Journal of Food Safety and Hygiene

Smart biosensors for food safety 4.0: a review

Alfi Sophian — 2026-10-21

Food contamination remains a critical global challenge driven by intensive agriculture, environmental pollution, complex supply chains, and climate-related disruptions. Conventional analytical techniques such as chromatography, mass spectrometry, and immunoassays provide high accuracy but are limited by cost, time, and laboratory dependence. Biosensors have emerged as rapid and sensitive alternatives; however, most existing reviews focus primarily on sensor classifications rather than their systemic role in modern food safety frameworks. This review critically examines recent advances in biosensors for detecting food contaminants—including heavy metals, pesticides, allergens, mycotoxins, and foodborne pathogens—while emphasizing the transition toward intelligent biosensing systems. Particular attention is given to the integration of nanomaterials, aptamers, DNAzymes, and whole-cell biosensors with machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), a n d da t a - d r i ve n a n al y t i c s, e n a bl i n g r e a l -t i m e , o n - si t e , a nd p r e di c t i v e m o ni t o r i n g. B y fr a m i ng biosensors within the concept of Food Safety 4.0, this review highlights how intelligent biosensors shift food safety management from reactive detection to proactive risk prediction and decision support. Remaining challenges related to sensor stability, data reliability, regulatory validation, and scalability are discussed, alongside future directions for deploying biosensors as interconnected components of global food surveillance systems.

Contamination assessment of Giardia spp. and Entamoeba spp. cysts in fresh green vegetables collected from farms and markets of Koya city, Erbil Province of Kurdistan region, Iraq

Hemn Sleman Ali — 2026-10-21

Fresh vegetables are the important part of a healthy diet and they are usually contaminated with protozoan parasites. These protozoa can be a threat to the public health by consumption of raw or minimal processing vegetables and they may serve as vehicles for transmission of intestinal protozoan parasites. However, comparative evidence on the occurrence of Giardia spp. and Entamoeba spp. in vegetables from different points of the food supply chain in Koya City in Iraq remains limited. This study aimed to determine and compare the prevalence and contamination levels of cysts for Giardia spp. and Entamoeba spp. in fresh vegetables collected directly from farms and retail markets of Koya City, and to assess whether contamination between these two collection places. A cross-sectional study was conducted using fresh vegetables samples collected from selected farms and markets. Four hundred vegetable samples including parsley, leek, radish, celery and green onion were investigated. Samples were processed using appropriate washing, concentration, and microscopic examination procedures for detection of Giardia spp. and Entamoeba spp. cysts. The prevalence of each parasite was calculated and compared between farm and market collected vegetables. Associations between contamination and collected place and vegetable type was also evaluated using appropriate statistical methods. Results showed that the contamination rate of cysts for Entamoeba spp. and Giardia spp. were 15% and 10.25%, respectively. Parsley had the highest contamination among the vegetables and it was 4% from Entamoeba spp. Also, celery had the highest contamination with 3.75% for Giardia spp. The contamination rate of raw vegetables collected from the farm with 14% was higher than those collected from the market with 11.25%. It was concluded that the Entamoeba spp. was the most contamination in examined raw vegetables and the contamination rate of Giardia spp. and Entamoeba spp. in raw vegetables obtained from farm were higher than market. The findings can contribute baseline epidemiological information on intestinal protozoan contamination of fresh vegetables in Koya City and support improved hygiene practices in vegetable production, handling, transportation, marketing and consumption. Therefore, the health administration should provide a public education on prevention of fecal-oral transmission through eating fresh raw vegetables and the consumers also should properly wash and disinfect the raw vegetables before consumption.

Rhyzopertha dominica (Fab.) (Bostrichidae: Coleoptera) susceptibility to fumigant and contact toxicity of Secamone afzelii extracts as food grains preservatives

Jacobs Mobolade Adesina — 2026-10-21

The study aims to investigate the ability of Secamone afzelii extracts to protect wheat grains against Rhyzopertha dominica infestation. Fumigant and contact bioassay were carried out, as 20 g of disinfected wheat was treated with 50, 100, 150 and 200 μL in triplicate of different extracts of S.afzelii, at different times of exposure. Contact toxicity on adult mortality increased as concentration and exposure time increased. Mortalities were 22.06% - 28.45%, 26.78% - 30.59%, 28.45% - 43.68% and 29.87% - 49.43% at 48 h’ exposure, as concentration increased. At 48 and 72 h, the highest mortality was achieved by acetone extracts at 150 μL (30.46% and 36.63% respectively) and 200 μL (34.20% and 37.05% respectively) concentration for fumigant toxicity. Extracts of S. afzelii significantly (p <0.05) reduce loss in grains weight and emergence of R. dominica. In the contact bio-assay, lowest LC50 (Lethal Concentration 50) toxicity on R. dominica was achieved with S.
afzelii ethyl acetate extract at 24 and 48 h exposure (171.0 μL and 233.6 μL) respectively. Meanwhile, the acetone extract had the least LC50 (276.4 μL and 327.7 μL, respectively) in the fumigant bioassay. The present study indicates that these extracts can safeguard stored grains from insect pest infestations and damage.

Comparative evaluation of antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of bioactive peptides from enzymatically hydrolyzed quail slaughterhouse by-products encapsulated in different nanovesicle systems

Najme Ebrahimi — 2026-10-21

Bioactive peptides derived from protein-rich quail slaughterhouse by-products have potential antioxidant and antibacterial activities; however, their instability may limit their practical applications. This study compared uncoated nanoliposomes, chitosan-coated nanoliposomes, and nanoniosomes as delivery systems for enzymatically produced quail by-product peptides. The peptides were obtained using an alkaline protease from Bacillus subtilis under the selected hydrolysis conditions of pH 8.0, 37 °C, an enzyme-to-substrate ratio of 1.5%, and 8 h of hydrolysis. The encapsulation efficiency, peptide release under simulated gastric and intestinal conditions, antioxidant activity based on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays, as well as antibacterial activity based on minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), were evaluated. All nanovesicle assays were performed in triplicate and analyzed using nonparametric statistical tests at p<0.05. Encapsulation efficiency significantly differed among uncoated nanoliposomes (68.65 ± 0.19%), chitosan-coated nanoliposomes (73.70 ± 0.22%), and nanoniosomes (70.51 ± 0.25%; overall p=0.02), with a significant difference observed only between uncoated and chitosan-coated nanoliposomes (adjusted p=0.007). Chitosan-coated nanoliposomes exhibited lower peptide release than uncoated nanoliposomes under both simulated gastric fluid (SGF) and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF) conditions and showed more favorable mean antioxidant activity values, while their differences from nanoniosomes were not statistically significant. Furthermore, peptide-loaded chitosan-coated nanoliposomes and nanoniosomes exhibited the lowest MIC and MBC values, depending on the bacterial species. Overall, chitosan coating enhanced the encapsulation and controlled-release performance of nanoliposomes compared with uncoated nanoliposomes, while both chitosan-coated nanoliposomes and nanoniosomes demonstrated promising potential as peptide-delivery systems with antioxidant and antibacterial functionality in vitro.

Food safety awareness, risk perception, and attitudes toward traceability of Ponmo: a One Health perspective

Okiki Opeyemi Adagba — 2026-10-21

Ponmo is widely consumed in Nigeria, and its unsafe processing practices may expose consumers to potential microbiological and chemical hazards. This study used cross sectional online survey of adults (age ≥ 18 years) who consumed ponmo and lived in Nigeria in 2026. Participants were recruited using a non-probability convenience sampling technique. Food safety awareness, food safety risk perception, and attitudes towards traceability were measured using a structured questionnaire. Risk perception was assessed using a nine-item, five-point Likert scale with good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.842). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, while the Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis H tests were used at a 0.05 level of significance. The majority of respondents were aware that improperly processed animal products could transmit disease (93.3%), that improperly processed ponmo could be harmful to health (84.4%), and that burning tyres and plastics during processing could cause harm to health (90.4%). The strongest association with risk perception was observed for awareness of chemical residue persistence (χ² = 36.877, p < 0.001), followed by awareness of tyre use and singeing (p = 0.001), and awareness of plastic use and singeing (p = 0.001). Hazard-specific awareness was significantly associated with food safety risk perception, indicating that reinforcing food safety education through targeted approaches, traceability, and safer food processing methods in a one health context may contribute to consumer protection and public health. These results should be considered in the context of the online convenience sample, which was mainly highly educated and might not be representative of consumers with limited access to the Internet or lower levels of education.

Analysis of anabolic steroid hormone residues in chicken meat from Iranian markets using LC-MS/MS

Serveh Anboyeh — 2026-10-21

This research aimed to investigate methyltestosterone and androstenedione hormones in chicken meat using the quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) technique and liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The optimization method was validated by assessing key parameters including recovery, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), and relative standard deviation (RSD). Recovery values varied from 76.3% to 116.7%. The LOD and LOQ for both hormones were determined to be 0.16 and 0.50 ng/g, respectively. Analysis of 72 chicken meat samples revealed that the levels of both hormones were below the LOD. Therefore, the concentrations of these compounds were found to be below established regulatory limits, indicating no immediate health risk from these two hormones for consumers.

Measurement of bisphenol A in non-alcoholic malt beverages by the MSPE/GC-MS technique: a risk assessment study

Hossein Khirandish — 2026-10-21

The goal of this research was to assess the level of Bisphenol A (BPA) in samples of non-alcoholic malt beverage using the technique of MSPE/GC-MS (magnetic graphene solid-phase extraction/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry). Results revealed that the mean ± standard deviation (min max) of BPA in all samples was 2.41 ± 0.60 µg/L (1.08 - 4.25 µg/L). As the data show, the BPA content in non-alcoholic malt beverages was upper than the standard level of EU (European Union) (the new EU standard level, no amount of bisphenol A is allowed in food). The maximum average of BPA was in the 330 mL (Can) volume (2.53 ± 0.53 µg/L) and the minimum average was in the 1000 mL (PET) volume (2.30 ± 0.47 µg/L). The maximum average of BPA was in samples stored at 27°C (2.47 ± 0.53 µg/L) and the minimum average was in samples stored at 7°C (2.35 ± 0.57
µg/L). The contamination level increased slightly over time, with the highest mean BPA observed in samples close to the expiration date (2.53 ± 0.63 µg/L) and the lowest mean in samples close to the production date (2.15 ± 0.47 µg/L). The 95th percentile chronic daily intake (CDI) values of BPA in non-alcoholic malt beverages for children, adolescents, and adults were 3.64E-6, 1.61E-6, and 1.05E-6 mg/kg bw/day, respectively. The 95th percentile target hazard quotient (THQ) values for children, adolescents, and adults were 1.92E+1, 8.63E+0, and 5.48E+0, respectively, all of which exceeded the acceptable threshold of 1, demonstrating potential non-carcinogenic risks of human health. Based on the study's findings, it can be concluded that—given the risks associated with this compound in Iranian beverages—further investigation and enhanced monitoring are essential