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Journals
Processes
Special Issues
Monitoring, Detection and Control of Food Contaminants
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Monitoring, Detection and Control of Food Contaminants

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Process Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 4168

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Luis M. Carrillo-López

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CONAHCYT-Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Periférico Fco. R. Almada km 1, Zootecnia, Chihuahua 31453, Mexico
Interests: emerging technologies; ultrasound; meat science; milk and dairy products; sensory analysis
Dr. Rosa Isela Ventura Aguilar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CONAHCYT-Centro de Desarrollo de Productos Bióticos, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Carr. Yautepec-Jojutla Km. 8.5, San Isidro Yautepec, Morelos 62731, Mexico.
Interests: technologies for detecting food contaminants; antimicrobials from natural sources; biosensors; microorganisms

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Food contamination constitutes one of the most important potential food safety hazards and risks. Traditionally, the contamination of fresh and processed foods includes biological, physical, chemical, and allergenic hazards which can derive from microorganisms, natural toxins, chemical compounds, packaging materials, and poisons. A single hazard can also introduce more than one type of contaminant.

This Special Issue focuses on the conventional and emerging technologies for the monitoring, detection, and control of food contaminants. Additives, microbiological issues, and pesticide and animal drug residues are all major concerns.

Topics of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to:

  • Methods for controlling contamination in food processing (GMPs, HAACP, packaging, temperature, sanitation, freezing, UV radiation, and others);
  • Technologies for decontamination (heat, radiation, chemicals);
  • Conventional techniques (spectroscopic/colorimetric techniques, chromatography, immunoassays, etc.);
  • Nanomaterials and biosensors for detecting food contaminants;
  • Emerging technologies (ultrasound, plasma, nanotechnology, natural antimicrobials, etc.).

Dr. Luis M. Carrillo-López
Dr. Rosa Isela Ventura Aguilar
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • food contaminants
  • decontamination
  • additives
  • residues
  • food safety

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 883 KiB  
Article
Correlation Analysis of Subjective and Objective Texture Properties: Color and Heterocyclic Amine Content of Grilled Chicken Breast Fillet
by Dániel Pleva, Katalin Lányi, Klára Pásztor-Huszár, László Friedrich, Péter Laczay and Lívia Darnay
Processes 2024, 12(11), 2465; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12112465 - 7 Nov 2024
Viewed by 450
Abstract
The present study discusses the technofunctional properties (color, texture) of grilled chicken with both objective (colorimeter, texture profile) analysis and subjective (sensory) analysis. Besides them, the total content of potentially carcinogenic heterocyclic amines (HCAs) was also monitored by the applied grilling time–temperature combinations. [...] Read more.
The present study discusses the technofunctional properties (color, texture) of grilled chicken with both objective (colorimeter, texture profile) analysis and subjective (sensory) analysis. Besides them, the total content of potentially carcinogenic heterocyclic amines (HCAs) was also monitored by the applied grilling time–temperature combinations. The same samples were analyzed during the heat treatment of chicken breast samples for 5–15 min at 150–230 °C on an electric contact grill. The grilling variables included the effect of skin cover. Among the structural parameters, hardness exhibited a significant difference between the groups of skin-covered and not-covered ones, and in this case, a linear connection was also found with the time and temperature values, respectively. The structural parameters obtained by sensory and instrumental analysis were compared to each other. In addition, the structural parameters were compared to the color ones (sensory, color according to the CIELAB system: brightness, redness, and yellowness) and to the total HCA content. In the case of closed grilling, sensory-evaluated parameters such as juiciness and tenderness showed a strong negative correlation to instrumentally measured hardness (R = −0.879; −0.749) and chewiness (R = −0.872; −0.718) due to the water loss from the increase in grilling temperature and time. The total HCA content positively correlated to chewiness (R = 0.789). The sensory color parameter and the brightness had a strong connection with juiciness (R = 0.738; 0.723), hardness (R = −0.795; −0.706), and chewiness (R = −0.843; −0.818); redness showed positive correlation to cohesiveness (R = 0.764) and chewiness (R = 0.829). Accordingly, juiciness and chewiness showed a connection to the total HCA levels, which makes it possible to carry out further research on instrumental and sensory parameters that may predict the formation of hazardous amounts of carcinogenic heterocyclic amines. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring, Detection and Control of Food Contaminants)
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22 pages, 905 KiB  
Article
Gas Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) for High-Throughput Screening of Pesticides in Rice Samples Collected in Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia
by Ilya Strashnov, Farah T. Ahmed, May M. Alrashdi, Inna Nesmiyan and David A. Polya
Processes 2024, 12(10), 2170; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12102170 - 5 Oct 2024
Viewed by 831
Abstract
Gas Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) with modified QuEChERS sample preparation has been applied to the high-throughput screening of pesticide residuals in rice collected from Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia markets. Both countries consume high volumes of rice, which is a fundamental food for [...] Read more.
Gas Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) with modified QuEChERS sample preparation has been applied to the high-throughput screening of pesticide residuals in rice collected from Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia markets. Both countries consume high volumes of rice, which is a fundamental food for their populations. We report optimized sample preparation and mass spectrometry analysis protocols, which can be rapidly deployed in analytical laboratories. The screening of four groups (organophosphorus, synthetic pyrethroid, organonitrogen, and organochlorine) of a total of 115 pesticides can be performed within ~10 min using a matrix-matched calibration. For most compounds, the limits of detection and quantification (LOD/LOQ) are well below the maximum residue levels (MRLs) of the main regulators. The method generally demonstrates acceptable recovery values (91 compounds 75–125% and 10 compounds 30–75%). Out of 55 rice samples analyzed, 16 samples (29%) contained pesticide residues above LOQ. Four samples contained chlorpyrifos with concentrations ranging from 21.3 to 71.9 µg/kg, ten samples contained tebuconazole (34.7–69.0 µg/kg), and three samples contained pirimiphos methyl (10.7–20.7 µg/kg). The concentrations of the pesticide residues detected in these samples are well below MRL of FAO/WHO (chlorpyrifos, 500 µg/kg; tebuconazole, 1500 µg/kg; pirimiphos methyl, 7000 µg/kg). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring, Detection and Control of Food Contaminants)
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17 pages, 13602 KiB  
Article
Morphological and Structural Characterization of Encapsulated Arginine Systems for Dietary Inclusion in Ruminants
by Germán Contreras-López, Simón Morales-Rodríguez, Alfredo R. Vilchis-Néstor, Ana L. Rentería-Monterrubio, Agustín Corral-Luna, Ivan A. García-Galicia and Luis M. Carrillo-López
Processes 2024, 12(7), 1498; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12071498 - 17 Jul 2024
Viewed by 864
Abstract
This research evaluated two methods of arginine encapsulation, melt emulsification and nanoprecipitation, using a lipid matrix of carnauba wax and commercial polymers (Eudragit®) as a protective material. The ratios of wax–arginine were 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, and 4:1, while those of Eudragit [...] Read more.
This research evaluated two methods of arginine encapsulation, melt emulsification and nanoprecipitation, using a lipid matrix of carnauba wax and commercial polymers (Eudragit®) as a protective material. The ratios of wax–arginine were 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, and 4:1, while those of Eudragit® RS:RL were 30:70 and 40:60 in proportions of 1:0.5 and 1:1 Eudragit®–arginine. The microcapsules were morphostructurally characterized by scanning electron microscopy, and a microelement analysis was performed via energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Additionally, in vitro digestibility was used to determine the protection efficiency. Both encapsulated systems presented regular (crystals) and spherical (microcapsules) polyhedral morphologies. Qualitative nitrogen decreased significantly as the wax ratio increased in the wax–arginine formulations. The formulations with a 1:1 Eudragit:–arginine ratio (1000 mg arginine) produced a higher nitrogen content in the encapsulated systems than the formulations containing 500 mg of arginine. The 2:1 and 3:1 wax–arginine formulations had the lowest degradability after 5 h of rumen fluid exposure (40.7 and 21.26%, respectively) in comparison with 100% unencapsulated arginine. The 3:1 wax–arginine formulation is an efficient encapsulating system which protects against rumen degradation. The more intense absorption bands at 1738 cm−1 and 1468 cm−1 associated with the C=O and C-H groups in carnauba wax indicate that arginine was more protected than in the other systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring, Detection and Control of Food Contaminants)
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Review

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14 pages, 886 KiB  
Review
Volatile Organic Compounds as a Diagnostic Tool for Detecting Microbial Contamination in Fresh Agricultural Products: Mechanism of Action and Analytical Techniques
by Rosa Isela Ventura-Aguilar, Jesús Armando Lucas-Bautista, Ma. de Lourdes Arévalo-Galarza and Elsa Bosquez-Molina
Processes 2024, 12(8), 1555; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12081555 - 25 Jul 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1223
Abstract
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are secondary metabolites emitted by all living carbon-based organisms. These VOCs are of great importance in the agricultural sector due to their use as biofungicides and biopesticides. In addition, they can also be used as indicators of microbial contamination. [...] Read more.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are secondary metabolites emitted by all living carbon-based organisms. These VOCs are of great importance in the agricultural sector due to their use as biofungicides and biopesticides. In addition, they can also be used as indicators of microbial contamination. The latter has rarely been studied; however, such a role is very relevant because it allows the timely application of corrective treatments that avoid food waste, the development of toxins dangerous to humans, and the design of biosensors. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), electronic nose (e-nose), and proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) are some of the techniques used to detect VOCs in fruits and vegetables contaminated by microorganisms. Therefore, the objective of this work is to deepen our knowledge of VOCs emitted by microorganisms in terms of their use as an indicator of microbial contamination of fresh agricultural products, as well as the analytical techniques used for their detection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring, Detection and Control of Food Contaminants)
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