Methodological approaches for monitoring five major food safety hazards affecting food production in the Galicia-Northern Portugal Euroregion

• Published in: Foods Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 1 - 30
• Main Authors: Rodríguez-Herrera, Juan, Cabado, Ana G., Bodelón, Gustavo, Cunha, Sara C., Pinto, Vânia Cristina Gonçalves, Fernandes, José O., Lago, Jorge, Muñoz, Silvia, Pastoriza-Santos, Isabel, Sousa, Paulo Jorge Teixeira, Gonçalves, L. M., López-Cabo, Marta, Pérez-Juste, Jorge, Santos, João, Minas, Graça
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI 2022
• Subjects: Allergens; Engenharia do Ambiente; Engenharia e Tecnologia; Galicia (Spain); Harmful algal blooms; Mycotoxins; Northern Portugal; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Saúde de qualidade; Science & Technology
• ISSN: 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods11010084

The agri-food industry has historically determined the socioeconomic characteristics of Galicia and Northern Portugal, and it was recently identified as an area for collaboration in the Euroregion. In particular, there is a need for action to help to ensure the provision of safe and healthy foods by taking advantage of key enabling technologies. The goals of the FOODSENS project are aligned with this major objective, specifically with the development of biosensors able to monitor hazards relevant to the safety of food produced in the Euroregion. The present review addresses the state of the art of analytical methodologies and techniques-whether commercially available or in various stages of development-for monitoring food hazards, such as harmful algal blooms, mycotoxins, Listeria monocytogenes, allergens, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. We discuss the pros and cons of these methodologies and techniques and address lines of research for point-of-care detection. Accordingly, the development of miniaturized automated monitoring strategies is considered a priority in terms of health and economic interest, with a significant impact in several areas, such as food safety, water quality, pollution control, and public health. Finally, we present potential market opportunities that could result from the availability of rapid and reliable commercial methodologies. This project was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Interreg VA Spain-Portugal (POCTEP) 2014 & ndash;2020 Program under grant agreement 0591_FOODSENS_1_E. This output reflects only the views of the authors, and the program authorities cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. The APC was funded by Interreg V-A Spain-Portugal Program (POCTEP) 2014-2020 LAQV REQUIMTE and also received financial support from UIDB 50006/2020 with funding from FCT/MCTES. S.C.C. also acknowledges FCT for the IF/01616/2015 contract.