The contribution of non-thermal and advanced oxidation technologies towards dissipation of pesticide residues

From field to table: Ensuring food safety by reducing pesticide residues in food

The present review addresses the significance of lowering pesticide residue levels in food items because of their harmful impacts on human health, wildlife populations, and the environment. It draws attention to the possible health risks-acute and chronic poisoning, cancer, unfavorable effects on reproduction, and harm to the brain or immunological systems-that come with pesticide exposure. Numerous traditional and cutting-edge methods, such as washing, blanching, peeling, thermal treatments, alkaline electrolyzed water washing, cold plasma, ultrasonic cleaning, ozone treatment, and enzymatic treatment, have been proposed to reduce pesticide residues in food products. It highlights the necessity of a paradigm change in crop protection and agri-food production on a global scale. It offers opportunities to guarantee food safety through the mitigation of pesticide residues in food. The review concludes that the first step in reducing worries about the negative effects of pesticides is to implement regulatory measures to regulate their use. In order to lower the exposure to dietary pesticides, the present review also emphasizes the significance of precision agricultural practices and integrated pest management techniques. The advanced approaches covered in this review present viable options along with traditional methods and possess the potential to lower pesticide residues in food items without sacrificing quality. It can be concluded from the present review that a paradigm shift towards sustainable agriculture and food production is essential to minimize pesticide residues in food, safeguarding human health, wildlife populations, and the environment. Furthermore, there is a need to refine the conventional methods of pesticide removal from food items along with the development of modern techniques.

The Effect of Washing, Blanching and Frozen Storage on Pesticide Residue in Spinach

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) is a representative green leafy vegetable commonly consumed fresh or as a ready-to-cook frozen product, with increasing consumption because of its many health-related properties. Among leafy vegetables, spinach poses a major concern in terms of pesticide residue detection due to common phytotechnical practices. In this study, spinach leaves were treated in the open field with three commercial pesticide formulations containing propamocarb, lambda-cyhalothrin, fluopicolide and chlorantraniliprole at the highest concentration. The effects of the successive processing steps of washing, blanching, freezing and frozen storage were evaluated on the levels of the four pesticide residues and the degradation product (propamocarb n-desmethyl). The washing step caused a reduction of fluopicolide and chlorantraniliprole of -47% and -43%, respectively, while having a mild effect on lambda-cyhalothrin content (+5%). A two-minute blanching step allowed for the reduction of pesticides content ranging from -41% to -4% with respect to the washed sample. Different behaviors were depicted for longer blanching times, mainly for propamocarb, reaching -56% after 10 min of treatment. Processing factors higher than 1 were reported mainly for lambda-cyhalothrin and fluopicolide. Frozen storage led to a slight increase in the pesticide content in samples treated for 6 and 10 min. The optimal blanching treatment for spinach, submitted to freezing and frozen storage, seems to be 2 min at 80 °C.

Characterization and Genome Study of a Newly Isolated Temperate Phage Belonging to a New Genus Targeting Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris

The spoilage of juices by Alicyclobacillus spp. remains a serious problem in industry and leads to economic losses. Compounds such as guaiacol and halophenols, which are produced by Alicyclobacillus, create undesirable flavors and odors and, thus, decrease the quality of juices. The inactivation of Alicyclobacillus spp. constitutes a challenge because it is resistant to environmental factors, such as high temperatures, and active acidity. However, the use of bacteriophages seems to be a promising approach. In this study, we aimed to isolate and comprehensively characterize a novel bacteriophage targeting Alicyclobacillus spp. The Alicyclobacillus phage strain KKP 3916 was isolated from orchard soil against the Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris strain KKP 3133. The bacterial host's range and the effect of phage addition at different rates of multiplicity of infections (MOIs) on the host's growth kinetics were determined using a Bioscreen C Pro growth analyzer. The Alicyclobacillus phage strain KKP 3916, retained its activity in a wide range of temperatures (from 4 °C to 30 °C) and active acidity values (pH from 3 to 11). At 70 °C, the activity of the phage decreased by 99.9%. In turn, at 80 °C, no activity against the bacterial host was observed. Thirty minutes of exposure to UV reduced the activity of the phages by almost 99.99%. Based on transmission-electron microscopy (TEM) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analyses, the Alicyclobacillus phage strain KKP 3916 was classified as a tailed bacteriophage. The genomic sequencing revealed that the newly isolated phage had linear double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) with sizes of 120 bp and 131 bp and 40.3% G+C content. Of the 204 predicted proteins, 134 were of unknown function, while the remainder were annotated as structural, replication, and lysis proteins. No genes associated with antibiotic resistance were found in the genome of the newly isolated phage. However, several regions, including four associated with integration into the bacterial host genome and excisionase, were identified, which indicates the temperate (lysogenic) life cycle of the bacteriophage. Due to the risk of its potential involvement in horizontal gene transfer, this phage is not an appropriate candidate for further research on its use in food biocontrol. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first article on the isolation and whole-genome analysis of the Alicyclobacillus-specific phage.

Advances of non-thermal plasma discharge technology in degrading recalcitrant wastewater pollutants. A comprehensive review

With development and urbanization, the amount of wastewater generated due to human activities drastically increases yearly, causing water pollution and intensifying the already worsened water crisis. Although convenient, conventional wastewater treatment methods such as activated sludge, stabilization ponds, and adsorption techniques cannot fully eradicate the complex and recalcitrant contaminants leading to toxic byproducts generation. Recent advancements in wastewater treatment techniques, specifically non-thermal plasma technology, have been extensively investigated for the degradation of complex pollutants in wastewater. Non-thermal plasma is an effective alternative for degrading and augmenting the biodegradability of recalcitrant pollutants due to its ability to generate reactive species in situ. This article critically reviews the non-thermal plasma technology, considering the plasma discharge configuration and reactor types. Furthermore, the influence of operational parameters on the efficiency of the plasma systems and the reactive species generated by the system during discharge has gained significant interest and hence been discussed. Also, the application of non-thermal plasma technology for the degradation of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and dyes and the inactivation of microbial activities are outlined in this review article. Additionally, optimistic applications involving the combination of non-thermal plasma and catalysts and pilot and industrial-scale projects utilizing non-thermal plasma technology have been addressed. Concluding perceptions on the challenges and future perspectives of the non-thermal technology on wastewater treatment are accentuated. Overall, this review outlines a comprehensive understanding of the non-thermal plasma technology for recalcitrant pollutant degradation from a scientific perspective providing detailed instances for reference.

Degradation mechanism and toxicity assessment of chlorpyrifos in milk by combined ultrasound and ultraviolet treatment

The aim of this study was to compare the degradation kinetics of chlorpyrifos by treatment with ultrasound (US), ultraviolet radiation (UV) and a combination of both (US/UV), to evaluate the toxicity of the degradation products and the effect of the treatments on milk quality. US/UV markedly accelerated the degradation of chlorpyrifos. The half-life of chlorpyrifos by US/UV was 6.4 min, which was greatly shortened compared to the treatment with US or UV alone. Five degradation products were identified by GC-MS, and a degradation pathway for chlorpyrifos was proposed, based on density functional theory calculations. According to the luminescent bacteria test and predictions from a structure/activity relationship model, the toxicity of the degradation products was lower than that of chlorpyrifos. In addition, US/UV treatment had little effect on the quality of the treated milk. Therefore, US/UV can be used as a potential non-thermal processing method to degrade pesticide residues in milk.

Diazinon reduction in food products: a comprehensive review of conventional and emerging processing methods

Diazinon is known as one of the most commonly used organophosphorus pesticides which influence different pests through inactivating acetyl choline esterase enzymes. Despite diazinon applications, its toxicity to human health could result in a worldwide concern about its occurrence in foodstuffs. Malfunction of brain is considered as the main disorders induced by long time exposure to diazinon. Due to the degradation of diazinon in high temperatures and its susceptibility to oxidation as well as acidic and basic conditions, it could be degraded through several physical (9-94%) and chemical (19.3-100%) food processing procedures (both household and industrial methods). However, each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages. Normally, the combination of these methods is more efficient in diazinon reduction. To this end, it is important to apply an effective method for diazinon reduction in the food products without affecting food quality or treating human health. It could be noticed that bioremediation by microorganisms such as probiotics could be a promising new method for diazinon's reduction in several food products.

Research trends and emerging physical processing technologies in mitigation of pesticide residues on various food products

The application of pesticides enhances food production vastly, and it cannot be prevented; longer fresh produce is contaminated with health-threatening pesticides even though traditional processing methods can remove these pesticides from food surfaces to a certain extent; novel emerging technologies such as cold plasma, ultrasound, electrolyzed water, and pulsed electric field could more effectively dissipate the pesticide content in food without the release of toxic residual on the food surface. The present review focuses on applying emerging technologies to degrade pesticide residues in great utility in the food processing industries. This review also discusses the pesticide removal efficacy and its mechanism involved in these technologies. The oxidation principle in cold plasma is recently gaining more importance for the degradation of pesticide residue in the food processing industries. Analysis of the emerging physical processing methods indicated greater efficacy in eradicating pesticide residues during agriculture processing. Even though the technologies such as EO (99% reduction in dimethoate), ultrasound (98.96% for chlorpyrifos), and irradiation (99.8% for pesticide in aqueous solution) can achieve promising results in pesticide degradation level, the rate and inactivation highly depend on the type of equipment and processing parameters involved in different techniques, surface characteristics of produce, treatment conditions, and nature of the pesticide. Therefore, to effectively remove these health-threatening pesticides from food surfaces, it is necessary to know the process parameters and efficacy of the applied technology on various pesticides.

Photolysis for the Removal and Transformation of Pesticide Residues During Food Processing: A State-of-the-Art Minireview

Pesticide residues are of great significant issue that exerted adverse effects on humans. There is a need for effective and non-toxic decontamination of pesticide residues during food processing. In this minireview, the recent advances in the degradation of pesticide residues by photolysis have been firstly described during food processing. The mechanisms of pesticide residues destruction by photolysis were discussed accordingly. Finally, applications of photolysis in the degradation of pesticide residues from beverages, fresh produce, and food rinse waste were also summarized.

Application of Water Treated with Low-Temperature Low-Pressure Glow Plasma (LPGP) in Various Industries

Plasma processing is now a key technology across the world, and nonthermal low-temperature plasmas are being increasingly used. This situation can be explained by a rapidly growing interest in the optimization of existing methods, as well as the development of new ones. Over the last few years, the production of plasma-treated water (PTW) by low-temperature low-pressure glow plasma (LPGP) under an atmosphere of various gases has been increasingly gaining in popularity. Research has been conducted on producing plasma-treated water in the presence of air, nitrogen, ammonia, carbon dioxide, and methane. All the obtained results show that the changed physicochemical properties of the water depend on the type of gas used and the duration of the plasma treatment. New research is emerging on the possibility of using this water in plant breeding, animal husbandry, cosmetology, medicine, and food. For the first time, plasma-treated water has also been tested for use in the brewing industry at the raw material preparation stage. The results obtained in all branches of science are very promising, contributing to the growing interest in plasma-treated water within the scientific community.

A modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe method for determination of by-products originating from ozonation of chlorpyrifos and diazinon spiked in cherry tomato and perilla leaf

In this study, sample pretreatment methods have been developed for the determination of chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and their by-products present in cherry tomato and perilla leaf using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. To optimize a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe method, the recoveries at each step were evaluated. The steps improved the recoveries of chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos oxon, diazinon, diazoxon, and 2-isopropyl-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinol up to 80% or more by removing interferents, but diethyl phosphate was almost lost during the partition procedure, and the 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol recovery was below 65%. Therefore, the compounds were evaluated using different solvent compositions based on a quick polar pesticides method; note that 100% methanol showed acceptable extraction results. The optimized method provided method detection limits ranging from 0.03 to 1.22 ng/g and good linearities (R²  > 0.996). The recovery values were between 82.1 and 113.3%. The intra- and interday reproducibility was evaluated to be within 8.6 and 9.9%, respectively. The method was applied to determine the degradation efficiency of chlorpyrifos and diazinon and their by-products formed during plasma treatment.

Impact of pulsed electric field processing on reduction of benzylpenicillin residue in milk

PURPOSE

The presence of residues of veterinary drugs in animal-derived food is one of the major problems for food safety. The consumption of milk containing antibiotic residues can evoke allergic reactions in hypersensitive individuals, disorders of intestinal flora and produces the risk of emerging antibiotic resistance microorganism.

METHODS

In this study, the effect of the thermal treatments and pulsed electric field (PEF) on the reduction of benzylpenicillin (PNG) spiked artificially in milk was evaluated quantitatively by calculating the loss of the concentration using HPLC. Fresh raw milk was subjected to a high-temperature short-time (72 °C for 15 s, HTST), low-temperature long- time (62.5 °C for 30 min, LTLT) and ultrahigh-temperature processing (138 °C for 2 s, UHT). The PEF process factors output voltage (20-65%) and pulse width (10-26 μs) were optimized for maximum reduction of PNG by employing the statistical tool response surface methodology (RSM).

RESULTS

HTST, LTLT, and UHT have resulted in the reduction of PNG 13.5%, 6.1%, 1.2% respectively. The optimized parameters of the PEF treatment had reduction efficiency in the range of 79-86%. The saddle response surface obtained from RSM showed that the center was neither at maximum point nor at the minimum point. The predicted and experimental values of the response were nearly similar which proved the suitability of the fitted quadratic model. Combined thermal and PEF treatment has a significant synergistic effect in reducing the PNG.

CONCLUSIONS

PEF induced reduction efficiency achieved was 79-86%. The reduction percentages were observed higher in the combined pasteurization and PEF treatment of milk. The pulsed electric field can be adopted as a unique processing tool for degradation of antibiotic residues whilst retaining nutritional quality parameters.

Dielectric barrier discharge cold atmospheric plasma: Influence of processing parameters on microbial inactivation in meat and meat products

Decontamination of meat is commonly practiced to get rid of or decrease the microbial presence on the meat surface. Dielectric barrier discharge cold atmospheric plasma (DBD-CAP) as innovative technology is a food microbial inactivation technique considered in high regard by food scientists and engineers in present times. However, cold atmospheric plasma application is at the experimental stage, due to lack of sufficient information on its mode of action in inactivating microbes, food shelf-life extensibility, whereas, the nutritional value of food is preserved. In this review, we have appraised recent work on DBD-CAP concerning the decontamination treatment of meat products, highlighting the processing value results on the efficacy of the DBD-CAP microbial inactivation technique. Also, the paper will review the configurations, proposed mechanisms, and chemistry of DBD-CAP. Satisfactory microbial inactivation was observed. In terms of DBD-CAP application on sensory evaluation, inferences from reviewed literature showed that DBD has no significant effect on meat color and tenderness, whereas in contrast, TBARS values of fresh and processed meat are affected. DBD seems economically efficient and environmentally sustainable.

UV treatment for degradation of chemical contaminants in food: A review

Application of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation for the degradation of chemical contaminants in food products has gained more and more interest in the past two decades. The majority of the research in this field was on mycotoxins, especially aflatoxins and patulin, with limited studies on pesticide residues and other chemical contaminants in food. These studies have been focused on identifying the structure and toxicity of degradation products, investigating the influence of UV treatment factors on the degradation efficiency, determining the impact of UV treatment on the quality of food products, and developing updated UV treatment methods such as TiO₂ induced photocatalytic degradation. The summary of published literatures provided insights into future research opportunities in this area, which include determining a standard for the UV treatment description, working with naturally contaminated samples rather than artificially spiked samples, conducting pilot plant or industrial scale studies, examining more targets and conducting multi-targets studies, and developing more innovative methods for UV treatment.

Cold plasma for mitigating agrochemical and pesticide residue in food and water: Similarities with ozone and ultraviolet technologies

Pesticide and agrochemical residues in food and water are among hazardous chemicals that are associated with adverse health effects. Consequently, technologies for pesticide abatement in food and water remain in focus. Cold plasma is an emerging decontamination technology, that is being increasingly explored for the abatement of agrochemical and pesticide residue in food and water. In some cases, rapid and complete degradation of pesticide residues has come to light. Such promising results encourage exploring scale-up and commercialization. To achieve this, unraveling mechanisms involved in plasma decontamination and the nature of degradation products is needed. The present review identifies the mechanisms involved in plasma- assisted removal of pesticide residues from food and water, draws parallels with mechanism of ozone and ultraviolet technologies, investigates the chemistry of the intermediates and degradates, and identifies some future research needs. The review recognizes that mechanisms involved in plasma processes have overlapping similarities to those identified for ozone and ultraviolet light, involving oxidation by hydroxyl radical and photo-oxidation. The toxicity of intermediates and degradates in plasma processing have not received much attention. The safety aspects of end products form plasma led degradation of pesticides should be considered for practical exploitation. Identification of intermediates and degradation products, recognition of most potent plasma species, understanding the influence of co-existing entities, the energy efficiency of plasma reactors, and the process economics deserve research focus.

Non-thermal technologies: Solution for hazardous pesticides reduction in fruits and vegetables

Pesticide residues in the food above the maximum permissible residual limit (MRL) for safe consumption are a severe concern today. Though unit operations employed in domestic and industrial-scale processing of foods such as high-temperature decontamination and chemical washings degrade the agrochemicals and reduce toxicity, eliminating pesticides from the fresh and raw fruits and vegetables with the retainment of nutritional and organoleptic attributes demand appropriate non-thermal technologies. In this review, the potential of novel technologies like the pulsed electric field, high-pressure processing, irradiation, ozone, ultrasonication, and cold plasma for the reduction of pesticides in fruits and vegetables have been discussed in terms of their mechanism of action, playing around factors, advantages, and limitations. All the reviewed non-thermal technologies exhibited promising effects on pesticide degradation with their unique mechanism of action. Also, these techniques' potential to reduce the pesticides below MRLs and yield nontoxic metabolites in fruits and vegetables were analyzed. However, investigating the impact of the technologies on the nutritional and organoleptic quality profile of the commodities at the processing conditions causing noticeable pesticide reduction and the pathways of degradation reactions of various pesticides with each emerging technology should be studied to enhance the applicability.

Effect of dielectric barrier discharge plasma, ultra-sonication, and thermal processing on the rheological and functional properties of sugarcane juice

The present work was designed to study the impact of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma, ultrasound (US), and thermal treatment on the functional, rheological, and microbial analysis of sugarcane juice. The results showed that plasma and US treatment did not significantly affect the pH and color of the juice. Total soluble solids (°Brix) value increased from 16.30 ± 0.10 for untreated to 20.50 ± 0.15 during plasma treatment at 45 V for 2 min and 16.65 ± 0.27 during US treatment (40 kHz, power 240 W, and time 40 min). The maximum increase of 25% in total phenolic contents (TPC) and 21% in total flavonoid contents (TFC) was observed in a plasma-treated sample at 40 and 45 V (for 2 min) respectively, whereas 18% in TPC and 16% TFC was observed in the US-treated sample (40 kHz, power 240 W, and time 30 min) as compared to control sample. Plasma treatment increased the antioxidant activities (Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay and 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) activity) toward maximum at 40 V and only 6% of vitamin C was degraded than others. Similarly, plasma treatment significantly reduced particle size, which further led to decreased significantly (P < 0.05) the apparent viscosity of sugarcane juice with a rise in shear rate and drove to a speedy breakdown on initial shearing. A significant reduction was observed in the microbial load among all treatments as compared to the control. Significant reductions of 3.6 and 0.50 log CFU/mL were observed in the total aerobic mesophilic and yeast and mold counts after DBD plasma treatment at 45 V for 2 min, respectively. Thus, we can conclude that novel technology like plasma treatment can be effectively used at an industrial scale for the preservation and processing of sugarcane juice. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Nowadays, novel processing techniques are employed to improve the nutritional quality and stability of juices. The consequences of the present research showed that DBD plasma treatment could improve the TPC, TFC, antioxidant activities, vitamin C, and rheological properties while reducing the activity of the microbial load better than the US and thermal treatment. The verdicts described that novel processing methods can enhance the quality of sugarcane juice at an industrial scale.

Degradation of parathion methyl in bovine milk by high-intensity ultrasound: Degradation kinetics, products and their corresponding toxicity

The removal of pesticide residues in food by ultrasound has attracted more attention in recent years, and the formation of intermediate products may have some profound effects on the toxicity of treated food. Therefore, degradation of parathion methyl (PM) in bovine milk by ultrasonic treatment was studied in this paper. Results showed that the ultrasonic intensity and the initial concentration of PM had a significant effect on the degradation rate of PM (P < 0.05). The maximum degradation rate of PM was 97.10%. Three transformation products were identified through UPLC-QTOF/MS analysis, and the oxidation pathway was proposed as the consequence of ultrasonication. Furthermore, according to Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship (QSAR) model prediction, the ecotoxicity of the transformation products may be higher than that of PM. These findings showed that although ultrasonic treatment can effectively degrade pesticide residues in food, it may also generate transformation products with the higher ecotoxicity.

Evaluating the Performance of a Lab-Scale Water Treatment Plant Using Non-Thermal Plasma Technology

In this study, a lab-scale plant was designed to treat water in continuous flow condition using non-thermal plasma technology. The core was an electrode system with connected high-voltage (HV) pulse generator. Its potentials and limitations were investigated in different experimental series with regard to the high-voltage settings, additions of oxygen-based species, different volume flow rates, and various physical-chemical properties of the process water such as conductivity, pH value, and temperature. Indigo carmine, para-Chlorobenzoic acid, and phenol were chosen as reference substances. The best HV settings was found for the voltage amplitude Û = 30 kV, the pulse repetition rate f = 0.4–0.6 kHz, and the pulse duration tb = 500 ns with an energy yield for 50% degradation G50, which is of 41.8 g∙kWh−1 for indigo carmine, 0.32 g∙kWh−1 for para-Chlorobenzoic acid, and 1.04 g∙kWh−1 for phenol. By adding 1 × 10−3 mol∙L−1 of oxygen, a 50% increase in degradation was achieved for para-Chlorobenzoic acid. Conductivity is the key parameter for degradation efficiency with a negative exponential dependence. The most important species for degradation are hydroxyl radicals (c ≈ 1.4 × 10−8 mol∙L−1) and solvated electrons (c ≈ 1.4 × 10−8 mol∙L−1). The results show that the technology could be upgraded from the small-scale experiments described in the literature to a pilot plant level and has the potential to be used on a large scale for different applications.

Effects of ultraviolet photooxidation of cypermethrin on the activities of phosphatases and digestive enzymes, and intestinal histopathology in African catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822)

The possibility of ultraviolet (UV) photooxidation of cypermethrin generating more toxic intermediates or isomers demands that studies that look at the effects of cypermethrin and UV irradiation under a coexposure scenario be carried out. In this study, juvenile African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) were exposed to 50 µg/L cypermethrin, 100 µg/L cypermethrin, UV, 50 µg/L cypermethrin + UV or 100 µg/L cypermethrin + UV, in a static renewal for 3 weeks. The control fish were maintained in uncontaminated water, and not exposed to UV radiation. After the exposure duration, the fish were killed, and the activities of acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, amylase, protease, and lipase were determined in the liver or intestinal homogenates. Also, the histopathology of some sections of the intestine was performed. The results showed that the activities of the enzymes decreased significantly following exposure to cypermethrin while there was no change in the activities of the enzymes due to UV irradiation alone. The histopathological analyses indicated that exposure to cypermethrin caused alterations in the histoarchitecture of the fish such as severe erosion of the mucosa layer, faded lamina propria, and disintegration of the muscle layer. The exposure of fish to both cypermethrin and UV irradiation caused significant decrease in the activities of the enzymes. This could be an indication that UV irradiation has the tendency to potentiate cypermethrin-induced toxicity in fish.

Novel La(OH)3-integrated sGO-Ag3VO4/Ag nanocomposite as a heterogeneous photocatalyst for fast degradation of agricultural and industrial pollutants

The composite described couples the benefits of hydroxyl radical formation from sunlight-inactive La(OH)₃ and strong sunlight absorption by Ag₃VO₄.

Effect of Atmospheric Cold Plasma Treatments on Reduction of Alternaria Toxins Content in Wheat Flour

Beside Fusarium toxins, Alternaria toxins are among the most commonly found mycotoxins in wheat and wheat products. Currently, investigations of possibilities of reduction of Alternaria toxins in the wheat-processing chain are limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the potency of cold atmospheric plasma treatments, as a new non-thermal approach, for reduction of alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME) and tentoxin (TEN) content in spiked white wheat flour samples. Samples were treated with plasma generated in the air during 30 s to 180 s, with an increment step of 30 s, and at four varying distances from the cold plasma source (6 mm, 21 mm, 36 mm and 51 mm). The reduction of the Alternaria toxins content in samples after treatment was monitored by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The maximum reduction of the examined Alternaria toxins was obtained by treatment performed at 6 mm distance from the plasma source, lasting 180 s, resulting in reductions of 60.6%, 73.8% and 54.5% for AOH, AME and TEN, respectively. According to the obtained experimental results, five empirical models in the form of the second-order polynomials were developed for the prediction of AOH, AME and TEN reduction, as well as the temperature and the moisture content of the wheat flour, that gave a good fit to experimental data and were able to predict the response variables successfully. The developed second-order polynomial models showed high coefficients of determination for prediction of experimental results (between 0.918 and 0.961).

Advanced oxidation process for the inactivation of Salmonella typhimurium on tomatoes by combination of gaseous ozone and aerosolized hydrogen peroxide

Fresh produce-associated outbreaks of foodborne illnesses continue to occur every year in the U.S., suggesting limitations of current practices and the need for effective intervention technologies. Advanced oxidation process involves production of hydrogen radicals, which are the strongest oxidant. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of advanced oxidation process by combining gaseous ozone and aerosolized hydrogen peroxide. Grape tomatoes were inoculated with a 2-strain cocktail of Salmonella typhimurium on both stem scar and smooth surface. Gaseous ozone (800 and 1600 ppm) and aerosolized hydrogen peroxide (2.5, 5 and 10%) were separately or simultaneously introduced into a treatment chamber where the inoculated tomatoes were placed. During the 30 min treatments, hydrogen peroxide was aerosolized using an atomizer operated in two modes: continuously or 15 s on/50 s off. After the treatments, surviving Salmonella on the smooth surface and stem scar were enumerated. Results showed that ozone alone reduced Salmonella populations by <0.6 log CFU/fruit on both the smooth surface and the stem scar area, and aerosolized hydrogen peroxide alone reduced the populations by up to 2.1 log CFU/fruit on the smooth surface and 0.8 log CFU/fruit on stem scar area. However, the combination treatments reduced the populations by up to 5.2 log CFU/fruit on smooth surface and 4.2 log CFU/fruit on the stem scar. Overall, our results demonstrate that gaseous ozone and aerosolized hydrogen peroxide have synergistic effects on the reduction of Salmonella populations on tomatoes.

Use of ozone and detergent for removal of pesticides and improving storage quality of tomato

The efficiencies of two conventional domestic procedures (immersion in pure water and detergent solution at 0.25 and 1%) and two treatments using ozone (immersion in water with bubbling O₃ and immersion in ozonated water, both at 1 and 3 mg L^-1) were evaluated for the removal of residues of the fungicides azoxystrobin, chlorothalonil and difenoconazole in tomatoes. The fungicides were sprayed on the fruits at the recommended concentration for the crop. The residues in the tomatoes and in the washing solutions were determined by extraction with low-temperature partition techniques and analysis by gas chromatography. More concentrated solutions were more effective in removing pesticide residues. The water bubbled with ozone at 3 mg L^-1 was the most efficient treatment for the removal of fungicides, reaching a reduction of 70-90% of the residues. However, the treatments with the lowest concentration of ozone had lower loss of fruit mass during storage.

Solar Concentration for Wastewaters Remediation: A Review of Materials and Technologies

As the effectiveness of conventional wastewater treatment processes is increasingly challenged by the growth of industrial activities, a demand for low-cost and low-impact treatments is emerging. A possible solution is represented by systems coupling solar concentration technology with advanced oxidation processes (AOP). In this paper, a review of solar concentration technologies for wastewater remediation is presented, with a focus on photocatalyst materials used in this specific research context. Recent results, though mostly on model systems, open promising perspectives for the use of concentrated sunlight as the energy source powering AOPs. We identify (i) the development of photocatalyst materials capable of efficiently working with sunlight, and (ii) the transition to real wastewater investigation as the most critical issues to be addressed by research in the field.

Degradation of UV-filter Benzophenon-3 in aqueous solution using TiO2 coated on quartz tubes

BACKGROUND

Benzophenone-3 (BP-3), one of the emerging pollutants, is commercially synthesized as UV filter used in cosmetics and other personal care products and its occurrence in the aquatic environment has widely been reported. The goal of this study was to enhance an AOP method for degradation of UV filter Benzophenone-3 in aqueous solutions.

METHOD

In this study, sol-gel method was applied to synthesis TiO₂ nanoparticles. Subsequently, the nanoparticles were successfully coated on quartz tubes. The synthesized catalyst was characterized using XRD, FE-SEM and EDX analysis. Then, the efficiency of photocatalytic process using TiO₂ coated quartz tubes for BP-3 degradation from synthetic and real aqueous solution was assessed.

RESULT

The optimum contact time and solution pH for the highest BP-3 degradation in the synthetic solution were found at 15 min and 10, respectively. The maximum degradation (98%) of BP-3 by photocatalytic process was observed at 1 mg/L initial BP-3 concentration using 225 cm² of catalyst surface area. Among the three applied kinetic models, the experimental data were found to follow the first-order equation more closely with the rate constant of 0.2, 0.048 and 0.035 1/min for 1, 3 and 5 mg/L of initial BP-3 concentration, respectively. In order to investigate the potential of this process for real effluent, the treatment of swimming pool water and wastewater treatment plant was examined and BP-3 degradation close to 88% and 32.1 was achieved, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Based on the obtained data, the photocatalytic process could successfully be applied for water treatment in swimming pools and other effluent containing BP-3 with low turbidity. The advantage of this study is that the synthesized catalyst can be used repeatedly needless to remove catalyst from the treated solution. In addition, AOP_s can effectively eliminate organic compounds in aqueous phase, rather than transferring pollutants into another phase. The limitation of this study is that in solution with high turbidity photocatalytic degradation can be hampered and pre- treatment is needed to reduce turbidity.

Cold Plasma for Effective Fungal and Mycotoxin Control in Foods: Mechanisms, Inactivation Effects, and Applications

Cold plasma treatment is a promising intervention in food processing to boost product safety and extend the shelf-life. The activated chemical species of cold plasma can act rapidly against micro-organisms at ambient temperatures without leaving any known chemical residues. This review presents an overview of the action of cold plasma against molds and mycotoxins, the underlying mechanisms, and applications for ensuring food safety and quality. The cold plasma species act on multiple sites of a fungal cell resulting in loss of function and structure, and ultimately cell death. Likewise, the species cause chemical breakdown of mycotoxins through various pathways resulting in degradation products that are known to be less toxic. We argue that the preliminary reports from cold plasma research point at good potential of plasma for shelf-life extension and quality retention of foods. Some of the notable food sectors which could benefit from antimycotic and antimycotoxin efficacy of cold plasma include, the fresh produce, food grains, nuts, spices, herbs, dried meat and fish industries.

The Dissipative Potential of Gamma Irradiation in Residues of Imidacloprid and Thiamethoxam in the Postharvest of Common Beans

Gamma irradiation (⁶⁰ Co) in postharvest of common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), has already proven beneficial, regarding the prolongation of shelf life and physical, chemical, and organoleptic aspects of grains. However, few prior studies have investigated the effect of gamma irradiation on the dissipation of pesticides in foods, especially insecticides in beans. This study aimed to evaluate the waste dissipation of two insecticides, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, used in the cultivation of common bean, a variety of Carioca, using gamma irradiation. Ground bean samples were spiked each insecticide in the laboratory at 3, 4, and 5 mg/kg, and were then irradiated at 0, 1, and 2 kGy per irradiator with a ⁶⁰ Co source. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to quantify the insecticides. The irradiation promoted dissipation of thiamethoxam at 1 and 2 kGy doses, with the highest dissipation verified at 2 kGy. In general, at this higher dose of irradiation the reduction dissipation of thiamethoxam was 66% of the mean value found in the treatment without irradiation and ∼44% relative to the 1 kGy dose. Conversely, imidacloprid showed no effect of irradiation on waste dissipation, except in the treatment of 5 mg/kg at 2 kGy dose. From the results, it was concluded that the gamma irradiation might have applicability in dissipating thiamethoxam in real bean samples.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Pesticide residues remaining from bean cultivation, sensitive to optimal doses of gamma irradiation, can be transformed into other less harmful or nonharmful substances, increasing the quality of the beans before the food arrives at the consumer's table. Irradiation of the grains after harvest also eliminates the need for application of other pesticides to preserve the grains during storage, as the technique is capable of eradicating deteriorating agents, such as microorganisms and insects.

Three Pillars of Novel Nonthermal Food Technologies: Food Safety, Quality, and Environment

This review gives an overview of the impact of novel nonthermal food technologies on food safety, on quality, and on the environment. It confirms that research in this field is mainly focused on analyzing microbial and/or chemical aspects of food safety. However, recent research shows that in spite of various food safety benefits, some negative (quality oriented) features occur. Finally, this paper shows the necessity of analyzing the environmental dimension of using these technologies.

Technologies and Trends to Improve Table Olive Quality and Safety

Table olives are the most widely consumed fermented food in the Mediterranean countries. Peculiar processing technologies are used to process olives, which are aimed at the debittering of the fruits and improvement of their sensory characteristics, ensuring safety of consumption at the same time. Processors demand for novel techniques to improve industrial performances, while consumers' attention for natural and healthy foods has increased in recent years. From field to table, new techniques have been developed to decrease microbial load of potential spoilage microorganisms, improve fermentation kinetics and ensure safety of consumption of the packed products. This review article depicts current technologies and recent advances in the processing technology of table olives. Attention has been paid on pre processing technologies, some of which are still under-researched, expecially physical techniques, such ad ionizing radiations, ultrasounds and electrolyzed water solutions, which are interesting also to ensure pesticide decontamination. The selections and use of starter cultures have been extensively reviewed, particularly the characterization of Lactic Acid Bacteria and Yeasts to fasten and safely drive the fermentation process. The selection and use of probiotic strains to address the request for functional foods has been reported, along with salt reduction strategies to address health concerns, associated with table olives consumption. In this respect, probiotics enriched table olives and strategies to reduce sodium intake are the main topics discussed. New processing technologies and post packaging interventions to extend the shelf life are illustrated, and main findings in modified atmosphere packaging, high pressure processing and biopreservaton applied to table olive, are reported and discussed.