Search results for "Contaminant"
showing 9 items of 159 documents
Mycotoxins and their consequences in aquaculture: A review
2016
Fish consumption has been increasing worldwide, mainly due to the availability, access and price in relation to other kinds of meat consumption, such as beef, pork, and poultry. Consequently, some concerns begin to emerge, primarily regarding the quality of fish available in the market. Residues could be present in any product of animal origin causing economic losses and putting into a risk human and animal health. Food contamination by mycotoxins is a risk to human and animal health, and it is responsible for significant economic losses. It's very difficult to prove that a disease is a mycotoxicosis, and even when mycotoxins are detected, it is not easy to show that they are the etiologica…
Window-Based Energy Selecting X-ray Imaging and Charge Sharing in Cadmium Zinc Telluride Linear Array Detectors for Contaminant Detection
2023
The spectroscopic and imaging performance of energy-resolved photon counting detectors, based on new sub-millimetre boron oxide encapsulated vertical Bridgman cadmium zinc telluride linear arrays, are presented in this work. The activities are in the framework of the AVATAR X project, planning the development of X-ray scanners for contaminant detection in food industry. The detectors, characterized by high spatial (250 µm) and energy (<3 keV) resolution, allow spectral X-ray imaging with interesting image quality improvements. The effects of charge sharing and energy-resolved techniques on contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) enhancements are investigated. The benefits of a new energy-resolved …
Application of bacteriocins in vegetable food biopreservation.
2007
Bacteriocins are generally recognized as "natural" compounds able to influence the safety and quality of foods. In the past years, a lot of works have been aimed to the detection, purification and characterisation of bacteriocins, as well as to their use in food preservation strategies. A list of review articles dealing with the application of bacteriocins to the protection of foods of animal origin is also available in literature, but it lacks for a summary on the utilization of bacteriocins in vegetable foods. These biopreservatives can be used in a number of ways in food systems and this paper mainly focuses on the state-of-the-art application of bacteriocins from lactic acid bacteria (L…
The potential of HPP for minimizing pesticides and toxins in food products
2020
Abstract High-pressure (HP) treatment has emerged as a novel, additive-free food preservation technology. It has been scientifically and commercially proven that HP can produce microbially safe and stable products with improved quality characteristics such as enhanced flavor and color. Recent studies have focused on the effects of HP on health attributes and allergenic potential of foodstuff to develop the next generation of convenience foods. The contamination of produced food in various conditions along the production chain always is the point of concern. In this context, food safety is among the main health concerns worldwide on the occurrence of food contaminants such as heavy metals, h…
A new approach for the measurement of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) and H2S in air from anthropogenic and natural sources: Examples from Mt. Amiata…
2017
Real-time measurements of GEM and H2S discharged from natural and anthropogenic sources are a valuable tool to investigate the dispersion dynamics of these contaminants in air. In this study, a new approach to measure GEM and H2S concentrations in air, carried out by coupling a portable Zeeman atomic absorption spectrometer with high frequency modulation of light polarization (Lumex RA-915M) and a pulsed fluorescence gas analyzer (Thermo Scientific Model 450i), was applied to two distinct areas: (i) in the surroundings of Piancastagnaio (Siena, Central Italy), located in the eastern flanks of Mt. Amiata (a 200,000Â years old volcano), where three geothermal plants are operating and whose ex…
Air pollution exposure during pregnancy and reduced birth size: a prospective birth cohort study in Valencia, Spain
2010
Abstract Background Maternal exposure to air pollution has been related to fetal growth in a number of recent scientific studies. The objective of this study was to assess the association between exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and anthropometric measures at birth in a cohort in Valencia, Spain. Methods Seven hundred and eighty-five pregnant women and their singleton newborns participated in the study. Exposure to ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2) was estimated by means of land use regression. NO2 spatial estimations were adjusted to correspond to relevant pregnancy periods (whole pregnancy and trimesters) for each woman. Outcome variables were birth weight, length, and head circumf…
Epidemiology of foodborne Norovirus outbreaks in Catalonia, Spain
2008
Abstract Background Noroviruses are one of the principal biological agents associated with the consumption of contaminated food. The objective of this study was to analyse the size and epidemiological characteristics of foodborne outbreaks of gastroenteritis in Catalonia, a region in the northeast of Spain. Methods In all reported outbreaks of gastroenteritis associated with food consumption, faecal samples of persons affected were analysed for bacteria and viruses and selectively for parasites. Study variables included the setting, the number of people exposed, age, sex, clinical signs and hospital admissions. The study was carried out from October 2004 to October 2005. Results Of the 181 …
Hepatitis A infections from food.
2020
Food contaminated by hepatitis A virus (HAV) is responsible of the 2–7% of all HAV outbreaks worldwide. This review provides a description of the HAV characteristics, its infectivity and epidemiological features. In addition, this review compiles existing original papers reporting HAV prevalence, viral titres in foodstuffs and the risk associated with food contamination. The purpose of this revision is to conduct a structured and systematic review of the published molecular procedures for HAV detection in food, including the assessment of its infectivity.
Caracterización y seguimiento de contaminantes emergentes
2016
El problema de la contaminación ambiental es de una elevada complejidad ya que, además de la gran cantidad de sustancias tóxicas que se analizan y monitorizan en el presente, cada día se originan o se detectan otras y por consiguiente, las soluciones correspondientes parecen ser inalcanzables. La actividad humana en todo los sectores genera contaminantes orgánicos (OCs), algunos de ellos emergentes (ECs), que ponen en riesgo a las diferentes formas de vida a corto, medio y largo plazo. Es más, en algunos casos sólo se han descubierto recientemente los efectos tóxicos de determinados compuestos (pudiendo haber existido exposición a ellos). La legislación a nivel europeo, así como su transpos…