Carrageenan is a seaweed polysaccharide widely used as a food gelling and thickening agent. The New Methylene Blue dye was tested as an analytical reagent for the quantification of carrageenan in commercial jelly samples. The main spectral peaks of the dye decrease with increasing carrageenan-to-dye molar ratio up to 1. Three analytical procedures were tested: (i) spectrophotometric measurement at 590 nm, (ii) smartphone-based color measurement within the RGB color model and (iii) spectrophotometric titration at 625 nm. All the procedures provide straight calibration lines. Spectrophotometry provides better linearity as compared to smartphone-based colorimetry. Range of determination is dependent on type and purity of carrageenan. The spectrophotometric titration procedure provides lower values of limit of determination due to longer optical path used. Typical food additives used in jelly deserts do not interfere significantly with the proposed analytical approach.

Carrageenan is a polysaccharide that is widely used in the food industry. Due to its water holding capacity, there is a higher risk of adulteration for economic reasons related to it. A verifiable method for detecting carrageenan is still missing in the food inspection sector. The detection of carrageenan in meat products is not well described. Our study describes lectin histochemistry as a novel approach for carrageenan detection. Within this study, the detection of carrageenan in meat products by lectin histochemistry is validated. Lectins of Arachis hypogaea (PNA) and Bandeiraea simlicifolia (BSA), specific for galactose units of carrageenan, were used. The samples included model meat products (ground chicken-meat products) and meat products from retail markets (chicken and pork hams, sausages, salami, and dried sausages). The limit of determination (LoD) of this method was set at 0.01 g kg⁻¹. The method sensitivity for lectin PNA reached 1, and, for lectin BSA, it reached 0.96. Method specificity for lectin PNA was 1, and, for lectin BSA, it was 1.33. Cross-reactivity with other hydrocolloids tested was not confirmed. The results confirm that lectin histochemistry is suitable for detecting carrageenan in meat products.

Edible insects have been officially classified as food in the European Union since 2015. Currently, four insect species are approved for food use. However, no official method for detecting insects in food has been recognized to date. To establish a simple analytical method for insect detection in food, we developed an indirect sandwich (enzyme-linked lectin sorbent assay) ELLA specific for N-acetylglucosamine in chitin and chitosan polymers. The validation of the method demonstrated that the ELLA developed in this study is reliable for insect detection. The limit of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were 0.006 and 0.028 mg/mL, respectively. Intra-day precision ranged from 2.45% to 30.29%, and inter-day precision from 0.36% to 12.87%. Significant differences in the total amount of chitin and chitosan were observed among the insect products, processed insect products, and samples without any insect addition (p < 0.05).

The aim of the study was to analytically evaluate quantum dots in immunohistofluorescence (IHF-QD) microscopic imaging as detectors of food allergens—peanut and wheat. The experiment was designed as two in silico experiments or simulations: (a) models of pastry samples were prepared with the addition of allergenic components (peanut and wheat protein components) and without the addition of allergenic components, and (b) positive and negative commercial samples underwent food allergen detection. The samples from both simulations were tested by the ELISA and IHF-QD microscopic methods. The primary antibodies (secondary antibodies to a rabbit Fc fragment with labeled CdSe/ZnS QD) were labelled at 525, 585, and 655 nm emissions. The use of quantum dots (QDs) has expanded to many science areas and they are also finding use in food allergen detection, as shown in the study. The study indicated that differences between the ELISA and IHF-QD microscopic methods were not observable among experimentally produced pastry samples with and without allergenic components, although differences were observed among commercial samples. The important value of the study is certainly the differences found in the application of different QD conjugates (525, 585, and 655). The highest contrast was found in the application of 585 QD conjugates that can serve for the possible quantification of present food allergens—peanuts and wheat. The study clearly emphasized that QD can be used for the qualitative detection of food allergens and can represent a reliable analytical method for food allergen detection in different food matrixes.

Carrageenan is a substance widely used as an additive in the food industry. Among other things, it is often added to processed cheese, where it has a positive effect on texture. Processing of such cheese involves grinding, melting and emulsifying the cheese. There is currently no official method by which carrageenan can be detected in foodstuffs, but there are several studies describing its negative health impact on consumers. Lectin histochemistry is a method that is used mainly in medical fields, but it has great potential to be used in food analysis as well. It has been demonstrated that lectin histochemistry can be used to detect carrageenan in processed cheese by Human Inspection and Computer-Assisted Analysis (CIE L*a*b*). The limit of detection (LoD) was established at 100 mg kg⁻¹ for Human Inspection and 43.64 for CIE L*a*b*. The CIE L*a*b* results indicate that Computer-Assisted Analysis may be an appropriate alternative to Human Inspection. The most suitable parameter for Computer-Assisted Analysis was the b* parameter in the CIE L*a*b* color space.

Honey is a natural sweetener evaluated in accordance with Council Directive 2001/110/EC. 336 honeys from Czech hobby beekeepers were evaluated in this work. The honeys were classified by the beekeepers using questionnaires, and all samples were subjected to laboratory analysis using physico-chemical and melissopalynological methods. The honey samples were categorized by the beekeepers into blossom honeys (n=272), honeydew honeys (n=32), and blended honeys (n=32). Statistically significant differences between beekeepers’ and analytical determinations of honey origin were confirmed. For blossom honey, incorrect classification was due to hight electric conductivity (39%), hight moisture (29%), low F+G (14%), and high sucrose content (0,4%). For honeydew honey, incorrect classification was mainly due to low electric conductivity (100%). For blended honey due to high electric conductivity (3.2%) and high acidity (3.2%). Our results show that although the beekeeper has a great deal of information at his disposal for the proper classification of honey, the determination of a wide range of honey contents and properties is always crucial. The cumulative assessment of blossom honeys also showed that there are more monofloral honeys in the country than beekeepers themselves identify. The 6.8% and 23.0% of blossom honey was in compliance with the definition for monofloral honeys for upper and lower limit according to Czech and German regulation.