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A microbiological study of saffron spice was undertaken in the context of a European research project (Methodologies for Implementing International Standards for Saffron Purity and Quality, the acronym for which is SAFFIC), analyzing 79 samples obtained from the main producer countries, namely Greece, Iran, Italy, Morocco, and Spain. Current microbiological quality criteria are the same as for other spices, but saffron is added in minute quantities during the cooking process, so the health risk associated with microbial contamination might be lower. We did not detect Salmonella either by culture or by PCR methods in any sample, and Escherichia coli was only found in five samples. Enterobacteriaceae were frequently found (70.9% of the samples), but most of them belonged to species of probable environmental origin. Aerobic sporulated bacteria were also common, but only three samples contained Bacillus cereus at low levels (<200 CFU g(-1)). Clostridium perfringens counts were also very low, with only one sample reaching >100 CFU g(-1), an acceptable value. Overall, microbial contamination in saffron was markedly lower than it was in other spices.

ARTÍCULO ORIGINALInsumos utilizados en la preparación de alimentos en producción porcina y su potencial de contaminación por dioxinas en la carneFeed materials used in the preparation of food in pork production and its potential for dioxin contamination in the meat SUMMARYThis study assessed the contribution of various feed ingredients used in swine feeding as a source of dioxins, furans and dioxin like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) contamination in pork, considering the dietary changes during breeding, raising and fattening. Raw materials or feed ingredients were separated into different categories, developing a dataset with EROD/H4IIE bioassay results (determination of 7-Ethoxyresorufin O-Deethylase activity in H4IIE hepatoma cell line). Two types of diets were established that considered the varying percentages of ingredients necessary during the productive cycle of these animals. These two diets were based on those of common use in Chile. A descriptive analysis of the information contained in the dataset was performed, characterising the observations behaviour. A transfer model in which the body burden of dioxin increases proportionally to the consumption of contaminated food was proposed. The highest average contaminant concentration, expressed as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin equivalent toxics derived from the EROD/H4IIE bioassay (TCDD-EQ/g) was found in ingredients of mineral origin (16.21 pg TCDD-EQ/g), followed by those of fatty acid mixtures (2.03 pg TCDD-EQ/g), while the lowest average concentrations were found in dietary premixes (0.29 pg TCDD-EQ/g) and vegetable oils (0.35 pg TCDD-EQ/g). With regard to the fransfer model, the evaluation of the contribution of the different feed ingredients to the total amount of diet contamination showed that the vegetable components had the highest value, due to the high proportion of them in feed. The second highest contributor was the raw material of mineral source.Palabras clave: compuestos orgánicos persistentes, contaminantes en carnes, químicos liposolubles, xenobióticos.

ARTÍCULO ORIGINALAplicación del bioensayo EROD-H4IIE para la determinación de dioxinas en carnes de pollos broiler: un estudio de equivalencia con la cromatografía de gases de alta resolución acoplada a espectrometría de masas de alta resolución # � Application of the EROD-H4IIE bioassay for the determination of dioxins in broiler chicken meat: an equivalence study with high resolution gas chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry SUMMARYThe EROD bioassay with H4IIE cell line was applied in this study to determine the equivalence of the results for chicken meat between the EROD H4IIE Bioassay in pg TCDD-EQ/g of tissue, and the results of the gas chromatography coupled to high resolution spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS) in pg WHO-TEQ/g of fat of TEQs. 41 compound samples of chicken drumsticks were used. The samples were obtained in slaughtering plants of 4 different production facilities of Chile, during the sacrifice of animals (38 and 43 days old) between 2004 and 2007. Each sample was analysed with both analytical techniques. A regression model for the equivalence of both techniques was determined from the results. The model obtained was: HRGC/ HRMS = 0.481 + 0.051[EROD-H4IIE] 2 , R 2 = 0.885, therefore for a value in EROD-H4IIE of 2.2 pg TCDD-EQ/g of tissue it is estimated that it will correspond to 0.73 pg WHO-TEQ/g of fat in HRGC/HRMS. Also, for the same value of EROD-H4IIE with a 95% confidence, an estimate as an upper limit equal to 0.83 pg WHO-TEQ/g of fat in HRGC/HRMS will be obtained. An upper limit equal to 0.88 pg WHO-TEQ/g of fat in HRGC/HRMS is estimated by taking the same value of EROD-H4IIE with 99% confidence. It is concluded that de EROD-H4IIE bioassay can be applied as a screening method in animal production systems and specifically in broiler chicken production.Palabras clave: dioxina, bioensayo H4IIE, HRGC/HRMS, EROD.

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