Sniffing out adulteration in saffron: Detection methods and health risks

Saffron, the golden spice, is a medicinally and economically important crop that is used in a variety of cuisines to add colour, taste and aroma. Being the costliest spice, saffron is regularly adulterated through the use of various cheap synthetic colourants and natural adulterants. Mislabelling, presenting lower-grade saffron as superior and misrepresenting the geographic origin is a common practice. Adulteration not only reduces the quality of saffron, but also leads to serious health concern and economic loss. To ensure authenticity and quality of saffron, the development of effective detection methods is crucial. The present review provides an overview of common saffron adulterants, their effects, and several methods for identifying and quantifying these adulterants. Traditionally, saffron authentication is done using conventional physical methods. There are numerous high-end techniques such as molecular, chromatography, spectroscopy and sensor-based approaches that have been widely used for saffron adulteration detection. However, these methods have their advantages and disadvantages. Besides, their utility is restricted to the purpose of detection. In recent years, artificial intelligence/machine learning-based imaging approaches have emerged as rapid, cost effective and user-friendly detection approach. This allows end user to detect adulteration by simply clicking an image and receiving instant feedback regarding its authenticity. Further research and advancement in the detection methods will enable authenticity check and ensure integrity and quality of saffron.     

Patterns of food frauds and adulterations reported in the EU rapid alert system for food and feed and in Finland

Food control systems are sometimes challenged when requirements set by law are intentionally violated by Food Business Operators (FBOs) deliberately putting food on the market with the intention of deceiving the consumer (food fraud/adulteration). There is also a growing concern that in some cases food frauds could be considered more risky than traditional food safety threats since their public health risks are often unconventional and difficult to detect. In this study, food frauds/adulterations published in the EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) (n = 376) in 2008–2012, notifications of recalls published by the Finnish Food Safety Authority (Evira) (n = 50) in 2008–2012 and local Finnish cases (n = 16) in 2003–2012 were analysed to determine the overall pattern of reported frauds/adulterations in 2008–2012. Products originating from outside the borders were most often reported by both RASFF (92%) and Evira (90%), whereas local Finnish cases mainly dealt with domestic production (69%). In RASFF, 33% of notification reasons reported illegal or unauthorized trade, practices or adulteration/tampering, whereas the rest (67%) concerned detected frauds or intention of fraud in documentation. Missing, fraudulent or improper documents were also most commonly reported in local Finnish cases (63%), but the pattern was very different in Evira's notifications, where unauthorized food, ingredients or processes comprised 98% of all fraud notifications reasons. Both in RASFF fraud notifications (50%) and in local Finnish cases (88%), the majority of cases concerned food of animal origin, whereas in Evira's fraud notifications food supplements dominated (44%) and food of animal origin was reported only once (2%). The FBO was accused and found guilty of a health crime in 83% of local Finnish cases processed in court (n = 12). Although the differences detected in patterns of fraud/adulteration cases may be a reflection of true differences in frauds on the market, it may also indicate a risk of an overly narrow scope in surveillance of frauds/adulterations at the international, national or local level. This study also highlights the need to incorporate different types of data sources when planning national and international control systems for food frauds and adulterations.     

Knowledge of food safety and handling in households: A survey of food handlers in Mainland China

The objective of the study was to provide a picture of knowledge of food safety and handling in households and identify a demographic profile of “high-risk” groups with the poorest knowledge. A national survey of food handlers in Mainland China (n = 482) was conducted using previously validated closed questionnaires. The questionnaire consisted of 26 knowledge questions, which included 5 scales that covered key concepts of food safety and handling in households, and 7 demographic questions. The respondents demonstrated a very low level of knowledge and the mean score awarded to them was 7.95 (knowledge scores from 0 to 26). The data were further analyzed to determine differences in knowledge between populations of different demographics. Differences were found between male and female respondents (p < 0.01), urban and rural respondents (p < 0.01) and respondents with different income levels (p = 0.04). Two “high-risk” groups with the lowest level of knowledge are 1) male food handlers with a per capita annual income of less than 30,000 CNY (4773 USD) and 2) female food handlers who live in rural areas and have a per capita annual income below 30,000 CNY (4773 USD) and deserve special attention. This is the first national survey in Mainland China and the results suggested that developing educational programs related to food safety and handling in households of Mainland China are urgently needed.     

The impact of honey fraud information on the valuation of honey origin: Evidence from an incentivized economic experiment

While the adulteration or mislabeling of products as honey, or honey fraud, is a major concern for industry and regulators—leading to a burgeoning research literature on documenting characteristics of authentic, place-specific honey and developing new methods of detecting honey fraud, there is little evidence about the impact of honey fraud occurrence on consumer preferences. Studying consumer response to honey fraud is complicated by the unpredictable nature of detection of fraud and consumer exposure to information about fraud, which makes consumer experiments a valuable tool for understanding consumer response to honey fraud. In this binding valuation experiment, we examine consumer willingness to pay for four types of honey before and after exposure to honey fraud information (versus a control group): imported, domestic (US), local (Lincoln, Nebraska), and organic (no origin specified) honey. When consumers do not have information about honey fraud, they do not value US honey any more than imported honey, though they are willing to pay a premium for both organic and local honeys. When consumers read information about honey fraud, their valuation of imported honey decreases significantly—by over 20%. Valuation of the organic honey also decreases, though by a smaller amount (4%). On the other hand, valuation of both US and local honey increases. The combined effect of the decreased valuation of imported honey and increased valuation of US-produced honey yields a significant increase in the premiums that consumers are willing to pay for US and local honey over the imported honey. The results suggest that increased consumer awareness about honey fraud may lead to stronger preferences for honey produced in the US.     

Review of the current application of fingerprinting allowing detection of food adulteration and fraud in China

Food safety problem has become a serious problem all over the world particularly in China. There is a rapid increasing requirement for more accurate and sensitive detection method to cope the more subtle adulterations in food. This paper reviewed and linked the scattered research activity about the application and research conditions of fingerprinting method in food detection mainly in China. The classification, application domain, strengthens and limitations of fingerprinting technology were discussed. The results bring out the benefits of both professionals and scientists.     

Governing China's food quality through transparency: A review

In coping with food quality problems, China relies heavily on state institutions, such as laws and regulations, governmental standards and certification, and inspections and enforcement. Recently, transparency (or information disclosure) has been introduced in China's governance framework to cope with its growing food quality and related sustainability problems. This article investigates to what extent and how China's transparency institutions and practices regarding food production and products play a role in governing food quality and safety. Four forms of food chain transparency are distinguished and assessed: management transparency, regulatory transparency, consumer transparency and public transparency. It is concluded that in China food chain transparency is still in its infancy with respect to governing domestic food production and product quality and safety, and that only with respect to global (export) food chains transparency and accountability put some pressure on agro-food chain actors to improve their performance with respect to food quality and sustainability. By the same token furthering transparency on food quality is desperately needed as the state's food management and control system alone proves not capable to provide safe food that is credible and trusted by domestic consumers.     

A review on food safety and food hygiene studies in Ghana

Food safety and hygiene in Ghana was studied using desk top literature review. Food research was highly concentrated in the capital city of the country and most research focus were on commercial food operations specifically street foods and microbiological safety with limited information from institutional catering and other forms of food hazards. The media currently serves as the main source for reporting of food borne diseases. Food establishments and other sources contributing to food borne diseases included restaurants, food joints, food vendors, schools and individual homes. Limited use of prerequisites measures and food safety management systems was identified. Recommendations on regulating the General Hygiene Principles, implementation of HACCP to strengthen the food sector, regular food safety and hygiene workshops and training for food handlers that commensurate with their roles were made. Government support for SMEs and food handler's health screening were made.     

Preventing chemical contaminants in food: Challenges and prospects for safe and sustainable food production

Human exposure to chemical contaminants in food has resulted into various health related problems. To prevent and mitigate hazardous exposure to chemical contaminants in food, it is imperative to understand the sources and resultant health problems when exposed. The article, therefore, brings to light the issue of chemical contamination in food, which has become a growing concern due to its potential harm to human health. This is in line with the United Nations’ sustainable development goal number three, which seeks a substantial reduction of illnesses from chemical contamination by 2030.It covers a range of topics, including the various sources of chemical contamination, the health problems that can arise from exposure to these contaminants, and the presence of naturally occurring contaminants in food. The article emphasizes that the food production process, including processing, packaging, transportation, and storage, can greatly contribute to food contamination. The article suggests the appropriate legislative measures, along with strong surveillance and enforcement, that can help to reduce the amount of chemical contamination in food. To achieve this, the article advocates for the continued production of food with minimal chemical contamination.There is a need to consider the economic impact of diseases caused by toxic chemical exposure in food, in line with global sustainability and best practices goals. Finally, the article suggests that by adopting best practices from around the world, we can help to bridge knowledge gaps and provide benefits to developing countries.     

Evaluation of food safety training on hygienic conditions in food establishments

Food handlers' training is fundamental in order to ensure the safety of the foodstuff. However, the success of training programs that provide only information is unclear and changes in improper food practices are not usually achieved. Food training programs based on theoretical as well as practical activities have been revealed as an important tool in which food handlers can put information into practice. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess the influence of food safety training, based on both theoretical and practical approaches, on the microbiological counts of food contact surfaces, food tools, food equipment surfaces and hand washing in canteens and cafes of one university campus. After food safety training, total plate counts decreased about 60% in the case of canteens and almost 45% in cafes while moulds and yeasts decreased approximately 65% in canteens and 55% in cafes. In terms of location, the microbiological reductions observed were higher for food equipment in canteens and for food tools in cafes. The microbiological counts of food handlers' hands decreased after both food safety training and disinfection. Food safety training influenced the reduction of overall microbiological parameters. Parametric t-tests (after vs before training) indicated that reductions were statistically significant before and after disinfection for total plate counts. The decrease observed for total coliforms and Enterobacteriaceae, were statistically significant only before disinfection. The food safety programs cannot be based entirely on a theoretical approach but also on adequate training which includes a practical approach. The success of the microbiological reductions in the study was associated to the practical lessons which let the handler put into practice the knowledge acquired in the theoretical part.     

Barriers and benefits to the adoption of a third party certified food safety management system in the food processing sector in Shanghai,China

Despite the recent passing of legislation by the National People's Congress of China in 2009, many food businesses in China have yet to implement a third party certified food safety management system (FSMS). While the extent literature identifies a number of internal and external barriers and benefits, the extent to which these impact on the business is thought to be dependent upon how much progress the firm has made on its journey towards quality assurance and the environment within which the firm operates. To test this proposition, the barriers and the benefits accrued from the implementation of a third party certified FSMS were explored by segregating the participating firms into three distinct groups; (i) those that have yet to implement a third party certified FSMS; (ii) those that were in the process of adopting a third party certified FSMS; and (iii) those that were already operating under a third party certified FSMS. Contrary to expectations, in what is a highly competitive market, those firms which were operating under a third party certified FSMS were more likely to question the benefits they had derived than those firms that were either in the process of adoption or had chosen not to adopt a third party certified FSMS. Irrespective of the stage of adoption, the major constraint to the implementation of a third party certified FSMS was the need for the organisation to focus on more immediate issues and the lack of any strategic long-term planning.     

Knowledge of food safety and food handling practices amongst food handlers in the Republic of Ireland

Food safety concerns have existed for a long time, as millions of people across the globe suffer from food borne disease every year. Contamination of food owing to limited knowledge of food safety practices primarily increases the risk of food borne illnesses. In the present study, quantitative research was carried out to gauge the level of food safety knowledge amongst people living in Ireland. A total of 1069 participants from all over the Republic of Ireland contributed to the survey (of which 821 were included in this research). Results showed that the residents of Ireland overall had an average level on knowledge of food safety practices (67.0% passing rate). They had an average level of knowledge in food storage (52.8% passing rate), usage and maintenance of the kitchen facilities (59.0% passing rate), and personal hygiene (61.0% passing rate). Conversely, they had a critically low level of knowledge in food handling (10.8% passing rate) and food poisoning (20.1% passing rate). The results of the present study also showed that, the level of knowledge of food safety practices varies amongst the residents based upon their gender, age, place of residence, education level, and marital status, while no significant difference in the knowledge level was observed based upon their per capita income. The study thus, highlights that there is scope for improvement for the residents to advance their knowledge of food safety practices. Therefore, it can be recommended that researchers, educators, food safety communicators, and the media can engage in educating the population, to help the residents advance their food safety knowledge to safer food practices.     

Improvement of food safety in school meal service during a long-term intervention period: a strategy based on the knowledge,attitude and practice triad

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the development of food safety scores in school meal services during the application of a systematic intervention based on the knowledge, attitude and practice triad. A total of 68 public schools were included in the study. School meal services were assessed every three months with a checklist, which resulted in eight evaluations over two years. A program was developed and implemented in all the schools during this period that was comprised of three steps: 1) theoretical training, 2) implementation of action plans in situ and 3) weekly visits to motivate food handlers and monitor good practices. These steps were designed to promote changes in the attitudes and practices of food handlers. An ascending linear function was observed for the school meal services' general adequacy percentage over time. Positive developments were also observed regarding buildings and facilities, processes and procedures, distribution of meals, integrated pest management, water control, controls and records, health and safety of employees and equipment and utensils. Our results suggest that the proposed intervention strategy performs well in making school meal services conform to good practices and that strategies in this context should be permanent and continuous.     

Knowledge,attitude and practices of food safety amongst food handlers in the coastal resort of Guangdong,China

In order to identify risk factors contributing to foodborne disease outbreaks in Guangdong province, China, the present study evaluated the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of food safety among food handlers in a coastal resort area that has a high incidence of foodborne disease outbreaks from Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The KAP of 171 food handlers from 22 food establishments—including seven food establishments in which outbreaks had occurred and 15 in which outbreaks had not occurred—were evaluated.A self-administered questionnaire designed to access the KAP of food safety was completed by the food handlers. The majority of respondents didn't know the maximum stored time at room temperature and the most common agent of foodborne disease in seafood. Most of the respondents' attitudes about food safety and training were positive. When asked about the practices undertaken, about one-fifth of the respondents admitted they had mixed food (raw and cooked) containers in varying degrees. There was significant variance among different food establishments, different ages, and different times of training. Training programs may achieve good results, but training should be more selective, educate the trainees to realize food safety is more important than fresh seafood, target how to cook seafood and lower the risk of microbiology in food, and conduct particularly focused training among managers and newcomers.     

Knowledge,attitudes and practices of food handlers on food safety in food service operations at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

This study was conducted to determine the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices of food handlers in food service operation at the main campus of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) regarding food safety. Data were collected from 112 food handlers through questionnaires which consisted of questions about knowledge, attitudes and practices. The results showed that there was significantly positive correlation among the three levels and respondents possess good scores for knowledge (19.68 ± 3.87) about personal hygiene, foodborne diseases and temperature control of food; for attitudes (89.26 ± 8.66) on safe food handling, and for practices (90.02 ± 8.23), specifically for appropriate hand washing, use of gloves in food preparation and prevention of food hazards. About 73.2% of respondents never attend any training related to food safety and majority show poor knowledge of pathogens associated with disease-causing agents as well as critical temperatures for storage of ready-to-eat foods. Therefore, effective and ongoing training on food safety and hygiene must be given to all food service employees to ensure the safety of food provided.     

Street food on the coast of Salvador,Bahia, Brazil: A study from the socioeconomic and food safety perspectives

Street food includes various food items and drinks largely sold in public places, including leisure areas such as beaches. Despite the prevalence at this activity studies made within this scenario are few. Therefore, this study sought to characterize street food commercialization on the Salvador coast in Bahia, Brazil based on the socioeconomic, labor, and food safety perspectives. An exploratory and quantitative study was conducted on 14 beaches using questionnaires addressing the following areas: the socio-demographic characteristics of the food vendors, characteristics of the work, and hygienic and sanitary conditions of the activity. Our study included 247 food vendors with an average age of 40.3 years, of whom 55.9% were women, and 48.7% had completed an elementary education or less. The median time spent working in street food vending was nine years, and the average working day for the participants was 8.3 Furthermore, 46.2% of the participants worked only on weekends and 72.0% declared that their family income was between one and three times the minimum wage, of whom 29.1% had revenue from a source other than street food vending. Most of the vendor locations were fixed (57.5%), and the products sold were typically obtained from supermarkets (48.1%), suppliers (36.8%), and street markets (36.0%). Prepared food items were the most common (61.6%), although mineral water/soft drinks (35.8%) and beer (35.2%) were also commonly sold items, followed by acarajé (21.9%), coconut water (19.0%), fried fish (14.2%), and abará (12.5%). Only 38.3% of the perishable food items were kept in cooling containers. Of the interviewed individuals, 22.6% declared that they did not sanitize their hands when working, whereas 80.2% admitted to handling food and money simultaneously. Our study reveals the socioeconomic importance of the street food sector as well as the poor hygienic conditions of most street food vendor operations.     

The role of theoretical food safety training on Brazilian food handlers' knowledge,attitude and practice

The objectives of this study were 1. to identify the relationship of theoretical training with knowledge, attitudes, self-reported practices and observed practices and 2. to identify variables that influence observed practices. This study was cross-sectional and involved 183 randomly selected food handlers from different food businesses in Santos City, Brazil, as follows: street food kiosks, beach kiosks, restaurants, hospitals and school meal services. To evaluate knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practices, a structured questionnaire was used. Observed practices were evaluated using a checklist. A researcher observed and followed each food handler throughout the process of food handling/preparation during a workday. The majority of participants (68.3%) had participated in at least one food safety training session. The average percentage of correct answers on the knowledge questionnaire was 64%. Food handlers who had undergone training presented higher knowledge scores but did not differ from those who had not regarding attitudes, self-reported practices and observed practices. A regression model was used to study the variables associated with observed practices (p < 0.001). The variables related to observed practices were the knowledge score (β = 0.27, p < 0.01), experience (in years as a food handler) (β = 0.19, p = 0.01), the relationship between the number of meals and the number of food handlers (β = −0.19, p = 0.01), buildings and facilities adequacy (β = 0.20, p = 0.01) and the presence of a nutritionist (β = 0.42, p < 0.001). This study showed that training based on theoretical aspects is not related to the attitudes, self-reported practices and observed practices of Brazilian food handlers from different food services. However, training seems to be an effective tool for improving knowledge. The current wording of Brazilian legislation motivates food handlers to undergo training only for certification. Food safety laws should not only require certification but also enable the establishment of policies to monitor and ensure the adequacy of food services.     

Food safety pre-warning system based on data mining for a sustainable food supply chain

In recent years, the food safety incidents happened frequently in china, and then the problems related to food quality and safety have attracted more and more social attention. Considering the concern with regard to quality sustainability in food supply chain, many companies have developed a real time data monitoring system to ensure products quality in the supply chain network. In this paper, we proposed a food safety pre-warning system, adopting association rule mining and Internet of Things technology, to timely monitor all the detection data of the whole supply chain and automatically pre-warn. The aim of pre-warning system is to help managers in food manufacturing firm to find food safety risk in advance, and to give some decision support information to maintain the quality and safety of food products. A case study of a dairy producer was conducted, and the results showed that the proposed pre-warning system can effectively identify safety risks and accurately determine whether a warning should be issued, depending on the expert analysis when an abnormality is detected by the system. In addition, implications of the proposed approach were discussed, and suggestions for future work were outlined.     

Evaluation of basic knowledge on food safety and food handling practices amongst migrant food handlers in Peninsular Malaysia

This study was aimed to measure the basic knowledge on food safety and food handling practices among migrant food handlers as these information is scarce in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted face-to-face amongst 383 migrant food handlers from three major cities in Peninsular Malaysia through questionnaire. Socio-demographic information of all respondents was collected. Questions on food safety knowledge (i.e. food cleanliness and hygiene, symptom of foodborne illnesses and foodborne pathogens) and food handling practices were assessed. The compiled data were analyzed by using the Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS) 16.0. Overall, migrant food handlers had poor level of knowledge on food safety with an average food handling practice. Significant effects were observed between respondents’ food safety knowledge and socio-demography (country of origin and educational level) and two factors namely; respondents’ nationality and attendance at food training programs showed significant associations with their food handling practices. Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that attendance at food training programs was a significant and independent predictor of the respondent’s food handling practice. The study’s findings highlighted issues with regards to the extent of knowledge acquisition on food safety and hygiene by migrant food handlers. Therefore, this warrants improvements not only in the better delivery methods of training modules but also tight enforcement of attendance at the programs by the respective authorities.     

Lateral flow assays based on aptamers for food safety applications

Food safety has become the focus of social attention with the rapid development of economic society and the improvement of living standards. Food detection plays an important role in food safety. In recent years, efficient and rapid detection technology is one of the conventional means of food safety screening, effectively preventing the occurrence of food safety events. Because of the advantages of short detection time, simple operation, high sensitivity, and economy, lateral flow assay (LFA) provides an ideal platform for on-site detection. The key to developing a lateral-flow biosensor is to identify biorecognition molecules, design strategies, and labels according to the target. Aptamers have comparable specificity and affinity to antibodies, making them a viable alternative. Nanoparticles can not only be used as labels for qualitative and quantitative detection, but also their rigidity can stabilize the spatial structure of aptamers, ensuring maintenance of their affinity and specificity in complex matrices. A review of the field finds that the application of nanoparticles is mainly focused on GNPs. Aptamer-based dipstick detection still lags behind antibody-based dipstick detection in actual field detection. It is conceivable that the application of aptamer and nanoparticle combination in LFA has both challenges and opportunities. In this paper, the above content is briefly introduced and reviewed in order to provide help for the development of LFA based on aptamer-functionalized nanoparticles.     

Vending machines: Food safety and quality assessment focused on food handlers and the variables involved in the industry

The purpose of this paper was to analyse the quality and safety parameters of food products sold in vending machines. A hygienic-sanitary assessment was conducted on 338 vending machines located on the island of Gran Canaria. Hygiene Assessment System (HAS) surveys, food handler examinations and microbiological (processed food and water) and physicochemical (water) controls were applied, permitting evaluation through the identification of the main risks and/or hazards of the hygienic-sanitary quality of the products sold in vending machines.Despite the positive results obtained from the HAS surveys applied to all the vending machines, achieving a total mean score of 87.6 ± 7.5 out of 100, the microbiological analysis showed that 5.7% of the 105 food samples were contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, while Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were below the legally permitted limits. The lack of vehicles able to transport perishable food at correct temperatures (<8 °C) and the fact that some refrigerated vending machines were not at an ideal cooling temperature may have contributed to these values.The assessment tools used in this study revealed hygienic deficiencies in the transportation and microbiological quality of the products, despite the favourable results obtained in the HAS surveys and food handler examinations, indicating that this relationship should be the subject of further study to improve its usefulness in the field of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points.