Ochratoxin A determination in swine muscle and liver from French conventional or organic farming production systems.

Consumers generally considered organic products to be healthier and safer but data regarding the contamination of organic products are scarce. This study evaluated the impact of the farming system on the levels of ochratoxin A (OTA) in the tissues of French pigs (muscle and liver) reared following three different types of production (organic, Label Rouge and conventional). Because OTA is present at trace levels in animal products, a sensitive ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method using stable isotope dilution assay was developed and validated.

Simultaneous liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis of brominated flame retardants (tetrabromobisphenol A and hexabromocyclododecane diastereoisomers) in French breast milk.

TBBPA and HBCDs are the two classes of flame retardants that are still allowed for use by the European Commission. In May 2013, HBCDs were listed as Persistent Organic Pollutants under the Stockholm Convention, and they were banned with an exemption on EPS/XPS for cavity wall insulation. This study describes the development and optimisation of a rapid LC-ESI-MS/MS method using isotopic dilution quantification including a simplified extraction step using a mixture of solvents and sulphuric acid hydrolysis followed by the one-shot analysis of TBBPA and each of the α-, β- and γ-HBCD diastereoisomers.

Contribution to the risk characterization of ciguatoxins: LOAEL estimated from eight ciguatera fish poisoning events in Guadeloupe (French West Indies).

From 2010 to 2012, 35 ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) events involving 87 individuals who consumed locally-caught fish were reported in Guadeloupe (French West Indies). For 12 of these events, the presence of ciguatoxins (CTXs) was indicated in meal remnants and in uncooked fish by the mouse bioassay (MBA). Caribbean ciguatoxins (C-CTXs) were confirmed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis.

Staphylococcus aureus and its food poisoning toxins: characterization and outbreak investigation.

Staphylococcal food poisoning (SFP) is one of the most common food-borne diseases and results from the ingestion of staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) preformed in food by enterotoxigenic strains of Staphylococcus aureus. To date, more than 20 SEs have been described: SEA to SElV. All of them have superantigenic activity whereas half of them have been proved to be emetic, representing a potential hazard for consumers.

How should staphylococcal food poisoning outbreaks be characterized?

Staphylococcal food poisoning is one of the most common food-borne diseases and results from the ingestion of staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) preformed in food by enterotoxigenic strains of Staphylococcus aureus. To date, more than 20 SEs have been described: SEA to SElV. All SEs have superantigenic activity whereas only a few have been proved to be emetic, representing a potential hazard for consumers.