Pesticide Residue Dissipation Upon Storage and Processing in Chickpea Legume for Food Safety

Plant-Based Meat Analogues in the Human Diet: What Are the Hazards?

Research regarding meat analogues is mostly based on formulation and process development. Information concerning their safety, shelf life, and long-term nutritional and health effects is limited. This article reviews the existing literature and analyzes potential hazards introduced or modified throughout the processing chain of plant-based meat analogues via extrusion processing, encompassing nutritional, microbiological, chemical, and allergen aspects. It was found that the nutritional value of plant-based raw materials and proteins extracted thereof increases along the processing chain. However, the nutritional value of plant-based meat analogues is lower than that of e.g., animal-based products. Consequently, higher quantities of these products might be needed to achieve a nutritional profile similar to e.g., meat. This could lead to an increased ingestion of undigestible proteins and dietary fiber. Although dietary fibers are known to have many positive health benefits, they present a hazard since their consumption at high concentrations might lead to gastrointestinal reactions. Even though there is plenty of ongoing research on this topic, it is still not clear how the sole absorption of metabolites derived from plant-based products compared with animal-based products ultimately affects human health. Allergens were identified as a hazard since plant-based proteins can induce an allergic reaction, are known to have cross-reactivities with other allergens and cannot be eliminated during the processing of meat analogues. Microbiological hazards, especially the occurrence of spore- and non-spore-forming bacteria, do not represent a particular case if requirements and regulations are met. Lastly, it was concluded that there are still many unknown variables and open questions regarding potential hazards possibly present in meat analogues, including processing-related compounds such as n-nitrosamines, acrylamide, and heterocyclic aromatic amino acids.

Alternative proteins for meat and dairy replacers: Food safety and future trends

Traditionally, meat and dairy products have been important protein sources in the human diet. Consumers are eating more plant-based proteins, which is reflected in current market trends. Assessing how alternative proteins are processed and their impact on food safety helps realize market opportunities while ensuring food safety. In this review, an analysis of the food safety hazards, along with current industry trends and processing methods associated with alternative proteins for meat and dairy products for the European Union market is described. Understanding the effects of processing and safety alternative proteins is paramount to ensuring food safety and understanding the risks to consumers. However, the data here is limited. With the expected further increase in protein alternatives in consumers' diets, the risk of food allergens is apparent. The occurrence of processing contaminants in plant-based alternatives may occur, along with anti-nutritional compounds, which interfere with the absorption of nutrients. Further, typical food safety hazards related to the plant, the product itself, or processing are relevant. Although hazards in insects and seaweed are being addressed, other protein alternatives like cultured meat and SCPs warrant attention. Our findings can aid industry and governmental authorities in understanding current trends and prioritizing hazards for future monitoring.

Effects of processing and storage on pesticide residues in foods

Pesticides are chemicals frequently used in agriculture to obtain maximum yield and improve product quality. Thousands of active ingredients and formulations of different pesticides are commercially available. Besides their advantages, a major disadvantage of pesticides is their residues, even though strict maximum residue limits have been set for each pesticide and permitted agricultural commodity. Permanence of pesticide residues on agricultural products depends on several factors such as the properties of pesticide, formulation, and applied concentration. Light, temperature, plant morphology, and plant growth factors are also effective in determining permanence. Degradation effects of the processing treatments rely on the dissolution of pesticides in the surrounding atmosphere, hydrolysis, microbial degradation, oxidation, penetration, and photo-degradation. Various steps applied during food processing, such as washing with water or other aqueous solutions, peeling, chopping, pickling, heat treatments, and processes such as drying, canning, fruit juice and concentrate production, malt, beer and wine production, oil production, and storage have certain effects on the presence of pesticide residues as well. Only washing with water can remove pesticide residue up to 100%, depending on the location of residue, residence time on food, water solubility of residue, washing temperature, and agents used to increase effectiveness. Besides washing, skin removal or peeling is one of the most effective treatments for residue removal, especially on non-systemic pesticides. During cooking, residues might be evaporated or hydrolyzed. Effects of storage temperature on reduction are related to volatilization, penetration, metabolism of pesticide, moisture content, and microbial growth, if any. In refrigerated or frozen storage, residues are stable or degrade slowly. Drying may increase the residue content because of the concentration, but in sun-drying reduction may occur because of photo-degradation. Clarification and filtration may eliminate residues retained in suspended particles. The degradation product, however, may be more toxic than the initial compound in some cases.