Ioannis S. Arvanitoyannis

Migration of substances from food packaging materials to foods.

The employment of novel food packaging materials has increased the number of occurring hazards due to the migration from packaging material to the packaged food. Although polymers have mainly monopolized the interest of migration testing and experimentation, recent studies have revealed that migration also occurs from “traditional” materials generally considered to be safe, such as paper, carton, wood, ceramic, and metal. The regulations and the directives of the EU tend to become stricter in this respect. The emphasis is on reaching a consensus in terms of food simulants and testing conditions for migration studies. Furthermore, the list of hazardous monomers, oligomers, and additives continues to augment in order to ensure that the consumer safety is in current agreement with the HACCP, which is continuously gaining ground.

Health Risks of Genetically Modified Foods

As genetically modified (GM) foods are starting to intrude in our diet concerns have been expressed regarding GM food safety. These concerns as well as the limitations of the procedures followed in the evaluation of their safety are presented. Animal toxicity studies with certain GM foods have shown that they may toxically affect several organs and systems. The review of these studies should not be conducted separately for each GM food, but according to the effects exerted on certain organs it may help us create a better picture of the possible health effects on human beings. The results of most studies with GM foods indicate that they may cause some common toxic effects such as hepatic, pancreatic, renal, or reproductive effects and may alter the hematological, biochemical, and immunologic parameters. However, many years of research with animals and clinical trials are required for this assessment. The use of recombinant GH or its expression in animals should be re-examined since it has been shown that it increases IGF-1 which may promote cancer.

Irradiation Applications in Vegetables and Fruits: A Review

There is an increasing trend both in advanced countries and many developing countries to centrally process fresh fruits and vegetables, properly packaged, for distribution and marketing. Irradiation technology proved to be effective in reducing post-harvest losses, and controlling the stored product insects and the microorganisms. Gamma irradiation was employed to restrain potato sprouting and kill pests in grain. Irradiation proved to be extremely beneficial in terms of prolonging the fruit and vegetable shelf life by 3–5 times. In order not to expose fruits and vegetables to high irradiation doses another approach is to use the “hurdle technology,” that is to apply more than one technology toward better quality and longer shelf life. This review summarizes a) all the obtained results in this field (either irradiation on its own or in conjunction with other technologies) on fruits and vegetables in 11 figures and eight (8) very comprehensive tables, and b) provides an insight in the various methods (EPR, TL, Comet assay among others) for detection of irradiated foods.

Implementation of Physicochemical and Sensory Analysis in Conjunction with Multivariate analysis towards Assessing Olive Oil Authentication/Adulteration

The authenticity of products labeled as olive oils, and in particular as virgin olive oils, stands for a very important issue both in terms of its health and commercial aspects. In view of the continuously increasing interest in virgin olive oil therapeutic properties, the traditional methods of characterization and physical and sensory analysis were further enriched with more advanced and sophisticated methods such as HPLC-MS, HPLC-GC/C/IRMS, RPLC-GC, DEPT, and CSIA among others. The results of both traditional and “novel” methods were treated both by means of classical multivariate analysis (cluster, principal component, correspondence, canonical, and discriminant) and artificial intelligence methods showing that nowadays the adulteration of virgin olive oil with seed oil is detectable at very low percentages, sometimes even at less than 1%. Furthermore, the detection of geographical origin of olive oil is equally feasible and much more accurate in countries like Italy and Spain where databases of physical/chemical properties exist. However, this geographical origin classification can also be accomplished in the absence of such databases provided that an adequate number of oil samples are used and the parameters studied have “discriminating power.”

Application of Modified Atmosphere Packaging and Active/Smart Technologies to Red Meat and Poultry: A Review

This paper reviews the current advances in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) of red meat and poultry products. This type of packaging results in shelf-life prolongation by inhibiting microbial growth and promoting oxidative stability, compared to those packaged aerobically. High O2 modified atmosphere packaging results in the desirable red colour, but it also enhances both lipid and pigment oxidation and promotes the growth of aerobic spoilage microorganisms. The presence of high levels of CO2 in modified atmosphere packages inhibits microbial growth but can also cause meat discoloration through oxidation. Low O2 MAP atmospheres limit microbial growth but change the colour of meat to purple. The use of CO gives promising results due to its positive effects on colour and microorganism growth inhibitions which result in shelf-life prolongation during wider distribution of case-ready products. The use of MAP can lead to an effective growth reduction of pathogenic microorganisms like Listeria sp. and Salmonella sp. The combination of MAP and vacuum with other treatments can be an effective tool in delivering safe minimally processed foodstuffs. In response to the changes in consumer demand and market trends, the area of active and intelligent/smart packaging is becoming more and more important. These relatively new technologies are capable of providing better results regarding product safety and shelf-life prolongation as well as communicating information on several quality characteristics of packaged food during transportation and storage.

Vegetable Waste Treatment: Comparison and Critical Presentation of Methodologies

Vegetable industries have been considered responsible for a great amount of pollution; hence, there has been a strong need for the optimization of vegetable waste treatment systems. The currently employed systems are numerous and fall in the following large categories; thermal processes, evaporation, membrance processes, anaerobic digestion, anaerobic co-digestion, biodiesel spraying, combustion, transesterification, coagulation, and composting. Respective methodologies in conjunction with waste treatment methods were presented per waste treatment method. The comparative presentation of the various vegetable waste treatment methodologies showed that though anaerobic digestion stands for the most enviromentally friendly technique, its required longer treatment time in conjuction with its weakness to deal with elemental contaminants makes imperative the employment of a second alternative technique which could either be a membrance process (low energy cost, reliability, reduced capital cost) or a coagulation/flocculation method because of its low cost and high effectiveness. Biogas production appears to be another promising and energy effective waste treatment method. On the other hand, methods like distillation and ozonation (high cost) and electrolysis (experimental level) have not been employed in the field. Finally, new waste management technologies have been described.

Impact of Irradiation on Fish and Seafood Shelf Life: A Comprehensive Review of Applications and Irradiation Detection

Irradiation is one of the most important and effective methods towards food preservation despite the consumer lack of trust and aversion towards this method. Irradiation effectiveness greatly depends on the dose provided to food. This review aims at summarizing all available information regarding the impact of irradiation dose on the shelf life and microflora and sensory and physical properties of fish, shellfish, molluscs, and crustaceans. The synergistic effect of irradiation in conjunction with other techniques such as salting, smoking, freezing, and vacuum packaging was also reported. Another issue covered within the frame of this review is the detection (comparison of methods in terms of their effectiveness and validity) of irradiated fish and seafood. The information related to fish and seafood irradiation and its detection is presented by means of 11 comprehensive tables and 9 figures.

Olive Oil Waste Treatment: A Comparative and Critical Presentation of Methods, Advantages & Disadvantages

Since olive oil industries were considered responsible for a great amount of pollution there has been a strong need for optimization of olive oil waste treatment systems. The currently employed systems are numerous and fall in the following large categories; bioremediation (ex-situ, in-situ), thermal processes (incineration, pyrolysis, gasification), evaporation, membrance processes, electrolysis, ozonation, digestion, coagulation/flocculation/precipitation, and distillation. Both advantages and disadvantages in conjunction with respective methodology and explicit flow diagrams were presented per waste treatment method. Furthermore, most recent studies were reported and more than twenty–five figures showing mainly the effectiveness of the current waste treatment methods versus time or temperature were displayed. The comparative presentation of the various olive oil waste treatment methodologies showed that though bioremediation stands for the most enviromentally friendly technique, its required longer treatment time in conjuction with its weakness to deal with elemental contaminants makes imperative the employment of a second alternative technique which could either be a membrance process (low energy cost, reliability, reduced capital cost) or a coagulation/flocculation method because of its low cost and high effectiveness. Biogas production appears to be another promising and energy effective waste treatment method. On the other hand, methods like distillation and ozonation (high cost) and electrolysis (experimental level) are unlikely to dominate this field unless their high cost is substantially reduced in the near future.

The Politics and Science Behind GMO Acceptance

The question of nutritional quality has arisen in the International Community over the last few years along with other important issues such as population aging, multipopulation societies, and political conflicts. The nutritional issue is questioned both quantitatively and qualitatively. It is well known that the planet faces enormous problems with food that is available. Nowadays 20% of the population consumes approximately 80% of the produced energy and natural resources. During the last 15 years, a series of food scares and crises (BSE, dioxin, foot and mouth disease, bird flu) have seriously undermined public confidence in food producers and operators and their capacity to produce safe food. As a result, food safety has become a top priority of the European legislative authorities. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is the new food safety concern which despite the intense reactions from Non Governmental Organizations and consumer organizations have entered our lives with inadequate legislative measures to protect consumers from their consumption. The GMO issue will be the issue for discussion in the long run not only for the European Community but also for the international community as far as scientific, economical, political, ideological, ethical, and human issues are concerned. These issues are discussed in this paper along with a case of study of GM fish.

Application of ISO 22000 and Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) for Industrial Processing of Salmon: A Case Study

The Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) model was applied for risk assessment of salmon manufacturing. A tentative approach of FMEA application to the salmon industry was attempted in conjunction with ISO 22000. Preliminary Hazard Analysis was used to analyze and predict the occurring failure modes in a food chain system (salmon processing plant), based on the functions, characteristics, and/or interactions of the ingredients or the processes, upon which the system depends. Critical Control points were identified and implemented in the cause and effect diagram (also known as Ishikawa, tree diagram and fishbone diagram). In this work, a comparison of ISO 22000 analysis with HACCP is carried out over salmon processing and packaging. However, the main emphasis was put on the quantification of risk assessment by determining the RPN per identified processing hazard. Fish receiving, casing/marking, blood removal, evisceration, filet-making cooling/freezing, and distribution were the processes identified as the ones with the highest RPN (252, 240, 210, 210, 210, 210, 200 respectively) and corrective actions were undertaken. After the application of corrective actions, a second calculation of RPN values was carried out resulting in substantially lower values (below the upper acceptable limit of 130). It is noteworthy that the application of Ishikawa (Cause and Effect or Tree diagram) led to converging results thus corroborating the validity of conclusions derived from risk assessment and FMEA. Therefore, the incorporation of FMEA analysis within the ISO 22000 system of a salmon processing industry is anticipated to prove advantageous to industrialists, state food inspectors, and consumers.