Recent Advances in Food Safety & Quality at International Symposium RAFA 2024

Advancing Analytical Tools & Food Biopreservation Technologies for a Sustainable Food Future

A delegation from iBET’s Sustainability for Food & Health Division participated in the 11th International Symposium on Recent Advances In Food Analysis (RAFA), held November 5-8, in Prague, Czech Republic.

RAFA 2024, which brought together over 700 experts, provided a platform to explore contemporary trends in Analytical and Bioanalytical Strategies for Food Quality And Safety Control, as well as to discuss Current Challenges And Novel Approaches In Food And Natural Products Analysis.

iBET’s contribution to the scientific program included 1 oral communication and 4 poster presentations.

Oral Presentation: Machine Learning and FTIR-ATR Analysis in Lathyrus sativus L.

Elsa Mecha, a scientist in iBET’s Natural Bioactives and Nutraceuticals area, delivered an oral comunication on “Machine learning algorithms at the bright side of FTIR-ATR analysis in Lathyrus sativus L.”.

This study demonstrated how the use of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, supported by machine learning methods, can enable the prediction of alpha-ODAP, beta-ODAP, and Homoarginine contents in grass pea accessions. This approach may offer plant breeders faster, cost-effective analytical tools to improve the quality of sustainable crops.

The work was funded by FCT’s Individual Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus – 6th Edition (2023.07800.CEECIND), and the DIVINFOOD Project (Grant Agreement nº 101000383), part of a collaborative effort between iBET and ITQB-NOVA.

2 Poster Presentations: Mineral Oil Hydrocarbons Contamination in Food

Ana Rodrigues and Maria Rosário Bronze, from iBET’s Natural Bioactives & Nutraceuticals Area, presented two posters: “Evaluation of mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOSH and MOAH) contamination in synthetic casing using GCxGC-MS” and “Survey on mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) contaminants in virgin and extra virgin olive oils”.

These studies, conducted under the VIIAFOOD Agenda, investigated the contamination of food matrices with mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOSH and MOAH). This research was conducted in collaboration with SOVENA and Primor Charcutaria.

 2 Poster Presentations: Preventing Food Spoilage Caused by Alicyclobacillus

Inês Leonardo and Frédéric Gaspar, from our Microbiology and Molecular Biology Lab, presented two posters on “Expanding the bacteriophage arsenal for Alicyclobacillus spoilage prevention in the food industry” and “Exploring the antibacterial potential of a geobacillin-26 homolog from Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris DSM 3922T: a novel approach to combat spoilage in food products”.

These complementary approaches assessed the use of bacteriophages and bacteriocins as innovative solutions to mitigate food spoilage caused by Alicyclobacillus in the food industry. This work is part of the FCT-funded phages4ACB project.

Left: Ana Margarida Rodrigues. Right: Frédéric Gaspar and Inês Leonardo

iBET’s contributions at RAFA2024 highlight its commitment to advancing analytical tools and innovative technologies that improve food safety and food quality, promoting the creation of sustainable food systems.

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