The quality of feed is very important in dairy milk production. The aim of the current paper was a comparative characterisation in terms of crude chemical composition, Ca and P, heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu), nitrates, nitrites and pesticides, for the natural meadow and green alfalfa, cultivated in ecological and conventional systems, utilised for feeding dairy cows. Sampling and analysis were performed according to established standards and working methods: drying for dry matter (DM); calcination for crude ash (C Ash); Kjeldahl method for crude protein (CP); Soxhlet method for crude fat or ether extract (EE), spectrophotometry for P, nitrates and nitrites; atomic absorption spectrometry for Ca, Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn; gas-chromatography for pesticides. For alfalfa, the highest values in the ecological system were for C Ash (12.68%), EE (2.50%), NFE (35.78%) and Ca (1.79%). For the natural meadow, the highest values in the ecological system were for DM (25.72%), OS (89.32%), EE (2.76%), NFE (45.27%) and Ca (0.70%). The toxic heavy metal content was below the limits allowed (1 mg/kg Cd and 30 mg/kg Pb). For Pb the values determined from the two feeds were between 0.06 mg/kg and 0.16 mg/kg and for Cd between 0.007 mg/kg and 0.02 mg/kg. The pesticides residuum was under the detection limit of 0.05 mg/kg DM for organo-chlorinated pesticides and 0.001 mg/kg for organo-phosphoric pesticides. All the studied forages were safe regarding pollutants (heavy metals, nitrites, nitrates and pesticides), but statistical differences existed between the production systems, such that the ecological system seems to be better.

The purpose of this paper is to detect any changes in fatty acid and cholesterol content of goat colostrum in the period of 0-72 hours after kidding. For that purpose, samples of colostrum from 16 goats, belonging to local populations in north-eastern Romania where collected. Samples were preserved by freezing and then subjected to chemical analysis. Preparation of solutions for fatty acids analysis was based on the principle of methylation, by combining alkaline methylation (NaOCH3/MeOH) with acid (BF3/MeOH). For cholesterol we used the principle of fat saponification, using potassium hydroxide, followed by filtration and separation of cholesterol with hexane. Detection of cholesterol and fatty acids content was performed by gas chromatography device. Caprinic acid (C10:0), myristic acid (C14:0), palmitic acid (C16: 0), stearic acid (C18:0) and oleic acid (C18:1) quantified more than 75% of the total fatty acids determined 72 hours after birth. Among short-medium-chain fatty acids, capronic acid (C6:0) was found in highest proportion (average concentration of 5.7% of total fatty acids), but at the same time, presented the most obvious oscillation range from 0 to 72 hours (6.56% at birth, 2.45% and 7.59% from 12 hours to 72 hours), with the differences between mean values being significant (p<0.05). In the case of polyunsaturated fatty acids, the ratio between omega 3 and omega 6 was 1/4.64 at kidding and 1/4.23 at 72 hours after birth, the differences being insignificant. In goat colostrum, the mean concentration of cholesterol was 9.43 mg per 100 g.

Persistent organic pollutants have particular ecotoxicological importance and they are amongst the most harmful groups of persistent pollutants. The complexity of persistent organic pollutants highlights the different sources of pollution from which they came and, depending on which, their profile could be characterized. In the first part of this review, the main characteristics of persistent organic pollutants were described, focusing on their complexity and toxic potential in relation to environmental elements. The second part of the review includes data related to the occurrence and incidence of persistent organic pollutants in different types of feed and cow’s milk, focusing on the characteristic profile of pollutants as an indicator of the sources of pollution. Moreover, a description regarding the timing and duration of the contamination of feed and milk was carried out, evaluating the distribution of pollutants within the analyzed samples and highlighting those whose presence is predominant or whose residues persist in the environment for long periods. The review concludes that the identification of pollution sources associated with different proportions of organic pollutants found in different samples could represent a suitable solution for biomonitoring the potential contamination in a geographical area.

This paper presents studies performed for the monitoring of imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam residues applied as seed treatment in rapeseed (Brassica napus ssp. oleifera), maize (Zea mays) and sunflower crops (Helianthus annuus). The experiments were located in representative areas of the mentioned crops. Residue levels were determined in plant samples at different phenological development stages, including flowers, as well as in bees and hive products (pollen, honeycomb, honey) by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS). The analyses were performed in ISO 17025-accredited laboratories, referring to the limit of quantification (LOQ), characteristic of the method used to determine the residues. In 2019, the percentage of samples that contained residues of the three substances, applied to the seed, was 16.39%, representing 20 samples out of the total of 122 analyzed samples. In 2020, 10 samples contained neonicotinoid residues above the LOQ, including 5 soil samples and 5 plant samples, representing 6.17% of the total samples. In 2021, from 149 samples with neonicotinoid applied as seed treatment, residues were identified in 12 soil samples and 11 plant samples, representing 15.43% of the total number of samples. In 2022, only 12 soil samples and 1 pasture sample contained residues above the LOQ. The results show that the highest percentage of samples with residues above the LOQ was recorded by the soil samples, while the flower and bee samples had the lowest percentages of samples with residues above the LOQ; no residues of the three neonicotinoid substances were identified in the honey samples.

Compound feed and the raw materials used in their production are potential vectors of microbiological contamination in the food chain. The purpose of this study was to microbiologically asses raw materials (maize, wheat, soybean meal, and sunflower meal), and broiler compound feed (starter, grower, and finisher) from a representative feed mill in Romania; the microbiological contaminants that were analyzed were yeasts and molds, Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, and Clostridium perfringens. Our study occured during the years 2019 and 2020; in 2019, 191 samples of raw materials and 360 samples of compound feed were analyzed and in 2020, 143 samples of raw materials and 241 samples of compound feed were analzyed. Among the tested samples of raw materials, the mean values of the yeasts and molds for maize, wheat, soybean, and sunflower meal were 1.3 × 103, 9.5 × 102, 6.4 × 102, and 7.4 × 102 cfu/g in 2019 and 1.5 × 103, 1.0 × 103, 5.2 × 102, and 7.1 × 102 cfu/g in 2020. In the analyzed compound feed samples, the mean amounts for the starter, grower, and finisher were 5.9 × 102, 4.2 × 102, and 4.2 × 102 cfu/g in 2019 and 5.3 × 102, 6.5 × 102, and 5.8 × 102 cfu/g in 2020. Potentially toxigenic fungi from Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Fusarium genera have been identified as the most common in all of the samples. In the raw materials, in both years the highest numbers of Aspergillus-positive samples were recorded: 66.6% in 2019 and 100% in 2020 for the maize samples, 50% in 2019 and 75% in 2020 for the wheat samples, 76% in 2019 and 87.5% in 2020 for the soybean meal samples and 71.4% in 2019 and 100% in 2020 for the sunflower meal. In the starter compound feed, the Aspergillus genera was prevailing in 2019 (46.6%), while in 2020, the species of the Penicillium and Cladosporium genera were identified in the majority of the samples (50%); for the grower and finisher compound feed, the Aspergillus genera was predominantly identified in 2019 (60% and 72.2% of the samples, respectively) and 2020 (61.5% and 46.6%, respectively). All of the results of the bacteriological analysis for determining the contamination with Salmonella spp., E. coli, and Clostridium perfringens were negative. Based on the results obtained in this study, monitoring and analysis of microbiological hazards in a feed mill will help to control and prevent contamination and have a direct impact on food safety.