Detecting chemical toxicity in foods-An "out of the box" approach

Food safety is a concern that affects the entire world and many advances in testing methods have enabled the food industry to improve the safety of the products made by it through deploying these advanced and highly sensitive analytical technologies and electronic instruments. A recent report from Hong Kong speaks of a.new assay technique that can detect a "thousand" toxins of different nature in any given sample. It sounds like a magic when the innovators say that the fish embryo they are using for testing give tell-tell visible signs of presence of toxins pretty fast. No doubt this is a welcome development that deserves appreciation if what they claim is true. Here is a take on this new claims by the developers of the new test protocol.

"A Hong Kong-based startup called Vitargent sees hope in a food-testing technology centered around fish embryos, which would enable scientists to detect contaminants and poisons in everything from food and beverages to makeup and body lotion.The test that they've developed using the tiny fish can allegedly detect more than 1,000 different toxic substances, a giant leap from existing processes that only give results for five to ten toxins at a time. Vitargent is using engineered embryos of oryzias—also known as Japanese ricefish or medaka—which either develop tumors or turn fluorescent in the presence of certain dangerous chemicals and other additives. In the presence of bisphenol-A, for example—the dreaded BPA your water bottle promises not to contain—the fish will light up like a glowstick, thanks to a jellyfish gene that's been spliced into their genomes. The company's founder and executive director Eric Chentold the South China Morning Post that the fish have a similar DNA structure to humans, and react the same way to toxins. Chen sees a huge opportunity for this chemical-detection method in China, and his company hopes to institute its testing regimen throughout the region. "Businesses are so creative they will add anything you can imagine to our food and drink," he told the Post".

Though the claims are highly impressive, proof of the same has to come from independent assessors out side Hong Kong. Probably since it is a commercial venture very little technical information would be available but testing the fish for its ability to detect different toxins can be easily verified by independent trials. Of course since it is based on the use of live fish embryo, there is a need to maintain an aquarium to breed Japanese rice fish for getting the embryos for use in the test. What is not clear is the type of toxins which are detectable using this test though BPA has been mentioned as one of the toxins that can be detected. This new test might have far reaching impact if it can detect presence of different pesticides or chemical toxicants like acrylamide or other leachates from the various packaging materials used by the food industry.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

Smart labels-Need of the hour to help consumers detect quality impinged foods

Cold stored foods and frozen products are expected to keep their quality only if the ideal temperatures are maintained during storage, distribution and in the market places. Though accidental, unanticipated contingencies can cause abrupt temperature rise once in a while, there are deliberate actions by some unscrupulous traders to manipulate the cold storage conditions to save on the energy consumption without realizing the adverse consequences on the quality and safety of the products. In India it is a common practice for petty traders with refrigerators to switch off them during night when the shops down their shutters to be restarted in the morning after opening the shop. While safety might not be a major problem, there will be definitely significant quality deterioration if thawing and freezing take place repeatedly and too often.The manufacturers as well as the consumers have no way to know whether quality damage has taken place in side the sealed packs as there is no tell tale evidence of such malpractices at the seller's end. The reported development of smart labels which can indicate adverse quality changes for the consumer to see when purchased may be a boon for millions of people who buy cold stored food products. Read further on this subject below:

"To ensure the "cool chain", the University of Milano Bicocca has developed a label that is sensitive to temperature changes and that changes colour when the safety limits are exceeded. The study was published in the scientific journal "Advanced Optical Materials". The "smart" label was designed by a team of researchers from the Department of Materials Science of the University of Milano Bicocca and the Imperial College of London, coordinated by Luca Beverina, associate professor in Organic Chemistry at the University of Milano Bicocca. The label is based on a chemical reaction optimized by researchers that activates an organic pigment on a porous silica film to be applied on the package. The label is colourless: if during the journey the temperature exceeds 4°C, it becomes light blue; after being above the temperature suitable to ensure correct product storage for three hours, it becomes dark blue. The colouring is irreversible so that the label "always tells the truth" about the storage of a product, from packaging to sales desk"

Of course how far this innovation will be accepted by the industry and the retailers is a critical question which will decide its utilitarian value. Though these labels are primarily intended for use by cold chain players for detecting wide fluctuations in the temperature during transit, it should also serve at the retail level provided every  manufacturer uses them on their products. The cost of making smart labels must be very nominal and cost consideration might not be a constraint. In a highly technological country like the US, such innovations are likely to be accepted fast. But it is rather doubtful whether in most developing countries smart labels will ever find takers as the industry is least regulated and it is used to getting away with selling products of indifferent quality to the hapless consumer because there is no reddressal mechanism for such malpractices by the industry.  Probably the regulatory authorities could step in to make smart labels mandatory for temperature sensitive cold products.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

SPECIAL METALS AS SENSORS- NEW DEVELOPMENTS

A recent report regarding the potential for the use of Rhodium metal for food safety practices sounds interesting though its precise impact cannot be predicted now. Characteristic colors exhibited by the Rhodium complexes in presence of gases like oxygen, nitrogen or carbon monoxide may enable food scientists to incorporate such composite materials inside the packaging and if there is any color change when the consumer is buying these packs, it might be a sure sign of tampering of the packet or if a nitrogen packed food packet changes color to one that is not characteristic of nitrogen-Rhodium complex, it might mean that there was a leak of this protective gas endangering the contents. Here is a take on this new development.

"Modified metals that change colour in the presence of particular gases could warn consumers if packaged food has been exposed to air or if there's a carbon monoxide leak at home. This finding could potentially influence the production of both industrial and commercial air quality sensors. "We initially found out by accident that modified rhodium reacts in a colorful way to different gases," says Cathleen Crudden, a professor in the Department of Chemistry. "That happy accident has become a driving force in our work with rhodium." Rhodium that is modified using carbon, nitrogen or hydrogen–based complexes changes to yellow in the presence of nitrogen, deep blue in the presence of oxygen, and brown in the presence of carbon monoxide. This color change occurs because of the way that the gases bind to the compound's central metal, according to the researchers. Another remarkable aspect of this discovery is that the chemical changes take place without disrupting the exact placement of each individual atom in the compound's crystalline lattice. Dr. Crudden notes that this type of transformation is virtually unprecedented. Rhodium is the main metal used in the production of catalytic converters to reduce the toxicity of car exhaust emissions. Dr. Crudden's team, including graduate student Eric Keske and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Olena Zenkina, is currently investigating whether cobalt, a significantly cheaper metal than rhodium, reacts similarly".

Lot needs to be done in converting this new idea into a commercial application mode and if the findings are really reliable, it is a question of time before Rhodium complex containing printing inks or strips are designed for incorporating into food packs. The limitation is mainly about the effect of Rhodium ions leaching into the food and the effect of such migration on human health. Another road block could be the exorbitant cost of this metal and it is unlikely that low cost food product packs could afford it. If Nickel is as efficient as Rhodium, this line of investigation may get a fillip.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com