Quality Control and Food Safety

Innovative Analytical Methodologies Control
of Quality and Food Safety

Objectives and social renown

 

The overall objective of this program covers both the Food Safety Control and the Quality and will be achieved through four basic objectives and a cross.

 

Basic Objectives.

 

OBJETIVE 1: New analytical methodologies for the detection of emerging toxics in foods.

New analytical methodologies will be developed for the detection of toxic and persistent pollutants (COPs) coming from industrial activities which include Polychlorinated Biphenyls derived (MeSO2-PCBs), compounds (PFCs), brominated flame retardants and Hg compounds; of agricultural activities (pesticides of new generation as triazines, organophosphates and pyrethroids), of farmer activities, as macrolide antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitics (benzymidazols) and estrogens, and toxics generated during processing.

 

OBJECTIVE 2: New analytical methodologies for the detection of adulterations in food.

This objective will be focussed on the determination of azoic colorants (Sudan I-IV and Para-Red), of non protein chiral amino acids and of vegetable proteins.

 

OBJECTIVE 3: New analytical methodologies for the determination of natural components and/or authorized ingredients of foods, including legumes and cereals cultivation or their derived, fruits, vegetable oils, nutritional formulas, enriched foods and food extracts.

Food characterization and determination of their real composition will be carried out. The developed methodologies will be applied to the analysis of leguminous, cereals and their derived, fruits, vegetable oils, nutritional formulas, enriched foods and food extracts.

 

OBJECTIVE 4: New analytical methodologies to evaluate the effect of food processing about their composition, quality and security.

The formation of compounds coming from lipid oxidation will be studied (triglycerides with oxygenated functions epoxy -, keto - and hydroxy - and polymerized compounds), volatile compounds coming from Maillard reaction, as well as the influence of processing on volatile compounds, amino acids and phenols of vegetable foods, which affect to the aroma and antioxidant capacity, among others.

 

 

Transversal Objective.

 

Development and optimization of sample preparation methodologies. Advances in optimization and validation of analytical data. Creation and sharing of an instrumental platform.

Development of innovative methodologies of sample preparation, modification of chemical reactions by samples treatment, quicker and friendly environmental; new developments in the optimization of the employed methodologies; shared use of the instrumental techniques acquired in the previous program and of those which will be implemented in this second stage of the “Consorcio”; and diffusion of the results to the scientific community and, in general, to the society.

 

 

Potential impact.

 

This proposal is addressed to the development of new methodologies: taking into account the synergic effect of the analytical infrastructure now available, created in the first ANALISYC, the impact achieved in this second programme is expected to be higher. The most basic research will be directed to the scientific community, whereas the application to a wide range of foods will clearly be of general utility.

 

Some of the proposed subjects always cause a high impact in the society, such as the cases of food adulteration. But the increment of emergent toxics in water and food should be first a concern for the Administration.

ANALISYC-II intends to be ready to respond fast and efficiently to eventual food alarms which could arise in relation to toxic chemicals, adulteration and composition of raw and processed foods.

  

Achieving the objectives described above may be of interest to:

1.   The Administration, which provided very useful tools for regulatory compliance relating to the routine control of quality and food safety and resolve food crisis.

2.  The business, which may have quick and effective tools to characterize the food produced or processed.

3.  The scientific world, which aim to provide new methods for processing samples (solid-phase matrix dispersion-SPMD, employment molecularly imprinted polymers as a support for solid phase extraction-MISP, etc. ..) and instrumental techniques (GCxGC-QMS, HPLC-MS/MS (ITD), CE-MS, etc. ..), is of great potential usefulness in the field of metalomics, proteomics, chiral separations, and high molecular weight contaminants, which involve new and more effective strategies for the identification of these compounds in analytical laboratories.

4.   The general society, the main beneficiary of this program because of its contribution to solving one of the most concerning problems for the general public: to eat healthier, more nutritious and safer foods.