Tag Archives: Science & Food

Is it actually 100% oregano?

Posted on March 9, 2019 by | 6 comments

Have you ever wondered what is in the food you eat? This pizza may contain additional ingredients that you may not be aware of.

According to Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), food fraud is an emerging global issue. In fact, food fraud “may cost the global food industry $10 to $15 billion per year”. Examples of food fraud may include substitution/addition of ingredients or tampering/mislabeling of food packages, and selling these inferior products at a higher price for profit. Food fraud is problematic; therefore, it is crucial that CFIA and the food industry combat food fraud to protect consumer safety.

However, in 2016, there has been a report of adulterated dried oregano in Australia. Some brands that declare “100% oregano” only have 33% – 50% of actual oregano. The remaining percentage could contain additional olive and myrtle leaves as fillers. The presence of olive and myrtle leaves can pose a health risk, because it can carry a higher amount of pesticides, which can contaminate the dried oregano. Therefore, it is important to find a way to detect these fillers, so that they can be eliminated from the market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recently, a paper from the journal of Food Chemistry published in 2019, suggests that GC-MS (a common instrument in a Chemistry lab) can be used to detect and measure the amount of pesticides in adulterated oregano samples. By identifying the most predominant pesticides in adulterated oregano, the pesticides can be used as potential markers for identifying adulterated oregano.

But how does GC-MS work? In the “GC” part of the instrument, the pesticides travel through the column, in different speeds, based on its unique chemical properties. Once all of the pesticides are separated, they go through the “MS” part of the instrument, where they get fragmented by a beam of electrons before it travels through the mass analyzer and reaches to the detector for data collecting (see image below).

A schematic of the GS-MS instrument. Detector is attached to the right side of the mass analyzer (not shown). Cwszot, Kkmurray, Creative Commons  Attribution 2.5 Generic (CC BY 2.5), Electron ionization GC-MS.png

As a result, pesticides (cyfluthrin (sum), cyhalothrin lambda, and pyriproxfen) are present in higher quantity in the 34 adulterated oregano samples than in the 42 genuine samples. Therefore, cyfluthrin, cyhalothrin lambda, and pyriproxfen could be used as potential markers for detecting adulterated oregano.

Graph from the research paper. Click on the image for high-definition. Drabova et al., Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0),  Adapted from Figure 5 in Food fraud in oregano: Pesticide residues as adulteration markers

In conclusion, it is possible to identify the adulterated samples by using a chemical technique to stop food fraud. Although CFIA and food industries work to protect consumers from food fraud, CFIA suggests a few ways for consumers to identify food fraud.

But as for me, I will stick to growing my own oregano in my backyard.

Updated: March 28, 2019 

Reference:

Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The CFIA Chronicle. http://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/the-cfia-chronicle-fall-2017/food-fraud/eng/1508953954414/1508953954796 (accessed Mar 08, 2019).

Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Food fraud. http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/information-for-consumers/food-safety-system/food-fraud/eng/1548444446366/1548444516192 (accessed Mar 08, 2019).

Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Types of food fraud. http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/information-for-consumers/food-safety-system/food-fraud/types-of-food-fraud/eng/1548444652094/1548444676109 (accessed Mar 08, 2019).

The Sydney Morning Herald. Food Fraud: Popular oregano brands selling adulterated products. https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/food-fraud-popular-oregano-brands-selling-adulterated-products-20160405-gnygjo.html (accessed Mar 08, 2019).

Drabova, L., Alvarez-Rivera, G., Suchanova, M., Schusterova, D., Pulkrabova, J., Tomaniova, M., . . . Hajslova, J. Food fraud in oregano: Pesticide residues as adulteration markers. Food Chemistry. [Online] 2019, 276, 726-734. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.09.143 (accessed Mar 08, 2019).

Canadian Food Inspection Agency. How food fraud impacts consumers. http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/information-for-consumers/food-safety-system/food-fraud/how-food-fraud-impacts-consumers/eng/1548444986322/1548445033398  

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Monosodium Glutamate (MSG): What is it and how harmful is it really?

Posted on January 28, 2019 by | Leave a comment

Most of us have probably come across the term MSG while eating at a restaurant or when using canned food, but what is it, and how harmful can it be?

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a crystalline powder that is widely used in the food industry as a flavour enhancer that intensifies the meaty/savoury flavour found in certain food items. It was discovered in 1908 by the Japanese chemistry professor Kikunae Ikeda, where he extracted MSG from seaweed.  MSG is the sodium salt of glutamic acid (also known as glutamate), a non-essential amino acid that can be found in our bodies.


                                         Photo source: BUSINESSINSIDER

MSG can either be synthesized or found in certain foods. These foods contain different amounts of glutamate. For example, Parmesan cheese, soy sauce, and fish sauce all contain more than 1000mg/100g of that food item. If you’ve ever wondered why these food items are so mouthwatering, this may be why!

Unfortunately, MSG is suspected of causing certain symptoms such as, headaches, heart palpitations, chest pain, nausea, and others. The substance first got its bad reputation when Robert Ho Man Kwok experienced abnormal heart rates, weakness, and numbness after eating excessive amounts of Chinese food. His colleague later decided that MSG was the cause of these symptoms without any scientific evidence. Further studies have since been done, for example, Ohguro et al. have done tests on rats before, the results showed damaged retina when 10 grams of sodium glutamate was added to a 100 gram diet. However, a simple search on the safety of ingesting MSG will result in find articles that state that there is no link between MSG and health hazards. Hence, the potential risks associated with MSG remain controversial.  For now, MSG has been classified by the food and drug administration (FDA) as “generally recognized as safe.” This said, the FDA still requires manufacturers to label any food items that contain MSG.

To conclude, further studies need to be conducted to conclude whether MSG is a potential risk to one’s health. Although it may seem that there is a certain “catch” to flavour enhancers, our bodies can’t actually distinguish between naturally occurring glutamate and glutamate from MSG. As a matter of fact, today’s technology can’t differentiate between the two either. That being said, it is not a challenge to avoid food containing MSG for those that are concerned.

For more information on MSG, consider the following video:

Produced by the American Chemical Society

 

-Isabelle Lee

References

  1. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Food Additives & Ingredients – Questions and Answers on Monosodium glutamate (MSG). .https://www.fda.gov/food/ingredientspackaginglabeling/foodadditivesingredients/ucm328728.htm (accessed Jan 27, 2019).
  2. Katherine Zeratsky, R. D. How does your body react to MSG? https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/monosodium-glutamate/faq-20058196 (accessed Jan 27, 2019).
  3.  Bright Tribe, I. Glutamate in Food – The Glutamate Association https://msgfacts.com/glutamate-in-food/ (accessed Jan 27, 2019).
  4. The Truth in Labeling Campaign is all about knowledge. https://www.truthinlabeling.org/ (accessed Feb 14, 2019).

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