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Applied Sciences
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Food Contamination: Sources, Detection, and Monitoring
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Food Contamination: Sources, Detection, and Monitoring

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 March 2025 | Viewed by 8152

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jakubczyk Karolina

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Guest Editor
Department of Human Nutrition and Metabolomics, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, 24 Broniewskiego Street, 71-460 Szczecin, Poland
Interests: antioxidant properties of plant and food products and their chemical composition (polyphenolic compounds or minerals), particularly edible flowers; matcha green tea; food contamination with mycotoxins or fluoride
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Katarzyna Janda-Milczarek

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Guest Editor
Department of Human Nutrition and Metabolomics, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, 24 Broniewskiego Street, 71-460 Szczecin, Poland
Interests: medicinal plants; herbs; edible flowers; phytochemicals; antioxidant activity; phytochemical analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Dominika Maciejewska-Markiewicz

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Human Nutrition and Metabolomics, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland
Interests: liver affecting xenobiotics; food – microbiota interaction; liver – intestinal axis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to participate in this Special Issue entitled "Food Contamination: Sources, Detection, and Monitoring", which aims to deepen the knowledge of food contaminants which affect human health, their sources, and detection and monitoring for a more accurate risk assessment. 

There is a close relationship between food, nutrition and human health. Chemical, physical or biological contamination of food is substances that end up in food as a result of environmental pollution, as a side effect of the production process, or in the event of irregularities in its circulation. The most common sources include the use of agrochemicals, veterinary drugs, food processing, and the migration of compounds from food packaging, as well as food adulteration. The contamination of food can lead to many health problems, including acute poisoning and long-term illness. Regular testing of contaminants is very important for controlling food quality and ensuring consumer health, especially when monitoring and detection levels are insufficient. 

This Special Issue welcomes research on:

  • Pesticides, veterinary drugs and herbicides;
  • Mycotoxins;
  • Heavy-metal contamination and its impact on food quality;
  • Contaminants migrating from food packaging;
  • Microbial food contamination;
  • Natural toxins from edible plants and foods of animal origin;
  • The impact of technological processes and food processing on the formation of pollutants;
  • Identification of food adulterations, monitoring, and detection;
  • Assessing the authenticity and quality of food.

Dr. Jakubczyk Karolina
Prof. Dr. Katarzyna Janda-Milczarek
Dr. Dominika Maciejewska-Markiewicz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • food contamination
  • food safety
  • mycotoxins
  • antibiotics
  • food quality
  • risk assessment

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 1377 KiB  
Article
Pathogens in the Food Chain: Escherichia coli Strains in Raw Milk Originating from Ewes Treated for Mastitis with Various Therapeutic Protocols
by Konstantina Fotou, Georgios Rozos, Konstantinos Zaralis, Aikaterini Dadamogia, Elisavet Stavropoulou, Panagiotis Demertzis, Konstantoula Akrida-Demertzi, Athina Tzora and Chrysoula (Chrysa) Voidarou
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(13), 5383; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14135383 - 21 Jun 2024
Viewed by 808
Abstract
Dairy products from ovine milk are very popular in the Mediterranean countries and are gaining a large portion of the market in EU countries and worldwide. EU legislation permits the dairy processing of raw ovine milk under certain conditions. To study the ecology [...] Read more.
Dairy products from ovine milk are very popular in the Mediterranean countries and are gaining a large portion of the market in EU countries and worldwide. EU legislation permits the dairy processing of raw ovine milk under certain conditions. To study the ecology and prevalence of E. coli in raw ewes’ milk and assess thus the public health risk, samples of milk were taken from 75 different sheep farms in the rural area of Epirus, Greece. The initial sampling was conducted in clinically healthy animals which were noted as controls (group A). From the same farms, samples were taken from animals with clinical mastitis and before treatment (group B). For therapeutic purposes, to some animals, a combination of penicillin and streptomycin was administrated (group C1), or tetracycline (group C2), or enrofloxacin (group C3). Finally, samples of raw milk were taken from the C groups, on the first day after the withdrawal period of the antibiotics used, when the milk is permitted to enter the food chain. In total, 97 isolates of Escherichia coli were recovered from all groups. Analysis revealed an impressive increase in E. coli strains in the milk of group B (39.33%) with respect to group A (5%). Even after treatment, although the prevalence was decreased, it was still found to be higher in the C groups than group A. E. coli O157:H7 strains absent from group A were detected in all other groups in relatively low occurrence rates with respect to other “O” serotypes but non-O157:H7 strains. Virulence factors such as the production of toxins (32.60% for serotoxin 1 and 18.47% for serotoxin 2) and hemolysin (42.39%) as well as biofilm formation capacity (52.17% of the total) and ESDL production (43.47% of the total) were also studied. All strains were also tested for susceptibility against 12 antibiotics by the MIC method and the results showed a high prevalence of resistance and multi-resistance. The presence of various resistant strains to antibiotics and pathogenic “O” serotype strains in the milk when it can enter the food chain again is an alarming conclusion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Contamination: Sources, Detection, and Monitoring)
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17 pages, 2428 KiB  
Article
Effectiveness of Ozonation for Improving the Microbiological Safety of Fresh-Cut Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) Leaves
by Beata Gutarowska, Justyna Szulc, Konrad Jastrząbek, Dorota Kręgiel, Krzysztof Śmigielski, Weronika Cieciura-Włoch, Marta Mroczyńska-Florczak, Wiktoria Liszkowska, Anna Rygała and Joanna Berłowska
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(15), 8946; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13158946 - 3 Aug 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1600
Abstract
In the last decade, fresh-cut plants have become a more popular flavoring additive in food. It is important to find an effective method for ensuring the safety and quality of plant materials used as food additives. Ozonated water is being considered by the [...] Read more.
In the last decade, fresh-cut plants have become a more popular flavoring additive in food. It is important to find an effective method for ensuring the safety and quality of plant materials used as food additives. Ozonated water is being considered by the EFSA for approval as a cidal agent for plant protection. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of ozonated water in improving the microbial safety of fresh-cut parsley leaves, with a particular focus on mesophilic and psychrotrophic bacteria and fungi. The yeasts and bacteria were identified with the MALDI-TOF MS system. Color changes on the surface of the parsley samples were measured in the CIE L*a*b trichromatic color model. The chemical composition of the essential oil was evaluated via gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GCMS). The microbial level of the fresh leaves varied and depended on the season. The highest microbial levels were found in the leaves picked in the summer and autumn, at 104 to 106 CFU/g for fungi and 106 to 108 CFU/g for bacteria. Among the isolates with the highest isolation frequency, bacteria belonging to Pseudomonas fluorescens, Staphylococcus warneri, and Bacillus megaterium dominated. The dominant yeasts and molds were Candida sp., Rhodotorula sp., Cladosporium sp., and Fusarium sp. The conditions for water ozonation (ozone dose and time) were established for both mono- and mixed cultures. Time of 3 min, ozone content of 0.5, O3 mg/L or 1 min, and 1.5 mg of O3 mg/L were sufficient for a 90% reduction in the number of living microorganisms. Yeasts and bacteria were sensitive to ozone treatment, excluding P. fluorescens rods. The tested mold strains were the most resistant. However, it was noted that organic matter might reduce the decontamination effect. The effectiveness of ozonation was negatively influenced by organic compound content above 1%. Spectrophotometric measurements of parsley leaves after ozonation, especially after 3 min treatment at 1.5 O3 mg/L, revealed morphological changes. The CIELAB color space (L*a*b*) changed in the direction of lightness and yellowness; however, ΔE showed no statistically significant differences in comparison with the untreated leaves. In preliminary studies, no differences were noted in GLC-MS chromatograms for essential oils of parsley leaves before and after ozonation. The aroma of parsley treated with ozonated water was more intensely herbal than the control sample, probably due to the higher content of α and β phellandrene. The results of this study show that decontamination of parsley leaves by ozonated water containing 1.5 O3 mg/L in a closed 5 min process can effectively ensure the microbiological quality of fresh-cut parsley leaves. It can be concluded that ozone treatments in aqueous form appear to provide promising qualitative and quantitative results for the decontamination of this fresh-cut plant material. However, more work is necessary to study chemical and volatilome changes. Especially the sensory analyses should be conducted before and after ozone treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Contamination: Sources, Detection, and Monitoring)
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Review

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27 pages, 4245 KiB  
Review
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Occurrence and Formation in Processed Meat, Edible Oils, and Cereal-Derived Products: A Review
by Laurentiu Mihai Palade, Mioara Negoiță, Alina Cristina Adascălului and Adriana Laura Mihai
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(13), 7877; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13137877 - 5 Jul 2023
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4928
Abstract
The chemical group comprising polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has received prolonged evaluation and scrutiny in the past several decades. PAHs are ubiquitous carcinogenic pollutants and pose a significant threat to human health through their environmental prevalence and distribution. Regardless of their origin, natural [...] Read more.
The chemical group comprising polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has received prolonged evaluation and scrutiny in the past several decades. PAHs are ubiquitous carcinogenic pollutants and pose a significant threat to human health through their environmental prevalence and distribution. Regardless of their origin, natural or anthropogenic, PAHs generally stem from the incomplete combustion of organic materials. Dietary intake, one of the main routes of human exposure to PAHs, is modulated by pre-existing food contamination (air, water, soil) and their formation and accumulation during food processing. To this end, processing techniques and cooking options entailing thermal treatment carry additional weight in determining the PAH levels in the final product. With the background provided, this study aims to provide an improved understanding of PAH occurrence in meat, edible oils, and cereal products. The factors influencing PAH formation, including operational conditions and parameters, product composition, and storage settings, are described. The discussion also addresses reduction directions with respect to influencing factors informing the choice of the employed technique, fuel type, time–temperature settings, and ingredient variations. Considering the disparities caused by wide variations in PAH contamination, challenges associated with PAH control requirements are also outlined in the context of relevant preventive approaches during food processing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Contamination: Sources, Detection, and Monitoring)
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