A preliminary assessment of dietary exposure of ochratoxin A in Central Anatolia Region, Turkey.
The aim of this study was to determine dietary exposure to ochratoxin A (OTA) in Turkish adults. In this study, 500 food samples (50 rice, 50 wheat bread, 50 pasta, 50 raisins, 50 dried figs, 50 pistachios, 50 hazelnuts, 50 almonds, 50 chilli, 25 coffee, and 25 cocoa) collected from Turkey were analysed with a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Moreover, a total of 370 analytical results (110 cereal-based snacks, 95 wine, 35 beer, and 130 chocolate) collected from our previous observations were also used in the evaluation of exposure estimates. OTA was found in 52% of cocoa, 42% of raisins, 40% of coffee, 34% of chilli, 14% of dried figs, 10% of pasta, 8% of pistachios, 6% of wheat bread, 4% of rice, and 4% of hazelnuts. The chronic dietary exposure to OTA for Turkish adults, using lower bound (LB) and upper bound (UB) concentrations, varied from 0.683 to 4.487 ng/kg body weight (b.w.) per week for mean estimate and from 3.976 to 5.760 ng/kg b.w. per week for the 95th percentile (P95) estimate. Cereals and cereal-based products made the largest contribution (75.3-85.7%) to OTA exposure. Both mean and P95 chronic exposure to OTA were greatly below the tolerable weekly intake of 120 ng/kg b.w. per week and thus not a health concern for Turkish adults.
AFLA-PISTACHIO: Development of a Mechanistic Model to Predict the Aflatoxin Contamination of Pistachio Nuts.
In recent years, very many incidences of contamination with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in pistachio nuts have been reported as a major global problem for the crop. In Europe, legislation is in force and 12 μg/kg of AFB1 is the maximum limit set for pistachios to be subjected to physical treatment before human consumption. The goal of the current study was to develop a mechanistic, weather-driven model to predict Aspergillus flavus growth and the AFB1 contamination of pistachios on a daily basis from nut setting until harvest. The planned steps were to: (i) build a phenology model to predict the pistachio growth stages, (ii) develop a prototype model named AFLA-pistachio (model transfer from AFLA-maize), (iii) collect the meteorological and AFB1 contamination data from pistachio orchards, (iv) run the model and elaborate a probability function to estimate the likelihood of overcoming the legal limit, and (v) manage a preliminary validation. The internal validation of AFLA-pistachio indicated that 75% of the predictions were correct. In the external validation with an independent three-year dataset, 95.6% of the samples were correctly predicted. According to the results, AFLA-pistachio seems to be a reliable tool to follow the dynamic of AFB1 contamination risk throughout the pistachio growing season.
Ascophyllum Nodosum And Salicylic Acid Mitigate Effects Of Summer Stress Improving Hazelnut Quality.
Background: Difference strategies are needed to mitigate the negative impact or to increment fruit quality. The effect of spraying Kaolin (K), Ascophyllum nodosum (An) and Salicylic acid (SA), in trees with and without irrigation, on quality and sensorial attributes of hazelnut (Grada de Viseu cultivar) was investigated during two consecutive years (2016 and 2017) in a commercial orchard located in Moimenta da Beira, Portugal. Results: The treatments affected positively the biometric parameters, nut and kernel, weight, length, width, thickness and volume as well as the vitamin E level, antioxidant activity and some individual phenolic content, such as protocatechuic acid, gallocatechin, catechin and epicatechin. The levels of amino acids in hazelnut kernels decreased in all the assayed treatments, while the kernel colour and sensorial attributes were not affected by the treatments. Hazelnut physical properties (nut and kernels), chemical and phytochemical composition and antioxidant activities were positively related. Conclusion: The application of K, An and SA improve the hazelnut tree response to the climate change, without compromising the hazelnut chemical and sensorial quality. Furthermore, due to the similar observations on the same treatments with and without irrigation, it can be stated that K, An and SA can be effective and cost-effective tools to mitigate summer stress in rainfed orchards.
Evaluation of the effect of label attributes over the purchase intention of a cashew nut functional beverage using conjoint analysis.
The package label is an important factor to be evaluated, for constituting the first contact of the product with the consumer, which may exert influence on the purchase intention. Thus, this study identified and evaluated the importance of front label attributes of a new functional beverage made from cashew nut added with mango juice on consumers' purchase intention; it also evaluated the influence of consumers' attitudinal issues regarding functional foods on the importance of these attributes to the attitude of buying the beverage. Focus group methodology was used to assess which front label attributes of the product are important in the choosing process. The combination of attributes and their levels was used to develop 18 labels, which were analyzed by consumers in relation to their buying intention. The results were analyzed by conjoint and cluster analysis. The most relevant qualitative information on the purchase intention process of the cashew nut beverage highlighted by the focus groups were the illustration, the nutritional information (0% lactose and 0% cholesterol), and the term "prebiotic" with its functional claim. According to the conjoint analysis, the illustration was the attribute with more influence on the consumers' purchase intention concerning this product, revealing the consumers' preference for the image of the cashew nut standing alone on the label. Nutritional information and the term prebiotic and its functional claim had a positive impact, but were considered of low importance. Regarding the attitudinal factors involving functional foods there was no significant difference among the three groups of consumers.
Influence of Post‐Harvest Moisture on Roasted Almond Shelf Life and Consumer Acceptance.
Background: Sweet almonds (Prunus dulcis) harvest weights have significantly increased to meet consumer demand and now exceed processing facility capabilities. Crops are stockpiled for longer periods of time increasing the probability of moisture exposure. Wet almonds can be mechanically dried prior to processing; however, it is unclear how this practice influences lipid oxidation, shelf-life and consumer acceptance. To address this, almonds were exposed to 8% moisture and dried with low heat (ME). Almonds were roasted and stored under accelerated conditions for 12 months and markers of lipid oxidation, headspace volatiles, sensory attributes, and consumer liking were evaluated. Results: At 7 months of storage, light roast ME almonds had higher levels of volatiles related to lipid oxidation as compared to non-moisture exposed almonds (NME) and were significantly higher in oxidized, cardboard and painty/solvent flavors. Although untrained consumers did not show significant preferences between the light roast ME and NME almonds, there were quality losses related to lipid oxidation that trained panelists could detect. Dark roast ME almonds demonstrated significant lipid oxidation by 5 months of storage and indicating they will have a compromised shelf-life. Findings also indicate that octanal, nonanal, 2-octenal, and hexanoic acid are good indicators of consumer acceptability. Conclusion: Results of this research illustrate that post-harvest moisture exposure with mechanical drying has a significant effect on the storage quality of roasted almonds and is most pronounced in dark roast product.
Non-Targeted Detection of Adulterants in Almond Powder Using Spectroscopic Techniques Combined with Chemometrics.
Methods that combine targeted techniques and chemometrics for analyzing food authenticity can only facilitate the detection of predefined or known adulterants, while unknown adulterants cannot be detected using such methods. Therefore, the non-targeted detection of adulterants in food products is currently in great demand. In this study, FT-IR and FT-NIR spectroscopic techniques were used in combination with non-targeted chemometric approaches, such as one-class partial least squares (OCPLS) and data-driven soft independent modeling of class analogy (DD-SIMCA), to detect adulterants in almond powder adulterated with apricot and peanut powders. The reflectance spectra of 100 pure almond powder samples from two different varieties (50 each) were collected to develop a calibration model based on each spectroscopic technique; each model was then evaluated for four independent sets of two varieties of almond powder samples adulterated with different concentrations of apricot and peanut powders. Classification using both techniques was highly sensitive, the OCPLS approach yielded 90-100% accuracy in different varieties of samples with both spectroscopic techniques, and the DD-SIMCA approach achieved the highest accuracy of 100% when used in combination with FT-IR in all validation sets. Moreover, DD-SIMCA, combined with FT-NIR, achieved a detection accuracy between 91% and 100% for the different validation sets and the misclassified samples belong to the 5% and 7% adulteration sets. These results suggest that spectroscopic techniques, combined with one-class classifiers, can be used effectively in the high-throughput screening of potential adulterants in almond powder.
Growth and survival of foodborne pathogens during soaking and drying of almond (Prunus dulcis) kernels.
The practice of soaking almonds prior to consumption is popular both commercially and at home. The food safety implications of soaking almonds was investigated through analysis of blogs and videos (n = 85 recipes) to identify both the reasons for soaking almonds and the common practices employed. Among the recipes analyzed, the most common reasons for soaking almonds (94.1%) were perceived benefits such as improved digestion and nutrient uptake. Most recipes (34.1%) suggested soaking at "room temperature" for times that ranged from 4 to 24 h or, more commonly, "overnight" (51.8%). Post-soaking drying instructions were provided in 40 recipes (47.1%). Among those providing a drying temperature (31.8%), 85% specified 66°C and lower. To evaluate the growth of foodborne pathogens during almond soaking, separate cocktails of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella enterica were inoculated onto raw almonds or into the soak water (almonds-to-water ratios of 1:1 and 1:3 [w/v]). Populations were monitored during soaking at 15, 18, and 23°C for up to 24 h, and during post-soak drying at 66°C for 14 h (for Salmonella only). At 15°C and a 1:1 almond:water ratio, no significant population increase (P > 0.05) was observed between 0 and 24 h for any of the pathogens. At 18°C, increases of 0.63, 1.70, and 0.88 log CFU/sample were observed over 24 h for populations of E. coli O157:H7, L. monocytogenes, and Salmonella, respectively. Populations of E. coli O157:H7, L. monocytogenes, and Salmonella increased by 3.48, 3.22, and 3.94 log CFU/sample, respectively, after 24 h at 23°C. When soaked almonds were dried for 14 h at 66°C, moisture and water activity decreased from 40% to ~6% and 0.99 to 0.60, respectively, but no significant reduction in Salmonella populations was observed. Recommendations for using shorter times (<8 h) and cooler temperatures (≤15°C) should reduce the potential for foodborne pathogens, if present, to grow during soaking of almonds.
Redomesticating almond to meet emerging food safety needs.
Almond is a desirable and high-quality food source where the presence of nut allergens and a vulnerability to aflatoxin and Salmonella contamination represent threats to consumer safety. In 2019, over 1 billion kg. of almonds, representing over 80% of the world total, were produced in California from a relatively few varieties with a very narrow genetic base. To address emerging needs mandated by cultural and climate changes, new germplasm has been introduced combining peach as well as wild peach and wild almond species. Advanced breeding selections incorporating exotic germplasm into a genetic background compatible with commercial production in California have demonstrated sizable reductions in level of kernel immunoreactivity as well as opportunities for improved control of aflatoxin and Salmonella. Breeding strategies employed include direct selection for reduced kernel immunoreactivity from an introgression enriched germplasm, the integration and pyramiding of resistance to multiple components of the aflatoxin disease-insect complex, and introduction of novel nut and tree traits to facilitate mechanized catch-frame field harvesting to avoid contamination with soil-borne pathogens such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli, as well as agrochemical residues.
Effects of deficit irrigation, rootstock, and roasting on the contents of fatty acids, phytoprostanes, and phytofurans in pistachio kernels.
Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) is a drought-tolerant specie grown under the semiarid conditions of the Mediterranean basin. For this reason, it is essential to make an exhaustive quantification of yield and quality benefits of the kernels because the regulated deficit irrigation will allow significant water savings with a minimum impact on yield, while improving kernel quality. The goal of this scientific work was the study of the influence of the rootstock, water deficit during pit hardening and kernel roasting on pistachio (Pistacia vera, cv. Kerman) fruit yield, fruit size, and kernel content of fatty acids, phytoprostanes (PhytoPs) and phytofurans (PhytoFs) for the first time. Water stress during pit hardening did not affect the pistachio yield. The kernels cultivar showed a lower oleic acid and a higher linoleic acid contents than those found for other cultivars. Kernels from plants grafted on the studied rootstocks showed very interesting characteristics. P. integerrima led to the highest percentage of monounsaturated fatty acids. Regarding the plant oxylipins, P. terebinthus led to the highest contents of PhytoPs and PhytoFs (1260 ng/100g and 16.2 ng/100g, respectively). In addition, nuts from trees cultivated under intermediate water deficit during pit hardening showed increased contents of the 9-series of F1-phytoprostanes and ent-16(RS)-9-epi-ST-Δ14-10-phytofuran. However, roasting of pistachios led to PhytoPs degradation. Therefore, plant cultivar, deficit irrigation, rootstock, and roasting must be considered to enhance biosynthesis of these secondary metabolites. New tools using agricultural strategies to produce hydroSOS pistachios have been opened thanks to the biological properties of these prostaglandins-like compounds linking agriculture, nutrition and food science technology for further research initiatives.
Natural Variation of Hazelnut Allergenicity: Is There Any Potential for Selecting Hypoallergenic Varieties?.
Hazelnuts (Corylus avellana L.) have an important role in human nutrition and health. However, they are a common cause of food allergy. Due to hazelnut varietal diversity, variety-dependent differences in the IgE-binding properties may be suspected, which could allow therapeutic strategies based on the use of hypoallergenic varieties to induce desensitization. In a proteogenomic approach, we aimed to evaluate the allergenic potential of a genetically diverse set of hazelnuts (n = 13 varieties). Minor differences were found at the level of genes encoding important allergens, namely Cor a 8, Cor a 9, and Cor a 14. Nevertheless, IgE-reactivity was similar for all varieties using sera from seven allergic individuals. The predominant IgE-reactive proteins were Cor a 9 (100%) and Cor a 1.04 (60%), with the former being the most frequently identified by a two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE)-based proteomic approach. Therefore, it seems that the conventional exclusion diet will hold its ground for the time being.