Biomass in the manufacture of industrial products—the use of proteins and amino acids

The depletion in fossil feedstocks, increasing oil prices, and the ecological problems associated with CO2 emissions are forcing the development of alternative resources for energy, transport fuels, and chemicals: the replacement of fossil resources with CO2 neutral biomass. Allied with this, the conversion of crude oil products utilizes primary products (ethylene, etc.) and their conversion to either materials or (functional) chemicals with the aid of co-reagents such as ammonia and various process steps to introduce functionalities such as -NH2 into the simple structures of the primary products. Conversely, many products found in biomass often contain functionalities. Therefore, it is attractive to exploit this to bypass the use, and preparation of, co-reagents as well as eliminating various process steps by utilizing suitable biomass-based precursors for the production of chemicals. It is the aim of this mini-review to describe the scope of the possibilities to generate current functionalized chemical materials using amino acids from biomass instead of fossil resources, thereby taking advantage of the biomass structure in a more efficient way than solely utilizing biomass for the production of fuels or electricity

Chemical Hazards in Foods

This extensive chapter focuses on chemical hazards that have increased dramatically because of the economic development in various sectors including agriculture, food processing, industry and transport. Chemical hazards in food chain pose a wide range of health risks varying from irritation to chronic diseases and cancer. Moreover, exposure to a combination of chemical hazards may be associated with additive, antagonistic, and synergistic interactions. Thus it is necessary to monitor their concentrations in food and reduce exposure to consumers. The well compiled chapter includes occurrence, detection, legislation, toxicity and risk assessment of a variety of chemicals of both natural and man-made origin

A Modified Sample Preparation for Acrylamide Determination in Cocoa and Coffee Products

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)A modified sample preparation for acrylamide determination in difficult matrices such as cocoa and coffee by a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method is presented in this work. For the sample pretreatment, different solvents, purification steps, and solid-phase extraction cartridges were evaluated. The analyses were carried out on a mu-Bondapak C(18) column using acrylamide-D(3) as internal standard. For identification and confirmation of acrylamide, relative retention time and two diagnostic ions were monitored. Good performance of the method was achieved by introducing a protein precipitation step with Carrez I and II solutions and a liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate in combination with solid-phase extraction during the sample clean-up. A limit of detection of 10 mu g/kg, a limit of quantitation of 20 mu g/kg, mean recoveries ranging from 93 to 99%, coefficients of variation of 3.4% for repeatability, and from 1.7 to 10.8% for within-laboratory reproducibility were obtained during a laboratory validation procedure.114955Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)CAPES [BEX 0770/04-3]CNPq [142119/2003-2

Determination of acrylamide levels in selected foods in Brazil

Selected carbohydrate-rich foods available on the Brazilian market ( 111 samples representing 19 product categories) were analysed for acrylamide content using a liquid chromatography -tandem mass spectrometry method. A limit of detection of 10 mu g kg(-1), a limit of quantitation of 20 mu g kg(-1) and mean recoveries ranging 100 to 115% were obtained during a laboratory validation procedure. The concentration of acrylamide in the samples ranged from < 20 to 2528 mu g kg(-1), with a considerable variation between individual foodstuffs within the same food product class. The highest levels were found in potato products processed at high temperature and in instant coffee, while the lowest concentrations were detected in cassava- and maize-based products, bread and beer. These results are comparable with those reported in other countries.24323624

Contribution of selected foods to acrylamide intake by a population of Brazilian adolescents

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Acrylamide dietary intakes from selected foods are estimated in this work for Brazilian adolescents from Sao Paulo State. The exposure assessment was carried out by combining levels of acrylamide in foods determined analytically by an accredited LC-MS/MS method, with individual food consumption data, using a deterministic approach. Data on food consumption were generated using 24 h recall applied to 578 individuals aged from 11 to 17 years, between July and August 2001. The mean and maximum acrylamide intakes were estimated to be 0.12 and 1.92 mu g/kg bw/day, respectively. At 50th, 95th and 97.5th percentiles, the average intakes were 0.04, 0.55 and 0.77 mu g/kg bw/day, respectively. Boys presented exposure levels lower than girls, while the acrylamide intake by younger adolescents (11-14 years) was higher compared to the older group (15-17 years). The foods that contributed most to acrylamide exposure were French fries, French bread, water and salt biscuit and coffee. (C) 2008 Swiss Society of Food Science and Technology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.421207211Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)CAPES [BEX 0770/04-3]CNPq [142119/2003-2