Importance of Labelling Biodynamic Product Packaging in Croatia

A lot of research has been conducted on economic and consumer aspects of ecological food products. However, we are witnessing the appearance of food products produced according to the principles of biodynamic growth which can be seen as a higher standard in ecological production process. Similar to ecological cultivation the biodynamic one also has proscribed methods and processes of production, processing, distribution and labelling as well as control and certification processes. However, such products are still not being recognized be the consumers in Croatia. This paper provides, based on authentic empirical research, some basic background information on the importance of labelling packages of food products as well as their quality and traceability. These also present the first results of research on the importance of labelling biodynamic products packages in Croatia

Jučer maskirani, a danas modificirani – što je sljedeće s mikotoksinima?

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by toxigenic fungi in crops worldwide. In (micro)organisms such as plants, fungi, bacteria, or animals they may be further metabolised and modified, but this is also true for food processing, which may lead to a wide range of masked mycotoxin forms. These often remain undetected by analytical methods and are the culprits for underestimates in risk assessments. Furthermore, once ingested, modified mycotoxins can convert back to their parent forms. This concern has raised the need for analytical methods that can detect and quantify modified mycotoxins as essential for accurate risk assessment. The promising answer is liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. New masked mycotoxin forms are now successfully detected by iontrap, time-of-flight, or high-resolution orbitrap mass spectrometers. However, the toxicological relevance of modified mycotoxins has not been fully clarified.Mikotoksini su sekundarni metaboliti toksigenih plijesni široko rasprostranjenih u usjevima. Biljke, životinje, bakterije i plijesni posjeduju sposobnost modifikacije mikotoksina, a do nje može doći i tijekom obrade hrane, što rezultira nastankomvelikog broja „maskiranih” oblika mikotoksina. Tako modificirani oblici mikotoksina često ostaju nevidljivi pri različitim analitičkim tehnikama, što utječe i na točnu procjenu rizika jer se nakon konzumacije kontaminiranih namirnica modificirani oblici mikotoksina u probavnom sustavu vraćaju u izvorni oblik. To je dovelo do potrebe za analitičkim tehnikama kojima se mogu detektirati i kvantificirati modificirani oblici mikotoksina. Sprega tekućinske kromatografije i spektrometrije masa (LC-MS/MS) analitička je tehnika detekcije koja najviše obećava, a za otkrivanje novih modificiranih spojeva uglavnom se primjenjuju spektrometri masa visoke rezolucije. Unatoč tome, toksični utjecaj modificiranih oblika mikotoksina još nije do kraja razjašnjen

NUTRITIONALLY IMPROVED CHOCOLATE SPREADS – A REVIEW

Chocolate spread is one of the favourite breakfast meals and snacks among people of all generations. Increased consumption of these kinds of products with high-energy value leads to obesity and several health problems. Many researchers are trying to produce acceptable products with lower calorie values by reducing fat and sugar contents. Oleogels are one of the most explored solutions for the development of low-fat products and products with lower content of saturated fats. In addition, the fat composition of chocolate spreads can be changed to obtain a better fatty acid profile. Products with a low-sugar content have been proven to have sensory acceptability when sweeteners with low caloric value were used. In addition, researchers proved that chocolate spreads could be enriched with many different bioactive components by using by-products and minimally processed raw materials in the production process

Utjecaj mikrofiltracije na iskorištenje odabranih mikotoksina reguliranih zakonom na razini Europske unije

Microfiltration is a common step in liquid chromatography – tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS), a method of choice in determining several mycotoxins in a solution at once. However, microfiltration may entail filter-analyte interactions that can affect the accuracy of the procedure, and underestimate exposure. The aim of our study was to assess how five different membrane materials for syringe filters (nylon, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyethersulphone, mixed cellulose ester, and cellulose acetate) affect microfiltration and recovery of EU-regulated mycotoxins, including aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2, deoxynivalenol, fumonisins B1 and B2, zearalenone, T-2 and HT-2 toxins, and ochratoxin A. Polytetrafluoroethylene filters turned out to least affect microfiltration through mycotoxin loss, followed by more commonly used nylon filters, whereas the remaining three filter membrane materials had such a negative effect on recoveries that we found them incompatible with the procedure. Our findings clearly suggest that it is important to select a proper filter type that suits analyte properties and solution composition and to discard the first few filtrate drops to ensure the accuracy of the analytical procedure.Mikrofiltracija je čest korak u analitičkim postupcima u kojima se koristi tekućinska kromatografija – tandemska spektrometrija masa, koja je metoda izbora kada je riječ o jednoznačnom određivanju mikotoksina. Međutim, u slučajevima kada se primjenjuje mikrofiltracija, treba uzeti u obzir i moguće interakcije filtar-analit, koje bi mogle spriječiti točno određivanje pojavnosti mikotoksina, a time i izloženosti. U skladu s tim, u ovom istraživanju korišteno je pet različitih vrsta materijala membrane filtra (najlon, politetrafluoretilen, polietersulfon, miješani ester celuloze i celulozni acetat) za procjenu utjecaja mikrofiltracije na iskorištenje odabranih mikotoksina, reguliranih zakonodavstvom Europske unije, uključujući aflatoksine B1, B2, G1 i G2, deoksinivalenol, fumonizine B1 i B2, zearalenon, T-2 i HT-2 toksine te okratoksin A. Rezultati istraživanja otkrili su da politetrafluoretilenski filtri imaju najmanji utjecaj na gubitak mikotoksina tijekom filtracije, a uobičajeno korišteni najlonski filtri mogu utjecati na iskorištenje određenih mikotoksina ako se ne koriste pravilno. Ostala tri ispitana materijala filtarske membrane pokazala su se nekompatibilnima za ovu primjenu jer negativno utječu na iskorištenje većine analita. Rezultati istraživanja upućuju na nužnost odabira odgovarajuće vrste filtra tijekom postupka razvoja i validacije metode, prikladne za određeni analitički proces, a ovisno o svojstvima analita i sastavu otopine (uzorka), imajući u vidu nužnost odbacivanja prvih nekoliko kapi filtrata kako bi se osigurala točnost analitičkoga postupka

POMOLOGICAL PROPERTIES AND POLYPHENOL CONTENT OF CONVENTIONAL AND TRADITIONAL APPLE CULTIVARS FROM CROATIA

Pomological properties and polyphenol content of six traditional and six conventional apple varieties from Croatia were studied. The highest fruit weight, height and width were measured in conventional apple cultivar, ‘Red Delicious’, and the lowest in traditional apple cultivar, ‘Adamčica’. The highest content of soluble dry matter was measured in ‘Zlatna Zimska Parmenka’ (16.70%) and the lowest in ‘Mutsu’ (11.30%). The pH (3.90) value was highest in ‘Red Delicious’ and the lowest (3.12) in ‘Zlatna Zimska Parmenka’. Total polyphenol content and antioxidant activity were on the highest level in traditional apple cultivar, ‘Adamčica’ 499.58 mg/100 g FW and 418.83 mmol trolox/L, respectively. Traditional apple varieties grown in local areas have so far been largely unexplored considering pomological and physicochemical properties. However, they might represent an important source of bioactive compounds and constitute the basis for further breeding. This research showed that traditional apple varieties are rich in polyphenols and have high antioxidant activity even higher than those found in conventional varieties. Due to the diversity of pomological properties and polyphenol content, it is important to preserve traditional apple varieties as a source of genetic variability as well as a factor of biodiversity of the area where they grow

Formulation and processing factors affecting trichothecene mycotoxins within industrial biscuit-making

Food processing, especially thermal treatment, may have implications on mycotoxins in products available for consumers. This research work aimed to study how mycotoxin levels may be influenced by modifying the technological parameters of both whole grain and cocoa biscuit-making processes. The study was mainly focused on the following mycotoxins: deoxynivalenol, deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside, and the minor metabolite culmorin. Special emphasis was given to the recipe formulation, and to the baking conditions, using an industrial-scale operation, starting from naturally contaminated raw materials. Exploiting the power of Design of Experiments (DoE) and a dedicated LC-MS/MS method, the complexity of the different processes was investigated. The models obtained within this study showed a high goodness-of-fit suggesting that the pH and the baking time play important roles for minimizing mycotoxins in the final products, while the recipe formulation has an impact on the mycotoxins extractability by affecting the biscuit microstructure

DISRUPTION OF ASPERGILLUS FLAVUS CELLS: A BEAD MILL HOMOGENIZATION METHOD

The most important mycotoxigenic fungus involved in pre- and post-contamination of crops is Aspergillus flavus which causes great health and economic loses worldwide due to production of the most potent natural hepatocarcinogen – aflatoxin B1. Contamination with this secondary metabolite is getting even worst by global climate changes and other abiotic stressors present in environment. Accordingly, researches with the aim of synthesis or identifying the antiaflatoxigenic and antifungal compounds are of interest. For such efforts realization, use and manipulation with intracellular content of A. flavus cells is necessary. The aim of this study was to apply Omni® Bead Ruptor 12 Homogenizer on disintegration of A. flavus cells, to find optimal parameters of homogenization and prepare biologically active extracts which can be used for determination of possible strategies for control of contamination with aflatoxins. Results of study showed that bead mill homogenizer Omni® Bead Ruptor 12 Homogenizer can be applied for disintegration of A. flavus mycelia and preparation of enzymatically active cell-free extracts. The homogenization mixture in 2 mL homogenization tubes should contain 100 mg of fresh wet mycelia, 1 g of precooled acid washed glass beads of 0.5 mm in diameter and 1 mL of ice-cold buffer. Such mixture should be homogenized at speed of 6 m/s during 120 s, in six cycles of 20 s with cooling of samples in ice-bath between cycles