen and wall pores of hollow fiber (HF). With this methodology, analytes of interest can be extracted from aqueous sample, into a thin layer of organic solvent (dodecane) sustained in the pores of a porous hollow fiber, and further into a muL volume of organic acceptor (acetonitrile or methanol) located inside the lumen of the hollow fiber. Some chlorophenols (CPs) were selected as model compounds for developing and evaluating of the method performance. The analysis was performed by gas chromatography-electron capture detection (GC-ECD) without derivatization. The factors affecting the HF-LLLME of target compounds were investigated and the optimal extraction conditions were established. Under the optimum conditions, preconcentration factors in a range of 208-895 were obtained. The performance of the proposed method was studied in terms of linear dynamic ranges (LDRs from 0.02 to 100ngmL(-1)), linearity (R(2)> or =0.995), precision (RSD %< or =8.1) and limits of detection (LODs in the range of 0.006-0.2ngmL(-1)). In addition to preconcentration, HF-LLLME also served as a technique for sample clean-up.

Preconcentration and speciation of arsenic in water specimens by the combination of solidification of floating drop microextraction and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry.

A simple solidification of floating drop microextraction procedure for preconcentration and speciation of trace amounts of As(III) and As(V) in water samples has been proposed prior to electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). In this method, a free microdroplet of organic solvent is floated on the surface of aqueous solution while being agitated by a stirring bar placed on the bottom of the sample vial. The determination of As(III) was achieved by selective formation of the As(III)-pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate complex in the presence of 0.1M HCl while As(V) forms a weak complex with the ligand in the same pH conditions. Total inorganic As(III, V) was extracted similarly after reduction of As(V) to As(III) with potassium iodide and sodium thiosulfate and As(V) concentration was calculated by difference. Pd(NO(3))(2) was used as a chemical modifier in ETAAS. Some important extraction parameters such as the type of organic solvent, solvent volume, sample stirring rate, sample solution temperature, salt addition and the exposure time on the extraction recovery were investigated and optimized. Under the optimized extraction conditions, the detection limit of 9.2 pg mL(-1) and suitable precision (RSD<8.6%), along with enhancement factor of 1000 for As were achieved. The developed method was applied successfully to speciation of As(III), As(V) and determination of the total amount of As in water samples.

Taguchi OA16 orthogonal array design for the optimization of cloud point extraction for selenium determination in environmental and biological samples by tungsten-modified tube electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry.

Orthogonal array design (OAD) was applied for the first time to optimize cloud point extraction (CPE) conditions for Se(IV) determination by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) in environmental and biological samples. Selenium was reacted with o-phenylenediamine to form piazselenol in an acidic medium (pH 2). Using Triton X-114, as surfactant, piazselenol was quantitatively extracted into small volume (about 30 microL) of the surfactant-rich phase after centrifugation. Five relevant factors, i.e. surfactant concentration, pH, ionic strength, equilibrium time and temperature were selected and the effects of each factor were studied at four levels on the extraction efficiency of Se(IV) and optimized. The statistical analysis revealed that the most important factors contributing to the extraction efficiency are ionic strength, pH and percent of surfactant. Based on the results obtained from the analysis of variance (ANOVA), the optimum conditions for extraction were established as: pH 6; vial temperature=50 degrees C; extraction time=7 min and 0.3% (w/v) of Triton X-114. The method was permitted to obtain a detection limit of 0.09 ng mL(-1) and two linear calibration ranges from 0.6 to 1.0 and 1.0 to 80.0 ng mL(-1) Se. The precision (%RSD) of the extraction and determination for the six replicates of Se at 20 ng mL(-1) was better than 3.6% and the enrichment factor of 63.5 was achieved. The studied analyte was successfully extracted and determined with high efficiency using cloud point extraction method in water and biological matrices.

Extraction and determination of organophosphorus pesticides in water samples by a new liquid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-flame photometric detection.

A rapid, sensitive and efficient liquid phase microextraction (LPME) method was developed to determine trace concentrations of some organophosphorus pesticides in water samples. This method combines liquid phase microextraction with gas chromatographic (GC) analysis in a simple and inexpensive apparatus involving very little organic solvent consumption. It involves exposing a floated drop of an organic solvent on the surface of aqueous solution in a sealed vial. Experimental parameters which control the performance of LPME such as type of organic solvent, organic solvent and sample volumes, sample stirring rate, sample solution temperature, salt addition and exposure time were investigated and optimized. Finally, the enrichment factor, dynamic linear range (DLR), limit of detection (LOD) and precision of the method were evaluated by the water samples spiked with organophosphorus pesticides. Using optimum extraction conditions, very low detection limits (0.01-0.04mugL(-1)) and good linearities (0.9983