LC-HRMS analysis of 13 classes of pharmaceutical substances in food supplements.

Food supplements should not contain substances considered unsafe or pose a health risk to consumers. In recent years illegal adulterants have been found in various functional foods without notification of their presence or amount in the labelling. In this study, a validated method was developed and applied as a screening method to detect 124 forbidden substances belonging to 13 classes of compounds in food supplements.

Occurrence and migration study of chemicals from baking paper and aluminium foil.

The present work focused on the development of an analytical method suitable to study the presence and the release of organophosphate esters (OPEs) and perfluoroalkylated substances (PFASs) from food contact materials (FCMs), from baking paper and aluminium foil. Although these classes of compounds are attracting increasing attention due to their toxicity the knowledge is still insufficient. The extent of their migration from FCMs to food was estimated using different liquid simulants.

Detection of Nitrated, Oxygenated and Hydrogenated Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds in Smoked Fish and Meat Products.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are present in smoked food products. More toxic nitrated (NPAH) and oxygenated (OPAH) PAHs derivatives are found concomitantly to PAHs and are therefore believed to be found in smoked food products. However, only a few PAH analyses on food include these derivatives.

Characterization of organophosphate esters (OPEs) and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFASs) in settled dust in specific workplaces.

An analytical method for detecting flame retardants was slightly modified and optimized for the simultaneous determination of 11 organophosphate esters (OPEs) and 26 polyfluoralkyl substances (PFASs) contained in dust. All the analytes were determined in HPLC/MS-MS, and OPEs were also analyzed in GC/MS, and the results were compared. The study was conducted through the investigation of the Standard Reference Material SRM 2585 of the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST).

Toxic Organic Contaminants in Airborne Particles: Levels, Potential Sources and Risk Assessment.

In the last years, many studies have focused on risk assessment of exposure of workers to airborne particulate matter (PM). Several studies indicate a strong correlation between PM and adverse health outcomes, as a function of particle size. In the last years, the study of atmospheric particulate matter has focused more on particles less than 10 μm or 2.

Characterization of seven sterols in five different types of cattle feedstuffs.

This paper provides a method for the quantification of sterols in different types of calf feedstuffs based on soy, sunflower, hay, calf feed and a mixture of all of them. The free fraction and the total sterolic fraction, after saponification and acidic hydrolysis of the samples, are extracted by solvent and the sterols are identified/quantified by reversed phase HPLC coupled to tandem mass spectrometry by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization. After the recovery evaluation, the method is validated in terms of linearity (coefficient of determination R), repeatability (coefficient of variation RSD), limit of detection and quantification.

Occurrence of Halogenated Pollutants in Domestic and Occupational Indoor Dust.

The occurrence of halogenated organic pollutants in indoor dust can be high due to the presence of textile, electronic devices, furniture, and building materials treated with these chemicals. In this explorative study, we focused on emerging organic pollutants, such as novel brominated flame retardants (nBFRs) and some perfluoroalkyl substances, together with legacy polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs) in settled dust collected in houses and workplaces such as one office and two electrotechnical and mechanical workshops. The total contribution of the investigated pollutants was lower in house and in office dusts except for few nBFRs (such as bis (2-ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6-tetrabromo-phthalate at a concentration of 464.

Optimization and validation of a LC-HRMS method for aflatoxins determination in urine samples.

Mycotoxins' exposure by inhalation and/or dermal contact can occur in different branches of industry especially where heavily dusty settings are present and the handling of dusty commodities is performed. This study aims to explore the possible contribution of the occupational exposure to aflatoxins by analysing urine samples for the presence of aflatoxins B and M and aflatoxin B-N-guanine adduct. The study was conducted in 2017 on two groups of volunteers, the workers group, composed by personnel employed in an Italian feed plant (n = 32), and a control group (n = 29), composed by the administrative employees of the same feed plant; a total of 120 urine samples were collected and analysed.

Determination of Deoxynivalenol Biomarkers in Italian Urine Samples.

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a mycotoxin mainly produced by that can contaminate cereals and cereal-based foodstuff. Urinary DON levels can be used as biomarker for exposure assessment purposes. This study assessed urinary DON concentrations in Italian volunteers recruited by age group, namely children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly.

Biomonitoring Data for Assessing Aflatoxins and Ochratoxin A Exposure by Italian Feedstuffs Workers.

Mycotoxins exposure by inhalation and/or dermal contact is possible in different branches of industry especially where heavily dusty settings are present and the handling of dusty commodities is performed. This study aims to explore the validity of the biomonitoring as a tool to investigate the intake of mycotoxins in a population of workers operating in an Italian feed plant. Serum samples were collected for the determination of aflatoxins B1 (AFB1), AFB1-Lysine adduct and ochratoxin A (OTA).

Ergot Alkaloids in Wheat and Rye Derived Products in Italy.

Genus is a plant pathogen able to produce a group of toxins, ergot alkaloids (EAs), whose effects have been known since the Middle Ages (ergotism). is the most important representative specie, known to infect more than 400 monocotyledonous plants including economically important cereal grains (e.g.