Current status of food safety hazards and health risks connected with aquatic food products from Southeast Asian region

Recent Advances of Food Hazard Detection Based on Artificial Nanochannel Sensors

Food quality and safety are related to the health and safety of people, and food hazards are important influencing factors affecting food safety. It is strongly necessary to develop food safety rapid detection technology to ensure food safety. As a new detection technology, artificial nanochannel-based electrochemical and other methods have the advantages of being real-time, simple, and sensitive and are widely used in the detection of food hazards. In this paper, we review artificial nanochannel sensors as a new detection technology in food safety for different types of food hazards: biological hazards (bacteria, toxins, viruses) and chemical hazards (heavy metals, organic pollutants, food additives). At the same time, we critically discuss the advantages and disadvantages of artificial nanochannel sensor detection, as well as the restrictions and solutions of detection, and finally look forward to the challenges and development prospects of food safety detection technology based on the limitations of artificial nanochannel detection. We expect to provide a theoretical basis and inspiration for the development of rapid real-time detection technology for food hazards and the production of portable detection equipment in the future.

Mechanism of Dihydromyricetin-Induced Reduction of Furfural Derived from the Amadori Compound: Formation of Adducts between Dihydromyricetin and Furfural or Its Precursors

Dihydromyricetin (DMY) was employed to reduce the yield of furfural derived from the Amadori rearrangement product of l-threonine and d-xylose (Thr-ARP) by trapping Thr-ARP, 3-deoxyxyosone (3-DX), and furfural to form adducts. The effect of different concentrations of DMY at different pH values and temperatures on the reduction of furfural production was studied, and the results showed that DMY could significantly reduce furfural production at higher pH (pH 5-7) and lower temperature (110 °C). Through the surface electrostatic potential analysis by Gaussian, a significant enhancement of the C6 nucleophilic ability at higher pH (pH ≥ 5) was observed on DMY with hydrogen-dissociated phenol hydroxyl. The nucleophilic ability of DMY led to its trapping of Thr-ARP, 3-DX, and furfural with the generation of the adducts DMY-Thr-ARP, DMY-3-DX, and DMY-furfural. The formation of the DMY-Thr-ARP adduct slowed the degradation of Thr-ARP, caused the decrease of the 3-DX yield, and thereby inhibited the conversion of 3-DX to furfural. Therefore, DMY-Thr-ARP was purified, and the structure was identified by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The results confirmed that C6 or C8 of DMY and carbonyl carbon in Thr-ARP underwent a nucleophilic addition reaction to form the DMY-Thr-ARP adduct. In combination with the analysis results of Gaussian, most of the DMY-Thr-ARP adducts were calculated to be C6-DMY-Thr-ARP. Furthermore, the formation of DMY-furfural caused furfural consumption. The formation of the adducts also shunted the pathway of both Thr-ARP and 3-DX conversion to furfural, resulting in a decrease in the level of furfural production.

Recent advances in inspection technologies of food safety health hazards for fish and fish products

The development of reliable and sensitive detection methods is essential for addressing the escalating concerns surrounding fish and fish products, driven by increasing market demands. This comprehensive review presents recent advances in detection approaches, specifically focusing on microplastic, biological, and chemical hazards associated with these products. The overview encompasses 21 distinct detection methods, categorized based on the type of hazard they target. For microplastic hazards, six methods are visual, spectroscopic, and thermal analyses. Biological hazard identification relies on six approaches employing nucleic-acid sequence, immunological, and biosensor technologies. The investigation of chemical hazards encompasses ten methods, including chromatography, spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, immunological, biosensor, and electrochemical techniques. The review provides in-depth insights into the basic principles, general characteristics, and the recognized advantages and disadvantages of each method. Moreover, it elaborates on recent advancements within these methodologies. The concluding section of the review discusses current challenges and outlines future perspectives for these detection methods. Overall, this comprehensive summary not only serves as a guide for researchers involved in fish safety and quality control but also emphasizes the significance of staying abreast of evolving detection technologies to ensure the continued safety of fish and fish products in response to emerging food safety hazards.

Recent Studies and Applications of Hydrogel-Based Biosensors in Food Safety

Food safety has increasingly become a human health issue that concerns all countries in the world. Some substances in food that can pose a significant threat to human health include, but are not limited to, pesticides, biotoxins, antibiotics, pathogenic bacteria, food quality indicators, heavy metals, and illegal additives. The traditional methods of food contaminant detection have practical limitations or analytical defects, restricting their on-site application. Hydrogels with the merits of a large surface area, highly porous structure, good shape-adaptability, excellent biocompatibility, and mechanical stability have been widely studied in the field of food safety sensing. The classification, response mechanism, and recent application of hydrogel-based biosensors in food safety are reviewed in this paper. Furthermore, the challenges and future trends of hydrogel biosensors are also discussed.

Anthropogenic particles in the muscle, gill, and gastrointestinal tract of marine fish sold for human consumption

Contamination of marine fish with the widespread distribution of anthropogenic particles (APs) becomes increasingly severe, however, related research on the assessment of the occurrence of APs in the edible tissue of commercial fish is scarce. The objective of this study was to evaluate the features of APs pollution based on seven species of commercial marine fish (n = 12 per species) and investigate the accumulation of APs in different tissues of fish namely gill and gastrointestinal tract (GIT), and muscle. The results show that a total of 62 APs were detected in 33 out of 84 (39.3%) fresh fish samples using a micro-Raman spectrometer which in particular is characterized by a blue color, shape-like fiber, and size smaller than 0.5 mm. Among them, 47 (75.8%) particles were identified as pigments such as indigo, chrome yellow-orange, disperse yellow, and pigment black. The other 11 (17.7%) particles were plastic including polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyacrylonitrile (PAN). And the rest 4 (6.5%) particles were anthropogenic cellulose fibers. Muscle tissue from six species of fish was detected to contain a total of 15 APs. Based on the total mean of APs found in fish muscle (0.018 AP items/g tissue) and on the consumption of fish in Malaysia (59 kg/capita/year), the estimated human intake of APs through fish consumption was 1062 AP items/year/capita. Considering that food consumption is an important route of human exposure to APs, it is suggested to add APs testing into the guidelines of food safety management systems and adopt mitigation measures to reduce the APs pollution in food.

Toxicity assessment of microplastic (MPs); a threat to the ecosystem

Plastic is now considered part and parcel of daily life due to its extensive usage. Microplastic (MP) pollution is becoming a growing worry and has been ranked as the second most critical scientific problem in the realm of ecology and the environment. Microplastics are smaller in size than the plastic and are more harmful to biotic and as well as abiotic environments. The toxicity of microplastic depends upon its shape and size and increases with an increase in its adsorption capacity and their toxicity. The reason behind their harmful nature is their small size and their large surface area-to-volume ratio. Microplastic can get inside fruits, vegetables, seeds, roots, culms, and leaves. Hence microplastic enters into the food chain. There are different entry points for microplastic to enter into the food chain. Such sources can include polluted food, beverages, spices, plastic toys, and household (packing, cooking, etc.). The concentration of microplastic in terrestrial environments is increasing day by day. Microplastic causes the destruction of soil structure; destroys soil microbiota, cause depletion of nutrients in the soil, and their absorption by plants decreases plant growth. Apart from other environmental problems caused by microplastic, human health is also badly affected by microplastic pollution present in the terrestrial environment. The presence of microplastics in the human body has been confirmed. Microplastic enters into the body of humans in different possible ways. According to their way of entering the body, microplastics cause different diseases in humans. MPs also cause negative effects on the human endocrine system. At the ecosystem level, the impacts of microplastic are interconnected and can disrupt ecological processes. Although recently different papers have been published on several aspects of the microplastic present in the terrestrial environment but there is no complete overview that focus on the interrelationship of MPs in plants, and soil and their effect on higher animals like a human. This review provides a completely detailed overview of existing knowledge about sources, occurrences, transport, and effects of microplastic on the food chain and soil quality and their ecotoxicological effects on plants and humans.

Screening, molecular identification, population diversity, and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Actinomycetes species isolated from meat and meat products of slaughterhouses, restaurants, and meat stores of a developing country, Iran

Introduction

Actinomycetes can colonize surfaces of tools and equipment and can be transferred to meat and meat products during manufacture, processing, handling, and storage. Moreover, washing the meat does not eliminate the microorganisms; it only spreads them. As a result, these opportunistic pathogens can enter the human body and cause various infections. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to screen, identify, and determine the antibiotic susceptibility of Actinomycetes species from meat and meat products in the Markazi province of Iran.

Methods

A total of 60 meat and meat product samples, including minced meat, mutton, beef, chicken, hamburgers, and sausages, were collected from slaughterhouses, butchers, and restaurants in the Markazi province of Iran. The samples were analyzed using standard microbiological protocols for the isolation and characterization of Actinomycetes. PCR amplification of hsp65 and 16SrRNA genes and sequence analysis of 16SrRNA were used for genus and species identification. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of antimicrobial agents were determined by the broth microdilution method and interpreted according to the CLSI guidelines.

Results

A total of 21 (35%) Actinomycetes isolates from 5 genera and 12 species were isolated from 60 samples. The most prevalent Actinomycetes were from the genus Mycobacterium, with six (28.6%) isolates (M. avium complex, M. terrae, M. smegmatis, and M. novocastrense), followed by the genus Rhodococcus with five (23.8%) isolates (R. equi and R. erythropolis), the genus Actinomyces with four (19.1%) isolates (A. ruminicola and A. viscosus), the genus Nocardia with four (19.1%) isolates (N. asiatica, N. seriolae, and N. niigatensis), and the genus Streptomyces with two (9.5%) isolates (S. albus). Chicken and sausage samples had the highest and lowest levels of contamination, with six and one isolates. Respectively, the results of drug susceptibility testing (DST) showed that all isolates were susceptible to Ofloxacin, Amikacin, Ciprofloxacin, and Levofloxacin, whereas all of them were resistant to Doxycycline and Rifampicin.

Discussion

The findings suggest that meat and meat products play an important role as a reservoir for the transmission of Actinomycetes to humans, thus causing life-threatening foodborne diseases such as gastrointestinal and cutaneous disorders. Therefore, it is essential to incorporate basic hygiene measures into the cycle of meat production to ensure food safety.

Inspecting Histamine Isolated from Fish through a Highly Selective Molecularly Imprinted Electrochemical Sensor Approach

Numerous analytical approaches have been developed to determine histamine levels in food samples due to its health consequences. Consuming histamine over the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-regulated 50 mg kg^-1 limit would result in chronic toxicity. Consequently, the present study discusses a novel electrochemical approach to evaluate histamine levels in fish products via a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) on an electrode surface. The film was produced with electropolymerized polyurethane (PU), which maintained the histamine compound. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was applied to verify the MIP manufactured in this study. The capability of the polymer was measured by assessing its electron shifts with cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was also employed to validate the sensing method. The MIP/screen-printed electrode (SPE) and non-imprinted polymer (NIP)/SPE recorded a linear response ranging from 1 to 1000 nmol L^-1 at the 1.765 and 709 nmol L^-1 detection limits. The sensing technique was subsequently utilized to determine the histamine levels in selected samples at room temperature (25 °C). Generally, the sensor allowed the accurate and precise detection of histamine in the fish samples. Furthermore, the approach could be categorized as a simple technique that is low-cost and suitable for on-site detections.

Polyurethane Application to Transform Screen-Printed Electrode for Rapid Identification of Histamine Isolated from Fish

The toxicity of histamine has attracted numerous researchers to develop a method for histamine determination purposes. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unequivocally prohibits the consumption of histamine above 50 mg·kg^-1. Thus, an innovation in histamine detection in fish has been developed in this research. The investigation of the histamine level in fish has been conducted by using an electrochemical sensor approach and producing a polymer via molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) on a screen-printed electrode. The technique was validated by assessing the shifts in electron shifting using the cyclic voltammetry (CV) approach and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), whereas differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was applied to validate the sensor method. The instruments showed a linear response ranging from 1-1000 nmol·L^-1, with a detection limit of MIP/SPE at 1.765 nmol·L^-1 and 709 nmol·L^-1 for the NIP/SPE, respectively. The sensing technique was employed to determine the histamine level in selected samples at room temperature (25°C). The outcomes of this study indicated that the validated chemical sensor allowed accurate and precise detection of fish samples and can be categorized as a simple approach. The instrument is inexpensive and suitable for on-site detection.

Potential risks of heavy metals in green mussels (Perna viridis) harvested from Cilincing and Kamal Muara, Jakarta Bay, Indonesia to human health

This study investigates Pb, Cd, and Cr in the suspended particulate matter (SPM), sediments, and green mussels from Cilincing and Kamal Muara, Jakarta Bay and estimates their potential human health risks. The results showed that the metal levels in SPM from Cilincing ranged from 0.81 to 1.69 mg/kg for Pb and 2.14 to 5.31 mg/kg for Cr, while in Kamal Muara ranged from 0.70 to 3.82 mg/kg for Pb and 1.88 to 4.78 mg/kg dry weight for Cr. The levels of Pb, Cd, and Cr in sediments from Cilincing ranged from 16.53 to 32.51 mg/kg, 0.91 to 2.52 mg/kg; and 0.62 to 1.0 mg/kg whereas in Kamal Muara ranged from 8.74 to 8.81 mg/kg; 0.51 to 1.79 mg/kg, and 0.27 to 0.31 mg/kg dry weight, respectively. The levels of Cd and Cr of green mussels in Cilincing ranged from 0.014 to 0.75 mg/kg and 0.003 to 0.11 mg/kg; while in Kamal Muara ranged from 0.015 to 0.073 mg/kg and 0.01 to 0.04 mg/kg wet weight, respectively. Pb was not detected in all samples of green mussels. The Pb, Cd, and Cr levels in the green mussels were still below the permissible limits set by international standards. However, the Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) for adult and children in several samples were higher than one indicating potential noncarcinogenic effects to consumers due to Cd accumulation. To reduce the detrimental effects of metals, we suggest maximum mussel consumption of 0.65 kg for adults and 0.19 kg for children in a week based on the highest level of metals.

Hydrogel-integrated sensors for food safety and quality monitoring: Fabrication strategies and emerging applications

Food safety is a global issue in public hygiene. The accurate, sensitive, and on-site detection of various food contaminants performs significant implications. However, traditional methods suffer from the time-consuming and professional operation, restricting their on-site application. Hydrogels with the merits of highly porous structure, high biocompatibility, good shape-adaptability, and stimuli-responsiveness offer a promising biomaterial to design sensors for ensuring food safety. This review describes the emerging applications of hydrogel-based sensors in food safety inspection in recent years. In particular, this study elaborates on their fabrication strategies and unique sensing mechanisms depending on whether the hydrogel is stimuli-responsive or not. Stimuli-responsive hydrogels can be integrated with various functional ligands for sensitive and convenient detection via signal amplification and transduction; while non-stimuli-responsive hydrogels are mainly used as solid-state encapsulating carriers for signal probe, nanomaterial, or cell and as conductive media. In addition, their existing challenges, future perspectives, and application prospects are discussed. These practices greatly enrich the application scenarios and improve the detection performance of hydrogel-based sensors in food safety detection.

Food and human safety: the impact of microplastics

Plastic waste pollution is one of the biggest problems in the world today. The amount of plastic in the environment continues to increase, and human exposure to microplastic (MP) has become a reality. This subject has attracted the attention of the whole world. The MP problem has also been noticed by the scientific community. The term microplastic is mostly used to define synthetic material with a high polymer content that can have a size range from 0.1 to 5000 µm. This paper aims to characterize the routes of exposure to MP, define its pollution sources, and identify food types contaminated with plastics. This review addresses the current state of knowledge on this type of particles, with particular emphasis on their influence on human health. Adverse effects of MP depend on routes and sources of exposure. The most common route of exposure is believed to be the gastrointestinal tract. Sources of MP include fish, shellfish, water as well as tea, beer, wine, energy drinks, soft drinks, milk, salt, sugar, honey, poultry meat, fruits, and vegetables. Studies have shown that particles of PET, PE, PP, PS, PVC, PA, and PC are the most frequently found in food.

Proteomic Applications in Aquatic Environment Studies

Genome determines the unique individualities of organisms; however, proteins play significant roles in the generation of the colorful life forms below water. Aquatic systems are usually complex and multifaceted and can take on unique modifications and adaptations to environmental changes by altering proteins at the cellular level. Proteomics is an essential strategy for exploring aquatic ecosystems due to the diverse involvement of proteins, proteoforms, and their complexity in basic and advanced cellular functions. Proteomics can expedite the analysis of molecular mechanisms underlying biological processes in an aquatic environment. Previous proteomic studies on aquatic environments have mainly focused on pollution assessments, ecotoxicology, their role in the food industry, and extraction and identification of natural products. Aquatic protein biomarkers have been comprehensively reported and are currently extensively applied in the pharmaceutical and medical industries. Cellular- and molecular-level responses of organisms can be used as indicators of environmental changes and stresses. Conversely, environmental changes are expedient in predicting aquatic health and productivity, which are crucial for ecosystem management and conservation. Recent advances in proteomics have contributed to the development of sustainable aquaculture, seafood safety, and high aquatic food production. Proteomic approaches have expanded to other aspects of the aquatic environment, such as protein fingerprinting for species identification. In this review, we encapsulated current proteomic applications and evaluated the potential strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of proteomics for future aquatic environmental studies. The review identifies both pros and cons of aquatic proteomics and projects potential challenges and recommendations. We postulate that proteomics is an emerging, powerful, and integrated omics approach for aquatic environmental studies.

Recent advances in the application of Raman spectroscopy for fish quality and safety analysis

Fish is one of the highly demanded aquatic products, and its quality and safety play a pivotal role in daily diet. However, the possible hazardous substance in perishable fish both in pre- and postharvest periods may decrease their values and pose a threat to public health. Laborious and expensive traditional methods drive the need of developing effective tools for detecting fish quality and safety properties in a rapid, nondestructive, and effective manner. Recent advances in Raman spectroscopy (RS) and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) have shown enormous potential in various aspects, which largely boost their applications in fish quality and safety evaluation. They have incomparable merits such as providing molecule fingerprint information and allowing for rapid, sensitive, and noninvasive detection with simple sample preparation. This review provides a comprehensive overview focusing on the applications of RS and SERS for fish quality assessment and safety inspection, highlighting the hazardous substance and illegal behavior both in preharvest (veterinary drug residues and environmental pollutants) and postharvest (freshness and illegal behavior) particularly. Moreover, challenges and prospects are also proposed to facilitate the vigorous development of RS and SERS. This review is aimed to emphasize potential opportunities for applying RS and SERS as promising techniques for routine food quality and safety detection. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: With these applications, it can be clearly indicated that RS and SERS are promising and powerful in fish quality and safety surveillance, thereby reducing the occurrence of commercial fraud and food safety issues. More efforts still should be concentrated on exploiting the high-performance Raman instruments, establishing a universal Raman database, developing reproducible SERS substrates and combing RS with other versatile spectral techniques to promote these technologies from laboratory to practice. It is hoped that this review should arouse more research interests in RS and SERS technologies for fish quality and safety surveillance, as well as provide more insights to make a breakthrough.

Immersion immunization of common carp with bacterial ghost-based DNA vaccine inducing prophylactic protective immunity against spring viraemia of carp virus

The interactive applications of immunization route, vaccine type and delivery vectors are emerging as a key area of research within the field of mass immunization in fishery production. In an effort to improve DNA vaccine's immune efficiency in large-scale immunization, a promising bacterial ghost-loaded DNA vaccine was constructed based on Escherichia coli DH5α. In common carp was investigated the immune response to immersion immunization via related indicator analysis, and the challenge test of spring viraemia of carp virus (SVCV) was carried out. The result indicated that BG-loaded DNA vaccine induced higher serum antibody level than naked pEG-G. Simultaneously, the immunophysiological indicators and genes change at the more advanced levels in the BG/pEG-G immune group. At the treatment concentration of 20 mg/L of the BG/pEG-G group, IgM and IgZ expressions in vivo were markedly increased by 21.62 times and 6.91 times, respectively, and the relative percentage survival reached the peak of 59.57%. This study paves the way for future aquatic animal vaccine research, which aimed to develop the highly effective immersion vaccine system by delivery vectors, with the ultimate aim to prevent and restrict SVCV in actual production.