Traditional Italian cheeses: Trace element levels and estimation of dietary intake

The concentration and prevalence of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in cheese: a global systematic review and meta-analysis

The present study aimed to systematically review the concentration of different PTEs, including Arsenic (As), Mercury (Hg), Lead (Pb), and Cadmium (Cd) in cheese among some databases between 2000 and 2021 (from 57 included studies). Estimated concentrations of 160.78 (95% CI = 119.24-202.28), 15.68 (95% CI = 11.88-19.48), 16.94 (95% CI = 13.29-20.59), and 2.47 (95% CI = 1.70-3.23) µg/kg were calculated for As, Pb, Cd, and Hg, respectively. Most of the studies for PTEs are related to Pb, about 40% of the studies, compared to As, which has fewer studies. The results showed that As and Hg concentrations were lower than the Codex Alimentarius Commission standard limits. Nevertheless, Cd and Pb concentrations were higher than the standard limit values. Results showed that cheese making, the ripening period, fat content, and texture are influential factors in a high level of Pb and Cd in cheese samples.

Concentrations of Essential Trace and Toxic Elements Associated with Production and Manufacturing Processes in Galician Cheese

The objective of this study was to determine the trace element composition and the toxic metal residues in Galician cow’s milk cheese produced in different systems (artisan, industrial, and organic). Fourteen elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, I, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn) were determined in 58 representative samples of Galician cheeses by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The toxic elements were present at low concentrations, similar to those reported for other unpolluted geographical areas. The essential elements were also within the normal range in cheeses. There were no statistically significant differences between smoked and unsmoked cheeses for any of the elements. Chemometric analyses (principal component analysis and cluster analysis) revealed that the industrial cheeses produced in Galicia using the milk from intensive dairy farms were different, in terms of elemental content, from artisan and organic cheeses, in which the elemental contents were similar.

Mineral Composition in Delactosed Dairy Products: Quality and Safety Status

Mineral elements are ingested through the diet (Li, Be, B, Na, Mg, Al, K, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Sr, Mo, Ag, Cd, Sb, Ba, Tl, Pb, and Bi). Essential minerals have structural, biochemical, nutritional and catalytic functions; therefore, they are fundamental for human health. In this research, thirty commercial delactosed dairy products from different varieties were supplied by various markets in Sicily (Italy), and their mineral contents were determined by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) with the following aims: (1) to highlight the differences among various products; (2) to evaluate if it is possibly related to the analyzed samples of their product group; (3) to evaluate the nutritional quality and safety related to intake of these dairy products. Evident differences were found among the samples depending on the type of product. A good separation between mozzarella-on the one hand-and crescenza and primo sale-on the other-was observed. The mozzarella samples were distinguished by the higher Fe, V and Co contents, and the lower amount of Al. Based on shares of the RDA, the analyzed dairy samples are a good source of Ca (up to 58% of the nutrient reference values), with a relatively high concentration of Na (between 5.5% and 22%). Any safety risk for consumers due to exposures to toxic elements through analyzed samples is excluded. The obtained results give reason to expect further insight concerning the direct comparison between the delactosed and non-delactosed product, in order to evaluate if the manufacturing process can affect the content of some mineral.

Content and Nutritional Evaluation of Zinc in PDO and Traditional Italian Cheeses

Zinc is an essential mineral which plays a key role in several important biological processes in the human body. The determination of its level in food matrices can contribute to the food quality characterization and to the adequacy of the diet. Animal food products generally have a higher zinc content compared to vegetables. Among them, dairy products consumption can provide a great contribution to the zinc reference intakes. In this study, different Italian cheeses (38 Protected Denomination of Origin and 9 Traditional) were evaluated for their zinc content. Cow cheeses generally showed the highest zinc content (1.83-7.75 mg/100 g cheese), followed by sheep cheeses (1.34-3.69 mg/100 g), and cheeses from mixed milk (0.39-4.54 mg/100 g). The only cheese from buffalo milk (Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO) showed a zinc content of 2.14 mg/100 g. The great variability in the zinc content observed among the samples is the result of the influence of several factors, such as the feeding system, the species (cow, sheep, goat, and buffalo), and the cheese-making. Most of the samples resulted in a great contribution (>10%) to the zinc Daily Reference Intake set by EU (10 mg/day), with only two samples contributing to less than 4%.

Lebanese Population Exposure to Trace Elements via White Bread Consumption

The objective of this study was to assess Lebanese population exposure to trace elements (TEs) via white pita consumption. A survey of white pita consumption was achieved among one thousand Lebanese individuals, grouped into adults (above 15 years old, men, and women) and young people (6–9 and 10–14 years old). The most consumed pita brands, labeled B1, B2, and B3, were selected. Levels of TEs (i.e., As, Cd, Co, Cr, Hg, Ni, and Pb) in B1, B2, B3 pitas were measured. The highest contents of TEs in pitas were: Ni (1292 µg/kg) and Co (91 µg/kg) in B1; As (400 µg/kg) and Cd (< 15 µg/kg) in B2; Cr (363 µg/kg), Pb (260 µg/kg), and Hg (0.89 µg/kg) in B3. The pita brand B3 was the source of the highest TEs exposure, except for Ni for which it was B1. Daily exposures to TEs due to the fact of pita consumption were compared to safety levels. There were no safety concerns for Hg, Cd, Cr or Co (except the 95th percentile of 6–9 years old). An excess of the Ni tolerable daily intake was observed for the most exposed populations. The very low margins of exposure for As and Pb suggest a worrying risk for the Lebanese population.

Biowaste Management in Italy: Challenges and Perspectives

The aim of this work is the development of a methodology for the technical and environmental assessment of biowaste valorization in 2G biorefineries. Italy was chosen as case study, considering years 2016–2017. Approach: the Italian context was evaluated through the following key parameters: Gross domestic power, climate, demography, and population density distribution described the Italian framework. The four most abundant biowaste categories were defined through their amounts and geo-localization: wastewater and sewage sludge (WSS, 4.06 Mt/y), organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW, 1.7 Mt/y), agricultural livestock waste (ALW, 5.7 Mt/y), and waste deriving from the food industry (FIW, 2.6 Mt/y). The geo-localization and quantitative evaluations of the available biowaste amounts were aimed at defining the dimension and localization of the biorefinery plant and at optimizing supply and transport chains, while the qualitative characteristic were aimed to evaluate the most promising process among thermo-valorization (TH) and anaerobic digestion (AD). Results: All considered biowastes were appropriate for biorefinery processes, since carbon content exceeds 40% and the carbon–nitrogen ratio was between 10 and 30. All biowaste categories were evaluated as feedstocks for two biorefinery processes: anaerobic digestion (AD) and thermo-valorization (TH) with energy recovery. Compared to TH, AD achieved in all cases the best performances in terms of produced energy and avoided CO2 emissions. The primary energy production of AD and TH for WSS, OFMSW, ALW, and FIW were respectively: 7.89 vs. 2.4 kWh/kg; 8.7 vs. 2.6 kWh/kg; 10.85 vs. 5.5 kWh/kg; and 12.5 vs. 7.8 kWh/kg. The main findings of this work were: the adoption of AD was technically more suitable than TH; AD increased the avoided CO2 emissions of 10%–89.9% depending on biowaste category.