The aim of this study was to determine the activity concentrations of naturally occurring radioisotopes 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in 14 soil samples collected in the Skopje city surrounding, and to calculate the corresponding absorbed gamma dose rates. The radionuclides were measured applying a high purity Ge detector gamma-ray spectrometer with relative efficiency of 30 % at 1.33 MeV. The activity concentrations found in 14 soil samples varied in the range 24.1-41.9 Bq kg-1for 226Ra, 38.5-52.2 Bq kg-1 for 232Th, and 502-707 Bq kg-1 for40K. The mean radium equivalent (Raeq), for the area under investigation, was 143±16 Bq kg-1, while the outdoor radiation hazard index (Hex) was 0.39. The total absorbed dose rate due to three primordial radionuclides investigated lay in the range 55.3 - 79.0 nGy h-1 with mean value of 68.1±7.7 nGy h-1, yielding a total annual effective dose of (83.5±9.5) µSv y-1. The assessed radiological factors were lower than the recommended values, indicating low radiological health risk for the population living and working in the investigated area. The activity concentrations of radionuclides in soil samples were compared to the international values reported by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation and previous studies on geographically close areas and some worldwide regions.

Background: Aflatoxins (AFs), as secondary metabolites, are mainly produced by fungi of Aspergillus genus. The determination of contamination rate, dietary exposure, and health risk assessment for aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) was conducted aimed to estimate potential health risks for the population of North Macedonia. Methods: A total of 974 dairy samples, including 404 Ultra-High Temperature (UHT) milk, 291 ice cream, 178 yogurt, and 101 cheese were collected from the markets in North Macedonia. Analysis of AFM1 was done using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Fluorescence Detection. Results: The AFM1 incidence was highest in yogurt samples (93.8%) and lowest in UHT milk samples (67.8%). AFM1 concentrations were 49.1±68.4, 30.9±30.0, 35.1±40.4, and 40.1±90.1 ng/kg for UHT milk, ice cream, yogurt, and cheese samples, respectively. The Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) for the average population and high consumers (upper bound; samples with AFM1<Limit of Detection (LOD) were 0.150 and 0.456 ng/kg body weight (bw)/day, respectively. The Hazard Index (HI), Margin of Exposure (MoE), and the fraction of Hepatocarcinoma (HCC) cases per 100,000 inhabitants for the average population reached values of 0.33, 8533, and 0.004, respectively. Conclusion: To our best knowledge, this is the first report of dietary exposure and risk assessment of AFM1 in dairy products of North Macedonia, revealing a potential risk of AFM1 in population of this country.

In recent years, numerous reports have repeatedly highlighted a series of food safety scandals involving contaminated and forged meat and fish products, grains and fruit products, juices, cooking oils, and spices and herbs, distilled beverages and pet treats. Foods that have been found to be stained with chemicals, illicit drug residues, additives and dyes, pathogenic microorganisms and other pests. Some foods enter the market have expired well or are unhygienic. Economic gain is the goal of food fraud. Food fraud and the prevention of such fraud are very important processes in the food industry. Such frauds are economically motivated, rated as criminal behaviour, and the moment we understand criminal behaviour and decision making we will be able to calculate and exclude the risk of food fraud. By analysing financially motivated fraud that combine opportunities, motivations, and inadequate control measures, we can assess the likelihood of fraud in any food product or component. The modified ingredients are specially designed to avoid quality assurance and quality control systems for customers. Only people who manipulate the ingredients know what substances and how to manipulate them. In addition, fraudulent ingredients are often unconventional substances that do not meet the requirements of food safety management systems, and become known only after they are incorporated into the supply chain. International standards for food and regulations address the risk of fraud food adulteration. European Union (EU) Directives, Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Codex Alimentarius has continued work on a food fraud, or how, food fraud fits into their benchmarking. The problem of detection and typing of meat in meat products in the world and lack of research on them in the Republic of North Macedonia was the main goal for this paper. Our task was identification of meat type by ELISA method and proof of counterfeiting of meat products. Analyses are made in the laboratories of the Institute of Food at the Faculty of veterinary medicine in Skopje A total of 350 samples of various heat-treated meat products subgroups of meat sausages in pieces were examined for detection, typifying and quantifying the type of meat used for production.

It is crucial to conduct quality control tests to assess the quality and consistency of medicinal plant products before they are used. Products can often be placed on the market without registration, but some countries may require manufacturers to present product labels to authorities before selling them. These labels should confirm the composition of the product, particularly the concentrations of cannabidiol (CBD). The information on the label should provide unambiguous details about the qualitative composition and concentration of primary cannabinoids, such as CBD and THC. However, since there is a lack of regulatory control, it is possible to find inaccurate information on the label. This study aimed to create and validate a high-performance liquid chromatography method for identifying active compounds (cannabinoids) in CBD oil. The main compounds identified included Cannabidivarin (CBDV), Cannabidiolic Acid (CBD-A), Cannabigerolic Acid (CBG-A), Cannabigerol (CBG), Cannabidiol (CBD), Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), Cannabinol (CBN), ∆9- Tetrahydrocannabinol (d9 -THC) ∆8- Tetrahydrocannabinol (d8-THC), Cannabicyclol (CBL), Cannabichromene (CBC), and Tetrahydrocannabinolic Acid (THCA-A), determined in line with the International Conference on Harmonization's (ICH) guidelines. The method was validated for linearity, accuracy, precision, limit of detection (LOD), and limit of quantitation (LOQ). It was determined to be linear, with a correlation coefficient (R2) ranging from 0.99937 to 0.99973. The LOD and LOQ values calculated from the calibration curve ranged from 0.05 to 0.13 and 0.50 to 0.61 µg/mL, respectively. The method also exhibited acceptable precision, with relative standard deviation values lower than or equal to 2%. The method's accuracy was assessed through recovery percentages and fell within an acceptable range (98.12–102.39%). This study's rigorous methodology and comprehensive findings significantly contribute to cannabinoid analysis. This validated protocol was used to analyze the cannabinoid concentration levels in 14 CBD oil products in the Republic of North Macedonia. The performance parameters indicate that the developed and validated method is suitable for quantitatively determining cannabinoids in CBD oil. The analysis of 14 CBD oil products revealed no significant derogation regarding the labeling, i.e., they were by the producers' declared variability.

The study highlights the need for quality control in evaluating medicinal plant products, especially CBD oils, before market release. Due to varying regulatory requirements, product labeling can sometimes be misleading, especially regarding cannabinoid concentrations such as CBD and THC. This research focused on developing a validated high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for accurately identifying and quantifying key cannabinoids in Commercial Veterinary CBD Oil. The main compounds identified included Cannabidivarin (CBDV), Cannabidiolic Acid (CBD-A), Cannabigerolic Acid (CBG-A), Cannabigerol (CBG), Cannabidiol (CBD), Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), Cannabinol (CBN), ∆⁹-Tetrahydrocannabinol (d9-THC) ∆8-Tetrahydrocannabinol (d8-THC), Cannabicyclol (CBL), Cannabichromene (CBC), and Tetrahydrocannabinolic Acid (THCA), determined in line with the International Conference on Harmonization’s (ICH) guidelines. The method was validated for linearity, accuracy, precision, limit of detection (LOD), and limit of quantitation (LOQ). It was determined to be linear, with a correlation coefficient (R²) > 0.999. The LOD and LOQ values calculated from the calibration curve ranged from 0.05 to 0.13 and 0.50 to 0.61 µg/mL, respectively. The method also exhibited acceptable precision, with relative standard deviation values lower than or equal to 2%. The method’s accuracy was assessed through recovery percentages and fell within an acceptable range of 98–102 if the RSD was 2%. This study’s rigorous methodology and comprehensive findings significantly contribute to cannabinoid analysis. This validated protocol was used to analyze cannabinoids in 14 commercial veterinary CBD oil products from the Republic of North Macedonia. The performance parameters demonstrated that the method is reliable for quantitatively measuring cannabinoids in CBD oil. The analysis showed that the cannabinoid levels in the products were consistent with the manufacturers’ declared specifications, with no significant discrepancies in labeling.

Screening and confirmatory methods for Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) analysis were optimized and studied regarding the European Decision 2002/657/EC requirements. The recoveries of AFM1 from the spiked samples at levels between 0.025 and 0.075 µg kg-1 were 99.6-110.3 % with obtained precision 10.5-13.4 %, confirming the immunochemical method precision and reliability for intensive surveillance studies. According to the regulatory requirements, for confirmation of the obtained positives from the screening, the reference high-performance liquid chromatographic method was evaluated in reference to the performance criteria. The obtained between-day recovery was in the range 67.2-72.8 %, and the precision range 5.4-9.1 %. 205 positives from the screening were subjected to confirmatory analysis. The comparison of the data obtained from the immunoassay and chromatographic method (R2=0.764) revealed a slight overestimation of the screening method, but no cases of false-negative determinations occurred.