Quantitative Analysis of Ethyl Carbamate in Distillers Grains Co-products and Bovine Plasma by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

Molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor for ethyl carbamate detection in Baijiu based on "on-off" nanozyme-catalyzing process

Ethyl carbamate (EC) is a carcinogen widely found in the fermentation process of Baijiu. Herein, we construct a molecularly imprinted polymers/MXene/cobalt (II) based zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (MIP/MXene/ZIF-67) nano-enzyme sensor for the detection of EC during Baijiu production. The ZIF-67 is synthesized in situ on the MXene nanosheets to provide a superior catalytic activity to H2O2 and amplify the electrochemical signal. The MIP is prepared by the polymerization reaction to recognize EC. Owing to the interaction between EC and EC-MIP, the interferences are effectively eliminated, greatly improving the accuracy of the expected outcome. This approach attains an ultrasensitive assay of EC ranging from 8.9 μg/L to 44.5 mg/L with detection limit of 0.405 μg/L. The accuracy of this method is confirmed by the recovery experiment with good recoveries from 95.07% to 107.41%. This method is applied in natural EC analyses, and the results are consistent with certified gas chromatograph- mass spectrometer.

Mitigation of microbial nitrogen-derived metabolic hazards as a driver for safer alcoholic beverage choices: An evidence-based review and future perspectives

Alcoholic beverages have been enjoyed worldwide as hedonistic commodities for thousands of years. The unique quality and flavor are attributed to the rich microbiota and nutritional materials involved in fermentation. However, the metabolism of these microbiota can also introduce toxic compounds into foods. Nitrogen-derived metabolic hazards (NMH) are toxic metabolic hazards produced by microorganisms metabolizing nitrogen sources that can contaminate alcoholic beverages during fermentation and processing. NMH contamination poses a risk to dietary safety and human health without effective preventive strategies. Existing literature has primarily focused on investigating the causes of NMH formation, detection methods, and abatement techniques for NMH in fermentation end-products. Devising effective process regulation strategies represents a major challenge for the alcoholic beverage industry considering our current lack of understanding regarding the processes whereby NMH are generated, real-time and online detection, and the high degradation rate after NMH formation. This review summarizes the types and mechanisms of nitrogenous hazard contamination, the potential risk points, and the analytical techniques to detect NMH contamination. We discussed the changing patterns of NMH contamination and effective strategies to prevent contamination at different stages in the production of alcoholic beverages. Moreover, we also discussed the advanced technologies and methods to control NMH contamination in alcoholic beverages based on intelligent monitoring, synthetic ecology, and computational assistance. Overall, this review highlights the risks of NMH contamination during alcoholic beverage production and proposes promising strategies that could be adopted to eliminate the risk of NMH contamination.