Impact of Noodle Formulation, Boiling Methodology and Their Interactions on Stable Hydrogen and Oxygen Isotope Ratios.

Stable isotopes are commonly utilized for the geographical origin verification of foods, including wheat. However, assessing processed products poses a greater challenge due to the alterations that take place during processing and which have not been fully elucidated yet. In the current study, the effects of the formulation (the mass ratios of gluten to starch), boiling process and their interaction on the stable hydrogen (δ2H) and oxygen (δ18O) isotopic ratios of wheat noodles were evaluated. The δ2H and δ18O of noodles with different formulations (the mass ratios of gluten to starch) as raw materials, in uncooked and cooked (boiled in water) noodles, were examined. The results indicated that the δ2H of the boiled noodles ranged from -80.1‱ to -46.8‱ and were significantly lower than those of the raw materials, which ranged from -73.0‱ to -39.2‱, and the uncooked noodles, which ranged from -73.3‱ to -39.6‱. Oppositely, 18O was enriched in the boiled noodles, ranging from 27.7‱ to 31.3‱, compared with the uncooked noodles, ranging from 28.4‱ to 29.6‱. In addition, a significant interaction effect between the formulation and the boiling process was recorded for δ18O. This study shows that the hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopic compositions of noodles were significantly changed during the boiling process, and the isotopic fractionation varies with the different formulations.

Markers for meat provenance and authenticity with an account of its defining factors and quality characteristics - a review.

Provenance is becoming increasingly important in meat supply chains as it lends products higher perceived quality. However, its precise definition and interpretation along with its associated characteristics factors have remained somewhat elusive. This review meticulously defines meat provenance while dissecting the essential factors and associated quality attributes that constitute its essence and are subsequently employed to establish pertinent markers for provenance. Meat provenance emerges as a multi-dimensional construct stemming from the adept management of a constellation of factors relating to geographical origin, farm production system, traceability, and authenticity. Through intricate interactions, these factors unveil innate originality that not only forges a distinct reputation but also imparts a unique typicity to the meat product. Gaining insights into a meat product's provenance becomes attainable by scrutinizing its pertinent composition and organoleptic quality traits. Trace elements and stable isotopes stand out as provenance markers, forging a direct connection to both geographical origin and dietary sources. While somewhat less direct in linkage, other markers such as plant biomarkers, fatty acid composition, pH levels, flavour and aromatic compounds along with organoleptic characteristics contribute to the overall understanding of provenance. Additionally, the identification of animal species and breeds serves as key markers, particularly in the context of protected geographical indications. The study findings are useful for the various stakeholders of how the information for meat provenance can be linked with intrinsic and extrinsic factors for meat quality and protecting the integrity of the supply chain with special reference to traceability and authenticity. © 2024 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

An account of the occurrence of residues from veterinary drugs and contaminants in animal-derived products: a case study on Brazilian supply chains.

Brazil plays an important role in ensuring its position on the international market by assuring high food safety standards for its products, and all products should meet the requirements for residues from veterinary drugs and contaminants in animal products. Statutory monitoring provides insights into the compliance of the Brazilian industry regarding these legal requirements. The objective of this study was to provide insight into the safety of Brazilian animal products by reporting the occurrence of residues from veterinary drugs and contaminants according to an analysis of an 11-year report published by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA). Between 2010 and 2021, 166,647 samples from animal-derived products were analyzed in Brazil, and 624 of those samples were non-compliant (0.37%) exceeding maximum residue limits (>MRLs) or showed the presence of prohibited substances. The most common types of substances found in the non-compliant samples were heavy metals, parasiticides, and antimicrobials, accounting for 82% of all documents from the MAPA. Among Brazilian products, the challenge related to occurrence of substances varied across the food supply chain, with highest incidence rates observed in the fish chain, followed by eggs, milk, equids, sheep/goat, honey, bovine, swine, and broilers chains in decreasing order. Considering the type of substance, heavy metals were found to be more prevalent in fish products, mainly arsenic in wild fish. The prevalence of contaminants and heavy metals decreased, while that of veterinary drugs increased in Brazilian products from 2010 to 2021. From these results, it can be concluded that the number of accidental incidents including those associated with environmental contaminants decreased over the last decade, opposed to those involving human adversaries and deliberate illegal actions, such as the abuse of veterinary drugs, increased. Future monitoring plans need to take this paradigm shift into account.

Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy as a tool to characterize spice powder variations for quality and authenticity purposes: A ginger case study.

Spices are usually ground for applications and the resulting particle size of the powders is an important product attribute in view of the release of flavour. However, inhomogeneity of the original material may lead to variations in the physicochemical characteristics of the particles. This variation and its linkage to particle size may be examined by particular imaging techniques. This study aimed to explore the potential of Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM) to characterize spice powders according to particle size variations and correlation with their pigment contents to reveal the chemical information contained within the FLIM data. Ginger powder was used as a representative powder model. The FLIM profiles of the individual samples and populations revealed that FLIM coupled with the phasor approach has the capacity to characterize spice powder according to particle size. Meanwhile, Principal Component Analysis of pre-processed FLIM data revealed clustering of particle size groups. Further correlation analysis between the pigment compound contents and FLIM data of the ginger powders indicated that FLIM reflected chemical information of ginger powder and was able to visualize endogenous fluorophores. The current study revealed the potential of FLIM to characterize ginger powder particles. This approach may be extrapolated to other spice powder products. The new knowledge is a step further in paving the way for the application of innovative techniques, already prevalent in other domains, to food quality and authentication.

Establishing the relations of characteristic aroma precursors and volatile compounds for authenticating Tibetan pork.

Tibetan pork has been favored for its unique aromas, which originate from chemical reactions between characteristic precursors in cooking. The precursors (e.g., fatty acids, free amino acids, reducing sugars, and thiamine) of Tibetan pork ((semi-) free range) from different regions in China, comprising Tibet, Sichuan, Qinghai, and Yunnan, and commercial pork (indoor reared) were compared in this study. Tibetan pork was characterized by higher ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (i.e., C18:3n3), higher essential (i.e., valine, leucine, and isoleucine), aromatic (i.e., phenylalanine), and sulfur-containing (i.e., methionine and cysteine) free amino acids, higher thiamine, and lower reducing sugars. Boiled Tibetan pork exhibited higher heptanal, 4-heptenal, and 4-pentylbenzaldehyde compared with commercial pork. The results from multivariate statistical analysis revealed that precursors combined with volatiles exhibited discriminating capability for characterizing Tibetan pork. The precursors in Tibetan pork exerted a certain effect on characteristic aroma generation, probably arising from promoting chemical reactions in cooking.

A multi-analyte screening method for the rapid detection of illicit adulterants in dietary supplements using a portable SERS analyzer.

The popularity and number of dietary supplements on the health market have experienced an unprecedented boost in recent years. Simultaneously, their increased use has been accompanied by an increase in acute intoxication cases linked to the adulteration of these products with illicit and undeclared substances. In this study, a SERS-based screening methodology was developed to rapidly detect illegally added pharmaceutically active substances to dietary supplements. A portable analyzer and silver printed-SERS substrates were used to enhance the signal, requiring less than 20 min of sample preparation prior to the analysis. The method was successful in the qualitative identification of eleven out of twenty-three illicit adulterants in the dietary supplements; it could detect the target compounds at realistic adulteration levels (0.1-5.0% w/w), demonstrating the potential of SERS-based methodologies for forensic rapid screening applications. The developed method is quick, easy to use, requires no skilled technicians and little sample preparation, and allows in-situ analyses. For these reasons, it is suitable for quick screening to be performed by inspectors at customs. Moreover, the low specificity of spectroscopic methods, to which SERS belongs, would benefit the detection of newly synthesized analogues of the target adulterants, which would otherwise be more difficult using common mass spectrometry methods in absence of reference standards.

Interpreting the variation in particle size of ground spice by high-resolution visual and spectral imaging: A ginger case study.

High-resolution (HR) visual imaging and spectral imaging are common computer vision-based techniques used for food quality analysis and/or authentication based on the interaction of light and material surface and/or composition. The particle size of ground spices is an important morphological feature that affects the physico-chemical properties of food products containing such particles. This study aimed to interpret the impact of particle size of ground spice on its HR visual profile and spectral imaging profile using ginger powder as a representative spice powder model. The results revealed an increase in the light reflection with the decrease of particle size of ginger powder, which was manifested by the lighter colour (higher percentage of the colour code with lighter yellow colour) of the HR visual image and stronger reflection with spectral imaging. The study also revealed that, in spectral imaging, the influence of the particle size of ginger powder increased with rising wavelengths. Finally, the results indicated a relationship between spectral wavelengths, ginger particle size, and other natural variables of the products which might be generated from cultivation to processing. Ultimately, the impact of natural variables arising during the food production process on the physico-chemical properties of the product should be fully considered or even additionally evaluated prior to the application of specific food quality and/or authentication analytical techniques.

A sense of ginger fraud: prevalence and deconstruction of the China-European union supply chain.

As an important spice, ginger has been widely distributed in the Chinese and the European Union (EU) markets, the two largest trading areas, in various forms. The ginger supply chain between China and the EU is long and complex, providing opportunities for fraudsters to deceive consumers. However, limited attention has been given to food fraud in ginger, and there is a lack of research on this topic. In this review, ginger was used as an example for interpreting the fraud issues within low-priced and high-trade volume spice products. This review aims to summarize the open access information from food and food fraud databases, literature, and stakeholders about ginger fraud, and to map, deconstruct and analyse the food fraud vulnerability in the supply chain. In addition, potential testing strategies to detect ginger fraud were also discussed. The investigation of food fraud databases, a semi-structured literature review and online interviews with stakeholders revealed that adulteration is the major fraud type in ginger products. And the most vulnerable ginger products are ground ginger and finely processed ginger. The ginger supply chain from China to the EU comprises nine stages and is medium vulnerable to food fraud, both in regard to opportunities and motivational drivers. To ensure the integrity of the ginger supply chain, there is a need to apply fraud vulnerability tools in the companies of the industry. In addition, screening and confirmatory techniques based on the characteristics of ginger should be utilised for monitoring fraud issues in the supply chain.

Spatial-Temporal Event Analysis as a Prospective Approach for Signalling Emerging Food Fraud-Related Anomalies in Supply Chains.

One of the pillars on which food traceability systems are based is the unique identification and recording of products and batches along the supply chain. Patterns of these identification codes in time and place may provide useful information on emerging food frauds. The scanning of codes on food packaging by users results in interesting spatial-temporal datasets. The analysis of these data using artificial intelligence could advance current food fraud detection approaches. Spatial-temporal patterns of the scanned codes could reveal emerging anomalies in supply chains as a result of food fraud in the chain. These patterns have not been studied yet, but in other areas, such as biology, medicine, credit card fraud, etc., parallel approaches have been developed, and are discussed in this paper. This paper projects these approaches for transfer and implementation in food supply chains in view of future applications for early warning of emerging food frauds.

Preliminary Study on Tracing the Origin and Exploring the Relations between Growing Conditions and Isotopic and Elemental Fingerprints of Organic and Conventional Cavendish Bananas (Musa spp.).

The stable isotopic ratios and elemental compositions of 120 banana samples, Musa spp. (AAA Group, Cavendish Subgroup) cultivar Williams, collected from six countries (Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica Republic, Ecuador, Panama, Peru), were determined by isotope ratio mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Growing conditions like altitude, temperature, rainfall and production system (organic or conventional cultivation) were obtained from the sampling farms. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed separation of the farms based on geographical origin and production system. The results showed a significant difference in the stable isotopic ratios (δ13C, δ15N, δ18O) and elemental compositions (Al, Ba, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Rb) of the pulp and peel samples. Furthermore, δ15N was found to be a good marker for organically produced bananas. A correlation analysis was conducted to show the linkage of growing conditions and compositional attributes. The δ13C of pulp and peel were mainly negatively correlated with the rainfall, while δ18O was moderately positively (R values ~0.5) correlated with altitude and temperature. A moderate correlation was also found between temperature and elements such as Ba, Fe, Mn, Ni and Sr in the pulp and peel samples. The PCA results and correlation analysis suggested that the differences of banana compositions were combined effects of geographical factors and production systems. Ultimately, the findings contribute towards understanding the compositional differences of bananas due to different growing conditions and production systems linked to a defined origin; thereby offering a tool to support the traceability of commercial fruits.

Broadband acoustic resonance dissolution spectroscopy as a rapid tool for the compositional analysis of food powders: A case study of edible salts.

Broadband acoustic resonance dissolution spectroscopy (BARDS) is a novel method that can be used for the analysis of food-based powders, which are mainly characterized by their composition and particle morphology. This study aimed to evaluate BARDS for the compositional analysis of food powders. The changes in the BARDS spectra due to the changes in composition and particle morphology of fifteen salt mixtures (constituting of NaCl, KCl, and MgCl2) in five particle size ranges were comprehensively studied. Moreover, different regression methods were utilized to estimate each mixture component content. The results revealed that the average time-frequency spectra of each mixture in a certain particle size class were highly distinct and allowed discrimination from others. The unique spectra of each salt mixture originated from the specific dissolution rate and degassing effect of each constitutive compound. Finally, the accurate prediction of each mixture component content confirmed the consistency and efficiency of the method.

Study on the Relations between Hyperspectral Images of Bananas (Musa spp.) from Different Countries, Their Compositional Traits and Growing Conditions.

Bananas are some of the most popular fruits around the world. However, there is limited research that explores hyperspectral imaging of bananas and its relationship with the chemical composition and growing conditions. In the study, the relations that exist between the visible near-infrared hyperspectral reflectance imaging data in the 400-1000 nm range of the bananas collected from different countries, the compositional traits and local growing conditions (altitude, temperature and rainfall) and production management (organic/conventional) were explored. The main compositional traits included moisture, starch, dietary fibre, protein, carotene content and the CIE L*a*b* colour values were also determined. The principal component analysis showed the preliminary separation of bananas from different geographical origins and production systems. The compositional and spectral data revealed positively and negatively moderate correlations (r around ±0.50, p < 0.05) between the carotene, starch content, and colour values (a*, b*) on the one hand and the wavelength ranges 405-525 nm, 615-645 nm, 885-985 nm on the other hand. Since the variation in composition and colour values were related to rainfall and temperature, the spectral information is likely also influenced by the growing conditions. The results could be useful to the industry for the improvement of banana quality and traceability.

Opportunities for fraudsters: When would profitable milk adulterations go unnoticed by common, standardized FTIR measurements?

Milk is regarded as one of the top food products susceptible to adulteration where its valuable components are specifically identified as high-risk indicators for milk fraud. The current study explores the impact of common milk adulterants on the apparent compositional parameters of milk from the Dutch market as measured by standardized Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. More precisely, it examines the detectability of these adulterants at various concentration levels using the compositional parameters individually, in a univariate manner, and together in a multivariate approach. In this study we used measured boundaries but also more practical variance-adjusted boundaries to set thresholds for detection of adulteration. The potential economic impact of these adulterations under a milk payment scheme is also evaluated. Twenty-four substances were used to produce various categories of milk adulterations, each at four concentration levels. These substances comprised five protein-rich adulterants, five nitrogen-based adulterants, seven carbohydrate-based adulterants, six preservatives and water, resulting in a set of 360 samples to be analysed. The results showed that the addition of protein-rich adulterants, as well as dicyandiamide and melamine, increased the apparent protein content, while the addition of carbohydrate-based adulterants, whey protein isolate, and skimmed milk powder, increased the apparent lactose content. When considering the compositional parameters univariately, especially protein- and nitrogen-based adulterants did not raise a flag of unusual apparent concentrations at lower concentration levels. Addition of preservatives also went unnoticed. The multivariate approach did not improve the level of detection. Regarding the potential profit of milk adulteration, whey protein and corn starch seem particularly interesting. Combining the artificial inflation of valuable components, the resulting potential profit, and the gaps in detection, it appears that the whey protein isolates deserve particular attention when thinking like a criminal.

Putting the Spring back into the Hare (Pedetes capensis): Meat Chemical Composition of an Underutilized Protein Source.

Alternative protein sources are gaining increasing global attention as a solution to address future protein demands. Determining the chemical composition of meat alternatives is vital to confirm that it is nutritious, but also to increase product value and promote its utilization. The carcass characteristics and chemical composition of springhare, an underutilized protein source, was found to be comparable to that of commercially reared rabbits. Hence, its introduction into the commercial supply chain would likely not offset consumers accustomed to purchasing rabbit/hare meat. Springhare meat had a high protein content (~22.5 g/100 g meat) and low lipid (<1.3 g/100 g meat) content. The meat's fatty acids mainly comprised C18:2n6c (γ-linoleic acid; 24%), C18:0 (stearic acid; 20%), C16:0 (palmitic acid; 19%), C20:4n6 (arachidonic acid; 15%) and C18:1n9c (oleic acid; 13%). Although sex did not significantly influence the carcass characteristics and meat composition, season did have an effect (p < 0.05) on the fatty acid profile. The meat harvested in summer had higher (p < 0.05) concentrations of favorable unsaturated fatty acids, C18:2n6c, C18:3n6, C18:3n3 (α-linolenic acid), C20:2n6 (eicosadienoic acid), C20:3n3 (eicosatrienoic acid), compared to the meat obtained in winter, which contained more (p < 0.05) saturated fatty acids. The results verify that springhare can be utilized as a viable alternative protein source.

Prevalence of Milk Fraud in the Chinese Market and its Relationship with Fraud Vulnerabilities in the Chain.

This study aimed to assess the prevalence of ultra-high-temperature (UHT) processed milk samples suspected of being adulterated on the Chinese market and, subsequently, relate their geographical origin to the earlier determined fraud vulnerability. A total of 52 UHT milk samples purchased from the Chinese market were measured to detect possible anomalies. The milk compositional features were determined by standardized Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, and the detection limits for common milk adulterations were investigated. The results showed that twelve of the analysed milk samples (23%) were suspected of having quality or fraud-related issues, while one sample of these was highly suspected of being adulterated (diluted with water). Proportionally, more suspected samples were determined among milks produced in the Central-Northern and Eastern areas of China than in those from the North-Western and North-Eastern areas, while those from the South were in between. Combining the earlier collected results on fraud vulnerability in the Chinese milk chains, it appears that increased fraud prevalence relates to poorer business relationships and lack of adequate managerial controls. Since very few opportunities and motivations differ consistently across high and low-prevalence areas, primarily the improvement of control measures can help to mitigate food fraud in the Chinese milk supply chains.

Linking growing conditions to stable isotope ratios and elemental compositions of Costa Rican bananas (Musa spp.).

Traceability of agricultural produce is getting increasingly important for numerous reasons including marketing, certification, and food safety. Globally, banana (Musa spp.) with its high nutritional value and easy accessibility, is a popular fruit among consumers. Bananas are produced throughout the (sub-)tropics under a wide range of environmental conditions. Environmental conditions could influence the composition of bananas. Understanding the effect of these conditions on fruit composition provides a way of increasing the fruit's traceability and linking it to its origin - a crucial aspect for the increasing global supply chain. In this study, we examined the influence of growing conditions on the isotopic and elemental composition of bananas produced in 15 Costa Rican farms. A total of 88 bananas (peel and pulp) were collected from the farms and analysed for isotopic signatures (δ13C, δ15N, and δ18O) and elemental compositions. The growing conditions were characterized in terms of climate, topography and soil conditions. The isotopic ratios differed significantly between groups of farms. The δ13C and δ15N values were mainly influenced by soil types, while rainfall and temperatures related more to the δ18O values. The elemental compositions of the bananas were primarily influenced by the local rainfall and soil types, while the geographical origin could be distinguished using principal component analysis. The overall results link the growing conditions to the isotopic and elemental compositions of bananas, thereby also providing a way to trace its origin.

Dairy farming system markers: The correlation of forage and milk fatty acid profiles from organic, pasture and conventional systems in the Netherlands.

The relationships between the fatty acid (FA) composition in forage and milk (F&M) from different dairy systems were investigated. Eighty milk samples and 91 forage samples were collected from 40 farms (19 organic, 11 pasture and 10 conventional) in the Netherlands, during winter and summer. The FA profiles of F&M samples were measured with gas chromatography. The results showed that the F&M of organic farms were significantly differentiated from the F&M of other farms, both in summer and winter. The differences are likely due to the different grazing strategies in summer and different forage composition in winter. The Pearson's correlation results showed the specific relationship between individual FAs in forages and related milk. A PLS-DA model was applied to classify all milks samples, resulting in 87.5% and 83.3% correct classifications of training set and validation set.

The sound of salts by Broadband Acoustic Resonance Dissolution Spectroscopy.

Salts are available in different grades and in a wide price range. Some contain more impurities than others, while some have special culinary traits that determine their identity. Acoustic profiling, which is based on the 'hot chocolate effect', may provide an interesting strategy to characterise salts of various origins to underpin their identity. In this study, the link between the identity of 60 food grade and technical salts and their acoustic properties was examined by Broad Acoustic Resonance Dissolution Spectroscopy. In particular, the influence of the composition of the salts and the impact of the salts' particle size distributions on their acoustic profiles were examined. Sodium and potassium contents were measured by flame photometry and the salts' particle size distributions by laser light diffraction. Reference salts (NaCl, KCl, MgCl2) and mixtures thereof were analysed for comparison, as well as intact and ground versions of the salt samples. The results show that both the composition and morphology of the salt crystals determine the down-slope of the resonance frequency, which is caused by the rate of release of entrained and dissolved gas. Coarse salts with high levels of non-NaCl constituents showed a rapid decline in sound frequency, which corresponds to a high gas release rate. On the other hand fine salts composed of pure NaCl revealed a slower change in sound frequency and thus lower gas release rates. The frequency minimums were however not affected by the salts' compositions nor particle size distributions. It is primarily the particle size distribution that affects the rate at which gas is released, and thus the change in sound frequency. Only when the particles are more similar in size, the composition also starts playing a role. Since both particle size distribution and composition is unique for each salt, the various salts show distinct acoustic profiles. Evidently, the current study shows that 'listening' to the sound of salts reveals interesting information about their identity and origin.

Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) pre-pupae meal as a dietary protein source for broiler production ensures a tasty chicken with standard meat quality for every pot.

BACKGROUND: Animal products (fishmeal etc.) are typically used in commercial broiler production systems. However, progressively more pressure is placed on the animal feed industry to find alternative protein sources that are more sustainable, ethical and green, such as insect meal, without having negative effects on the sensory and meat quality. Hence this study aimed to validate the commercial value of black soldier fly (BSF) pre-pupae meal for broiler production by determining the effects of different dietary levels (0%, 5%, 10% or 15%) on carcass, sensory and meat quality. RESULTS: There were no significant differences for the carcass characteristics, pH, colour, thaw loss and cooking loss of the broilers. Treatment had no influence on the sensory characteristics (aroma, flavour, juiciness and tenderness) of the breast muscle (P > 0.05). Mineral content was similar across treatments and no differences (P > 0.05) were observed for the long-chain fatty acid composition of the cooked broiler meat. None of the fatty acids was correlated with chicken flavour. CONCLUSION: BSF pre-pupae meal (up to 15%) can be included in broiler diets without influencing the carcass, sensory or meat quality characteristics. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

The truth is in the isotopes: Authenticating regionally unique South African lamb.

Stable isotope ratios (13C/12C and 15N/14N) of South African lambs from different regions were measured by isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). Homogenised and defatted meat of the Longissimus lumborum muscle was assessed. The Rûens and Hantam Karoo regions had the lowest (P≤0.05) δ13C values related to the presence of C3 plants (lucerne and Karoo bushes, respectively). The Northern Karoo, Namibia and Bushmanland had the highest δ13C values likely due to a high proportion of dietary C4 grass species. The δ15N values were highest for Central Karoo, Semi-extensive, Namibia and Hantam Karoo, while Rûens and Feedlot had the lowest nitrogen isotope values (P≤0.05). Classification of origin (Karoo vs. Non-Karoo) using discriminant analysis allowed 95% and 90% correct classification of the samples for the estimation model and validation models, respectively. The results confirm that IRMS provides sufficient discriminative power to classify lamb meat of varying origin.