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Sweet spreads are characterized by high sugar and fat content, high sensory acceptability among all generations, but also low nutritional value. In order to increase the nutritional value/reduce the caloric value, sweet spreads are enriched with various additives and/or replacements for specific ingredients. Cocoa shell is a by-product of the food industry which, due to its favorable nutritional composition (fiber, polyphenols), is increasingly used in the production of functional products. In the development of a new product, sensory characterization is one of the key indicators of quality and possible success in the market. In this study, the sensory properties of sweet spreads with the addition of different share of cocoa shell in combination with sugar substitutes (xylitol and stevia) and various fats and emulsifiers against a control sample (sweet spread without cocoa shell) were examined. Sensory attributes (form, color, surface, consistency, chewing, odor and taste) of the sweet spreads were evaluated by a panel of 5 assessors using the scoring method. Although all enriched sweet spreads were rated lower than the control, samples with a higher cocoa shell content were rated better than product with the lowest added cocoa shell content, which had the lowest total weighted score. Overall, all enriched sweet spreads are acceptable because the average points of individual sensory properties as well as all total weighted scores are more than the minimum acceptable values. Future researches are needed to evaluate new combinations of cocoa shell and other additives/replacements to improve the sensory attributes of cocoa shell sweet spreads.

During the 4 years of the project, samples were collected in different parts of Croatia. In the project, samples of honey, olive oil, meat, cheese, soil, and water were collected, while samples of honey, olive oil, meat, cheese and soil were analysed for pesticide residues. For the preparation of samples, the QuEChERS method was utilized for the honey and olive oil samples and a modified version for the soil samples. A gas chromatograph-tandem mass spectrometer (GC-MS/ MS) Shimadzu TQ-8050NX and a liquid chromatograph tandem mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS) Agilent 1260 Infinity II were used to conduct analyses of pesticide residue. Over 600 active chemicals were examined in a combined 150 honey samples, 200 olive oil samples, and 200 soil samples. It was discovered that certain honey samples contain the unapproved chemical coumaphos while pesticide residues were being monitored. Coumaphos tends to gather in wax, where it stays for a while and then gradually transitions into honey. The oil samples contained a variety of pesticide residues, some of which are illegal to use in the EU (such as chlorpyrifos) and others whose concentrations are over the Maximum Residue Level (MRL). Farmers’ continued usage of outdated supplies is tied to the use of prohibited plant protection products. Farmers are able to buy and use pesticides that have not been approved in Croatia’s neighbouring countries. Pesticide residual levels in all soil samples were below the quantifiable limit (LOQ). The results of this research point to the need for increased monitoring and control of food products for pesticide residues. Acknowledgements: This work was carried out within the project “Food Safety and Quality Center” (KK.01.1.1.02.0004). The project is co-financed by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund.

Glyphosate (N-(phosphonomethhyl)glycine) is one of the most commonly used herbicides throughout agriculture all over the world. It is a broad- spectrum systemic herbicide and crop desiccant and acts by inhibiting specific essential plant enzyme prevents production of aromatic amino acid required for life maintainig protein synthesis. In 2015 the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IRAC) concluded that glyphosate is probably carcinogenic, although all regulatory assessments have established that glyphosate has low hazzard potential to mammals. In 2017 the European Commission renewed the approval of glyphosate for 5 years, but safety profile of the herbicide glyphosate and its commercial formulations is still controversial. In house method for determination of glyphosate was developed and fully validated according Sante/12682/2019. The samples were cleaned up by Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) after derivatization with 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl chloride (FMOC-CL) and quantified by UPLC-MS/MS method to determine glyphosate residue. The limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method was 0, 05 µg/kg. Recoveries were 96, 9% (RSD 2, 6%) for barley, 93, 8% (RSD 5, 71%) for carrot and 103, 4% (RSD 2, 5%) for lemon. The performance of the method was confirmed by the satisfactory results (z-score