Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Development of innovative high-resolution mass spectrometry-based meth...
Standard protocols (ISO), whole genome sequencing (WGS), computational methodologies, and MetaOmic approaches (metagenomics, metatrascriptomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, culturomics and phenomics) will be applied for the identification and characterization of the new and (re)-emerging chemical and biological hazards in traditional products, related to climate changes, microbial evolution, and modifications in the manufacturing processes. Omics techniques will also be applied to study factors affecting the survival and the stress resistance mechanisms of pathogens and antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria during food processing and shelf life. In addition, a CAD-based automatic feature recognition procedure will be developed for hygienic design of food machinery, as a prerequisite for GMP in food production.
The task includes evaluation of safety parameters in traditional and novel foods through the development of: a) chemical sensors and immunosensors for the selective detection of algal and plant toxins, and trace allergens; b) portable devices based on laser photoacoustic spectroscopy (LPAS) and other spectroscopy techniques; c) Ambient Desorption Ionisation methods with High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (DESI-HRMS); e) use of rt-PCR and digital droplet-PCR to evaluate new and (re)-emerging foodborne pathogenic species; f) metabolomics and proteomics strategies coupled to pathway analysis to evaluate the effects of emerging and re-emerging contaminants; d) analytical techniques, i.e., spectroscopic and MS-based, to determine biogenic amines, pesticides, veterinary drug residues, mycotoxins and processing toxicants; and g) new Matrix-Reference Materials to be characterised for food safety parameters will be developed, including preparation of test-lots, their characterization and homogeneity and stability studies.
Safety assessment of traditional and novel foods through targeted and untargeted methodologies (M36)
Report on the development and testing of new analytical techniques for targeted analysis of contaminants (M36)
Omics protocols to evaluate food safety
The demand for safe food and the increasing request for antibiotic-free food chains requires both the improvement of production processes and the effective monitoring of raw materials adopting innovative analytical strategies. The presence of emerging and re-emerging contaminants, among which chemotherapics with antimicrobial activity in both traditional and novel food can be assessed by using mass spectrometry (MS)-based techniques enabling the development of reliable analytical strategies for targeted, large-scale untargeted modes as well as multi-omic platforms for food safety assessment. Advanced data acquisition modes in high resolution-MS permit a comprehensive profiling of food samples, with the possibility to perform also retrospective analysis, thus representing a valuable tool both to study the metabolic changes developed by organisms in presence of external contaminants and to verify the absence of antibiotics in the food chains.
Definition of the most suitable sampling strategy for: i) metabolite profiling of meat and milk from groups of animals treated and untreated by beta-lactams, tetracyclines, quinolones and aminoglycosides; ii) assessing the effects of novel agro-sustainable treatments.
Development and validation of innovative liquid chromatography-HRMS methods for the targeted and untargeted analysis of the selected food matrices.
Highly sensitive and reliable HRMS-based analytical strategies for the target and untargeted analysis of the selected food matrices.
Molecular profiling followed by pathway analysis of the selected food products to better understand metabolic mechanisms put in place by organisms in response to the presence of foreign contaminants.
Markers of exposure.
