Maurizio Boccacci Mariani

Furosine as a Pasta Quality Marker: Evaluation by an Innovative and Fast Chromatographic Approach

A fast and simple high-performance liquid chromatography method suitable for determining furosine level in heat-treated food samples was developed. The analysis of furosine was performed by a novel mixed-mode column that provides multiple and simultaneous retention mechanisms including cation-exchange, anion-exchange, reversed-phase, or hydrophilic interaction. Each retention mechanism could be independently controlled by setting chromatographic conditions. Adequate retention and selectivity of polar charged furosine were achieved by adjusting mobile phase pH, buffer concentration, organic content, and ionic strength. The optimized method was successfully applied to determinate furosine in durum wheat semolina pasta samples. Furosine level in pasta may be used as a reliable marker of health and nutritional damage occurring during pasta manufacture. Indeed, a low content of furosine is generally related to high nutritional quality of food and application of mild heat treatments. A wide range of dry pasta samples, collected from both supermarkets (large-scale retail trade) and shops selling local products, were analyzed. Variable amounts of furosine, ranging from 107 to 506 mg/100 g of protein, were found in pasta samples. The proposed method allows to discriminate products submitted to different time-temperature conditions during the drying process. At the same time, it may be used to highlight potential label fraud.

Enhanced Quality Control of Recycled Paperboard for Food Packaging

A method is reported for the industrial quality control of recycled paperboard for food contact applications. Benzophenones, phthalates, and diisopropyl naphthalene were selected as contamination markers. These compounds are commonly found in recycled paperboard packaging and are known to migrate even into dry nonfatty foods. The method was used to analyze commercial recycled board and involved sample pretreatment by accelerated solvent extraction, evaporation, and purification of the extract, and analysis by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The accelerated solvent extraction yields were compared with those obtained by Soxhlet extraction and extraction by immersion, and the recoveries of optimized procedures were estimated. The optimized method showed good repeatability, intermediate precision, and sensitivity. Because of the simplicity and partial automation, this method has potential application for the characterization of recycled paperboard.

Monitoring of contaminants in recycled paperboard for food contact applications

BACKGROUND The lack of harmonized European legislation on food packaging led the Confederation of European Paper Industries to the proposal of a voluntary Industry Guideline for the compliance of paper and board materials for food contact applications. In the present work, a previously established method for the simultaneous determination of contaminants commonly found in recycled paperboard was improved and its applicability as a quality control tool in the paper industry was also assessed. The method involves a sample pre-treatment followed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. RESULTS For analysis, paperboard samples were collected both from three sections of the same reel and from different reels belonging to the same production run. Results highlighted no significant differences in terms of contaminant distribution among samples, which ensured good sampling representativeness. The performance of the method was considerably improved in terms of linearity range, limits of detection and quantification (5- to 2-fold lower) by using a quadrupole GC/MS system instead of an ion trap GC/MS system. CONCLUSION The proposed method could offer a key strategy for analysis of benzophenone derivatives, diisopropyl naphthalene and phthalates in recycled paperboard in order to assess compliance of food packaging with the voluntary limits recommended by the Industry Guideline.