New tests for food and feed contaminants
The presence of chemical contaminants in food is one of the principal concerns among food-related risks for European citizens. However, current screening tools for food contaminants are slow, complex and generally designed to detect only a single compound. The EU-funded 'Contaminants in food and feed: Inexpensive detection for control of exposure' (CONFFIDENCE) project was set up to help address these issues. The project team was tasked with developing screening tools for a wide range of common food and feed contaminants. CONFFIDENCE used a number of recently developed multiplex sensing methods that can rapidly screen samples for multiple contaminants simultaneously. The developed tests were all validated through laboratory testing and field trials. An emphasis was placed on cereals, fish (feed) and seafood, but tests were developed for other foods and feeds too. The list of contaminants for which CONFFIDENCE developed tests covers organic pollutants, pesticides, antibiotics, coccidiostats, inorganic arsenic, methylmercury, alkaloids, marine biotoxins and mycotoxins. Some of the developed tests were used in a large survey on organic pollutants, inorganic arsenic and methylmercury levels in seafood. The tests were also used to investigate the health risks of new marine biotoxins (spirolides and palytoxin). Several of the multiplex tests developed by CONFFIDENCE are now commercially available, while others are in the process of being commercialised. The outcomes of this project will have a far-reaching impact on consumer health in Europe and worldwide.
Keywords
Food, multiplex test, chemical contaminant, animal feed, screening tool, seafood, cereals
