• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.291-303
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• 2020

Marine organism-derived toxins have negative effects not only on human health but also in aquaculture, fisheries, and marine ecosystems. However, traditional analytical methods are insufficient in preventing this threat. In this paper, we reviewed new rapid methods of toxin detection, which have been improved by adopting diverse types of nanomaterials and technologies. Moreover, we herein describe the main strategies for toxin detection and their related sensing performance. Notably, to popularize and commercialize these newly developed technologies, simplifying the process of pre-treating real samples real samples is very important. As part of these efforts, numerous studies have reported pretreatment methods based on the antibody-immobilized magnetic nanoparticles, and some cases have applied nanoparticles to enhance the sensing performance by utilizing the intrinsic catalytic activity. Furthermore, some reports have introduced fluorescent nanoparticles, such as quantum dots, to represent the lower detection limits of conventional enzyme-based colorimetric methods and lateral flow assays. Some studies using electrochemical measurements based on aptamer-nanoparticle complexes have also been announced. In addition, as the response to new toxins generated by changes in the marine environment is still lacking, further research on diagnostic and detection is also greatly needed for these kinds of marine toxins and their derivatives.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2019

The health benefits associated with consumption of fresh produce have been clearly demonstrated and encouraged by international nutrition and health authorities. However, since fresh produce is usually minimally processed, increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables has also led to a simultaneous escalation of foodborne illness cases. According to the report by the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 10 people suffer from foodborne diseases and 420,000 die every year globally. In comparison to other processed foods, fresh produce can be easily contaminated by various routes at different points in the supply chain from farm to fork. This review is focused on the identification and characterization of possible sources of foodborne illnesses from chemical, biological, and physical hazards and the applicable methodologies to detect potential contaminants. Agro-chemicals (pesticides, fungicides and herbicides), natural toxins (mycotoxins and plant toxins), and heavy metals (mercury and cadmium) are the main sources of chemical hazards, which can be detected by several methods including chromatography and nano-techniques based on nanostructured materials such as noble metal nanoparticles (NMPs), quantum dots (QDs) and magnetic nanoparticles or nanotube. However, the diversity of chemical structures complicates the establishment of one standard method to differentiate the variety of chemical compounds. In addition, fresh fruits and vegetables contain high nutrient contents and moisture, which promote the growth of unwanted microorganisms including bacterial pathogens (Salmonella, E. coli O157: H7, Shigella, Listeria monocytogenes, and Bacillus cereus) and non-bacterial pathogens (norovirus and parasites). In order to detect specific pathogens in fresh produce, methods based on molecular biology such as PCR and immunology are commonly used. Finally, physical hazards including contamination by glass, metal, and gravel in food can cause serious injuries to customers. In order to decrease physical hazards, vision systems such as X-ray inspection have been adopted to detect physical contaminants in food, while exceptional handling skills by food production employees are required to prevent additional contamination.