GC-MS analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in bottled olive oil marketed in Lebanon

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of the Lebanese Community toward Food Adulteration

Food adulteration is the purposeful act of decreasing the quality of food goods offered for sale, whether by adding or replacing inferior substances or by the removal of some valuable ingredient. A limited number of studies have explored the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAPs) concerning food adulteration in Lebanon. The objectives of the present study were to determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices of identifying adulteration in the process of food purchase by Lebanese adult consumers, and to identify factors associated with food adulteration. An online survey (n = 499) was administered among Lebanese adults aged 18 years and above. Results showed that the majority had a low food adulteration knowledge score (73.1%). During shopping, fewer than half of the participants checked the ingredients (42%) and nutrition facts label (33.9%). Regression analyses showed that six predictors were significantly associated with participants’ knowledge scores including gender, age, marital status, education (undergraduate and master degree) and employment status (student). The results of this study show that knowledge and practices of identifying adulteration in the process of food purchase by consumers are lacking among most respondents. Increasing knowledge, awareness and motivation to identify food adulteration products during food shopping will empower consumers to improve buying practices, especially for the public with a lower level of education.

The use of Pinus nigra as a biomonitor of pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Lebanon

Among the various species of vegetation, conifers play an important role as a biomonitor of air pollution. The current study presents the determination of pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in 15 conifer samples collected in August 2018 (summer season) from different regions in north Lebanon (Tripoli, Koura, Bcharre, and Akkar). Pollutants were extracted based on QuEChERS-SPME followed by liquid and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results showed that the samples collected from Bcharre region had the lowest concentration in both pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with a total concentration of 50 and 66 ng g^-1, while the samples collected from the regions widely known by their agriculture (Akkar, Tripoli, and Koura areas) were the most polluted with concentrations of 231 and 422 ng g^-1, 192 and 370 ng g^-1, and 127 and 98 ng g^-1 for pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons respectively. This study revealed that conifers are suggested to be efficient biomonitors of contamination levels in the air.