Imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid insecticide, has been used worldwide due to its selective toxicity for insects. Its residues may enter the food chain, which is why it is important to investigate the potential adverse effects of imidacloprid exposure. This review summarises current knowledge of the reproductive toxicity and disruptive endocrine effects of imidacloprid in laboratory animals. Investigations, conducted mostly on laboratory rats, have shown adverse effects of imidacloprid on the reproductive ability in both parental and offspring generation as well as on the development of the offspring. Like many pesticides, imidacloprid may also act as endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC). It may disrupt the metabolic homeostasis, contribute to obesity, and disrupt steroidogenesis by inhibiting cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme activities. All these adverse effects of imidacloprid may pose a serious risk for reproduction and development with long-term consequences in adulthood.

In recent years, there has been a considerable increase in interest in the use of transgenic plants as sources of valuable secondary metabolites or recombinant proteins. This has been facilitated by the advent of genetic engineering technology with the possibility for direct modification of the expression of genes related to the biosynthesis of biologically active compounds. A wide range of research projects have yielded a number of efficient plant systems that produce specific secondary metabolites or recombinant proteins. Furthermore, the use of bioreactors allows production to be increased to industrial scales, which can quickly and cheaply deliver large amounts of material in a short time. The resulting plant production systems can function as small factories, and many of them that are targeted at a specific operation have been patented. This review paper summarizes the key research in the last ten years regarding the use of transgenic plants as small, green biofactories for the bioreactor-based production of secondary metabolites and recombinant proteins; it simultaneously examines the production of metabolites and recombinant proteins on an industrial scale and presents the current state of available patents in the field.

Food fraud is a criminal intent motivated by economic gain to adulterate or misrepresent food ingredients and packaging. The development of a reliable food supply system is at great risk under globalization, but Food Business Operators (FBOs) have a legal obligation to implement and maintain food traceability and quality at all stages of food production, processing, and distribution. Incidents of food fraud have a strong negative impact on consumer confidence in the food industry. Therefore, local and international regulatory mechanisms are established to prevent or mitigate food fraud. This review brings new perspectives linking EU and US legislation, as well as new definitions and descriptions of the criminal aspect of food fraud incidents. It also describes certain new insights into the application of state-of-the-art methods and techniques that provide valuable tools for geographic, botanical, or other chemical markers of food authenticity. The review also provides an overview of the most common cases of food fraud worldwide from 2010 to 2020. Further research is needed to support the development of predictive models for innovative approaches to adulteration, especially when some valuable nutrients are replaced by toxic ingredients. A possible solution to minimize food fraud incidents is to increase the level of risk-based inspections, establish more productive monitoring and implementation of food protection systems in the supply chain, and implement better ingredient control and certification. National and international (e.g., regional) police offices for food fraud should be introduced, possessing knowledge and skills in food, food safety, food processing, and food products, as initial positive results have emerged in some countries.

The phenolic glycoside arbutin and its metabolite with uroantiseptic activity hydroquinone occur naturally in the leaves of various medicinal plants and spices. In this study, an extraction procedure coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed to determine arbutin and hydroquinone content in strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L., Ericaceae) leaves. The method showed good linearity (R2>0.9987) in the tested concentration range (0.5-200 μg mL(-1)), as well as good precision (RSD<5%), analytical recovery (96.2-98.0%), and sensitivity (limit of detection=0.009 and 0.004 μg mL(-1) for arbutin and hydroquinone, respectively). The results obtained by the validated GC-MS method corresponded well to those obtained by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. The proposed method was then applied for determining arbutin and hydroquinone content in methanolic leaf extracts. The amount of arbutin in the leaves collected on the island of Koločep (6.82 mg g(-1) dry weight) was found to be higher (tpaired=43.57, tc=2.92) in comparison to the amount of arbutin in the leaves collected on the island of Mali Lošinj (2.75 mg g(-1) dry weight). Hydroquinone was not detected in any of the samples. The analytical features of the proposed GC-MS method demonstrated that arbutin and hydroquinone could be determined alternatively by gas chromatography. Due to its wide concentration range, the method could also be suitable for arbutin and hydroquinone analysis in leaves of other plant families (Rosaceae, Lamiaceae, etc.).