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Acrylamide, a food-borne chemical toxicant, has raised global concern in recent decades. It mainly originated from reducing sugar and free amino acid interactions in the carbohydrate-rich foodstuffs heated at high temperatures. Due to the neurotoxicity and carcinogenicity of AA, the mechanism of formation, toxic effects on health, and mitigation strategies, including conventional approaches and innovative technologies, have been of great interest since its discovery in food. Potato products (especially French fries and crisps), coffee, and cereals(bread and biscuit) are renowned contributors to AA's daily intake. The best preventive methods discussed in the literature include time/temperature optimization, blanching, enzymatic treatment, yeast treatment, additives, pulsed electric fields, ultrasound, vacuum roasting, air frying, and irradiation, exhibiting a high efficacy in AA elimination in food products.

The contamination of fresh meat and meat products like sausages with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) is a worldwide health concern. Consequently, the related investigations concerning the levels of PTEs in sausages among databases such as Scopus, Cochrane, and PubMed were investigated 1 January 2000 to 20 August 2020. Furthermore, the concentration of PTEs in sausages was meta-analyzed based on the random effect model (REM). The findings indicated that the rank order of PTEs in sausage was Fe (432.154 μg/kg) > Cu (152.589 μg/kg) > Zn (93.813 μg/kg) > Cr (6.040 μg/kg) > Pb (1.524 μg/kg) > Ni (0.525 μg/kg) > Cd (0.115 μg/kg) > As (0.066 μg/kg). Our results showed that the PTE concentration in sausages was lower than the permitted limit except for Pb in samples reported from Nigeria, China, and Turkey. Therefore, continuous monitoring of PTEs in such products was recommended.

Coffee is one of the most consumed products globally, and its contamination with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) occurs throughout the production chain and production. Therefore, the current meta-analysis study aimed to estimate the concentration of essential elements (Cu and Co) and the contamination of PTEs (Ni, Cr, Pb, As, and Cd) in coffee. The recommended databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect, were investigated to collect data regarding the contamination of PTEs in coffee products from 2010 to 2021. Among 644 retrieved citations in the identification step, 34 articles were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled mean concentration of essential elements in coffee products is much higher than that of toxic elements (Co (447.106 µg/kg, 95% CI: 445.695-448.518 µg/kg) Ni (324.175 µg/kg, 95% CI: 322.072-326.278 µg/kg) Cu (136.171 µg/kg, 95% CI: 134.840-137.503 µg/kg) Cr (106.865 µg/kg, 95% CI: 105.309-108.421 µg/kg) Pb (21.027 µg/kg, 95% CI: 20.824-21.231 µg/kg) As (3.158 µg/kg, 95% CI: 3.097-3.219 µg/kg) Cd (0.308 µg/kg; 95% CI: 0.284-0.332 µg/kg)). Results showed high differences between pooled concentrations of all PTEs in coffee products of different countries.

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites present in agricultural commodities and produced by certain fungi with adverse acute and chronic effects such as genotoxicity and carcinogenicity on humans and ...

Risk assessment of heavy metals is critical in controlling and preventing risks of foodborne diseases. Fish can be used as bioindicators for exposure to potential toxic elements (PTEs), which can represent potential risks for humans. The long Iranian coastline and three major fishery regions in the country, including the northern (Caspian Sea) and southern (Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman) seas as well as inland waters and aquacultures (rivers, dams, wetlands and fish farms) have made Iran a large producer of fish. In the first step of the present study, data collection and report of PTEs in fish from the three fishery regions (2010-2022) were carried out. In the second step, health risks were assessed using Monte Carlo simulation in child and adult consumers. The average concentrations of Cd, Hg and Pb for the northern sea, southern sea, and inland waters and aquacultures were 0.273, 0.249, 1.077; 0.430, 0.423, 1.182; and 1.387, 0.232, 1.703 μg/g per dry weight, respectively. Based on the target hazard quotient results, Hg intake of Iranian children from all the three fishery regions was more than 1, which was alarming. In the adult age group, southern sea fish consumers were at risk of Hg adverse health effects. Moreover, Cd included the highest carcinogenic risk of toxic elements in fish from the three fishery regions of Iran. Estimation of THQ, HI, ILCR and EDI revealed that consumption of fish might induce health complexities for the consumers in Iran. Moreover, Iranians from northern and southern regions of the country consumed further seafood due to the availability of high seafood sources in these regions. Hence, various indices must be used for the risk assessment of general human health. Due to the high risks of carcinogenicity/non-carcinogenicity estimated in the risk assessment, consumption of fish by infants and pregnant women must critically be assessed.

Histamine is the most common biogenic amine and is responsible for Scombroid fish poisoning. The presence of histamine at high concentrations in foodstuff indicates a public health issue Therefore, to the assurance of safety and quality, the monitoring of histamine concentration in fish and fishery products is urgent. To this aim, histamine content in 30 samples of canned tuna was measured by the UV-Vis spectrophotometry method. Linear regression was gained (R2 = 0.9905). The range of histamine levels was calculated between 85.04-125.08 mg kg-1 with an overall mean of 98.104 ± 5.18 mg kg-1. 40% of the samples were contained more than 100 mg kg-1, the allowable limit declared by Iranian National Standard (INS). However, The histamine amount of all samples were below the limit set by Codex Alimentarius (200 mg kg-1). There was no significant difference between the mean values of histamine in various brands of canned tuna. This spectrophotometric method used in this study can be introduced as a simple, applicable method for rapid monitoring of fish products, which is based on histamine reaction with copper and Alizarin Red S.

Food poisoning is one of the most addressed health issues and has raised notable concerns. Histamine is the biogenic amine responsible for scombroid poisoning, which is due to the histidine decarboxylation by bacterial decarboxylases in various types of fish and fish products. The present investigation was conducted to measure the concentration of histamine in canned fish samples of tuna in oil (n = 18), tuna in oil with vegetables (n = 15), tuna in brine (n = 9), kilka in oil (n = 9), sardine in oil (n = 3), and mackerel in oil (n = 6) collected from markets in Tehran, Iran. Histamine concentrations were determined with a high-performance liquid chromatography device equipped with a UV detector. For method validation, the correlation coefficient (R2), recovery percentage, relative standard deviation for repeatability, limit of detection, and limit of quantification were 0.99, 82%, 1.3%, 1.5 mg/kg, and 5 mg/kg, respectively. Histamine was detected in 46.6% of the samples, and 18.3% of samples exceeded the histamine limit stipulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (50 mg/kg). The overall mean histamine concentration was 17.36 ± 15.44 mg/kg, with a range of 0 to 88 mg/kg. A significant difference in histamine concentration was found between canned tuna in oil and canned tuna in brine (P < 0.05). However, no significant difference in histamine concentration was found among samples of canned tuna in brine, canned sardine in oil, canned kilka in oil, and canned mackerel in oil. Because of the high histamine concentrations detected in some brands of Iranian canned tuna, precise control programs, hazard analysis critical control point systems, and good hygiene practices should be implemented.

Probiotics are commonly defined as live microorganisms (yeast or bacteria), when getting ingested in adequate amounts, they exhibit the beneficial effects on the host. During the past two decades, probiotic microorganisms as health-promoting agents have been increasingly added to various types of food products, especially in fermented food and also drugs. Due to the importance of food safety aspects of the human diet and with regards to some adverse effects of probiotics for human, we decided to carry out a review on probiotics and their adverse effects by research in literature. Previous studies indicated that several aspects, including safety, functional and technological characteristics, have to be considered in the selection of probiotic microorganisms. Safety aspects include origin (gastrointestinal tract of healthy human), nonpathogenicity and antibiotic resistance. Some probiotic microorganisms such as enterococci have been considered as an opportunistic pathogen for humans and cause disease, possess agents for antibiotic resistance and potential virulence factors. The bacteria used as a probiotic in food should be completely safe. Probiotic bacteria should be chosen from the healthy human micro-flora and should not have any antibiotic resistance that would prevent treatment of a rare probiotic infection. This review focused on key issues concerning the safety aspects of probiotics added to particular food products for improvement of general health and also discussed the criteria for probiotic selection in details.

Simultaneous reduction in activity of fat destabilizing enzymes (lipase and lipoxygenase), contaminants heavy metals (As, Cd, Pb, and Hg), antinutrient phytic acid and hazardous coliforms in rice bran was investigated. Application of washing, soaking the washed sample at different pH values (2, 6 and 9) alone or in combination with ultrasonication were examined. While washing was beneficial, its low efficiency acquired further treatment, which was prevailed by application of acidic pH and ultrasound (28 kHz) treatments. Free fatty acids and peroxide value, as indicators of enzymes activity, implied the effectiveness of treatments with adverse impact of sonication on peroxide value. Remarkably, reduction of dominant heavy metals (As, Pb and Zn) and phytic acid were synergistically facilitated by sonication. Coliforms growth was inhibited at pH 2 even at the absence of ultrasonic treatment. Evidently, combination of acidic pH and ultrasound is a practical approach to improve rice bran stability and safety.

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) as non-degradable elements (especially carcinogenic types for humans such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and arsenic (As)) are widely distributed in the environment. They are one of the most concerned pollutants that can be absorbed and accumulated in the human body, primarily via contaminated water and foods. Acute or chronic poisoning of humans to PTEs can pose some serious risks for human health even at low concentrations. In this context, some methods are introduced to eliminate or reduce their concentration. While the biological treatment by bacterial strains, particularly probiotic bacteria, is considered as an effective method for reducing or eliminating of them. The consumption of probiotics as nonpathogenic microorganisms at regular and adequate dose offer some beneficial health impacts, it can also be applied to remove PTEs in both alive and non-alive states. This review aimed to provide an overview regarding the efficacy of different types of probiotic bacteria for PTEs removal from various environments such as food, water, in vitro, and in vivo conditions.

In the current study, the concentration of heavy metals including lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), and aluminum (Al) in commonly instant noodles consumed in Iran (either imported from other countries or produced in Iran) was investigated by acid digestion method followed by an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry system (ICP-OES). Also, the associated non-carcinogenic risk due to ingestion of heavy metals for adults and children was estimated by calculating percentile 95% target hazard quotient (THQ) in the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method. The average concentrations of Pb, Cr, Cd, and Al in Iranian instant noodle samples were measured as 1.21 ± 0.81, 0.08 ± 0.10, 0.03 ± 0.06, and 9.15 ± 4.82 (mg/kg) and in imported instant noodle samples were 1.00 ± 0.61, 0.07 ± 0.07, 0.04 ± 0.03, and 15.90 ± 0.93 (mg/kg), respectively. A significant difference (p value 0.05) in the mean concentration of Pb, Cr, Cd, and Al of Iranian instant noodle and imported instant noodle samples was observed. Also, the concentration of Pb, Cr, Cd, and Al in all brands of instant noodle (0.025 mg/kg, 0.050 mg/kg, 0.003 mg/kg, and 0.237 mg/kg, respectively) surpassed the WHO-permitted limits for Pb, Cr, Cd, and Al. Percentile 95% of THQ of Pb, Cr, Cd, and Al for the adult consumers was calculated as 0.012, 0.000007, 0.010, and 1.789; while in the case of children, percentile 95% of THQ of Pb, Cr, Cd, and Al was defined as 0.044, 0.00023, 0.035, and 6.167, respectively. Health risk assessment indicated that both adults and children are at considerable non-carcinogenic health risk for Al (THQ 1). Therefore, approaching the required strategies in order to reduce the concentration of heavy metals particularly Al in the instant noodle is recommended.

In this study, for the first attempt, microwave assisted extraction and rod hollow fiber electro-membrane extraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography (MAE-RHF-EME-HPLC) has been applied for the determination of polar heterocyclic aromatic amines (PHAAs) in hamburger. Aqueous solvent has been applied as extraction solvent (green chemistry). The affected parameters on the MAE-RHF-EME technique containing voltage time, pH of donor and acceptor phases, applied voltage and speed of stirring were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) and central composite design (CCD). The ranges of recovery were achieved between 87% and 99%. Limits of detection for target analyte were found between 1.24 ng g−1 and 1.67 ng g−1, and limits of quantitation were obtained in the range of 4.09 ng g−1 to 5.51 ng g−1. Hamburger has been known as a favorite tasty food among people. The meat percent be used in formulation of hamburger is a major factor of tasty. Grilling is another critical factor to determine the quality index of hamburger. Heat processing has been listed as the main source to form polar HAAs including 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo [4,5-f] quinoxaline (MeIQx), 2-amino-3,4 dimethylimidazo[4,5-f] quinoline (MeIQ) and 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f] quinoline (IQ) in hamburger. Validated technique was employed to measure HAAs in different hamburger samples. The results showed the cooking method and the size of the meat contact area (30%, 60%, 75%) affected directly on the formation of HAAs in hamburger and the concentration of these toxic compounds was increased according to this factor. The sum of HAAs in hamburger 30%, 60% and 75% were determined 37.21 ng g−1, 135.52 ng g−1 and 141.14 ng g−1, respectively. The results confirmed the high capability of proposed method to determine the level of PHAAs in hamburger and monitoring the important parameters in the formation of PHAAs.

To protect consumers, food safety programs for pesticide residues are routinely carried out globally. This research aims to measure 25 types of pesticide residues in Iranian pistachio based on a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) method combined with an Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The obtained detection limits and average recoveries were 3 μg L−1 and 80–110 % for all analytes, respectively. Analysis of pistachio samples indicated some target pesticides, including chlorpyrifos, imidacloprid, and acetamiprid, with values of 0.95 ± 0.01, 0.55 ± 0.02, and 0.51 ± 0.02 mg kg−1, respectively. The acetamiprid (53 %), fenitrothion (39 %), imidacloprid (34 %), and thiacloprid (25 %) were the frequently detected pesticides in pistachio samples. The mean residual concentration of chlorpyrifos, fenitrothion, and imidacloprid exceeded the E.U. maximum residue limit (MRL). According to the non-carcinogenic health risk assessment, HQ and THQ values were lower than one. Therefore, it was concluded that pistachio consumption did not constitute a remarkable health risk to consumers. However, due to the relatively high values assigned for chlorpyrifos, fenitrothion, and imidacloprid in pistachio samples, a regular and effective monitoring program is recommended to control pesticide utilization.

Saffron is a strategic agricultural product having extensive flavoring applications in Asia. Although utilization of pesticides for its cultivation is limited, there is a possible risk of contamination in this prominent spice. Herein, 88 pesticides were analyzed in 34 fsamples collected from the most crucial saffron-rich region of the country using a miniaturized QuEChERS approach and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Results indicated that LOQs and LDR were within the ranges of 5–50 and 5−1000 μg L−1 (5.49–54.9 and 5.49−1099 μg Kg−1), respectively. Considering LOQ values, 3.4 % out of 34 samples were contaminated by at least one pesticide. The highest mean values related to carbendazim and iprodione were obtained to be 10.6 and 8.79 μg Kg−1, respectively. However, only eight samples exhibited pesticide residues higher than the limits specified by European Union. Furthermore, probabilistic human health risk assessment of pesticides was investigated using a Hazard Quotient (HQ) method in Monte Carlo (MC) algorithm. Total Hazard Quotient (THQ) values according to the consumption of saffron in adults and children were calculated as 2.5E-5 and 1.2E-4, respectively. Consequently, the applied health risk assessment on Iranian saffron samples revealed that HQ for adults and children populations might not pose health hazards. Most Iranian saffron samples are safe; their pesticide residue levels are below the EU MRLs, and the observed mean values were much lower than MRLs.

Background: There has been considerable interest in the potential health benefits of borage. Little information is available regarding the safety of this plant. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of borage on the mouse heart. Methods: Different amounts of borage extract were injected in mice. The mice were randomly divided into 4 groups including group1 (Control group without injection), group2, 3 and 4 that received 12.5 mg/kg, 25 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg respectively for 28 days. Oxidative stress parameters (lipid peroxidation, total glutathione groups assay and cupric assay) and biochemical (Creatine kinase activity and total cholesterol) and hematology parameters were evaluated. Furthermore, histopathology study was carried out on heart tissues. Results: We found that there was no significant difference in oxidative stress parameters and biochemical parameters between the control group and the groups that received different amounts of borage extract. There were also no changes in histopathology study. In blood parameters, the level of erythrocytes, hematocrit and hemoglobin decreased to 50mg/kg, whereas the level of MCH and MCV decreased in high doses. Conclusion: This article suggested that borage did not cause significant damage to the heart tissue in mice model. In hematology factors, significant changes were observed in erythrocytes and related parameters. Therefore, hematotoxicity of consumption this plant should be considered at high doses.