Food Safety Magazine, February/March 2013

Testingheat treatment, the toxins can remain inthe food product as contaminants.Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolitesproduced by fungi (molds) thatcan colonize various crops. They are ofconcern mainly in cereals, nuts, infantformula, milk, dried fruit, baby food,coffee, fruit juice and wine. There aremany mycotoxins, but only a few arecurrently regulated, with the EuropeanUnion having a more comprehensive listthan most other countries, which includesaflatoxins, ochratoxin A, patulin,deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, fumonisinsand T-2/HT-2 toxins. Different mycotoxinsare prevalent in different climatesand in various growing and storage conditions.Marine biotoxins, such as saxitoxin,domoic acid, okadaic acid or ciguatoxin,are highly toxic compounds produced byphytoplankton. During so-called harmfulalgal bloom events, they can accumulatein fish or shellfish, such as clams, mussels,scallops or oysters, to levels that canpose serious health risks or even be lethalto humans.Unapproved Food Additives and AdulterantsFood adulteration can happen accidentallywhen unapproved additivesare introduced to the food, or the wrongadditive is introduced through formulationerror. This results in mislabeledfood. Perhaps a larger health issue iswhen foods are adulterated intentionallyfor economic reasons to sell a low-valuefood or material for more or to maskfood spoilage. Some adulteration mayjust mislead or cheat consumers, suchas adding high fructose corn syrup tohoney, but some may be harmful tothem. The most notorious example fromrecent years is the addition of melamineto whey and other protein concentratesto increase their apparent protein contentanalyzed as total nitrogen. Otherexamples include the use of toxic Sudandyes in adulterated chili powders or adulterationof virgin olive oil with hazelnutoil, which can cause unexpected allergicreactions in sensitive individuals.Analysis of Known ChemicalContaminants in FoodMost known chemical contaminantsin foods are small organic molecules.Except for high-level adulterants, theyare typically present in foods at lowconcentrations (parts per trillion to partsper million); thus, their analyses in complexfood matrices are often quite challenging.The basic analytical approachinvolves an extraction using a suitablesolvent, cleanup to remove interferingmatrix components, a chromatographicseparation and a selective detection.It is not an exaggeration to say thatthe implementation of mass spectrometry(MS) as a detection technique hastruly revolutionized the analysis ofchemical contaminants in foods. Asopposed to element-selective or nonselectivedetectors, MS can detect a wide(continued on page 65)F e b r u a r y • M a r c h 2 0 1 3 15