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The high consumption of dietary supplements was a fundamental driver for the creation of the regulatory framework by the Brazilian governmental authorities. However, the regulatory agencies lack official low-cost methodologies to evaluate the quality of food supplements. A preliminary screening method by HPLC-DAD was proposed and validated for screening and quantification of adulterants in dietary supplements. The limits of detection and quantification were <0.11 and 0.37 µg.g -1 , respectively. The method was applied for the investigation of ten unauthorized substances (spironolactone, hydrochlorothiazide, furosemide, clenbuterol, testosterone, testosterone propionate, yohimbine, vardenafil, tadalafil, and sildenafil) with a time of analysis of <5 min. Sixteen percent of the 44 samples analyzed had at least one adulterant at or above therapeutic concentrations. Subsequently, in vitro evaluations were performed of the potential cytotoxicity to evaluate the cell viability, DNA damage, determination of nitric oxide levels, and quantification of reactive oxygen species. Despite the necessity of further studies, the results indicate a relationship between the presence of adulterants in food supplements and a potential cytotoxic effect.

Dietary supplements are drastically growing as a category of consumer products all over the world. The abuse of supplements marketed for slimming purposes and physical fitness has been observed worldwide in recent years, which raises concerns in terms of public health. In this study, different types of dietary supplements marketed and delivered through the e -commerce were studied for the determination of thallium as a hazardous inorganic contaminant. The total content of thallium was determined by a sensitive voltammetric method after a microwave-assisted oxidative digestion of the sample. In addition, a comparative spectrometric method was applied for validation of the results in the samples. The maximum concentration found for thallium was found to be 2.89 mg kg -1 , which well agree with the comparative measurement. Considering the 32 studied formulations, it can be pointed out that ∼24% of the of dietary supplements presented Tl concentrations at concentrations higher than 1 mg kg -1 . The results permitted the assessment of the health risk related to thallium from contaminated samples, based on the calculation of the estimated daily intake (EDI) and the risk quotient (HQ). The highest daily intake of thallium was calculated as 82.0 µg day -1 in a protein-based supplement, which is equivalent to an EDI of 1.17 µg kg -1  day -1 . This work highlights the need to develop regulations on the limits of toxic elements such as thallium in widely consumed dietary supplements, as well as an in-depth look at the adverse effects caused by this element in the human body.

A rapid method for the detection and quantification of the adulteration of milk powder by the addition of whey was assessed by measuring glycomacropeptide protein using mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIR). Fluid milk samples were dried and then spiked with different concentrations of GMP and whey. Calibration models were developed using multivariate techniques, from spectral data. For the principal component analysis and discriminant analysis, excellent percentages of correct classification were achieved in accordance with the increase in the proportion of whey samples. For partial least squares regression analysis, the correlation coefficient (r) and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) in the best model were 0.9885 and 1.17, respectively. The rapid analysis, low cost monitoring and high throughput number of samples tested per unit time indicate that MIR spectroscopy may hold potential as a rapid and reliable method for detecting milk powder frauds using cheese whey., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Pharmaceutical adulterants are commonly found in herbal weight loss products, and analytical techniques for detecting these adulterants have become increasingly important to the public health community. Previously we reported a novel analytical method for the determination of adulterants in herbal formulations by capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection. The current study refines this previously described technique by testing if anxiolytics, diuretics, and laxatives interfered with the detection of anorectics and antidepressants. A survey of herbal weight loss products sold by compounding pharmacies in Brazil were analysed to determine the presence of pharmaceutical adulterants. A total of 106 herbal products, collected from 73 pharmacies in nine Brazilian states, were analysed for amfepramone, sibutramine, fenproporex, fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline and bupropion using the new analytical method. The method permitted the rapid and selective screening for the seven adulterants. Of the 106 weight loss products sampled, four (3.8%) were found to be adulterated by fenproporex or sibutramine. The adulterated samples were compounded by four different pharmacies located in three different Brazilian states. The novel capillary electrophoresis method we developed may be a useful tool for public health organisations tasked with analysing herbal weight loss products.

Trace element analysis plays an important role in oil characterisation and in the detection of oil adulteration because the quality of edible oils and fats is affected by their trace metal content. In this study, the quantification of selected metals in various oils and fats (rice oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, soy oil, olive oil, light margarine, regular margarine and butter) was carried out using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) after sample emulsification. FAAS was used to determine the Na, K, Ca, Mg, Zn and Fe levels in the samples, while GFAAS was used for quantifying Cr, Ni, As, Pb, Cd, Cu and Mn, as these elements appeared in the samples at much lower concentrations. Tween-80 and Triton X-100 were employed as surfactants, and emulsions were prepared by a conventional method that involved heating and mixing of the constituents. Complete stabilisation was achieved through magnetic stirring for 15 min at room temperature. The evaluated figures of merit were linearity, accuracy and sensitivity, which were determined by the characteristic concentration and mass. Analysis of spiked samples demonstrated accuracy, which ranged from 90% (Na) to 112% (Fe) for FAAS and from 83% (Cd) to 121% (Pb) for GFAAS measurements. Atomic absorption spectrometry proved to be a promising approach for the analysis of metals in emulsified edible oils and fats. Additionally, under appropriate emulsification conditions (formulation, stirring time and temperature), the emulsions were homogeneous, had excellent stability, and had appropriate viscosity. The proposed method has proved to be simple, sensitive, reproducible, and economical.

Background: Silicate (Si) and aluminum (Al) may be concomitant impurities in solutions for parenteral nutrition (PN). Silicate can bind to Al to form stable hydroxyaluminosilicates (HAS), thus reducing Al availability. This possibility is investigated by heating solutions containing constituents of PN in glass containers to promote the release of Si and Al., Methods: The total amount of Si and Al in solution is measured by atomic absorption spectrometry, and the Al not bound to Si is evaluated by reaction with morin., Results: When the Si:Al molar ratio is >5, no free Al is found in solution. For ratios <5, it is found that the lower the ratio, the higher the free Al fraction. However, in solutions of some amino acids, even with a low Si:Al ratio (<2), the amount of free Al is lower than that found in other solutions. The same tendency is observed among commercial formulations. Although in salt solutions the free fraction of Al reaches almost 100% when the Si concentration is low, in amino acid formulations the free fraction of Al does not surpass 50%. Moreover, even for Si:Al ratios >5, there is a "residual" fraction of free Al in amino acid formulations., Conclusions: The concomitant presence of Al and Si in solutions for PN reduces the amount of Al available attributable to the formation of HAS. In amino acid formulations this effect may be slightly reduced given the affinity of certain amino acids for Al. Therefore, amino acids may behave in the same fashion as silicate.

The aim of this study was to evaluate habits and practices of cheese consumers toward their level of knowledge of food safety. A total of 1000 people were interviewed in several cities of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Five hundred thirty-eight (53.8%) people consume cheese daily, while 318 (31.8%) and 144 (14.4%) consume cheese weekly and monthly, respectively. Five hundred twenty-two (52%) people reported its usage as an ingredient used in the preparation of other dishes, while 320 (32%) of the interviewed people consume cheese directly as a part of the diet. Typical Brazilian cheeses such as "Minas Frescal" and "Prato" cheese are preferred by 528 (52.8%) of the consumers. Of the total consumers, 764 (76.4%) purchase cheese from supermarkets, while 236 (23.6%) from open-air markets. Inspected cheese is purchased by 350 (35%) consumers, while 650 (65%) buy it without knowing if they were submitted to previous fiscalization. Four hundred thirty (43%) consumers do not know any disease transmitted by cheese that has not been inspected. Overall, educational campaigns must be developed by the Sanitary Surveillance and the Health Agencies to improve the knowledge of the consumer about food safety of cheeses.