An integrated risk assessment of patulin in apple juices throughout the food chain

De beschikbaarheid van veilig voedsel is een essentiële voorwaarde voor het menselijk bestaan. Eén van de gevaren die in onze voeding voorkomen is patuline. Dit mycotoxine wordt voornamelijk gevormd door de schimmel Penicillium expansum, die frequent wordt teruggevonden op appels. Appels en afgeleide producten zoals appelsap, zijn dan ook de belangrijkste blootstellingsbron van patuline. Het doel van dit doctoraat was het risico van patuline bij kinderen die appelsap consumeren te beoordelen en indien nodig verschillende strategieën te evalueren die het risico reduceren. Het voorgestelde onderzoek toonde aan dat hoewel het voorkomen van patuline in biologisch, conventioneel en ambachtelijk appelsap niet significant verschillend is, het gemiddelde patulinegehalte in gecontamineerd appelsap significant hoger is in biologisch appelsap in vergelijking met conventioneel en ambachtelijk. Aan de hand van een risicobeoordeling werd aangetoond dat 0.9% van de kinderen die biologisch appelsap consumeren, de tolereerbare dagelijkse inname (TDI) voor patuline overschrijdt. Voor consumenten van conventioneel en ambachtelijk appelsap was dit respectievelijk 0.1% en 0%. Tevens werd aangetoond dat de huidige wettelijke limiet voor patuline onvoldoende bescherming geeft aan jonge kinderen en dat een reductie van de limiet van 50 naar 25 µg/kg aangewezen is. Om na te gaan welke maatregelen kunnen bijdragen tot het reduceren van de patulinecontaminatie werd een risicobeoordelingsmodel (RBM) uitgewerkt dat de volledige keten beschrijft vanaf het plukken van de appels tot de opslag van het geproduceerde sap. Om de groei van P. expansum op te nemen in dit RBM werden groeimodellen ontwikkeld en gevalideerd voor de lagfase en de groeisnelheid van 6 stammen. Daarnaast werd ook de invloed van de opslagcondities van appels op de patulineproductie van verschillende P. expansum stammen geanalyseerd. Het onderzoek toonde aan dat de aanwezigheid van beperkte stress bij de schimmel de patulineproductie stimuleert, terwijl een combinatie van verschillende stresscondities zal leiden tot een reductie van de toxinevorming. De combinatie van stresscondities waarbij de stimulatie overgaat in onderdrukking is stamafhankelijk. Vervolgens werd het RBM gebruikt om verschillende scenario’s te evalueren met als doel de patulinecontaminatie in appelsap te reduceren. Er werd aangetoond dat de concentratie van patuline in appelsap gereduceerd kan worden wanneer minder appels worden gebruikt die opgeslagen werden in gecontroleerde atmosfeer. Wanneer toch appels worden gebruikt die opgeslagen werden in gecontroleerde atmosfeer, dient een sorteerstap uitgevoerd te worden om de appels met een geïnfecteerd oppervlak groter dan 10 cm² te verwijderen. Deze maatregel laat toe de patulinecontaminatie te verlagen tot concentraties lager dan 25 µg/kg in 99.7 tot 99.9% van de appelsappen. Een bijkomende kritische factor is de duur van de opslag in open lucht vooraleer de appels worden verwerkt

A literature-based comparison of nutrient and contaminant contents between organic and conventional vegetables and potatoes

Purpose - The increasing demand for organic foods is explained mainly by consumers' concerns about the quality and safety of foods and their perception that organically produced foods are healthier and safer than conventional foods. Based on internationally available concentration data of organic and conventional vegetables (carrots, tomatoes, lettuce and spinach) and potatoes, the paper aims to investigate the scientific validity of nutrition claims as "no vegetable/potato has higher amounts of nutrient X than organic vegetables/potatoes" and "no vegetable/potato has lower amounts of contaminant Y than organic vegetables/potatoes". Design/methodology/approach - Detailed nutrient and contaminant databases were developed for organic and conventional vegetables separately. Non-parametric (Mann-Whitney test) methods were used to detect significant differences between both types of vegetables. A chi-square test was used to compare the incidence of pesticide residues in organic and conventional vegetables. Findings - From a nutritional and toxicological point of view, organic vegetables and potato in general are not significantly better than conventional vegetables and potatoes. For some nutrients and contaminants organic vegetables and potatoes score significantly better but for others they score significantly worse. Therefore, it becomes difficult to justify general claims indicating a surplus value of organic over conventional vegetables and potatoes. More data from controlled paired studies are needed to reconsider the use of claims for these organic plant foods in the future. Research limitations/implications - Only a limited number of studies comparing the nutrient and/or contaminant concentration of organic and conventional vegetables are available ("paired studies"). Additionally, the majority of the studies are of moderate or poor quality. The implication is that more of those paired studies are heavily needed. Another limitation of the study is the fact that most pesticide residue data originated from the USA, the EU and Australia. Originality/value - So far only few studies compared both nutrient and contaminant contents between organic and conventional plant foods. This paper covers therefore an important, not well-explored research sub area

Rer1p competes with APH-1 for binding to nicastrin and regulates γ-secretase complex assembly in the early secretory pathway

The γ-secretase complex, consisting of presenilin, nicastrin, presenilin enhancer-2 (PEN-2), and anterior pharynx defective-1 (APH-1) cleaves type I integral membrane proteins like amyloid precursor protein and Notch in a process of regulated intramembrane proteolysis. The regulatory mechanisms governing the multistep assembly of this “proteasome of the membrane” are unknown. We characterize a new interaction partner of nicastrin, the retrieval receptor Rer1p. Rer1p binds preferentially immature nicastrin via polar residues within its transmembrane domain that are also critical for interaction with APH-1. Absence of APH-1 substantially increased binding of nicastrin to Rer1p, demonstrating the competitive nature of these interactions. Moreover, Rer1p expression levels control the formation of γ-secretase subcomplexes and, concomitantly, total cellular γ-secretase activity. We identify Rer1p as a novel limiting factor that negatively regulates γ-secretase complex assembly by competing with APH-1 during active recycling between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi. We conclude that total cellular γ-secretase activity is restrained by a secondary ER control system that provides a potential therapeutic value

Low prevalence of human enteropathogenic Yersinia spp. in brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) in Flanders

Brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) have been identified as potential carriers of Yersinia enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis, the etiological agents of yersiniosis, the third most reported bacterial zoonosis in Europe. Enteropathogenic Yersinia spp. are most often isolated from rats during yersiniosis cases in animals and humans, and from rats inhabiting farms and slaughterhouses. Information is however lacking regarding the extent to which rats act as carriers of these Yersinia spp.. In 2013, 1088 brown rats across Flanders, Belgium, were tested for the presence of Yersinia species by isolation method. Identification was performed using MALDI-TOF MS, PCR on chromosomal-and plasmid-borne virulence genes, biotyping and serotyping. Yersinia spp. were isolated from 38.4% of the rats. Of these, 53.4% were designated Y. enterocolitica, 0.7% Y. pseudotuberculosis and 49.0% other Yersinia species. Two Y. enterocolitica possessing the virF-, ail- and ystA-gene were isolated. Additionally, the ystB-gene was identified in 94.1% of the other Y. enterocolitica isolates, suggestive for biotype 1A. Three of these latter isolates simultaneously possessed the ail-virulence gene. Significantly more Y. enterocolitica were isolated during winter and spring compared to summer. Based on our findings we can conclude that brown rats are frequent carriers for various Yersinia spp., including Y. pseudotuberculosis and (human pathogenic) Y. enterocolitica which are more often isolated during winter and spring

Risk assessment of aflatoxins in food

© 2020 European Food Safety Authority. EFSA Journal published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd on behalf of European Food Safety Authority.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Evaluation of public and animal health risks in case of a delayed post‐mortem inspection in ungulates

The potential effects of a 24 or 72‐h delay in post‐mortem inspection (PMI) of ungulates on public health and monitoring of animal health and welfare was evaluated. The assessment used a survey of meat inspectors, expert opinion, literature search and a stochastic model for Salmonella detection sensitivity. Disease detection sensitivity at a delayed PMI is expected to reduce detection sensitivity to a variable extent, depending on the hazard and on the signs/lesions and organs involved. No reduction is expected for Trichinella detection in meat from susceptible animal species and any decrease in detection of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) will not exceed the current tolerance for fallen stock. A 24‐h delay in PMI could result in a small reduction in sensitivity of detection for tuberculosis, echinococcosis and cysticercosis. A greater reduction is expected for the detection of pyaemia and Rift valley fever. For the detection of Salmonella, the median model estimates are a reduction of sensitivity of 66.5% (90% probability interval (PI) 0.08–99.75%) after 24‐h delay and 94% (90% PI 0.83–100%) after 72‐h delay of PMI. Laboratory testing for tuberculosis following a sampling delay of 24–72 h could result in no, or a moderate, decrease in detection depending on the method of confirmation used (PCR, culture, histopathology). For chemical contaminants, a delay in meat inspection of 24 or 72 h is expected to have no impact on the effectiveness of detection of persistent organic pollutants and metals. However, for certain pharmacologically active substances, there will be a reduced effectiveness to detect some of these substances due to potential degradation in the available matrices (tissues and organs) and the non‐availability of specific preferred matrices of choice.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Update: methodological principles and scientific methods to be taken into account when establishing Reference Points for Action (RPAs) for non‐allowed pharmacologically active substances present in food of animal origin

The CONTAM Panel acknowledges all European competent institutions and other stakeholders that supported the data collection for the Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database. Adopted: 14 June 2018Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Effect on public health of a possible increase of the maximum level for ‘aflatoxin total’ from 4 to 10 μg/kg in peanuts and processed products thereof, intended for direct human consumption or use as an ingredient in foodstuffs

The Panel wishes to thank the EFSA staff members: Davide Arcella and Valentina Bocca for the support provided to this scientific output. The CONTAM Panel acknowledges all European competent institutions and other stakeholders that provided occurrence data on aflatoxins in peanut, peanut butter and peanut oil, and supported the data collection for the Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database. Adopted: 23 January 2018Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Erucic acid in feed and food

The Panel wishes to thank the members of the Working Group on erucic acid in food and feed: Bruce Cottrill, Eugenia Dogliotti, Juha Laakso, Manfred Metzler, Leonardo Velasco and Christiane Vleminckx for the preparatory work on this scientific output, the hearing expert: Mary Sheppard and EFSA staff members: Katleen Baert, Barbara Dörr, Jose Angel Gomez Ruiz and Enikő Varga for the support provided to this scientific opinion. The Panel acknowledges all European countries and European stakeholder organisations (FEDIOL, SNE and FEFAC) that provided occurrence data on erucic acid in food and feed. The Panel wishes to thank all European countries that supported the collection of consumption data for the Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database.Peer reviewedPublisher PD