Exposure Assessment and Risk Characterization of Aflatoxin M1 Intake through Consumption of Milk and Yoghurt by Student Population in Serbia and Greece

The objective of this research was to perform an exposure assessment of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) intake through the consumption of milk and yoghurt by the student population in Serbia and Greece. A food consumption survey of milk and yoghurt was performed during the first half of 2018 in the two countries with at least 500 interviewees (aged between 18 and 27 years) per country, covering their dietary habits and body weight based on one-day and seven-day recall methods. Values for the concentration of AFM1 were extracted from published research. Finally, a Monte Carlo analysis of 100,000 iterations was performed to estimate the intake of AFM1 from the consumption of the two dairy products. Results revealed that the estimated average exposure of students to AFM1 was in the range of 1.238-2.674 ng kg(-1) bw day(-1) for Serbia, and 0.350-0.499 ng kg(-1) bw day(-1) for Greece, depending on the dietary recall method employed. High estimations for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases/year/10(5) individuals, depending on the prevalence of Hepatitis B virus surface antigen positive individuals (HBsAg+), were 0.0036-0.0047 and 0.0007-0.0009 for Serbia and Greece, respectively. Presented Margin of Exposure (MOE) and Hazard Index (HI) values indicate increased risk from exposure to AFM1, particularly in Serbia

Quality and Oral Processing Characteristics of Traditional Serbian Ćevap Influenced by Game Meat

This study analyzes the influence of two different types of game meat (deer and wild boar) in relation to quality characteristics and oral processing attributes of skinless sausage. The goal of this study was to compare grilled game-meat-based “ćevap” with conventional pork-meat-based samples. Research comprised of color analysis, evaluation of textural components, testing degree of difference, temporal dominance of sensations, calculation of main oral processing attributes, and examination of particle size distribution. The results show that oral processing attributes are similar in between samples and concur with results of the pork-based sample. This confirms the working hypothesis that it is possible to make game-meat-based “ćevap” fully comparable with conventional pork meat products. In parallel, color and flavor characteristics are influenced by the type of game meat in the sample. Most of the dominant sensory attributes that occurred during mastication were game meat flavor and juiciness. © 2023 by the authors

Water safety plan enhancements with improved drinking water quality detection techniques

Drinking water quality has been regulated in most European countries for nearly two decades by the drinking water directive 98/83/EC. The directive is now under revision with the goal of meeting stricter demands for safe water for all citizens, as safe water has been recognized as a human right by the United Nations. An important change to the directive is the implementation of a risk-based approach in all regulated water supplies. The European Union Framework Seventh Programme Aquavalens project has developed several new detection technologies for pathogens and indicators and tested them in water supplies in seven European countries. One of the tasks of the project was to evaluate the impact of these new techniques on water safety and on water safety management. Data were collected on risk factors to water safety for five large supplies in Denmark, Germany, Spain and the UK, and for fifteen small water supplies in Scotland, Portugal and Serbia, via a questionnaire aiming to ascertain risk factors and the stage of implementation of Water Safety Plans, and via site-specific surveys known as Sanitary Site Inspection. Samples were collected from the water supplies from all stages of water production to delivery. Pathogens were detected in around 23% of the 470 samples tested. Fecal contamination was high in raw water and even in treated water at the small supplies. Old infrastructure was considered a challenge at all the water supplies. The results showed that some of the technique, if implemented as part of the water safety management, can detect rapidly the most common waterborne pathogens and fecal pollution indicators and therefore have a great early warning potential; can improve water safety for the consumer; can validate whether mitigation methods are working as intended; and can confirm the quality of the water at source and at the tap

Overview on the Mycotoxins Incidence in Serbia in the Period 2004–2016

With an average annual production of 6.9 M tonnes and 2.5 M tonnes of maize and wheat respectively, Serbia is one of the main grain producers and exporters in Europe. Cereals are also the major staple food in Serbian diet. In view of the high cereal consumption, for human and animal nutrition, the presence of mycotoxins entails a high public health risk of chronic exposure to mycotoxins. This study provides an overview of the incidence of predominant mycotoxins, mainly in cereal and dairy products, in Serbia, in the 2004–2016, using data reported in the scientific literature. The study demonstrated that the total prevalence of aflatoxins was 62.9% (n = 12,517) with 26.2% of the samples exceeding the EU limits during this period. Results obtained for T-2/HT-2 (n = 523), deoxynivalenol (n = 2907), fumonisins (n = 998), zearalenone (n = 689) and ochratoxin A (n = 740) indicated the prevalence of 45.5%, 42.9%, 63.3%, 39.3% and 28.1%, respectively. For these mycotoxins, the EU limits were less frequently exceeded. Comprehensive collection and analysis of all accessible information reviewed in this paper showed moderate incidence and prevalence of mycotoxins in Serbia, with an exception of the 2012 drought year and the 2014 flood year

“Zero Residue” Concept—Implementation and Certification Challenges

This paper gives an overview of scientific challenges in implementing and certifying “Zero residue” approach. The rationale behind the concept is that final control of commodities during/immediately after harvesting should confirm that traces of all used plant protection products are less than or equal to 0.01 mg/kg. To evaluate the risks in applying this concept, FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) as a tool has been used. Among the most common factors affecting the pesticide residue levels in fresh produce, the following three appeared to be the biggest challenges in the “Zero residue” concept implementation and certification process: the use of unregistered plant protection products, inadequate sampling plan, and inappropriate laboratory methods. The analysis showed that all three factors have strong influence on achieving “Zero residue” limits

Prevention and practical strategies to control mycotoxins in the wheat and maize chain

Within this study, food safety management systems for wheat and maize, and derived white wheat flour and maize flour, have been evaluated, considering different prevention and practical intervention measures to be applied during storage and processing. For this purpose, through an operational flow chart, authors have per -formed mycotoxin-hazard analysis in the pre-and post-harvest phases and applied Food Safety Objective (FSO) and Performance Objective (PO) concept.Mycotoxin-hazard and analysis of control measures in the pre-harvest operations indicated that the most important practices at pre-harvest level for the control of mycotoxins in wheat/maize chain may include: (i) land preparation, such as tillage, cover crop and crop rotation, (ii) planting and antifungal mulch treatment, appli-cation of botanical extracts and intercropping, (iii) application of fungal biocontrol agents to reduce aflatoxins and (iv) application of fungal and bacterial biocontrol agents. For the post-harvest operations one Critical Control Point (CCP) and five Control Points (CPs) have been determined. The CCP includes an intervention measure that can be applied during storage, such as the application of treatments with volatile bioactive compounds, cold plasma, ozonisation or UV treatment. The results of FSO/PO analysis applied to wheat/maize chain revealed that FSO (the maximum level of mycotoxins in final food products given in European legislation) could be reached by combining conventional production steps such as cleaning and milling with different intervention strategies. For all strategies presented here, application on actual food production site must take into account local specificities and its interaction with climatic conditions

Challenging chemical and quality changes of supercritical Co-2 dried apple during long-term storage

The aim of this study was to analyze the stability of sensory properties and secondary metabolites in supercritical-CO2 (scCO(2)) dried 'Elstar' apple cuts/snacks during twelve months of storage at 'room' temperature. Air-drying and freeze-drying were used as reference methods. ScCO2-dried apple packed in aluminum-polyethylene bags under nitrogen gas retained a high sensory and nutritional quality, and acceptance level until the end of the observed period. The overall acceptance scores of these apples after 6 and 12 months of storage remained in the range of neutral consumer attitude "neither like nor dislike". Packaging under nitrogen gas preserved the content of flavonols ( >= 0.14 g/kg), dihydrochalcones ( >= 0.10 g/kg), hydroxycinnamic acids ( >= 0.18 g/kg), triterpenes ( >= 5.72 g/kg), and proanthocyanidins ( >= 0.08 g/kg) in dried apple irrespective of the drying method applied. The comparison with the conventional drying processes demonstrated that scCO(2)-drying represents a promising alternative technology for the production of dried apple snacks. The study was assisted by the evaluation of consumer attitudes towards dried fruit and drying technologies. Freeze-drying, air-drying and scCO(2)-drying were recognized by the tested consumers as trustful drying-processes, with expressed interests in buying scCO(2)-dried products if the technology was scientifically proven as excellent in preserving nutrients, color and taste of food products

Comparison of three types of drying (supercritical CO2, air and freeze) on the quality of dried apple - Quality index approach

The aim of this study was to develop a quality index and examine the effects of drying apples using three technologies (supercritical CO2 drying, air drying and freeze drying) during a period of six months in ambient conditions. Based on nine quality parameters (textural, colour and sensory properties), a mathematical model for calculating a single total quality index (TQI) of dried apples packed in different types of packaging in normal and modified atmosphere has been introduced. At the beginning of the study, apples dried in supercritical CO2 had the best scores. After six months, samples dried in supercritical CO2 and freeze dried apples, both packed in polyethylene coated aluminium with 100% N-2, scored similarly. The six month shelf-life research revealed that measurable changes occur during the second half of the shelf-life when it is possible to clearly distinguish differences in the overall quality index of different dried apple slices