Climate change and food safety: an emerging issue with special focus on Europe.

According to general consensus, the global climate is changing, which may also affect agricultural and livestock production. The potential impact of climate change on food security is a widely debated and investigated issue. Nonetheless, the specific impact on safety of food and feed for consumers has remained a less studied topic.

Free amino acids in botanicals and botanical preparations.

Numerous studies were carried out about aminoacidic composition of vegetable proteins, but information about the free amino acid pool and the role of these substances is very incomplete. The aim of this paper was to contribute to the scarce knowledge concerning the composition of free amino acids in botanicals and botanical preparations widely used as food, in dietary supplements, and in pharmaceutical products. This work studied the composition of free amino acids, identified the major components of 19 species of plants, and evaluated the influence of different types of extraction on the amino acid profile.

Determination of alpha-amylase inhibitor activity of phaseolamin from kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) in dietary supplements by HPAEC-PAD.

Some dietary supplements, so-called 'starch-blockers', used to control overweight, are based on the protein concentrate of the kidney bean, known to contain high levels of the alpha-amylase inhibitor phaseolamin, which may hinder the digestion of complex carbohydrates, thereby promoting or supporting weight loss. Currently, methods to determine the levels of alpha-amylase inhibitor are based on the measurement of alpha-amylase activity using colorimetric methods that cannot be applied to dietary supplements because they are complex mixtures of different ingredients that may interfere with the measurement. The aim of this study was to develop an alternative method to determine the level of phaseolamin in dietary supplements, using high-performance anion-exchange chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD) to measure the amount of maltose resulting from the action of the enzyme porcine alpha-amylase on soluble starch in the presence and absence of the inhibitor.

Immunoaffinity column cleanup with liquid chromatography for determination of aflatoxin B1 in corn samples: interlaboratory study.

An interlaboratory study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of an immunoaffinity column cleanup liquid chromatography (LC) method for the determination of aflatoxin B1 levels in corn samples, enforced by European Union legislation. A test portion was extracted with methanol-water (80 + 20); the extract was filtered, diluted with phosphate-buffered saline solution, filtered on a microfiber glass filter, and applied to an immunoaffinity column. The column was washed with deionized water to remove interfering compounds, and the purified aflatoxin B1 was eluted with methanol.

Intestinal toxemia botulism in Italy, 1984-2005.

Botulism in humans is caused by botulinum neurotoxins, produced in most cases by Clostridium botulinum, although other Clostridia species are implicated as well. Of the five forms of botulism in humans, three are referred to as "infective": wound botulism, infant botulism, and adult intestinal botulism; the latter two forms are also referred to as "intestinal toxemia botulism" because the organism colonizes the lumen of the intestinal tract and produces botulinum neurotoxin in vivo. Twenty-three cases of infant botulism and three cases of adult intestinal botulism occurred in Italy between 1984 and 2005.

Distribution of epidemic clonal genetic markers among Listeria monocytogenes 4b isolates.

Recent genome sequencing of isolates of Listeria monocytogenes serotype 4b implicated in some major outbreaks of foodborne listeriosis has revealed unique genetic markers in these isolates. The isolates were grouped into two distinct epidemic clones, ECI and ECII. In the present study, selected ECI- and ECII-specific genetic markers were detected in 16 and 15 of 89 L.

An absorption study of dietary administered acrylamide in swine.

Acrylamide is a food toxicant suspected to be carcinogenic to humans. It is formed in the heat processing of carbohydrate-rich food. A current issue in food safety is whether acrylamide actually represents a risk for human health.

Orally administered erythromycin in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss): residues in edible tissues and withdrawal time.

Aquaculture production has notably increased in the last decades, mainly thanks to intensive farming. Together with market globalization, this gives rise to the spreading of several fish diseases, thus increasing the demand for veterinary drugs for aquatic species. Nonetheless, very few chemicals are registered for use in aquaculture, and fish farmers are often forced to resort to off-label use of drugs authorized for other food-producing animal species.

A novel type A2 neurotoxin gene cluster in Clostridium botulinum strain Mascarpone.

The partial nucleotide sequence ( approximately 10 kb) of the cluster of genes encoding the botulinum neurotoxin complex in Clostridium botulinum type A strain Mascarpone was determined. The analysis revealed six ORFs (orfs), which were organized as in the type A2 and type A3 botulinum neurotoxin gene clusters of strains Kyoto-F and NCTC 2916, respectively. While the orfs at the proximal and distal ends of the sequence (orfX2 and bont/A genes) shared a high level of similarity with the corresponding sequences of strain Kyoto-F, the segment encompassing the orfX1 and botR/A genes within the sequence exhibited a higher degree of homology to the related region in strain NCTC 2916.

Listeriosis associated with gorgonzola (Italian blue-veined cheese).

We describe a case of listeriosis in Italy associated with the consumption of cheese. Opened samples of two brands of gorgonzola (Italian blue-veined cheese; referred to as brands "B" and "C") were collected from the patient's refrigerator. Unopened samples of the brand suspected to be the source of infection (brand B) were taken from the store where the cheese had been purchased, other local stores, and the production plant.

Suppressor of cytokine signaling gene expression in human pancreatic islets: modulation by cytokines.

Objective: Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins negatively regulate signal transduction of several cytokines. Since cytokines participate in the pancreatic islet damage in type 1 diabetes, the aim of our study was to investigate the expression of SOCS-1, -2 and -3 in isolated human islets, in basal conditions and after exposure, in vitro, to a combination of interferon (IFN)-gamma, interleukin (IL)-1beta and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha cytokines and in control and in type 1 diabetic human pancreata, to establish (i) whether SOCS molecules are constitutively expressed in human pancreatic islets and (ii) whether their expression can be modulated in vitro by proinflammatory cytokines or ex vivo by an islet inflammatory process.

Methods: Gene expression of SOCS-1, -2 and -3 was evaluated by RT-PCR in untreated and cytokine-treated isolated human pancreatic islets and their protein expression by immunohistochemistry in control and in type 1 diabetic human pancreata paraffin-embedded sections.

Molecular and experimental virulence of Listeria monocytogenes strains isolated from cases with invasive listeriosis and febrile gastroenteritis.

We analyzed 27 Listeria monocytogenes strains of serotypes 1/2b and 4b, from invasive and gastroenteric listeriosis, for molecular and experimental virulence. Molecular virulence was tested by PCR for the presence of 8 major virulence-associated genes and genetic polymorphisms through restriction enzyme analysis; genomic DNA typing using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis was also performed. Experimental virulence was evaluated through intra-peritoneal and intra-gastric mouse virulence assays.

Long depletion time of enrofloxacin in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

The international production of farmed fish has been growing continuously over recent years. Until now few veterinary drugs have been approved by the European Union for use in aquaculture, and this has favored the off-label use of products authorized for use in food-producing animal species different from fishes among fish farmers. Adequate field studies are lacking, especially for those species called minor species which are consumed extensively only in some European countries.

Identification of type A, B, E, and F botulinum neurotoxin genes and of botulinum neurotoxigenic clostridia by denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography.

Denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) is a recently developed technique for rapid screening of nucleotide polymorphisms in PCR products. We used this technique for the identification of type A, B, E, and F botulinum neurotoxin genes. PCR products amplified from a conserved region of the type A, B, E, and F botulinum toxin genes from Clostridium botulinum, neurotoxigenic C.

Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry for the determination of elements and elemental species in food: a review.

Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has definitely emerged as a powerful technique for total element determination and as a sensitive and selective detector in hyphenated methods for speciation analyses of elements in foods. In this review, the analytical challenges of elemental analysis of food and agricultural matrixes are discussed and several applications are examined. Selected examples illustrate the analytical approaches being used so far to address specific issues in various areas of food and nutrition research.