A rapid analytical and quantitative evaluation of formaldehyde in squid based on Tri-step IR and partial least squares (PLS)

Formaldehyde contamination in seafood industry: an update on detection methods and legislations

Seafood is abundant in high-quality protein, healthy fats (n-3 and n-6 PUFAs), minerals (calcium, magnesium, copper, selenium, and so on), and vitamin D. Functional compounds in seafood can protect against lifestyle-related diseases. Having had all the merits mentioned, it is also a highly putrefiable food item. To maintain quality and prolong seafood's shelf life, various chemicals have been added, including nitrite, sulfur dioxide, and formaldehyde. In this review, we summarize the uses, the incidence of added formalin contamination, and the approved limit for seafood products. Additionally, worldwide regulations or standards for the use of formalin in seafood products, as well as recent changes relevant to new methods, are highlighted. Although strict limits and regulations have been placed on the utilization of formaldehyde for seafood preservation, there are few incidences reported of formalin/formaldehyde detection in seafood products around Asian countries. In this context, various qualitative and quantitative detection methods for formaldehyde have been developed to ensure the presence of formaldehyde within acceptable limits. Besides this, different rules and regulations have been forced by each country to control formaldehyde incidence. Although it is not an issue of formaldehyde incidence in European countries, strict regulations are implemented and followed.

An update on formaldehyde adulteration in food: sources, detection, mechanisms, and risk assessment

Formaldehyde is added illegally to food to extend its shelf life due to its antiseptic and preservation properties. Several research has been conducted to examine the consequences of adulteration with formaldehyde in food items. These findings suggest that adding formaldehyde to food is considered harmful as it accumulates in the body with long-term consumption. In this review includes study findings on food adulteration with formaldehyde and their assessment of food safety based on the analytical method applied to various geographical regions, food matrix types, and their sources in food items. Additionally, this review sought to assess the risk of formaldehyde-tainted food and the understanding of its development in food and its impacts on food safety in light of the widespread formaldehyde adulteration. Finally, the study would be useful as a manual for implementing adequate and successful risk assessment to increase food safety.

Effect of different drying methods on free amino acid and flavor nucleotides of scallop (patinopecten yessoensis) adductor muscle

The effects of hot air drying (HAD), vacuum hot air drying (VHAD), microwave drying (MWD), and vacuum freeze drying (VFD) on free amino acids (FAAs) and flavor nucleotides in scallop adductor muscle (SAM) were studied. The liquid chromatography and multidimensional infrared spectroscopy (MM-IR) were used. Compared with fresh SAM, the main FAAs were glycine, alanine, arginine, and glutamic acid in dried SAM. The total FAAs content in VFD group was 1.40-1.90 times of the other group. The umami taste nucleotides (IMP and AMP) content in the VFD and MWD groups was significantly higher than that in HAD and VHAD groups. Equivalent umami concentrations were found: VFD > MWD > VHAD > HAD. MM-IR analysis was an efficient method for identifying taste components. The results revealed FAAs and flavor nucleotides and the mutual adjustment of compounds were related to drying method, and VFD was preferred for taste substance retention in scallops.

Rapid quantification of acid value in frying oil using iron tetraphenylporphyrin fluorescent sensor coupled with density functional theory and multivariate analysis

Metalloporphyrin-based fluorescent sensor was developed for the acid value in frying oil. The electronic and structural performances of iron tetraphenylporphyrin (FeTPP) were theoretically investigated using time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) and DFT at the B3LYP/LANL2DZ level. The quantified FeTPP-based fluorescent sensor results revealed its excellent performance in discriminating different analytes. In the present work, the acid value of palm olein was determined after every single frying cycle. A total of 10 frying cycles were conducted each day for 10 consecutive days. The FeTPP-based fluorescent sensor was used to quantify the acid value and the results were compared with the chemical data obtained by conventional titration method. The synchronous fluorescence spectrum for each sample was recorded. Parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) was used to decompose the three-dimensional spectrum data. Then, the support vector regression (SVR), partial least squares (PLS), and back-propagation artificial neural network (BP-ANN) methods were applied to build the regression models. After the comparison of the constructed models, the SVR models exhibited the highest correlation coefficients among all models, with 0.9748 and 0.9276 for the training and test set, respectively. The findings suggested the potential of FeTPP-based fluorescent sensor in rapid monitoring of the used frying oil quality and perhaps also in other foods with higher oil content.

Rapid and non-destructive freshness evaluation of squid by FTIR coupled with chemometric techniques

BACKGROUND

Freshness is an important quality of squid with respect to determining the market price. The methods of evaluation of freshness fail to be widely used as a result of the lack of rapidity and quantitation. In the present study, a rapid and non-destructive quantification of squid freshness by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra combined with chemometric techniques was performed.

RESULTS

The relatively linear content change of trimethylamine (TMA-N) and dimethylamine (DMA-N) of squid during storage at 4 °C indicated their feasibility as a freshness indicator, as also confirmed by sensory evaluation. The spectral changes were mainly caused by the degradation of proteins and the production of amines by two-dimensional infrared correlation spectroscopy, among which TMA-N, DMA-N and putrescine were the main amines. The successive projections algorithm (SPA) was employed to select the sensitive wavenumbers to freshness for modeling prediction including partial least-squares regression, support vector regression (SVR) and back-propagation artificial neural network. Generally, the SPA-SVR model of the selected characteristic wavenumber showed a higher prediction accuracy for DMA-N (R² _P  = 0.951; RMSE_P  = 0.218), whereas both SPA-SVR (R² _P  = 0.929; RMSE_P  = 2.602) and Full-SVR (R² _P  = 0.941; RMSE_P  = 2.492) models had a higher predictive ability of TMA-N.

CONCLUSION

The results of the present study demonstrate that FTIR spectroscopy coupled with multivariate calibration shows significant potential for the prediction of freshness in squid. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Research Progress of Applying Infrared Spectroscopy Technology for Detection of Toxic and Harmful Substances in Food

In recent years, food safety incidents have been frequently reported. Food or raw materials themselves contain substances that may endanger human health and are called toxic and harmful substances in food, which can be divided into endogenous, exogenous toxic, and harmful substances and biological toxins. Therefore, realizing the rapid, efficient, and nondestructive testing of toxic and harmful substances in food is of great significance to ensure food safety and improve the ability of food safety supervision. Among the nondestructive detection methods, infrared spectroscopy technology has become a powerful solution for detecting toxic and harmful substances in food with its high efficiency, speed, easy operation, and low costs, while requiring less sample size and is nondestructive, and has been widely used in many fields. In this review, the concept and principle of IR spectroscopy in food are briefly introduced, including NIR and FTIR. Then, the main progress and contribution of IR spectroscopy are summarized, including the model’s establishment, technical application, and spectral optimization in grain, fruits, vegetables, and beverages. Moreover, the limitations and development prospects of detection are discussed. It is anticipated that infrared spectroscopy technology, in combination with other advanced technologies, will be widely used in the whole food safety field.

Direct identification and quantitation of fluorescent whitening agent in wheat flour based on multi-molecular infrared (MM-IR) spectroscopy and stereomicroscopy

Fluorescent brighteners, illegally used to whitening wheat flour, are detrimental to people health. The aim was to establish a rapid and direct method to identify and quantify fluorescent whitening agent OB-1 (FWA OB-1) in wheat flour by using multi-molecular infrared (MM-IR) spectroscopy combined with stereomicroscopy. Characteristic peak profile of FWA OB-1 used as a judgment basis was spatially revealed by stereomicroscopy with group-peak matching of MM-IR at 1614 cm^-1, 1501 cm^-1 and 893 cm^-1 and were further unveiled by the second derivative infrared spectroscopy (SD-IR) and its two-dimensional correlation infrared (SD-2DCOS IR) spectroscopy for higher resolution, and were validated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Moreover, a quantitative prediction model based on IR spectra was established by partial least squares 1 (PLS1) (R², 98.361; SEE, 5.032; SEP, 5.581). The developed method was applicable for rapid and direct analysis of FWA OB-1 (low to 10 ppm) in flour with relative standard deviation (RSD) of 5%. The capabilities of MM-IR with spectral qualitative and quantitative analysis would be applicable to direct identification and quantitation of fluorescent whitening agents or other IR-active compounds in powder objects.

Geographical origin traceability of Cabernet Sauvignon wines based on Infrared fingerprint technology combined with chemometrics

Mid-infrared (MIR) and near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy combined with chemometrics were explored to classify Cabernet Sauvignon wines from different countries (Australia, Chile and China). Commercial wines (n = 540) were scanned in transmission mode using MIR and NIR, and their characteristic fingerprint bands were extracted at 1750-1000 cm⁻¹ and 4555-4353 cm⁻¹. Through the identification system of Tri-step infrared spectroscopy, the correlation between macroscopic chemical fingerprints and geographical regions was explored more deeply. Furthermore, Principal component analysis (PCA), soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) and discriminant analysis (DA) based on MIR and NIR spectra were used to visualize or discriminate differences between samples and to realize geographical origin traceability of Cabernet Sauvignon wines. Through “external test set (n = 157)” validation, SIMCA models correctly classified 97%, 97% and 92% of Australian, Chilean and Chinese Cabernet Sauvignon wines, while the DA models correctly classified 86%, 85% and 77%, respectively. Based on unique digital fingerprints of spectroscopy (FT-MIR and FT-NIR) associated with chemometrics, geographical origin traceability was achieved in a more comprehensive, effective and rapid manner. The developed database models based on IR fingerprint spectroscopy with chemometrics could provide scientific basis and reference for geographical origin traceability of Cabernet Sauvignon wines (Australia, Chile and China).