Latest ArticlesTo investigate the speciation composition of arsenic and the differences in arsenic bioaccessibility among various edible mushrooms, and to evaluate their impacts on dietary health risk assessment outcomes.
The 18 kinds of common edible mushroom species collected in Guizhou Province were selected as research materials. Arsenic speciation analysis and in vitro physiologically based extraction test were performed.Combined with estimated daily intake, target hazard quotient and target cancer risk models, the transformation pattern of arsenic species during gastrointestinal digestion was quantitatively elucidated, and subsequent health risk assessment was conducted.
The total arsenic concentrations in the tested edible mushrooms ranged from 0.0245 to 0.7458 mg/kg.Only Agaricus blazei exceeded the national limit specified in GB 2762—2022 National food safety standards-Limits of contaminants in food (stipulates 0.5 mg/kg). The proportion of inorganic arsenic to total arsenic varied from 2.83% to 90.04%, with its bioaccessibility ranging between 0.00 and 70.42%, showing significant interspecies differences. After bioaccessibility correction, the concentration of toxic inorganic arsenic decreased to 0–0.1138 mg/kg, meanwhile, the estimated daily intake, target hazard quotient and target cancer risk of inorganic arsenic in digestive fluids were reduced to values closer to the actual human exposure levels.
Arsenic speciation and the bioaccessibility during gastrointestinal digestion exert prominent influences on health risk assessment of arsenic in edible mushrooms.Incorporating both indicators into the risk assessment framework can substantially improve the accuracy of risk evaluation, and provide scientific evidence for the formulation of arsenic pollution prevention and control strategies as well as food safety standards for edible mushrooms.
Global population growth drives the rising demand for meat production. Conventional meat production faces multiple challenges including resource consumption, environmental pressure and animal welfare concerns. As an alternative to conventional meat, it has advantages such as low carbon emissions and low land occupation. Its food safety has become a core concern for industrial development. This review systematically examined the biological hazards (including bacteria, fungi, viruses, prions, cell line stability and genetic drift), chemical hazards (including antibiotic residues, growth factor and exogenous hormone residues, components and residues from scaffolds and microcarriers, endotoxin contamination, cryoprotectant residues, other chemical contaminants and process-related substances) and risk of sensitization associated with cell-cultured meat production, and compared them with those of conventional meat. The analysis indicates that food safety hazards in conventional meat primarily originate from farming, slaughtering and processing stages. In contrast, although cell-cultured meat is produced in closed bioreactors, which significantly reduces conventional risks such as intestinal pathogen contamination and food chain bioaccumulation, its own production chain still presents the possibility of microbial contamination as well as conventional chemical hazards including heavy metals, pesticide residues and veterinary drug residues. Furthermore, its complex manufacturing processes may introduce an entirely novel hazard spectrum, including unique hazards such as mycoplasma contamination, cell line stability and genetic drift, growth factor and exogenous hormone residues, components and residues from scaffolds and microcarriers, cryoprotectant residues and novel allergens. Currently, research on various hazards remains at the identification stage, lacking a unified ranking of risk intensity. This review systematically clarified the sources, occurrence stages, risk characteristics and control measures of various hazards, with the aim of providing theoretical references for subsequent risk assessment and the construction of regulatory systems.
To investigate the contamination levels of 5 kinds of heavy metals including arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) in commercially available coffee and assess their exposure risks through dietary intake.
Commercially available coffee samples were collected using random sampling. Heavy metal content was determined using microwave digestion-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The heavy metal intake among coffee drinkers was estimated based on average body weight data.
Among the 87 samples, Cr had a detection rate of 100%, with content ranging from 4.7×10–3 to 8.0×10–1 mg/kg. Cd was undetected in only 2 instant coffee powder samples, with the highest detected concentration being 0.025 mg/kg. Hg had the lowest detection rate across all samples at 21.8%, with a detection rate of only 14.3% in instant coffee powder. None of the samples exceeded the national standard limits. Additionally, significant differences in heavy metal detection were observed among different types of coffee. Dietary exposure assessment results showed that for individuals consuming 20 g/d, the hazard index was 0.0024, far below 1; the margin of exposure was greater than 10; and the cancer risk was below 10–6.
The 5 kinds of heavy metals are commonly found in commercially available coffee. However, whether assessed from non-genotoxic or genotoxic perspectives, the health risks posed by heavy metal intake through coffee consumption are extremely low.
To investigate the extraction and purification processes of Cinnamomum cassia polyphenols and assess its in vitro biological activities.
A water extraction process combined with microfiltration and ultrafiltration membrane separation was employed to prepare a high-polyphenol, low-coumarin Cinnamomum cassia polyphenol extract (CPE).
The CPE contained 48.3% polyphenols and 0.022 mg/g coumarin. Compared with conventional aqueous extracts, the polyphenol content of CPE increased by 213.5%; the total content of procyanidin B1 and B2 increased by 148.7%, and the coumarin content decreased by 77.08%. In vitro experiments demonstrated that,compared with conventional aqueous extracts, CPE showed significantly stronger scavenging capacities for 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical cation(ABTS+), along with improved iron chelating ability and total reducing power. CPE exhibited stronger inhibitory activity against α-amylase and α-glucosidase.
The extraction and purification processes established in this study greatly improve the purity of Cinnamomum cassia polyphenols, and the obtained CPE exhibits stronger in vitro antioxidant activity and inhibitory capacity against carbohydrate digestive enzymes.
The phenomenon of people in Yunnan Province collecting and consuming Rhododendron plants such as Rhododendron decorum are commonly consumed. Grayanotoxins (GTXs) contained in these plants can induce multi-system injuries to the nervous, cardiovascular and digestive systems, leading to frequent foodborne poisoning incidents and posing potential threats to regional public health. Accordingly, systematically reviewing relevant studies on GTXs and developing scientific risk prevention and control strategies have great practical significance. This paper reviewed the research advances in chemical structures, toxicological mechanisms and detection technologies of GTXs. It further analyzed the performance characteristics and application progress of various detection methods, compared their adaptability in on site screening and precise quantification, carried out systematic sorting and objective evaluation in combination with the actual work of regional poisoning prevention and control, and put forward optimization strategies for whole chain risk prevention and control. This review can provide references for risk management of edible Rhododendron related safety hazards, emergency disposal of foodborne poisoning and development of relevant detection technologies, so as to provide technical support for regional food safety risk control.
To investigate the effects of adding bacteriophage in controlling the contamination of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum during fermented beer, and optimize the prevention and control effect.
A bacteriophage targeting Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, named LBP-LH, was isolated from rotten apple and duck feces samples, and its characteristics were characterized. By simulating bacterial contamination in fermented beer, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were co-cultured in yeast extract peptone dextrose broth. Then, bacteriophage LBP-LH was added to the co-culture system, and the effects of bacteriophage on preventing Lactiplantibacillus plantarum contamination was evaluated by measuring the ethanol concentration and cell numbers of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum in the co-culture system.
Compared with the polluted group, the number of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum in the bacteriophage treatment group decreased significantly from 9 h (P<0.01), while the number of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and ethanol production returned to the control group level (P>0.05); the addition of bacteriophages alone had no significant effect on the growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and ethanol fermentation (P>0.05).
The bacteriophage LBP-LH has been verified to specifically eliminate Lactiplantibacillus plantarum without affecting the growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and ethanol fermentation. It is safe and can be used as a green biological antibacterial agent for precise prevention and control of lactic acid bacteria contamination during fermented beer. It has practical application potential in the food fermentation industry.
To construct a flavor wheel and systematically characterize the sensory characteristics of Yunnan large-leaf white tea.
Following established international methodologies for flavor wheel development and the national standard GB/T 16861—1997 Sensory analysis-Identification and selection of descriptors for establishing a sensory profile by a multidimensional approach, 22 representative tea samples varying in vintage,origin and cultivar were selected for sensory evaluation. Core sensory descriptors were extracted, screened and refined to develop the Yunnan large-leaf white tea flavor wheel. Furthermore, M and multivariate statistical analysis was employed to identify key differential descriptors.
Finally, a total of 38 descriptive words that represent distinct flavor profiles were determined, comprising 16 aroma terms (e.g., orchid, osmanthus), 7 infusion color terms (e.g., yellowish green, light yellow, deep yellow) and 15 taste/mouthfeel terms (e.g., sweet aftertaste, mellow sweetness, fresh briskness).These descriptors were successfully applied in flavor profiling.
The proposed descriptive system effectively characterizes the flavor profile of Yunnan large-leaf white tea and successfully differentiates samples across categories, validating the scientific robustness of the constructed flavor wheel. This study provides a standardized framework for quality assessment and facilitates communication among producers, consumers and connoisseurs by establishing a shared sensory vocabulary, thereby enhancing the overall appreciation of this tea.
To prepare Vaccinium spp. anthocyanin microcapsules using gum arabic and maltodextrin as composite wall materials, optimize the encapsulation process, and evaluate the inhibitory activity of crude anthocyanin extract and the microencapsulated product against cancer cells.
Using encapsulation efficiency as the evaluation index, single-factor experiments combined with Box-Behnken response surface methodology were employed to optimize the microencapsulation process. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) determined by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to assess the anti-proliferative effects of the crude anthocyanin extract and the microcapsules on 4 kinds of cancer cell lines.
The optimal process parameters were: maltodextrin proportion 52%, core-wall ratio was 1:7.6 and wall material concentration 13%, yielding an encapsulation efficiency of 97.31%. In vitro activity assays showed that the crude anthocyanin extract significantly inhibited human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2) and human cervical cancer cells (HeLa) with IC50 of 11.0 μg/mL and 34.4 μg/mL, respectively, exhibiting potent inhibitory effects while showing low toxicity to normal cells. Under the same anthocyanin content, the inhibitory activity of the microcapsules against HeLa and human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) (IC50=9.7 μg/mL and 10.5 μg/mL, respectively) was significantly (P<0.05) better than that of the crude extract (IC50=15.5 μg/mL and 35.1 μg/mL, respectively), and the total product after microencapsulation showed reduced overall toxicity.
The optimized microencapsulation process effectively protects anthocyanins, and the microcapsules exhibit superior inhibitory effects on HeLa and MCF-7 cells compared with the crude extract, providing a new strategy for improving anthocyanin stability and targeted delivery. However, no in vivo experiments are conducted in this study, and further validation is required for its practical application.
With the acceleration of industrialization and the rapid development of food processing technologies, the sources of chemical contaminants in food have become increasingly diverse, and exposure processes have become more concealed. Therefore, dietary risk assessment has become an important scientific approach for ensuring food safety and supporting risk management. This paper systematically reviewed the 4 basic steps of dietary risk assessment, namely hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment and risk characterization. In the exposure assessment stage, the application scope, advantages and limitations of point assessment, probabilistic assessment and biomarker analysis were compared in detail. In the risk characterization stage, the main quantitative evaluation indicators for carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks were further clarified. In addition, this paper summarized the sources of nine major categories of contaminants, including pesticide residues, toxic metals and processing-induced contaminants, as well as China’s current regulatory standards system. Finally, it analyzed existing problems in current research, such as the delayed updating of dietary consumption data and the insufficient application of probabilistic assessment and cumulative risk assessment. This review aims to provide a reference for improving the refinement of dietary risk assessment in China and enhancing food safety limit standards.
To optimize the brewing conditions of Zigui Simian tea, and analyze its quality.
By means of single-factor and orthogonal experiments, through sensory evaluation and analysis of the main physical and chemical components, the process optimization of the tea-to-water ratio, water temperature, brewing time and brewing frequency was carried out, and their influences on the quality of Simian tea were analyzed.
The single‑factor brewing experiment results showed that brewing at 80–90 ℃ produced tea infusions with light‑green and bright liquor,tender chestnut‑like aroma, relatively fresh-mellow taste, and tender‑green bright infused leaves. At a tea‑to‑water ratio of 1:40–1:50 (g:mL), the liquor was light‑green and bright with moderately strong tender chestnut‑like aroma and moderately fresh‑mellow taste. The optimal comprehensive sensory quality was obtained with 40–60 s for the first infusion, 40–46 s for the second infusion and 40–80 s for the third infusion. Orthogonal experiments indicated that brewing temperature was the core factor determining the total sensory score, aroma purity and infused‑leaf colour of Simian tea; tea‑to‑water ratio affected liquor brightness and taste freshness‑mellowness. Under the conditions of 80–85 ℃, tea‑to‑water ratio of 1:40–1:50 (g:mL) and brewing duration of 40–60 s, the tea infusion exhibited light‑green bright liquor, prominent tender chestnut‑like aroma and fresh‑mellow taste, and tender‑green bright infused leaves. Quality component analysis demonstrated that tea polyphenol concentration in infusion was most strongly affected by brewing temperature, showing a high positive correlation; other indicators were most influenced by tea‑to‑water ratio, presenting a high negative correlation. Brewing time exerted no significant effect on all indicators(P>0.05).
The optimized brewing conditions in this study can better manifest the colour, aroma and taste qualities of Zigui Simian tea, providing theoretical basis and practical guidance for its scientific brewing.
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