Risks of Patulin and Its Removal Procedures: A Review

Patulin is the secondary metabolite of some spoilage fungi. Despite efforts to prevent and reduce the mycotoxin, it is considered as a major problem in human health, especially in developing countries. Using different methods before and after processing of food can affect the level of patulin in the final product. The results showed that the different stages of production such as filtration, heating process, clarification or additional steps such as using radiation and absorbent materials can reduce patulin to some extent. The reduction of patulin in various processes depends on the composition of foods. In some studies, the amount of patulin after processing did not decrease sufficiently. Data showed that the use of various physical, chemical, and biological methods can reduce the patulin. However, because of patulin’s thermal resistance and combination effect of food ingredients, the most effective ways to reduce patulin are using good agricultural practices (GAP) and good manufacture production (GMP) during food production

Dietary Intakes of Zinc, Copper, Magnesium, Calcium, Phosphorus, and Sodium by the General Adult Population Aged 20–50 Years in Shiraz, Iran: A Total Diet Study Approach

In the present total diet study, the dietary intake of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), and sodium (Na) by healthy adults in Shiraz, Iran, was estimated from the foods as consumed. A total of 580 individual food items were collected, prepared, and pooled into 129 composite samples. The metal concentration was then evaluated using inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry. The mean intakes of Zn (12.92 mg/d), Cu (3.80 mg/d), and Mg (412.68 mg/d) exceeded the estimated average requirements (EARs), but they were well below the upper limits. A high prevalence of inadequate intake was observed for Ca (91.6%) and P (89.7%), which was mainly due to nutritionally imbalanced diets. Sodium intake for average and high consumers (97.5th percentile) was 123.6% and 237.8% of the tolerable upper intake level of 2300 mg/d, respectively, with 70% of the participants having intakes higher than this threshold value. Nutrition education, nutritional rehabilitation, Ca supplementation, food fortification, mandatory reduction of salt content in processed foods, and discretionary salt use (in home cooking or at the table) are among the possible strategies that can be adopted to combat the health problems