Raffaella Preti

Authenticity and quality of animal origin food investigated by stable-isotope ratio analysis.

Authentication of a food product is the procedure by which it is verified that the product matches the statements on the label, and that it conforms to what is established by regulations. This testing process includes analysis of the ingredients, determination of the geographical origin, and examination of the production methods. In particular, the use of rapid, effective and reliable analytical methods, when correctly applied to verify the authenticity and the traceability of the product, represents a valuable and irreplaceable tool for the authorities to carry out control functions. Tools and methodologies from scientific innovation and technological evolution can help to quickly locate particularly sophisticated frauds and adulterations. The feeding regime of livestock is a fundamental issue for the properties and safety of animal origin food, but this regime is often hidden from the consumer, making the zootechnical sector more prone to fraudulent practices. This review reports the results recently obtained in authentication of animal origin food by the application of stable-isotope ratio analysis, the most promising analytical technique in this field.

Fast determination of biogenic amines in beverages by a core–shell particle column

A fast and reliable HPLC method for the determination of 11 biogenic amines in beverages has been performed. After pre-column derivatization with dansyl-chloride a Kinetex C18 core-shell particle column (100 mm × 4.6 mm, 2.6 μm particle size) has been employed and the biogenic amines were identified and quantified in a total run time of 13 min with ultraviolet (UV) or fluorescence detection (FLD). Chromatographic conditions such as column temperature (kept at 50 °C), gradient elution and flow rate have been optimized and the method has been tested on red wine and fruit nectar. The proposed method is enhanced in terms of reduced analysis time and eluent consumption with respect of classical HPLC method as to be comparable to UHPLC methods. Green and cost-effective, this method can be used as a quality-control tool for routine quantitative analysis of biogenic amines in beverages for the average laboratory.

Rapid determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in rainwater by liquid–liquid microextraction and LC with core‐shell particles column and fluorescence detection

Liquid-liquid microextraction coupled to LC with fluorescence detection for the determination of Environmental Protection Agencys 16 priority pollutant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in rainwater has been developed. The optimization of the extraction method has involved several parameters, including the comparison between an ultrasonic bath and a magnetic stirrer as extractant apparatus, the choice of the extractant solvent, and the optimization of the extraction time. Liquid-liquid microextraction gave good results in terms of recoveries (from 73.6 to 102.8% in rainwater) and repeatability, with a very simple procedure and low solvent consumption. The reported chromatographic method uses a Core-Shell technology column, with particle size <3 μm instead of classical 5-μm particles column. The resulting backpressure was below 300 bar, allowing the use of a conventional HPLC system rather than the more expensive ultrahigh performance LC (UHPLC). An average decrease of 59% in run time and 75% in eluent consumption has been obtained, compared to classical HPLC methods, keeping good separation, sensitivity, and repeatability. The proposed conditions were successfully applied to the determinations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in genuine rainwater samples.

Core-Shell Columns in High-Performance Liquid Chromatography: Food Analysis Applications

The increased separation efficiency provided by the new technology of column packed with core-shell particles in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has resulted in their widespread diffusion in several analytical fields: from pharmaceutical, biological, environmental, and toxicological. The present paper presents their most recent applications in food analysis. Their use has proved to be particularly advantageous for the determination of compounds at trace levels or when a large amount of samples must be analyzed fast using reliable and solvent-saving apparatus. The literature hereby described shows how the outstanding performances provided by core-shell particles column on a traditional HPLC instruments are comparable to those obtained with a costly UHPLC instrumentation, making this novel column a promising key tool in food analysis.

Effect of Steaming and Boiling on the Antioxidant Properties and Biogenic Amines Content in Green Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) Varieties of Different Colours

Effects of boiling and steaming cooking methods were studied on total polyphenols, antioxidant capacity, and biogenic amines of three green bean varieties, purple, yellow, and green. The vegetables gave good values both for antioxidant capacity and for phenolics content, with the purple variety being the richest in healthful components. Both the heat treatments affected the antioxidant properties of these vegetables, with boiling that reduced the initial antioxidant capacity till 30% in the yellow variety, having the same trend for total polyphenols, with the major decrement of 43% in the green variety. On the contrary, biogenic amines significantly increased only after boiling in green and yellow variety, while purple variety did not show any changes in biogenic amines after cooking. The steaming method showed being better cooking approach in order to preserve the antioxidant properties of green beans varieties and to maintain the biogenic amines content at the lowest level.

Determination of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Congeners in Water by Liquid–Liquid Microextraction Procedure and Gas-Chromatography

Polychlorinated biphenyls are toxic pollutants characterized by persistence in the atmosphere and ability to accumulate in food chains. Like other persistent organic pollutants, polychlorinated biphenyls are still present in the environment despite their almost worldwide prohibition. In this study we propose a simple and a rapid liquid-liquid microextraction procedure to determine ten representative polychlorinated biphenyl congeners in rain and mineral water. The procedure combined extraction and concentration in a single step followed by gas chromatography with electron capture detection. The proposed methodology showed good linearity, reproducibility, and a limit of detection with a range of 10–30 ng/l. Real mineral water samples were analyzed using the optimized method.

Hypercritical Separation Technology (HYST): A Sustainable Technology for Agricultural By-products Valorization

Agricultural activities produce worldwide about 3 billion tonnes of by-products and residues per year, that represent an important source of food, feed and bioenergy. The technologies currently available for these resources exploitation are not economically advantageous and not environmental friendly. Hypercritical Separation Technology (HYST) is an innovative technology based only on physical process, for the disaggregation of biomass. By this technology, a flour for human consumption with high vitamin and minerals content can be obtained from cereal bran. The HYST system has proved to be efficient to produce also feed with high nutritional value and improved digestibility. In the bioenergy sector, this technology could play a crucial role, for a sustainable and cheap production of second generation biomethane. Future projects to explore the potentialities of this technology will involve new agricultural residues, such as grape pomace, source of antioxidants and rice bran, source of proteins, regarding the food application, and the production of chemicals from fermentative process of lignocelluloses biomass for green chemistry applications.