Novel foods, old issues: Metabarcoding revealed mislabeling in insect-based products sold by e-commerce on the EU market

Insects intended for human consumption are considered Novel Foods according to EU legislation. marketed in form of powders, bars, snacks are increasingly available on the EU market, especially on e-commerce. The commercial form and the way of distribution make IBPs particularly prone to mislabeling. Literature concerning the mislabeling occurrence in IBPs is extremely scarce. In this study, 46 processed IBPs were collected on nine EU e-commerce platforms (e-CO) to be authenticated by metabarcoding. A 200 bp region from 16S rRNA gene was used as molecular target. Sequencing data were processed using DADA2 R package, and sequences were taxonomically assigned through BLAST analysis against GenBank. Procedural blanks and positive controls were included in the analysis, and threshold values were established to filter the final data. The mislabeling rate (i. e. the mismatch between the species declared on the IBP label and the species identified by metabarcoding) was calculated. Overall, a high mislabeling rate (33.3 %) was observed, although this percentage is influenced by the e-CO platform and the insect species, with A. domesticus particularly involved. The use of species not listed in authorized Novel Food (e. g. Gryllus locorojo), and/or the partial replacement of high value species with lower value species was highlighted for the first time in processed IBPs. The presence of insect pests was also detected. Metabarcoding was confirmed as an effective tool for IBPs authentication. Also, outcomes from this study can provide useful data on the main issues involving the EU IBPs' market, that can represent an incentive to reinforce both official controls and FBO's self-controls on these poorly investigated products.

Official control of plant protection products in Poland: detection of illegal products

Market presence of illegal and counterfeit pesticides is now a global problem. According to data published in 2012 by the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA), illegal products represent over 10% of the global market of plant protection products. Financial benefits are the main reason for the prevalence of this practice. Counterfeit and illegal pesticides may contain substances that may pose a threat to the environment, crops, animals, and humans, inconsistent with the label and registration dossier. In Poland, action against illegal and counterfeit plant protection products is undertaken by the Main Inspectorate of Plant Health and Seed Inspection (PIORiN), the police, the prosecution, and the pesticide producers. Results of chemical analyses carried out by the Institute of Plant Protection - National Research Institute Sośnicowice Branch, Pesticide Quality Testing Laboratory (PQTL IPP-NRI Sosnicowice Branch) indicate that a majority of illegal pesticides in Poland are detected in the group of herbicides. Products from parallel trade tend to have the most irregularities. This article describes the official quality control system of plant protection products in Poland and presents the analytical methods for testing pesticides suspected of adulteration and recent test results.

Egg and Milk Proteins as Hidden Allergens in Food: 5-Year (2010 to 2014) Results of Food Allergen Monitoring in Piedmont, Italy

Cow's milk and egg allergies are two of the most common food allergies. Manufacturers of food products containing milk or eggs or their derivatives as an ingredient are required by European Union regulations to list their presence on the ingredient label. Under European Union legislation, member states are mandated to carry out food safety monitoring programs to verify compliance with food labeling requirements. Through the Regional Integrated Plan for Food Safety, the Piedmont (Italy) regional authority carries out an annual program to determine the presence of undeclared allergens in foods. In the 5-year period from 2010 to 2014, a total of 1,566 food samples were analyzed for the presence of hidden egg and milk proteins. The average positive percentage was 2.8% (3.6% egg and 2% milk proteins). Comparison between the allergen concentration and the published eliciting dose (ED) for egg proteins (0.03 mg) and for total milk proteins (0.1 mg) indicated a high risk of allergen exposure for sensitized consumers. The calculated exposure was up to 135× (for milk) the ED01 reported in the literature. Food manufacturers will need to improve their allergen control programs to reduce allergen exposure and risk.

The Official Control beyond the Official Control. How To Plan And Schedule Controls Starting From Risk Assessment Along The Agro-Food Supply Chain

Every year the Italian Ministry of Health, on the basis of regional data, draws up the "Report on Official Controls" to be submitted to the Parliament. The report contains abundant data, diagrams and charts and illustrates the number and type of official controls (OC) performed by the pertinent Bodies (Ministry of Health, Regional and Local Health Authorities) over the previous year on Food Business Operators (FBO), in accordance with the EC Regulation 882/2004. The trend - which has consolidated over the years - relates to the multiplicity of OC and shows a decrease of such controls compared to an increase in "non-conformities". OC frequency is established by the Regional Authorities on the basis of the categorisation of both a "generic risk" for companies calculated taking into account the probability of occurrence of a "non-conformity", and a "specific" risk, assessed on the basis of the results of the OC actually performed on a given "Operatore del Settore Alimentare" (Food Sector Operator, in Italian: OSA). Thus, categorisation (i.e. the probability of occurrence of non-conformities) is the main driver of the OC scheduling and planning process. We have been asking ourselves whether the current OC planning/scheduling method is still suitable for ensuring food safety in the face of internalisation of the food supply chain. As a matter of fact, food safety is now becoming increasingly variable due to the globalization of consumption where "farm to fork", rather than "border to fork", food safety must be ensured. On the basis of these considerations, a different OC planning /scheduling method is being proposed based on the assessment of risks and the estimation of the occurrence of the same along the agro-food chain.

High-throughput histamine analysis approach in an official control laboratory: analytical methods and four years fish products results

A highly practical two-tier approach involving a screening and a confirmatory method was set up to efficiently test histamine in fish products in the frame of official controls. After their validation, the routine management of the two procedures was simplified as far as possible ensuring a strict quality data control and maximizing the cost-effectiveness. Accordingly five hundred and ninety batches of fish products (3129 determinations) sampled from the Italian authorities were successfully analyzed over a four year period (2008-2012). Only a small percentage of analysed batches (4.9%) was judged non-compliant. The examination of irregular cases (fish species, processing technology and storage practices) suggests important considerations in order to minimise the histamine risk for consumers.