Novel Analytical Methods in Food Analysis

This reprint provides information on the novel analytical methods used to address challenges occurring at academic, regulatory, and commercial level. All topics covered include information on the basic principles, procedures, advantages, limitations, and applications. Integration of biological reagents, (nano)materials, technologies, and physical principles (spectroscopy and spectrometry) are discussed. This reprint is ideal for professionals of the food industry, regulatory bodies, as well as researchers

An overview on the Impact of Food Fraud Incidences in Various Countries and its Detection Methods, Assessment Techniques and Preventive Measures

Food fraud is not just a local issue but perhaps a global phenomenon. If the food available in the market are undetected or poorly controlled, this can harm consumer health. Food fraud causes a lack of traceability of supply chains and may eventually be a risk to food safety. The purpose of this paper is to acquaint the various types of food fraud and to evaluate the detection methods in identifying the adulterants. It also addresses the importance of vulnerability assessment of food fraud and key actions required for its prevention. Fighting food fraud will remain a race between the fraudsters and scientists developing new methods to prevent them. The review is unique that it summarized food fraud types, basic and instrument-based detection techniques for adulterants identification and it also focuses on the international governing bodies concerned with food laws and regulations. This study also provides perceptions of the interplay between vulnerability assessment and food fraud prevention

State-of-the-art terahertz sensing for food and water security – a comprehensive review

Background: Recently, there has been a dramatic change in the field of terahertz (THz) technology. The recent advancements in the THz radiation sector considering generation, manipulation and detection have brought revolution in this field, which enable the integration of THz sensing systems into real-world. The THz technology presents detection techniques and various issues, while providing significant opportunities for sensing food and water contamination detection. Scope and approach: Many researchers around the world have exploited the potential of invaluable new applications of THz sensing ranging from surveillance, healthcare and recently for food and water contamination detection. The microbial pollution in water and food is one the crucial issues with regard to the sanitary state for drinking water and daily consumption of food. To address this risk, the detection of microbial contamination is of utmost importance, since the consumption of insanitary or unhygienic food can lead to catastrophic illness. Key findings and conclusions: This paper presents a first-time review of the open literature covering the advances in the THz sensing for microbiological contamination of food and water, in addition to state-of-the-art in network architectures, applications and recent industrial developments. With unique superiority, the THz non-destructive detection technology in food inspection and water contamination detection is emerging as a new area of study. With the great progress, some important challenges and future research directions are presented within the field

Food Fraud in Nigeria: Challenges, Risks and Solutions

Food fraud is one of the most urgent and active food research and regulatory areas. It is an evolving problem in Nigeria that has led to the deaths of many people especially the vunerable groups that includes mostly children, the elderly and immunocomprised persons. Therefore the aim of this study is to investigate the current challenges of food fraud in Nigeria, identify the risks it poses on the health and wellbeing of Nigerians and propose measures to tackle food fraud at local and international levels by regulatory and government agencies. This study explored the relationship between food fraud, food security and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This study is relatively new as it has never been carried out before so it relied on information from previous research articles, journals and publications. A total of 68 participants from the general public took part in this study and some key officers from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) were interviewed to obtain their opinions on the current state of food fraud in Nigeria.The findings revealed common foods being adulterated in Nigeria are mostly fats and oils, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and honey. Poverty, corruption and poor food safety and control systems were identified throughout this study. The study concluded by reviewing several policy framework and actions taken by the Nigerian government to proffer solutions that can actualise the goals of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030