Target Quantification and Semi-Target Screening of Undesirable Substances in Pear Juices Using Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Fruit juices are common products in modern diets due to the supply of vegetal nutrients combined with its tastiness. Nevertheless, potential contaminants, such as mycotoxins and pesticides, can be present in commercial products due to a potential carry-over. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate for the first time the presence of 14 Fusarium mycotoxins using a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS)-based extraction followed by an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry in 21 pear juice samples from Italian markets. Up to nine different mycotoxins were detected, particularly an extensive presence of zearalenone (67%, n = 21, mean value = 0.88 ng/mL). Emerging Fusarium mycotoxins enniatins B, B1, A, and A1 were also detected. Additionally, 77 pesticide residues were tentatively identified through a retrospective analysis based on a mass spectral library. The prevalent presence of some non-approved pesticides, such as ethoxyquin (64%, n = 21) and triazophos (55%, n = 21), must be highlighted. The results obtained indicate an extensive contamination of marketed pear juice with undesirable compounds, and they should be taken into consideration when performing risk assessment studies.

Chemical Composition, In Vitro Bioaccessibility and Antioxidant Activity of Polyphenolic Compounds from Nutraceutical Fennel Waste Extract

“…Chromatographic separation was carried out through a UHPLC (Dionex UltiMate 3000, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA), prepared with a degassing system, an autosampler device, and a quaternary UHPLC pump (maximum pressure tolerance = 1250 bar) [ 40 ].…”

Multiclass and multi-residue screening of mycotoxins, pharmacologically active substances, and pesticides in infant milk formulas through ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry analysis

“…Validation of the method was performed as previously described by Narváez et al (2020b) with modifications. An analytical method for the determination of both mycotoxins and veterinary drug residues in IMF was validated in-house in accordance with European regulations (EC, 2002;EC, 2006c;European Commission Health and Food Safety Directorate General, 2016).…”

“…Generally, mycotoxin contamination occurs directly in the field, or during the post-harvest period, which includes processing, storage, and distribution of harvested products. In addition, when animals ingest contaminated foodstuffs, mycotoxins are metabolized, biotransformed, and secreted into animal products, such as milk or meat (Benkerroum, 2016;Narváez et al, 2020b).…”

Analysis of Mycotoxin and Secondary Metabolites in Commercial and Traditional Slovak Cheese Samples

“…[37,38]. ENNs occur as contaminants mainly in cereals, although their presence has been also reported in other matrices, including products of animal origin, as a consequence of the carry-over of these compounds into animal tissues after the feeding of contaminated feed [39][40][41][42][43][44][45]. As reported, high contamination levels of ENNs in food commodities have been reported.…”