Multi-mycotoxin determination in plant-based meat alternatives and exposure assessment

Current challenges of alternative proteins as future foods

Global demand for food is expected to nearly double by 2050. Alternative proteins (AP) have been proposed as a sustainable solution to provide food security as natural resources become more depleted. However, the growth and consumer intake of AP remains limited. This review aims to better understand the challenges and environmental impacts of four main AP categories: plant-based, insect-based, microbe-derived, and cultured meat and seafood. The environmental benefits of plant-based and insect-based proteins have been documented but the impacts of microbe-derived proteins and cultured meat have not been fully assessed. The development of alternative products with nutritional and sensory profiles similar to their conventional counterparts remains highly challenging. Furthermore, incomplete safety assessments and a lack of clear regulatory guidelines confuse the food industry and hamper progress. Much still needs to be done to fully support AP utilization within the context of supporting the drive to make the global food system sustainable.

A comprehensive review on novel synthetic foods: Potential risk factors, detection strategies, and processing technologies

Nowadays, the food industry is facing challenges due to the simultaneous rise in global warming, population, and food consumption. As the integration of synthetic biology and food science, novel synthetic foods have obtained high attention to address these issues. However, these novel foods may cause potential risks related to human health. Four types of novel synthetic foods, including plant-based foods, cultured meat, fermented foods, and microalgae-based foods, were reviewed in the study. The original food sources, consumer acceptance, advantages and disadvantages of these foods were discussed. Furthermore, potential risk factors, such as nutritional, biological, and chemical risk factors, associated with these foods were described and analyzed. Additionally, the current detection methods (e.g., enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, biosensors, chromatography, polymerase chain reaction, isothermal amplification, and microfluidic technology) and processing technologies (e.g., microwave treatment, ohmic heating, steam explosion, high hydrostatic pressure, ultrasound, cold plasma, and supercritical carbon dioxide) were reviewed and discussed critically. Nonetheless, it is crucial to continue innovating and developing new detection and processing technologies to effectively evaluate these novel synthetic foods and ensure their safety. Finally, approaches to enhance the quality of these foods were briefly presented. It will provide insights into the development and management of novel synthetic foods for food industry.

The characteristics, occurrence, and toxicological effects of alternariol: a mycotoxin

Alternaria species are mycotoxin-producing fungi known to infect fresh produce and to cause their spoilage. Humans get exposed to fungal secondary metabolites known as mycotoxin via the ingestion of contaminated food. Alternariol (AOH) (C14H10O5) is an isocoumarins produced by different species of Alternaria including Alternaria alternata. AOH is often found in grain, fruits and fruits-based food products with high levels in legumes, nuts, and tomatoes. AOH was first discovered in 1953, and it is nowadays linked to esophagus cancer and endocrine disruption due to its similarity to estrogen. Although considered as an emerging mycotoxin with no regulated levels in food, AOH occurs in highly consumed dietary products and has been detected in various masked forms, which adds to its occurrence. Therefore, this comprehensive review was developed to give an overview on recent literature in the field of AOH. The current study summarizes published data on occurrence levels of AOH in different food products in the last ten years and evaluates those levels in comparison to recommended levels by the regulating entities. Such surveillance facilitates the work of health risk assessors and highlights commodities that are most in need of AOH levels regulation. In addition, the effects of AOH on cells and animal models were summarized in two tables; data include the last two-year literature studies. The review addresses also the main characteristics of AOH and the possible human exposure routes, the populations at risk, and the effect of anthropogenic activities on the widespread of the mycotoxin. The commonly used detection and control methods described in the latest literature are also discussed to guide future researchers to focus on mitigating mycotoxins contamination in the food industry. This review aims mainly to serve as a guideline on AOH for mycotoxin regulation developers and health risk assessors.

Mycotoxins and pyrrolizidine alkaloids in herbal dietary supplements

The market demand for herbal dietary supplements is rapidly growing and such products are becoming more common and accessible to consumers. However, the knowledge about their safety remains incomplete. Herbal dietary supplements are one of the food groups that can contribute significantly to human health concerns arising from chronic exposure to pyrrolizidine alkaloids and mycotoxins. This study aimed to simultaneously determine 79 natural contaminants, including mycotoxins, as well as pyrrolizidine and tropane alkaloids in herbal dietary supplements in one analytical run. Exposure assessment and human health risks were assessed for all compounds included in this study. The total concentration of naturally occurring contaminants in herbal dietary supplements reached 5.3 mg kg-1 and the most frequently detected mycotoxins were tentoxin and alternariol monomethyl ether. The latter was detected with the highest frequency, reaching concentrations up to 2.5 mg kg-1. The obtained results indicate a potential risk to public health related to herbal dietary supplement consumption.

Microbial community structure of plant-based meat alternatives

A reduction in animal-based diets has driven market demand for alternative meat products, currently raising a new generation of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs). It remains unclear whether these substitutes are a short-lived trend or become established in the long term. Over the last few years, the trend of increasing sales and diversifying product range has continued, but publication activities in this field are currently limited mainly to market research and food technology topics. As their popularity increases, questions emerge about the safety and nutritional risks of these novel products. Even though all the examined products must be heated before consumption, consumers lack experience with this type of product and thus further research into product safety, is desirable. To consider these issues, we examined 32 PBMAs from Austrian supermarkets. Based on 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, the majority of the products were dominated by lactic acid bacteria (either Leuconostoc or Latilactobacillus), and generally had low alpha diversity. Pseudomonadota (like Pseudomonas and Shewanella) dominated the other part of the products. In addition to LABs, a high diversity of different Bacillus, but also some Enterobacteriaceae and potentially pathogenic species were isolated with the culturing approach. We assume that especially the dominance of heterofermentative LABs has high relevance for the product stability and quality with the potential to increase shelf life of the products. The number of isolated Enterobacteriaceae and potential pathogens were low, but they still demonstrated that these products are suitable for their presence.

Occurrence of mycotoxins in meat alternatives: Dietary exposure, potential health risks, and burden of disease

This study aimed to present the occurrence of sixteen mycotoxins in 105 meat alternatives based on wheat, legumes, and vegetables from Italy. The targeted mycotoxins were aflatoxins (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2), fumonisins B1 and B2 (FB1, FB2), alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), tentoxin (TEN), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEN), T-2/HT-2 toxin, deoxynivalenol (DON), enniatin B (ENNB), and beauvericin (BEA). The occurrence of mycotoxins was between 0% (AFB2) - 97.4% (ENNB). Mycotoxin co-occurrence varied from binary combinations up to mixtures of twelve. To assess the dietary exposure and potential health risks we simulated the replacement of meat consumption for Italian consumers with meat alternatives. The cumulative exposure to Alternaria mycotoxins and trichothecenes indicated a potential health risk while the exposure to aflatoxins and ochratoxin A indicated a potential health concern related to liver and renal cancer in the model scenario. Moreover, we estimated the risk of liver cancer from exposure to AFB1 and quantified the potential burden using Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). Luckily, the potential risk of liver cancer was low between 0 and 0.05/100,000 individuals with an associated burden of disease of 0.83 DALYs/100,000 individuals. Taking into consideration the presence of meat alternatives on the food market and the ongoing shift towards plant-based diets there is a need for continuous monitoring to keep the occurrence at safe levels. More attention is needed from the regulatory side for policymakers to consider the legislations of mycotoxins in meat alternatives.

Resveratrol alleviates fumonisin-induced intestinal cytotoxicity by modulating apoptosis, tight junction, and inflammation in IPEC-J2 porcine intestinal epithelial cells

Fumonisins are common contaminants in the global food and environment, pose a variety of health risks to humans and animals. However, the method of mitigating fumonisin toxicity is still unclear. Resveratrol is a natural compound with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, the protective effect of resveratrol against fumonisin-induced intestinal toxicity was investigated by the porcine intestinal epithelial cell line (IPEC-J2). The cells were treated with 0-40 μM fumonisin for 24 or 48 h with or without the 24 h resveratrol (15 μM) pretreatment. The data showed that resveratrol could alleviate the fumonisin B1 (FB1)-induced decrease in cell viability and amplify in membrane permeability. At the same time, it could reduce the accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species and increase the expression ranges of Nrf2 and downstream genes (SOD1 and NQO-1), thereby counteracting FB1-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, resveratrol was able to reduce the expression levels of inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6), increase the expression levels of tight junction proteins (Claudin-1, Occludin, and ZO-1), and the integrity of the IPEC-J2 monolayer. Our data also showed that resveratrol could attenuate the toxicity of the co-occurrence of three fumonisins. It is implied that resveratrol represents a promising protective approach for fumonisin, even other mycotoxins in the future. This provided a new strategy for further blocking and controlling the toxicity of fumonisin, subsequently avoiding adverse effects on the human and animal health.

Plant-based meat substitute analysis using microextraction with deep eutectic solvent followed by LC-MS/MS to determine acrylamide, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and furaneol

For the analysis of plant-based meat substitutes and the determination of Maillard reaction products such as acrylamide, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and furaneol, a novel and effective procedure based on hydrophobic natural deep eutectic solvent and liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the first time. The 49 compositions of the deep eutectic solvents were designed and screened to select the most suitable option. The terpenoids eugenol and thymol in a molar ratio of 2:1 were selected as precursors for solvent formation, allowing effective extraction of the target analytes. The developed procedure comprised two main steps: extraction - in which the analytes are isolated from the solid sample due to the salting-out effect and pre-concentrated in the deep eutectic solvent, and back-extraction - in which the analytes are re-extracted into the formic acid solution for subsequent mass spectrometric detection. As the density of the aqueous phases changed during the extraction and back-extraction steps, the phenomenon of inversion of the coalesced organic phase was observed, which simplified the withdrawing of the phases. The linear range was 1-50 ng/mL for acrylamide, 10-1000 ng/mL for 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and 200-1000 ng/mL for furaneol with coefficients of determination above 0.9952. The developed method was fully validated and found recoveries were in the range 83-120%, with CVs not exceeding 4.9%. The method was applied to real sample analysis of pea-based meat substitutes.

Determination of Mycotoxins in Plant-Based Meat Alternatives (PBMAs) and Ingredients after Microwave Cooking

In this study, we investigate the role of microwave cooking in reducing mycotoxin contamination in plant-based food matrices, with a focus on veggie burgers (purchased and home-made) and their ingredients (soybean, potatoes, zucchini, carrots). Two different conditions were studied (Max-Min) that were 800 W for 60 s and 800 W for 90 s, respectively. The degradation patterns of aflatoxins (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2), fumonisins (FB1, FB2, FB3), trichothecenes (T2, HT2, ZEA), and ochratoxin A (OTA) were studied. The extraction procedures were conducted with the QuEChERS extraction, and the analyses were conducted with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that degradation under microwave cooking varies considerably across different food matrices and cooking conditions. This study provides valuable insights into the degradation of mycotoxins during microwave cooking and underscores the need for more research in this area to ensure food safety.

The Occurrence of Non-Regulated Mycotoxins in Foods: A Systematic Review

The aim of this systematic review is to provide an update on the occurrence and co-occurrence of selected non-regulated mycotoxins and provide an overview of current regulations. Fifteen non-regulated mycotoxins were found in 19 food categories worldwide. On top of that, 38 different combinations of non-regulated mycotoxins were found, with mixtures varying from binary combinations up to 12 mycotoxins. Taking into consideration the amount of evidence regarding the prevalence and co-occurrence of non-regulated mycotoxins, future steps should be taken considering continuous monitoring, scientific exchange, and generation of high-quality data. To enhance data quality, guidelines outlining the minimum quality criteria for both occurrence data and metadata are needed. By doing so, we can effectively address concerns related to the toxicity of non-regulated mycotoxins. Furthermore, obtaining more data concerning the co-occurrence of both regulated and non-regulated mycotoxins could aid in supporting multiple chemical risk assessment methodologies. Implementing these steps could bolster food safety measures, promote evidence-based regulations, and ultimately safeguard public health from the potential adverse effects of non-regulated mycotoxins.