Contamination of ultraviolet absorbers in food: toxicity, analytical methods, occurrence and risk assessments.

Ultraviolet (UV) absorbers are chemical substances that are widely used as defenses against the damaging effects of solar radiations. UV absorbers, despite their benefits, are categorized as emerging pollutants because they have been demonstrated to be mutagenic, toxic, pseudo-persistent, bio-accumulative, and to have strong estrogenic effects. Because of their common use in personal care products, they continue to enter the environment. Several food samples, particularly those derived from aquatic sources, have been found to be contaminated with these compounds. Toxic effects on aquatic life, such as metabolic imbalance and developmental toxicity, result from the continued presence of UV absorbers in aquatic bodies. In addition, the degree of exposure to these pollutants in foods should be examined because there are certain risks associated with their consumption by humans. Therefore, this review focuses on the toxicity, analytical techniques, occurrence, and risk assessments of UV absorbers found in food.

Determination of 57 pesticide residues in fishery products by GC tandem mass spectrometry combined with QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) extraction.

An analytical method using GC-MS/MS combined with quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe extraction was developed to determine 57 pesticides in fishery products. The limits of detection and quantification (LOD and LOQ, respectively) of the analytical method ranged between 0.91 and 2.12 ng/g wet mass and 3 and 7 ng/g wet mass, respectively. Moreover, the linearity of the calibration curves was acceptable (R2 > 0.99). The relative pesticide recoveries ranged between 53.87 and 127.2%, and reproducibility ranged between 0.25 and 10.87%. The pesticide residues in brown seaweed, eel, flatfish, shrimp, and abalone samples were analyzed using the developed analytical method, and the results indicate that most samples were not contaminated by the 57 target pesticides, except low levels (< 10 ng/g) of 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethene, alachlor, ametryn, isoprothiolane, and prometryn in several samples.

Effect of rice milling, washing, and cooking on reducing pesticide residues.

The effects of milling, washing, and cooking on etofenprox, flubendiamide, and tebufenozide levels in brown and polished rice were investigated by HPLC using a UV detector. The reduction rates of etofenprox, flubendiamide, and tebufenozide after milling were 68.74-93.16%, 64.49-90.25%, and 69.74-92.58%, respectively, 11.64-41.44%, 31.36-65.37%, and 31.61-73.79%, respectively, after washing brown rice, and 30.85-82.08%, 52.13-83.05%, and 43.04-83.89%, respectively, after washing polished rice. The residue levels of the three pesticides in brown rice decreased after electric and pressure cooking by 56.49 and 54.41%, 75.80 and 73.42%, and 70.01 and 71.27%, respectively, and the corresponding levels in polished rice decreased after electric and pressure cooking by 85.58 and 85.82%, 86.70 and 87.06%, and 89.89 and 89.68%, respectively. In conclusion, various processing methods decrease the residual levels of etofenprox, flubendiamide, and tebufenozide in rice.

Alkaloids in food: a review of toxicity, analytical methods, occurrence and risk assessments.

Alkaloids have been utilized by humans for years. They have diverse applications in pharmaceuticals. They have been proven to be effective in treating a number of diseases. They also form an important part of regular human diets, as they are present in food items, food supplements, diet ingredients and food contaminants. Despite their obvious importance, these alkaloids are toxic to humans. Their toxicity is dependent on a range of factors, such as specific dosage, exposure time and individual properties. Mild toxic effects include nausea, itching and vomiting while chronic effects include paralysis, teratogenicity and death. This review summarizes the published studies on the toxicity, analytical methods, occurrence and risk assessments of six major alkaloid groups that are present in food, namely, ergot, glycoalkaloids, purine, pyrrolizidine, quinolizidine and tropane alkaloids.

Comparison study of validation parameters and measurement uncertainty of rapid analytical methods for piperine in black pepper by ultraviolet spectroscopy and high-performance liquid chromatography.

Piperine, one of the main constituents of black pepper, is an important marker of black pepper quality because of its bio-activity and characteristic flavour. Ultraviolet spectroscopy and high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection were used for rapid determination of piperine in black pepper. The performance parameters and measurement uncertainties of the methods were estimated to identify the most efficient method. Ultraviolet spectroscopy had good specificity and linearity. Its limit of detection was 0.65. Accuracy and precision ranged from 96.7 to 101.5% and from 0.59 to 2.12%, respectively. Measurement uncertainty was estimated as 4.29% for 49.481 g/kg (k = 2). High-performance liquid chromatography also provided good specificity and linearity. The limit of detection was 0.23. Accuracy and precision were 98.2-100.6% and 0.83-1.58%, separately. Measurement uncertainty was calculated as 2.47% for 34.819 g/kg (k = 2). High-performance liquid chromatography is more sensitive and accurate than ultraviolet spectroscopy.

A Medicinal Halophyte Ipomoea pes-caprae (Linn.) R. Br.: A Review of Its Botany, Traditional Uses, Phytochemistry, and Bioactivity.

Ipomoea pes-caprae (Linn.) R. Br. (Convolvulaceae) is a halophytic plant that favorably grows in tropical and subtropical countries in Asia, America, Africa, and Australia. Even though this plant is considered a pan-tropical plant, I. pes-caprae has been found to occur in inland habitats and coasts of wider areas, such as Spain, Anguilla, South Africa, and Marshall Island, either through a purposeful introduction, accidentally by dispersal, or by spreading due to climate change. The plant parts are used in traditional medicine for treating a wide range of diseases, such as inflammation, gastrointestinal disorders, pain, and hypertension. Previous phytochemical analyses of the plant have revealed pharmacologically active components, such as alkaloids, glycosides, steroids, terpenoids, and flavonoids. These phytoconstituents are responsible for the wide range of biological activities possessed by I. pes-caprae plant parts and extracts. This review arranges the previous reports on the botany, distribution, traditional uses, chemical constituents, and biological activities of I. pes-caprae to facilitate further studies that would lead to the discovery of novel bioactive natural products from this halophyte.

Codex Alimentarius commission on ensuring food safety and promoting fair trade: harmonization of standards between Korea and codex.

Korea's overall food safety management policies reflect the Codex guidelines in terms of risk analysis and standards. Korea's food safety management plan, which is established every 3 years, includes the pre-emptive management of risk factors and provides food safety information on the basis of scientific evidence. Since officially joining Codex as a member country in 1971, Korea has led the establishment of six Codex standards, including those for Kimchi and Gochujang. Moreover, Korea's food standards are harmonized with Codex's risk assessment system. This review aims to examine the current status and trends of Codex and to summarize and compare the food safety management systems and food standards between Korea and Codex.

Determination and risk characterisation of bio-active piperine in black pepper and selected food containing black pepper consumed in Korea.

Piperine is a bio-active compound found in pepper, including Piper nigrum L. and P. longum L. It has a strong, pungent flavour and several pharmacologic benefits. However, the risks of piperine have not yet been characterized. In this study, piperine in black pepper and some selected foods was determined to characterise the risk of exposure to piperine. Piperine in black pepper, curry and noodle was analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection, which was validated through the measurement of performance parameters. The mean concentrations of piperine in black pepper, powdered curry, retorted curry, instant noodle and cup noodle were 4,418, 28, 3.4, 4.3 and 4.2 mg/100 g, respectively. The estimated dietary exposure to piperine was 123.66 µg/kg body weight/day, and the margin of exposure calculated by the no-observed-adverse-effect level of piperine, was 162. The piperine from food does not cause an adverse health effect to the public in Korea.

Design of a Scalable and Fast YOLO for Edge-Computing Devices.

With the increase in research cases of the application of a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based object detection technology, studies on the light-weight CNN models that can be performed in real time on the edge-computing devices are also increasing. This paper proposed scalable convolutional blocks that can be easily designed CNN networks of You Only Look Once (YOLO) detector which have the balanced processing speed and accuracy of the target edge-computing devices considering different performances by exchanging the proposed blocks simply. The maximum number of kernels of the convolutional layer was determined through simple but intuitive speed comparison tests for three edge-computing devices to be considered. The scalable convolutional blocks were designed in consideration of the limited maximum number of kernels to detect objects in real time on these edge-computing devices. Three scalable and fast YOLO detectors (SF-YOLO) which designed using the proposed scalable convolutional blocks compared the processing speed and accuracy with several conventional light-weight YOLO detectors on the edge-computing devices. When compared with YOLOv3-tiny, SF-YOLO was seen to be 2 times faster than the previous processing speed but with the same accuracy as YOLOv3-tiny, and also, a 48% improved processing speed than the YOLOv3-tiny-PRN which is the processing speed improvement model. Also, even in the large SF-YOLO model that focuses on the accuracy performance, it achieved a 10% faster processing speed with better accuracy of 40.4% mAP@0.5 in the MS COCO dataset than YOLOv4-tiny model.

The effects of extracting procedures on occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in edible oils.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are one of the most hazardous naturally occurring chemical contaminants of food. Edible oils are easily contaminated by PAHs generated during high-temperature processing steps such as oil extraction and refining. In this study, the effects of different extraction methods on the levels of PAHs in sesame oils and red pepper seed oils were assessed. GC-MS was used to determine the levels of PAHs in edible oils. Sesame oils extracted from seeds by plate-pressing extraction method had lower levels of PAHs than those extracted by screw-expeller extraction method from sesame flour. Furthermore, the levels of PAHs increased by 62.2% when the extraction time was longer. Notably, the PAHs already present in oils could be effectively reduced by refining procedures such as sinking, centrifugation, filtration, and neutralization with alkali.

Validation and measurement uncertainty of GC-MS quantification method for nicotine in dried mushrooms using QuEChERS extraction.

Nicotine is an alkaloid and a secondary plant metabolite that has been used as an insecticide. Despite their widespread application, the EU banned the use of nicotine-containing pesticides in December 2008. However, studies in Europe have found nicotine in mushrooms. Nicotine has also been detected in wild mushrooms, so there are other causes of contamination as well as pesticide. This study reports the development of GC-MS method for quantitatively analysing nicotine in mushrooms. This method provides recoveries of 89.5-92.5%, intra-day precisions of 0.32-0.85%, and inter-day precisions of 0.73-2.36%, with limits of detection and quantification of 0.38 and 1.15 µg kg-1, respectively. The relative expanded uncertainty result of 2.8-4.0% complies with CODEX requirements. The method was successfully applied to eleven mushroom samples in which nicotine was detected at levels of 0.033-1.713 mg kg-1. Therefore, this method is suitable for the quantification of nicotine in dried mushrooms to ensure pre-emptive food safety.

Comparative analysis of lead content during food processing.

Heavy metals in groups 3-16 in periods 4 and greater. They exist naturally in the earth's crust. People are exposed to heavy metals by the inhalation of polluted air and via the intake of contaminated food. People are exposed to lead (Pb), one of heavy metals, by consuming foods that are contaminated from the environment. Pb is ubiquitous in the environment and accumulates in plants and animals that eat contaminated plants. The Pb in foods before and after processing were analyzed via Inductively coupled plasma with mass spectrometry to determine the effects of the procedures on the Pb migration and residue. This analytical method was verified to have a limit of detection of 0.011-0.859 µg/kg, acceptable linearity with the regression coefficient of 0.999, relative recoveries of 78.1-89.9% and repeatability of 1.4-7.7%. The amount of Pb was reduced during the following processes: more than 79.6% by extracting ginseng, extracting red ginseng and balloon flower roots via alcohol, more than 47.9% by blanching Chwinamul, more than 18.2% by brewing coffee with cold and hot water, more than 22.2% by extracting juices from fruits and peeling fruits. Therefore, proper cooking and food processing can be advantageous in terms of reducing exposure to Pb.

Determination and Daily Intake Estimation of Lignans in Sesame Seeds and Sesame Oil Products in Korea.

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is a plant that belongs to the Pedaliaceae family which was first classified as a food source around 4000 years ago. Lignans (sesamin, sesamolin, sesamol, and sesaminol) present in sesame are the primary functional compounds that impart important health benefits. However, very little information is available on the lignan intake from sesame seeds and sesame oil products. Sesame oil is frequently and highly consumed in Korea and therefore is one of the important lignan intake sources due to the food eating habits of Koreans. Herein, we studied the distribution of lignans in sesame seeds (n = 21) and oil (n = 34) to estimate the daily lignan intake by the Korean population. High-performance liquid chromatography, in conjunction with statistical analysis, was used to determine the lignan content of seeds and oil. The estimated daily intake of total lignans from sesame seeds and oil, as estimated from the available domestic consumption data (Korea Nutrition and Health Examination Survey), is 18.39 mg/person/day for males and 13.26 mg/person/day for females. The contributions of lignan intake from sesame seeds and oil are 23.0% and 77.0%, respectively. This study provides preliminary information on lignan intake from sesame seeds and oil in the Korean population.

Assessment of Tetrabromobisphenol and Hexabromocyclododecanes exposure and risk characterization using occurrence data in foods.

Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and Hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) are two of the most used BFRs and they have cumulated in the environment. TBBPA and HBCDs in food were determined and their risks were assessed. The analytical method used was validated in different food categories, and the performance parameters were acceptable based on the criteria of AOAC. Fish and cephalopods were contaminated with TBBPA higher than other foods, and fish contained higher levels of HBCDs than other foods. α-HBCD was the predominant diastereomer in fish and meat and had strong correlations with HBCDs in fish and cephalopods. HBCDs accumulated easier than TBBPA in food. People were exposed to TBBPA from 0.125 ng kg-1 b.w. day-1 to 0.284 ng kg-1 b.w. day-1 and HBCDs from 0.353 ng kg-1 b.w. day-1 to 1.006 ng kg-1 b.w. day-1 via food and air. Food mainly contributed to exposure to TBBPA and HBCDs and vegetables were the main contributors for exposure to TBBPA and HBCDs in food. MOEs for the whole population were over 100, and the risks of exposure to TBBPA and HBCDs from food and the environment were of low concern to public health.

Development of an analytical method for simultaneously determining TBBPA and HBCDs in various foods.

Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and Hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) are commonly used as brominated flame retardants in large volumes, and accumulate in plants and animals in the environment, and people are exposed to them when consuming food. As many countries are monitoring them in food, it is necessary to develop a method to analyze them simultaneously for cost efficiency. A method was developed and optimized under different conditions using accelerated solvent extraction to extract the lipids from the samples, acid silica column to clean the samples and liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry to determine TBBPA and HBCDs. The method was validated in different kinds of food. Uncertainty of measurement was calculated by combining all uncertainties of contributors. Intermediate precision (reproducibility) was the most influential contributor to uncertainty. 5 food categories with 115 samples were analyzed with the method, and mackerels containing high level of fat were highly contaminated by TBBPA and HBCDs.

Quantitative Analysis of Bioactive Phenanthrenes in Dioscorea batatas Decne Peel, a Discarded Biomass from Postharvest Processing.

Dioscorea batatas Decne (Chinese yam) has been widely cultivated in East Asia for the purposes of food and medicinal uses for centuries. Along with its high nutritional value, the medicinal value of D. batatas has been extensively investigated in association with phytochemicals such as allantoin, flavonoids, saponins and phenanthrenes. Phenanthrenes are especially considered the standard marker chemicals of the Chinese yam for their potent bioactivity and availability of analysis with conventional high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV) methods. In order to investigate how much the contents of phenanthrenes are in the actual food products provided for consumers, D. batatas tuber was peeled and separated into its peel and flesh as in the conventional processing method. A quantitative analysis using the HPLC-UV method revealed that phenanthrenes are concentrically present in the D. batatas peel, while phenanthrenes are present in the flesh under the limit of detection. The difference in the contents of phenanthrenes is estimated to have arisen the considerable difference of antioxidant potential between the peel and the flesh. The results from this study suggest the high value of the discarded biomass of the Chinese yam peel and the necessity for the utilization of the Chinese yam peel.

Determination and risk characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of tea by using the Margin of Exposure (MOE) approach.

Tea is one of the most frequently consumed drinks due to its favourite taste and the health benefit. Tea is produced by several processes and drying is very important step to develop the flavour and destroys the enzymes in tea. However, during drying tea, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons some of which are carcinogen and genotoxin are naturally produced. The risk of PAHs by drinking tea was characterized by determining contents of 4 PAHs in tea. 4 PAHs including Benz(a)anthracene (BaA), Chrysene (CHR), Benzo(b)fluoranthene (BbF) and Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) were investigated by GC-MS in total 468 tea products, which were contaminated up to 4.63 ng g-1. Mate tea was the most highly contaminated by BaA, CHR, BbF and BaP and followed by Solomon's seal and Chrysanthemum. The Margin of Exposures calculated by the concentration of BaA, CHR, BbF and BaP and consumption amount of tea were higher than 10,000, and the risk of PAHs in tea were low concern to public health.

Exposure assessment and risk characterisation of ethyl carbamate from Korean traditional fermented rice wine, Takju and Yakju.

Ethyl carbamate is one of the most hazardous chemicals naturally occurring in food, and is present in alcoholic beverages. Korean traditional rice wine, Takju and Yakju, is frequently consumed in Korea, but there have been no studies characterising the risks of ethyl carbamate in these products. In order to assess and characterise the exposure risk of ethyl carbamate in Korean traditional rice wines, ethyl carbamate was investigated by means of GC-MS. The analytical methods were optimised and validated through determining linearity, detection limit, quantification limit, recovery and precision. A total of 283 traditional Korean rice wines, including 175 Takju and 108 Yakju samples, were analysed. Exposure assessment was performed by factoring in ethyl carbamate content, daily consumption and body weight. Daily exposures of ethyl carbamate were estimated for adults in four age groups, and risks of ethyl carbamate were characterised by the margin of exposure, which is more than 10 000. Based on this study, the risks of ethyl carbamate in Korean traditional rice wine were shown to be of low concern.

Effects of grilling procedures on levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in grilled meats.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are chemicals formed when muscle meat is cooked using high-temperature methods, such as grilling directly over an open flame. PAHs have been found to be mutagenic-that is, they cause changes in DNA that may increase the risk of cancer. We investigated the effects of grilling procedures on the level of 4 PAHs; benzo[a]anthracene (B[a]A), chrysene (Chr), benzo[b]fluoranthene (B[b]F), and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P). PAHs were extracted and determined by gas chromatography with mass detection (GC-MS). With regard to barbecuing successive meat samples with the same batch of burning charcoal, it was observed that stable combustion contribute to reduction of PAHs. Significant reductions in the sum of the four PAHs were observed through treatments which removed meat drippings and smoke with alternative grilling apparatus. The sums of 4 PAHs were reduced 48-89% with dripping removed and 41-74% with the smoke removal treatment in grilled pork and beef meats than conventional grilling. We investigated the components of meats drippings. The major constituent of meat dripping was fat. The most important factor contributing to the production of PAHs in grilling was smoke resulting from incomplete combustion of fat dripped onto the fire.

Total Diet Studies as a Tool for Ensuring Food Safety.

With the diversification and internationalization of the food industry and the increased focus on health from a majority of consumers, food safety policies are being implemented based on scientific evidence. Risk analysis represents the most useful scientific approach for making food safety decisions. Total diet study (TDS) is often used as a risk assessment tool to evaluate exposure to hazardous elements. Many countries perform TDSs to screen for chemicals in foods and analyze exposure trends to hazardous elements. TDSs differ from traditional food monitoring in two major aspects: chemicals are analyzed in food in the form in which it will be consumed and it is cost-effective in analyzing composite samples after processing multiple ingredients together. In Korea, TDSs have been conducted to estimate dietary intakes of heavy metals, pesticides, mycotoxins, persistent organic pollutants, and processing contaminants. TDSs need to be carried out periodically to ensure food safety.