Assessment and Monitoring of Fish Quality from a Coastal Ecosystem under High Anthropic Pressure: A Case Study in Southern Italy.

Fish is a nutrient-rich food but, at the same time, consumption of fish is a possible source of exposure to heavy metals. Since many coastal Mediterranean areas suffer from great anthropomorphic pressure, the aim of this study was to assess the level of potentially toxic inorganic elements in different fish samples from the coastal zone of Southern Italy (Gela) where there is a high mortality rate linked to cancer disease and congenital malformations. The presence of mercury, cadmium, lead, nickel, arsenic, vanadium, and chromium was measured by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The risk assessment was evaluated in terms of estimated daily intake by calculating the amount of potentially toxic elements that an average individual adult weighing 60 kg would ingest. Moreover the non-carcinogenic risk was estimated by target hazard quotient (THQ). The study evidenced significant contamination by inorganic elements, especially cadmium, which can be linked to industrial pollution. The THQ indexes, as indicators of human health, suggest that the consumption of fish from the study area is not free of risk.

Oleic Acid Is not the Only Relevant Mono-Unsaturated Fatty Ester in Olive Oil.

(1) Background: Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) is a precious and universally studied food matrix. Recently, the quantitative chemical composition was investigated by an innovative processing method for the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments called Multi-Assignment Recovered Analysis (MARA)-NMR. (2) Methods: Any EVOO 13-carbon NMR (13C-NMR) profile displayed inconsistent signals. This mismatch was resolved by comparing NMR data to the official gas-chromatographic flame ionization detection (GC-FID) experiments: the analyses concerned many EVOOs but also the "exotic" Capparis spinosa oil (CSO). (3) Results: NMR and GC-FID evidenced the overwhelming presence of cis-vaccenic esters in the CSO and, more importantly, cis-vaccenic 13C-NMR resonances unequivocally matched the misunderstood 13C-NMR signals of EVOOs. The updated assignment revealed the unexpected relevant presence of cis-vaccenic ester (around 3%) in EVOOs; it was neglected, so far, because routine and official GC-FID profiles did not resolve oleic and cis-vaccenic signals leading to the total quantification of both monounsaturated fatty esters. (4) Conclusions: The rebuilt MARA-NMR and GC-FID interpretations consistently show a meaningful presence of cis-vaccenic esters in EVOOs, whose content could be a discrimination factor featuring specific cultivar or geographical origin. The study paves the way toward new quantification panels and scientific research concerning vegetable oils.

Toxic inorganic pollutants in foods from agricultural producing areas of Southern Italy: Level and risk assessment.

This study focused on the inorganic environmental contaminants in specific food products which form part of the food chain of the population residing in the area of Southern Italy (Gela) where there is a high mortality rate linked to tumor diseases and congenital malformations. Determination of toxic metals was performed by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The toxicological data for every toxic element has been applied to evaluate the risk for the consumer by calculating the amount of potentially toxic element that would ingest an average of 60kg weight individual adult. The analysis of the investigated samples shows a high level of metal contamination which can be linked both to the polluted water and air. The obtained results give us an idea about the agricultural products contamination and possible exposure of local people through the food chain.

Fast UPLC/PDA determination of squalene in Sicilian P.D.O. pistachio from Bronte: Optimization of oil extraction method and analytical characterization.

A fast reversed-phase UPLC method was developed for squalene determination in Sicilian pistachio samples that entry in the European register of the products with P.D.O. In the present study the SPE procedure was optimized for the squalene extraction prior to the UPLC/PDA analysis. The precision of the full analytical procedure was satisfactory and the mean recoveries were 92.8±0.3% and 96.6±0.1% for 25 and 50mgL-1 level of addition, respectively. Selected chromatographic conditions allowed a very fast squalene determination; in fact it was well separated in ∼0.54min with good resolution. Squalene was detected in all the pistachio samples analyzed and the levels ranged from 55.45-226.34mgkg-1. Comparing our results with those of other studies it emerges that squalene contents in P.D.O. Sicilian pistachio samples, generally, were higher than those measured for other samples of different geographic origins.