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.
Innovative tools for rapid and multiple detection, identification and ...
Highlights
Coordinator
MetaOmics and MultiOmics approaches will be used for the identification and quantification of toxic compounds in novel sources or ingredients, also to anticipate risks related to novel foods and new sustainable food processes. The culture collection from task 3.1.1 will be used for challenge experiments in pilot plants mimicking industrial manufacturing. Food toxicants in new ingredients and food processing technologies will be evaluated (in connection with Spoke 2). Allergenicity (also with computational approaches) and toxicity will be considered by in vitro and in vivo tests. Exposure assessment and risk- benefit assessment (RBA) of novel foods will be performed.
Completion of novel food/technologies microbiological RA (M30)
RA of food toxicants (M30)
Workflows for innovative allergenicity assessment
Climate changes are altering abiotic factors affecting infection by microbial agents and the classes of biological and chemical contaminants in raw materials and derived products of staple food crops as well as colonization of naturally driven fermentation of foods. Furthermore, new dietary patterns and environmental challenges are increasing the panel of harmful compounds in foods, such as allergens, biogenic amines, dioxins, heavy metals, mycotoxins, pesticides, thus introducing new potential toxicological risks associated to food and feed consumption. The availability of advanced and innovative methods for the simultaneous detection of harmful compounds in foods is highly demanded to provide occurrence data in these food categories and perform massive screening and monitoring that can assist food risk assessment from field to food production and consumption. In addition, new reliable criteria to assess the risk of allergenicity of plant-based foods are required.
Detection and characterization of microbial and chemical contaminants in food products, from field to fork will be performed. PCR-based toxigenic fungi (TF) detection assays (conventional PCR, real-time PCR, reverse transcriptase-PCR, loop-mediated isothermal amplification, multiplex PCR) will be developed from the TF genome sequences, exploiting DNA specific features highlighted by comparative analysis. Rapid methods based on antibodies and/or ssDNA aptamers will be developed for the determination of allergens, biogenic amines, dioxins, heavy metals, mycotoxins, pesticides in raw material and foods from the Mediterranean agro-food systems. Concerning allergens, in vitro digestion of plant allergenic food products will be carried out using the harmonized static gastrointestinal digestion model: Protein digestion products will be characterized by mass spectrometry and digestion-resistant peptides will be monitored in human biological fluids (urine, plasma and human milk) to assess bioavalibility.
Increasing knowledge of natural genetic biodiversity related to mycotoxigenic risk will be collected in selected crops and food, about mycotoxin contaminants and related main toxicogenic fungal species.
New assays for detection and identification of toxigenic fungi will be developed, to boost the safety level of food and feedstuff, offering essential tools at critical control points across food and feed chains.
New rapid methods for the detection of mycotoxins, pesticides and biogenic amines in traditional foods
Report on the possible VOCs target for the rapid detection of undesired microbes and compounds.
Identification and gross quantification of peptides deriving from food allergens in human biological fluids. In vitro and in vivo protein digestibility as a weight-of-evidence criterium for assessing the allergenic potential of plant-based foods.
List of the common pollutants (mainly heavy metals and pesticides) in honeybee products (honey, pollen, wax, pollen, ecc.) for implementing the risk assessment protocol.
