Marine phycotoxin levels in shellfish-14 years of data gathered along the Italian coast.

Along the Italian coasts, toxins of algal origin in wild and cultivated shellfish have been reported since the 1970s. In this study, we used data gathered by the Veterinary Public Health Institutes (IZS) and the Italian Environmental Health Protection Agencies (ARPA) from 2006 to 2019 to investigate toxicity events along the Italian coasts and relate them to the distribution of potentially toxic species. Among the detected toxins (OA and analogs, YTXs, PTXs, STXs, DAs, AZAs), OA and YTX were those most frequently reported.

Monitoring of polyphosphate levels in animal source products collected in Italy by means of ion chromatography with suppressed conductivity detection.

Polyphosphates (PPs) constitute a class of food additives widely used due to their ability to exercise different useful activities. The food safety concern about the use of PPs in food is both the possible non-declared addition and some health effects, such as bile duct stones, decrease in oligo-element absorption, and allergic reactions in susceptible people. In this study, an analytical method based on ion chromatography with conductivity detection was applied for the detection and quantification of PPs in 238 samples of animal-derived products such as meat, dairy, and fish products.

Effect of different cooking treatments on the residual level of sulphites in shrimps.

Sulphiting agents (or sulphites) are a class of food additives identified in Europe by codes E220-E228. Their addition in crustaceans is permitted with specific legal limits for avoiding the so-called "blackspot" that is a defect that compromises the marketability of these products. High levels of ingested sulphites may cause pseudoallergenic reactions in susceptible people.

Determination of Nitrate and Nitrite in Swiss Chard ( L. subsp. ) and Wild Rocket ( (L.) DC.) and Food Safety Evaluations.

Nitrite and nitrate levels in vegetables are a matter of concern due to their toxicity at high levels and nitrate high accumulation. Moreover, there is a lack of knowledge about their levels in some types of widely consumed vegetables such as chard and rocket. In this study, 124 Swiss chard and wild rocket samples were analyzed for determining nitrite and nitrate using validated and accredited analytical methods by ion chromatography with conductivity detection.

Optimization and Validation of a High Throughput UHPLC-MS/MS Method for Determination of the EU Regulated Lipophilic Marine Toxins and Occurrence in Fresh and Processed Shellfish.

Under the name of lipophilic marine toxins, there are included more than 1000 toxic secondary metabolites, produced by phytoplankton, with the common chemical property of lipophilicity. Due to toxicological effects and geographical distribution, in European legislation relevant compounds are regulated, and their determination is accomplished with the reference liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method. In this study a modified ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method has been developed for the identification and quantification of EU-regulated lipophilic toxins.

Sulfites in meat: Occurrence, activity, toxicity, regulation, and detection. A comprehensive review.

Sulfites are a class of chemical compounds, SO releasers, widely used as additives in food industry, due to their antimicrobial, color stabilizing, antibrowning, and antioxidant properties. As the results of these pleiotropic functions they can be added to a broad range of products including dried fruits and vegetables, seafood, juices, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverage, and in few meat products. Sulfites ingestion has been correlated with several adverse and toxic reactions, such as hypersensitivity, allergic diseases, vitamin deficiency, and may lead to dysbiotic events of gut and oral microbiota.

The analytical determination of polyphosphates in food: A point-to-point comparison between direct ion chromatography and indirect photometry.

Being an indirect approach, the standard method for the determination of polyphosphates (PPs) in food maybe characterized by high variability which can lead to significant errors in the final measurement. In this study, this method was validated and then compared to the ion chromatography-based approach. Method trueness and measurement uncertainty resulted comparable, while the precision of ion chromatography approach was higher.

Sulphur dioxide in meat products: 3-year control results of an accredited Italian laboratory.

Sulphiting agents are well-known food preservatives. The European legislation does not allow their addition in fresh meat preparations. Therefore this type of food products has often been verified.

Monitoring of sulphites levels in shrimps samples collected in Puglia (Italy) by ion-exchange chromatography with conductivity detection.

In shrimps the treatment with sulphiting agents is currently the best option for controlling Melanosis, which is a visual defect of the products that compromises marketability. However, sulphites may cause pseudo-allergic reactions in humans. In this study, 210 samples of shrimps were analysed in order to assess the residual levels of sulphiting agents.

Monitoring of nitrites and nitrates levels in leafy vegetables (spinach and lettuce): a contribution to risk assessment.

Background: Nitrites and nitrates are compounds considered harmful to humans and the major part of the daily intake of nitrates in foodstuffs is related to vegetable consumption. In this work, 150 leafy vegetables samples (75 spinach and 75 lettuce) were analysed in order to assess the levels of nitrites and nitrates. The analyses were carried out by a validated ion chromatography method and the samples with nitrate concentrations higher than legal limits and/or with quantifiable concentrations of nitrites were confirmed by an alternative ion chromatography method.

Endogenous levels of nitrites and nitrates in wide consumption foodstuffs: Results of five years of official controls and monitoring.

The massive introduction of nitrogen fertilisers, necessary to maximise the global food production, has brought about an increase of the residual amounts of nitrites and nitrates in the products. Notoriously, these compounds may exercise toxic effects. In this work the results obtained from 5years of official controls and monitoring focused on tracing quantifiable amounts of nitrites and nitrates in 1785 samples of meat, dairy, fish products and leafy vegetables are reported.

Survey of benzoic acid in cheeses: contribution to the estimation of an admissible maximum limit.

Benzoic acid and its salts are commonly used additives in the food industry. Their use is not allowed in dairy products even though they can be found naturally. In this work, 100 cheese samples were tested to establish the maximum concentration that can be considered as "natural" and, therefore, permitted in cheeses.

Investigation on the presence of sulphites in fresh meat preparations: estimation of an allowable maximum limit.

Sulphiting agents are commonly used food additives. They are not allowed in fresh meat preparations. In this work, 2250 fresh meat samples were analysed to establish the maximum concentration of sulphites that can be considered as "natural" and therefore be admitted in fresh meat preparations.

Development of a new analytical method for the determination of sulfites in fresh meats and shrimps by ion-exchange chromatography with conductivity detection.

An accurate and reliable analytical method, based on ion chromatography and suppressed conductivity detection, has been developed and validated for the quantitative determination of sulfites in fresh meats and shrimps. The chromatographic separation was accomplished by using an anion-exchange column eluted with sodium carbonate and sodium hydroxide. The optimized step-change elution, followed by column re-equilibration at the initial mobile phase composition, guaranteed a good resolution even toward endogenous interfering peaks, and an excellent retention time repeatability (1.