Massimo Castellari

IRTA Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology | IRTA · Food Safety Programme

Fermentation was traditionally used all over the world, having the preservation of plant and animal foods as a primary role. Owing to the rise of dairy and meat alternatives, fermentation is booming as an effective technology to improve the sensory, nutritional, and functional profiles of the new generation of plant-based products. This article int...

Whey exhibits interesting nutritional properties, but its high β-Lactoglobulin (β-Lg) content could be a concern in infant food applications. In this study, high-pressure processing (HPP) was assessed as a β-Lg removal strategy to generate an enriched α-Lactalbumin (α-La) fraction from bovine native whey concentrate. Different HPP treatment paramet...

Algae are a large and diverse group of autotrophic eukaryotic and photosynthetic aquatic organisms [1]. [...]

Prevention and control of diseases and delaying the signs of ageing are nowadays one of the major goals of biomedicine. Sirtuins, a family of NAD+ dependent deacylase enzymes, could be pivotal targets of novel preventive and therapeutic strategies to achieve such aims. SIRT1 activating and inhibiting compounds, such as polyphenols and bioactive pep...

Waste management of brewery by-products is economically and environmentally problematic. In the frame of bio-recycling, this study aims to investigate the bioconversion of brewing by-products by filamentous fungi. Pleurotus ostreatus and Lentinula edodes were grown on different substrates based on brewer’s spent grains (fresh and dry). Afterwards,...

Prevention and control of diseases and delaying the signs of ageing are nowadays one of the major goals of biomedicine. Sirtuins, a family of NAD + dependent deacylase enzymes, could be pivotal targets of novel preventive and therapeutic strategies to achieve such aims. SIRT1 activating and inhibiting compounds, such as polyphenols and bioactive pe...

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) has attracted increasing interest as a high source of proteins for human nutrition. However, the application of faba bean proteins is still limited due to their low functional properties. Several processing technologies were used to enhance these features starting with the selection of the appropriate pretreatments to favo...

The global market for seafood alternatives is witnessing an exponential growth. Nevertheless, the nutritional quality of such products is scarcely studied. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate, for the first time, the nutritional quality of seafood alternatives launched in the global market from 2002 to 2021 and to compare them with the conventional...

Food safety of infant foods is of paramount importance due to the high vulnerability of this population. Food business operators guarantee safety of the products they put on the market by implementing control measures that prevent, eliminate, reduce, or keep relevant physical, microbiological and/or chemical hazards to an acceptable level. It is es...

Vegan alternatives to cheese (VAC) and yogurt (VAY) are fast-growing markets in Europe due to the increasing interest in plant-based alternatives to dairy products. This study aimed to take a closer look at the year 2020 and accordingly retrieved the nutritional information of dairy cheese and yogurt and their vegan counterparts for comparison. It...

The aim of this paper was to develop high-protein vegetable creams through the incorporation of microalgae. Single-cell ingredients from Arthrospiraplatensis (spirulina), Chlorella vulgaris, Tetraselmis chui, and Nannochloropsis oceanica were incorporated at two levels of addition (1.5% and 3.0%) to a standard vegetable cream (STD). Effects of inco...

Powdered biomass of Nannochloropsis sp. and Tetraselmis sp. were used as innovative ingredients in wheat tortillas at flour substitution levels of 0.5–3.0%. Incorporation of microalgae into the tortilla formulations led to increased protein and fat content. The content of phenolic and carotenoids was also higher in microalgae-enriched tortillas, es...

Nutritional information of burgers launched in the EU market during 2020 was retrieved from their labels. Products were initially classified into four types: i.e., veggie, red meat-, fish- and poultry-based. Gluten, wheat, and soy were the most declared allergens regardless of the burgers type. Veggie burgers showed levels of energy, fat, and satur...

Amino acids and sulfonic acid derivatives (Taurine-Tau; Hypotaurine-HypTau; Homotaurine-HTau) of 26 different species of commercial macroalgae, microalgae and 10 algae-enriched food products from the market were quantified in a single chromatographic run. Tau and analogues were predominantly distributed in red species followed by green and brown sp...

Rearing insects on agro-industrial by-products is a sustainable strategy for the circular economy while producing valuable products for feed and foods. In this context, this study investigated the impact of larvae diet containing agro-industrial by-products on the contents of fatty acids and sterols of Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyr...

Background Pea (Pisum sativum) proteins are emerging as a popular alternative to those conventional (deriving from animal and soy) due to their high protein content with interesting functionality, sustainability, availability, affordability and hypo-allergenicity. This popularity has been parallel to an intensive research from protein isolation to...

Consumer interest in protein rich diets are increasing, with more attention being paid to the protein source. Despite the occurrence of animal proteins in the human diet, non-animal proteins are gaining popularity around the world due to their health benefits, environmental sustainability, and ethical merit. These sources of protein qualify for veg...

Algae are a source of functional ingredients, with a large spectrum of healthy and functional compounds. Therefore, this study aimed to provide an overview on commercialized food and beverages made from algae and derived ingredients, with emphasis on the Spanish market, relying on the front-of-pack labeling. For this reason, the Mintel Global New P...

The purpose of the article is to implement a holistic concept namely Quality by Design (QbD)approach for assessment of deep frying of potatoes chips. Critical quality attributes (CQAs), critical process parameters (CPPs)and quality target parameters (QTPs)were identified and measured all along the chips processing chain in 98 independent experiment...

BACKGROUND Consumers perceive organic meat as having superior nutritional properties than conventional meat, although evidences from commercial samples are very scarce. This study compared the nutritional composition of organic and conventional beef meat sold at retail, including for the first time the bioactive compounds coenzyme Q10, carnosine, a...

Three experimental setups, based on near infrared technology (NIR), were tested for rapid “at-line” assessment of sunflower oil adulteration by mineral oil. Experimental setups included a commercial portable NIR, coupled to both reflexion (S1) and immersion probes (S2), and a prototype of a multichannel Quasi Imaging Visible NIR spectrometer (QIVN)...

The concept of the MUSE-Tech project is the integration of three High-End sensing technologies (Photoacoustic Spectroscopy, Quasi Imaging UV-Vis Spectrometry and Distributed Temperature Sensing) in a versatile Multi Sensor Device (MSD), for real-time monitoring (on-line or in-line) of multiple parameters associated with the quality and the chemical...

This work reports the preparation of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) selective to cephalosporin (CF) antibiotics, and their application as molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) sorbents for the determination of these antimicrobials in milk samples. Several functional monomers and cross-linkers have been screened to select the b...

Composting is an appealing way to reutilize the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (MSW). Beyond the obvious advantage of reducing urban waste, the use of MSW compost in agriculture entails other potential benefits, such as reducing the amount of mineral fertilizer applied to the field and providing a potentially higher quality alternative....

An ultra high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC)–tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of nine target indoles in sparkling wines. The proposed method requires minimal sample pretreatment, and its performance parameters (accuracy, repeatability, LOD and matrix effect) indicate that it is suit...

Technological feed additives are intended to improve or favourably affect the characteristics of feed but have generally no direct biological effect on animal production. The authorisation procedure for feed additives including technological additives is established by Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003. Article 10 of the Regulation sets the principles o...

Enrofloxacin (ERFX) is a synthetic antibiotic of the fluoroquinolone (FQ) family, which is commonly administered in veterinary medicine. ERFX and its metabolite, ciprofloxacin (CPFX), have been reported to accumulate in hair of treated animals. Therefore, hair analysis is an attractive non-invasive alternative to control misuse of such antibiotic a...

The level of eleven target phenolic compounds was evaluated in dry fermented sausages added with vegetable extracts. Grape seed (GSE1 and GSE2) and cocoa extracts, rich in phenolic compounds, were added in the formulation of dry fermented sausages (“salchichón” and “fuet”). Evolution of the major monomeric and oligomeric phenolic compounds of these...

Biodegradable films with antioxidant properties based on Ecoflex® and Ecoflex®-polylactic acid (PLA) containing α-tocopherol and olive leaf extract were developed by blown film extrusion. There was a good recovery of tocopherol from Ecoflex films (98–112%). Oleuropein and oleuroside were the main antioxidants detected in the studied olive leaf extr...

This paper describes the synthesis of novel molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) micro-beads for the selective extraction (MISPE) of six fluoroquinolone (FQ) antibiotics (enrofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, lomefloxacin, danofloxacin, sarafloxacin and norfloxacin) from chicken muscle samples and further analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography (H...

The aim of this study was to elucidate the structure of a potential ageing marker for Cava sparkling wine. In order to clarify the structure of this compound, NMR spectroscopy and hyphenated UHPLC-DAD-MS/MS techniques were used. We identified the hitherto unknown compound as 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfuraldehyde (5-HMF). This is the first time that this...

The effects of a curing salt composition (with and without nitrifying salts), and the pH at 24h postmortem (pH24>6.0, 5.5<pH24<6.0 and pH24<5.5) were evaluated in the Semimembranosus (SM) and Biceps femoris (BF) muscles of pork legs for compositional and nutritional attributes at the end of dry-cured ham ageing. The muscles free amino acid profile...

The effect of the amount of added nitrate and nitrate plus nitrite to dry-cured hams on the vitamin (B1, B2, B3, B6) content, the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) activities and the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) was assessed in Gastrocnemius muscle at the end of two ripe...

In this study the catabolites derived from RNA degradation were assessed in Cava sparkling wines as a consequence of lees autolysis. For this purpose, the changes in the content of adenosine, guanosine, inosine, uridine, hypoxanthine, xanthine, and uric acid were determined by UHPLC-MS/MS, in sparkling wines produced on industrial scale, and aged f...

Organic farming and horticulture require the use of more environmentally-friendly chemicals to reduce potentially harmful side-effects on producers and on consumer health. Sulphur is one of the most important natural fungicides used in organic farming to protect plants against attack by powdery mildew (Leveillula taurica). The use of natural elicit...

Awareness of consumers about phenolic compounds and their positive role in human nutrition is increasing nowadays. Therefore, studies with large number of samples for determination of the effect of agronomic or processing conditions on phenolic composition of foods are arising on importance. This work describes a validated HPLC-DAD method for simul...

Lettuce is a widely consumed vegetable and a good source of phenolic compounds. Several factors (genetic, agronomical and environmental) can influence the lettuce composition; their effects are not completely defined and more studies are needed on this topic. To develop an improved ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) method to quan...

Background, aim, and scope We report the environmental assessment of the cultivation cycle of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis), chosen due to its high levels of natural bioactive compounds, using different fertilization practices. The functional units used during the impact assessment were linked with the quantity produced, consider...

The effect of high pressure (at 600 and 900MPa) on the levels of purines and pyrimidines was evaluated in dry-cured and cooked ham. Pressurization of dry-cured ham did not modify purines and pyrimidines contents. On the contrary, treatment at 600 MPa and 900MPa caused a decrease in guanosine and an increase in adenosine respectively.

A method based on hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) and diode array detection (DAD) was developed to quantify thiamine (vitamin B1) concentration in Spanish dry-cured sausages ("chorizo," "fuet," and "salchichón"). Samples were extracted with diluted acid (HCl 0.1M) followed by an enzymatic hydrolysis to release vitamin B1 vitam...

A method for the simultaneous determination of intact glucosinolates and main phenolic compounds (flavonoids and sinapic acid derivatives) in Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis was proposed. A simplified sample extraction procedure and a UPLC separation were carried out to reduce the total time of analysis. B. oleracea samples were added with inter...

An ultra high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method (UPLC-MS/MS) is proposed for the simultaneous quantification of inosine, adenosine, guanosine, uridine, hypoxanthine, xanthine and uric acid in pork meat, dry-cured and cooked ham. Samples were added with (15)N(2)-xanthine (internal standard) and extracted with boiling...

Consumers are demanding more “fresh appearing”, more convenient and healthier fruit products. At the same time fruit industries look for technologies to decontaminate fruit products by minimising losses of nutritional and sensorial quality. Microwave heating technology gives the opportunity to have a fast heat process in a continuous mode. Granny S...

The use of hair to trace use of unauthorized substances, therapeutic agents, or their misuse is becoming very attractive since residues can be detected for a long time after treatment. For this purpose, an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been evaluated for its capability to trace sulfonamide antibiotic treatment by analyzing...

An ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method to detect residues of tetracycline (TC), epi-tetracycline (eTC) and oxytetracycline (OTC) in animal hair was developed. Hair samples were washed with water, extracted with NH(4)OH 0.1M, purified by SPE-C(18) cartridge and analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry (ESI(+), MR...

Effect of tetracycline (TC) administration on the proteomic profile of pig muscle was evaluated by 2D electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The TC content at slaughter was determined in L. dorsi samples by HPLC-DAD. Mean residual concentration of TC in the muscle of treated animals, calculated as the sum of TC and epi-TC was 126.3 microg...

Two direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) have been developed for detection of sulfonamide antibiotic residues in milk samples. One of them is using magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) for target capture/enrichment (Ab-MNP-ELISA), and the second is performed using microtiter plates. Selective polyclonal antibodies, raised against 5-[6-(4-amin...

Tetracycline (TC) and 4-epitetracycline (4eTC) degradation, as well as anhydrotetracycline (ATC) and 4-epianhydrotetracycline (4eATC) formation, has been evaluated in thermally treated chicken breast, pig loin, and pig loin with added back-fat. Samples containing TC and 4eTC residues were submitted to microwave or boiling heating, extracted with a...

The suitability of stevioside as a sweetener in peach juice was investigated. Comparison between stevioside and sucrose in terms of sweetness, sweet and bitter aftertastes were determined both in water and peach juice. The results demonstrated that 160 mg/L of stevioside may replace 34 g/L of sucrose in juice, with a 25% decrease in calories, witho...

Enrofloxacin is a synthetic bacteriostatic administered in veterinary therapy. It can also be used illegally as a growth promoter to enhance feed efficiency and weight gain. This practice is banned in several countries due to its potential negative effects on the environment and human health. A suitable method for extracting and quantifying enroflo...

1. The combined effects of dietary supplementation of vitamin E and enrofloxacin administration on the oxidative stability of turkey meat were assessed.2. Enrofloxacin concentrations found in muscles and liver samples from turkeys receiving 200 g/kg of α-tocopheryl acetate plus 50 mg/kg of enrofloxacin without a withdrawal period were higher than t...

The presence of sulfamethazine residues in pig and calf hair was compared with the residual levels encountered in the corresponding edible tissues (liver and muscle) as a consequence of drug administration. Sulfamethazine up to 84.7 mg kg-1 was found in calf hair samples after a pharmacological treatment, with a significant effect of hair pigmentat...

Use of an RP-C(12) analytical column with a mobile phase at pH 4.5 enabled excellent chromatographic separation and quantification of sulfadiazine (SDZ), sulfamerazine (SMR), and sulfamethazine (SMZ) in edible calf and pig tissue (muscle and liver). Tissue samples were extracted with acetonitrile, centrifuged without further clean-up, and analyzed...

This review summarizes the basic information and applications concerning the use of hair analysis for the detection of misuse of therapeutic and anabolic agents in livestock animals. Hair biology, hair-shaft structure and the mechanisms of drug incorporation are described, considering the different factors which can affect the deposition. Sampling...

An HPLC method with diode array detection (DAD) is proposed for the detection of sulphamethazine (SMZ) residues in pig and cattle hair. Hair samples were extracted under alkaline conditions (NH4OH 0.2M for calf samples and NaOH 0.1M for piglet samples) and purified with a dual solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge system (reverse phase/strong-cati...

The objective of this study was to assess the effect of enrofloxacin administration with and without withdrawal period on the quality of fresh meat and cooked products from turkey breasts. Cathepsin B and L activities were inactivated by the thermal process but were not affected by the presence of enrofloxacin. The level of enrofloxacin in samples...

Here we described a rapid evaluation of volatile profiles of several commercial fruit juices (pear, apricot and peach) by headspace-solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HS-SPME and GC/MS). This method allows to analyse a wide range of flavour compounds (97 esters, aldehydes, alcohols, terpenoids, lactones, and isopr...

The objective of this study was to assess the oxidative stability and presence of antibiotic residues in tissues of broilers fed diets supplemented with α-tocopheryl acetate and treated with enrofloxacin. The activities of antioxidant enzymes and antibiotic concentrations in chicken breast, leg, and liver were determined. Iron-induced TBA-reactive...

The objective of this study was to assess the oxidative stability and presence of antibiotic residues in tissues of broilers fed diets supplemented with a-tocopheryl acetate and treated with enrofloxacin. The activities of antioxidant enzymes and antibiotic concentrations in chicken breast, leg, and liver were determined. Iron-induced TBA-reactive...

More than 1,000 measurements of dissolved oxygen in wines were made to evaluate the influence of different technological practices (filtration, centrifugation, refrigeration, tartrate stabilization, bottling and micro-oxygenation) and of different conditions of maturation (stainless steel, concrete or wooden barrels). The micro-oxygenation of more...

Four antibiotics, oxytetracycline (OTC), tetracycline (TCC), chlortetracycline (CTC) and doxycycline (DXC), were separated and quantified in lamb muscle extracts using a commercial RP-C18 monolithic HPLC column and a DAD detector. Operating an isocratic flow of 2 mL min–1 the HPLC separation of the four compounds was obtained within 6 min with a go...

A HPLC method involving direct injection was developed to determine phenolic compounds in wine. The separation was carried out on an RP C18 monolithic column using a binary gradient elution and diode array detection. In this way 17 monomeric compounds of different phenolic groups (hydroxybenzoic acids, hydroxycinnamic acids, hydroxycinnamyltartaric...

A simple, rapid, and reliable reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the analysis of 16 amino acids of main interest in commercial fruit juices (pear, orange, grapefruit, pineapple, peach, and apricot) is described. No sample cleanup is required. The pH of the fruit juices is adjusted to alkaline value (8.5) using 200 mM...

The compositions of three peach juices obtained from the cultivars Redhaven, Suncrest and Maria Marta, respectively, were studied. The fruits were grown in the Emilia-Romagna region (Italy). The juices were characterised by pH, CIE L*, a*, b* colour values, soluble solids, individual carbohydrates, organic acids, and phenolic compounds. Univariate...

A red Sangiovese wine was stored in barrels of different woods (oak and chestnut) and types (225-L "barriques" and 1000-L barrels) at 12 and 22 degrees C for 320 days to evaluate the effects of different aging conditions on wine quality. Chestnut barrels led to wines richer in phenolics, and which were more tannic, colored, and fruity. Oak barrels...

The presence in wine of the fungal metabolite, ochratoxin A (OTA), represents a serious risk for consumer health. A variety of fining agents, including activated carbon, silica gel, potassium caseinate, egg albumin, and gelatin, was evaluated in relation to their abilities to remove OTA in fortified wines. Freundlich adsorption isotherms were used...

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method is proposed for the simultaneous separation of main carboxylic acids, carbohydrates, ethanol, glycerol, and 5-HMF in beer by direct injection. A column packed with a sulfonated divinyl benzene-styrene copolymer and an isocratic elution with 0.0045N sulfuric acid and acetonitrile (6%, v/v) are employe...

The recovery of tartaric acid (TA) from three industrial enological wastes: (i) cream of tartar, (ii) lees, and (iii) eluates from the regeneration of anion exchange resins used for the production of grape liquid sugar, was studied. Recovery of TA ranged between 58 and 99%, the highest being from cream of tartar. The level of addition of calcium sa...

Three immunoaffinity clean-up procedures to analyse ochratoxin A (OTA) in wines were compared. The direct wine clean-up with Ochraprep and OchraTest columns gave equivalent results in terms of recovery and precision if compared with the reference procedure involving a preliminary extraction of OTA with chloroform. OTA quantification limit in wine r...

Crude cloudy beers from a small-scale brewery were treated with high hydrostatic pressure (HHP-600 MPa, 5 min) or heat pasteurized (60 °C, 10 min). The treatments did not affect pH, ethanol, extract, bitterness, or phenolics in comparison with untreated beers; HHP beers retained permanent haze, similar to untreated samples. Heat pasteurized beer re...

An improved high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the analysis of the main organic compounds in musts and wines is presented. A column packed with hydrogen sulfonated divinyl benzene-styrene copolymer and two detectors connected in series were used (UV at 210 nm and RI, respectively). The addition of acetonitrile (6%) to the mobi...

The influence of three levels of oxygen supply on the phenolic composition of Sangiovese wine was evaluated during 6 months of storage. Oxygenation reduced the total phenolics content and increased the concentration of red polymeric compounds. Saturation with oxygen every 30 days significantly improved the wine colour density as compared to the con...

The effects of high hydrostatic pressure treatment (HHP) and the use of glucose oxidase-catalase enzymes on the color stability of a white grape juice were studied. The cold-prepared grape juice was stored for three weeks at 5 °C and evaluated for color and non-flavonoid phenolic content. The HHP treatments at 600 and 900 MPa slowed the degradation...

In two years the effect of Oidium tuckeri on the phenolic composition of red Sangiovese grapes and wines was evaluated. From veraison until ripeness the content of anthocyanins was reduced in infected grapes. The corresponding wines showed a lack of total phenols and anthocyanins; their colour density was reduced compared to wines obtained from hea...

 A study of the effects of some prefermentative and fining practices on the resveratrol concentration in wine was carried out. The trans- and cis-resveratrol contents in a red wine obtained using must hyperoxidation were reduced to about 50% compared with those of control wines; this decrease was greater than that observed for total phenols and cat...