This study was conducted to investigate the growth of microorganisms, including pathogenic bacteria such as Cronobacter sakazakii and Bacillus cereus, in Sunsik beverages made of water, milk, soymilk, or honey-water during storage at room temperature. Prepared Sunsik beverages were stored at room temperature and the growth of total aerobic counts, Escherichia coli/coliforms, and yeast and mold were measured. Also, samples inoculated with a cocktail of C. sakazakii or B. cereus spores were stored at room temperature and their growths were determined during storage. Populations of total aerobic counts and coliforms significantly increased with increasing storage time at room temperature, which resulted in higher than 8 log and 7 log after 24 h in all samples except for the honey-water sample, respectively. Levels of total aerobic counts and coliforms were significantly lower in the honey-water sample than in the other samples after 6 and 9 h of storage, respectively. Initial populations of C. sakazakii and B. cereus ranged from 0 to 1 log CFU/mL, respectively, and these populations significantly increased with increasing storage time at room temperature. Therefore, populations of C. sakazakii and B. cereus were approximately 7 to 8 log CFU/mL after 24 h of storage. However, after 12 and 9 h of storage, there were significant differences in levels of C. sakazakii and B. cereus between the honey-water sample and the other samples, respectively. Based on these results, the addition of honey can inhibit microbial growth in Sunsik beverages; however, the best way to avoid pathogen infection would be to consume Sunsik beverages as soon as possible after preparation.

The aim of this systematic review study was to investigate the causal relationship between environmental factors and gastric cancer (GC) in Iran. In a narrow definition, the environment includes water, soil, air, and food. This definition was the main criterion for the inclusion of articles in this study. In addition, exposure to radiation and geographical conditions were considered as less investigated environmental factors in the literatures. International (PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Cochran) and national (Scientific Information Database) databases were searched for articles on GC and environmental risk factors in Iran. Twenty-six articles were found to meet the inclusion criteria after title, abstract, and full text review. Risk factors identified for GC include consumption of red meat; high fat, fried, and salted meat; smoked, salted, and fried foods; some dairy products; roasted and fried seeds; strong and hot tea; and un-piped and unchlorinated drinking water, as well as exposure to radiation, loess sediment, soft and grassy soil, soil containing low concentration of molybdenum, and proximity to volcanos. Fresh fruits and vegetable, fresh fish, and honey consumption were recognized as protective agents. Given the risk factors identified, strategies to prevent GC would be educating people to choose a healthy diet and to cook and store food properly, providing access to safe drinking water, taking into account topographical and geographical conditions in choosing a right location to build residential areas, and regulating the use of radiation-emitting devices.

A novel solid phase extraction procedure for determination of copper, lead and iron in natural water and food samples has been established in the presented work. 1-Phenylthiosemicarbazide (1-PTSC) as ligand and Dowex Optipore L-493 resin as adsorbent were used in a mini chromatographic column. Various analytical conditions for the quantitative recoveries of analyte ions including pH, amounts of adsorbent, eluent, sample volume, etc. were investigated. The recovery values for analyte ions were higher than 95%. The determination of copper, lead and iron was performed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The influences of some alkali, alkali earth and transition metals on the recoveries of analyte ions were investigated. The preconcentration factor was 62.5. The limit of detections of the understudied analytes (k=3, N=21) were 0.64μgL⁻¹ for copper, 0.55μgL⁻¹ for lead and 0.82μgL⁻¹ for iron. The relative standard deviation was found to be lower than 6%. The accuracy of the method was confirmed with certified reference material (GBW 07605 Tea). The method was successively applied for the determination of copper, lead and iron in water and some food samples including cheese, bread, baby food, pekmez, honey, milk and red wine after microwave digestion.

Arsenic and toxic metals can reach food and honey through water and air, thus endangering the safe consumption of the same. These toxic substances can damage human health through the food chain, which is contrary to the goals of sustainability related to health and food safety. It is necessary to continuously control and measure the concentration of pollutants to ensure the safety of food produced near mining areas. The arsenic content of honey samples from a territory up to 32 km in diameter from the mine (Bor town, east Serbia, and its surroundings), as determined by ICP-MS, is presented in this paper. PM10 particles and water were also analyzed for arsenic content. Pearson&rsquo:s correlation and hierarchical cluster analysis were used for statistical analysis. The obtained results showed that the content of arsenic in honey was below the maximum allowable concentration (MAC) value. The honey was not contaminated, although the results showed that the concentrations of arsenic in water and PM10 particles were elevated. The results indicate that the environment in these areas is damaged and point towards caution.

In this study, a new metal-organic framework-monolith composite for in-tube solid phase microextraction phase (IT-SPME) of fluoroquinolones (FQs) was prepared. 4-Vinylbenzoic acid was copolymerized with ethylenedimethacrylate in a fused silica capillary to form porous monolith. After that, zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF-8) were synthesized in situ within the pores and the surface of the monolith by controlled layer-by-layer self-assembly of Zn2+ and imidazole. The introduction of ZIF-8 enhanced the surface area of monolith composite, and thus, improving the extraction performance of IT-SPME for FQs obviously. Under the optimized conditions, a highly sensitive method for the monitoring of FQs residue in water and honey samples was developed by the on-line combination of IT-SPME with high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD). The limits of detection (S/N = 3) for the targeted FQs in water and honey samples were as low as 0.14–0.61 ng/L and 0.39–1.1 ng/L, respectively. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) for intra-day and inter-day assay variability were less than 10% in all samples. The established on-line IT-SPME-HPLC-FLD was successfully used to detect ultra-trace FQs in environmental water and honey samples. Recoveries at different spiked concentrations ranged from 80.1% to 119% and 80.2–117% for water and honey samples, respectively, with satisfactory reproducibility. Compared to up-to-date reported methods, the proposed approach exhibits some features such as high sensitivity, convenience, partial automation, low consumptions of sample and solvent.

A convenient, robust and economical salting-out induced liquid–liquid microextraction (SILLME) method coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography/fluorescence detector (HPLC/FLD) for sample preparation, extraction and trace-level quantitative determination of six fluoroquinolones (FQs) in different samples was developed. The critical factors that influence the extraction efficiencies of the target analytes, such as the type of extraction solvent and salting-out reagent, the ratio of extraction solvent to salt, pH value and extraction time, were investigated. The system of acetonitrile/magnesium sulfate showed good extraction efficiencies for the target analytes. Under optimum conditions, the correlation coefficient (r²) was obtained within a range of 0.9990–0.9998 by spiking ultrapure water over a range of 0.002–0.100 μg mL⁻¹. Excellent sensitivity was attained with limits of detection (LODs, S/N = 3) ranging from 0.07–0.41 ng mL⁻¹, 0.09–0.62 ng mL⁻¹, 0.48–2.49 μg kg⁻¹, 0.80–5.00 ng mL⁻¹, 0.78–5.58 ng mL⁻¹ and 0.40–5.30 μg kg⁻¹ for ultrapure water, field water, honey, milk, swine plasma and muscle, respectively. While precision with inter- and intra-day relative standard deviations (RSDs, n = 5) for ultrapure water were observed in the range of 0.4–4.0% and 1.3–6.8%, respectively. Finally, the developed method was successfully applied to all of the abovementioned matrices as a promising method for the analysis of FQs.