Buffalo mozzarella cheese is one of the most appreciated traditional Italian products and it is certified as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) product under the European Commission Regulation No. 1151/2012. It is obtained exclusively from buffalo milk. If made from cow milk, or a mixture of buffalo and cow milk, buffalo mozzarella cheese does not qualify as a PDO product. In order to maximize their profits, some producers market buffalo mozzarella that also contains cow milk as a PDO product, thus defrauding consumers. New methods for revealing this fraud are therefore needed. One such method is the droplet digital Polymerase Chain Reaction (ddPCR). Thanks to its high precision and sensitivity, the ddPCR could prove an efficacious means for detecting the presence of cow milk in buffalo mozzarella cheese that is marketed as a PDO product. ddPCR has proved able to detect the DNA of cow and/or buffalo milk in 33 buffalo mozzarella cheeses labelled as PDO products, and experimental evidence could support its application in routine analyses.

Buffalo Mozzarella cheese from Campania is one of the most worldwide appreciated Italian dairy products. The increased demand for buffalo dairy products and the limited availability of the finest buffalo milk has prompted the diffusion of illicit practices, such as the use of milk, curd, or other products that are frozen or bought at low cost. The aim of this research was to provide preliminary results about the trend of the microbial communities of buffalo milk, curd and Buffalo Mozzarella cheese, during freezing storage of eleven months. At the same time, the alterations of physical properties and the presence of the molecular marker “γ4-casein”, have been investigated. The results showed that freezing reduced the concentrations of the total bacterial count, Enterobacteriaceae, coliforms, Escherichia coli and yeasts in fresh milk and, the concentrations of the total bacterial count, coliforms, lactic acid bacteria and yeasts in mature curd. In the finished product, no notable decreases were observed, except for lactic acid bacteria. About the γ4-casein, no increase was observed in all matrices. These preliminary results allow us to conclude that the freezing process if properly carried out, does not compromise the microbiological quality and the physical properties of the Buffalo Mozzarella cheese.

Ethnic food is produced by an ethnic group—using their familiarity with local ingredients of plants and/or animal origin—and it is consumed in a country other than the country of origin. In Italy, the ethnic food market has expanded over the last three decades. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correct labeling, the microbiological communities and the allergens present in 50 ethnic foods. The visual inspection of labels and microbiological and allergen analyses have been carried out for evaluating their food safety. The visual inspection of labels revealed the absence of labeling in Italian and/or a failure to specify the place of origin. Microbiological analyses showed the absence of pathogens (i.e., Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes and E. coli 0157:H7) in all matrices, but the presence of process hygiene indicator bacteria (total bacterial count, Coagulase-positive Staphylococci, Bacillus cereus, coliforms, yeasts and molds) was found in 37 samples. With regard to allergens, 12 samples were non-compliant for the presence of at least one allergen, while only two products were of species different from those declared on the label. This research highlights the need to increase the control of ethnic foods and also to improve the labeling system by standardizing international regulations.

The rising prevalence of food allergies necessitates reliable strategies for the prevention, assessment, and management of food allergen risks.Food processing—specifically cooking—influences the metabolism of allergens in humans and, consequently, their allergenic potential; this applies to egg proteins, which are listed in Annex II of EU Regulation 1169/2011.The aim of this study was to assess the detectability of the egg allergen via ELISA in various commercially available products with egg listed on the label, while also considering recent findings regarding the stability of egg proteins following heat treatment. Such treatments increase protein fragmentation and digestion rates while reducing the binding capacity between proteins and IgE.The primary allergenic egg proteins—ovomucoid, ovalbumin (OVA), ovotransferrin, and lysozyme—are found in the egg white. α-livetin and lipoprotein YGP42 are two minor allergens present in the yolk.Eggs possess high nutritional value, and approximately 30% of consumed eggs are ingested in processed form (1). Mostashri et al. recently examined in detail the impact of processing on egg protein allergenicity (2). Specifically, a molecular weight of at least 3.5 kDa is considered necessary to elicit an antibody response (3); indeed, when comparing different fractions of hydrolyzed egg white, peptides with a molecular weight below 3 kDa exhibit lower IgE and IgG binding capacity than fractions containing peptides of higher molecular weight (4). Therefore, given that allergenic peptides have a molecular weight exceeding 3 kDa, heat treatment is a critical factor regarding both allergenicity and analytical sensitivity. In the course of this study, the following commercially available products were therefore tested using the R-Biopharm Ridascreen Ei/Egg ELISA kit (Darmstadt, Germany):1. Egg-based dry snacks (Brand A)2. Shortbread cookies with egg ingredient (Brand B, type a)3. “ (Brand B, type b)4. “ (Brand B, type c)5. “ (Brand B, type d)6. “ (Brand C, type a)7. “ (Brand C, type b)8. “ (Brand D)9. Shortbread cookies with egg PAL (Precautionary Allergen Labelling) (Brand E)10. Baked product without egg ingredient (Brand F)The results obtained were as expected: for samples 1 through 4, the egg allergen was present and detectable despite the technological processing the food had undergone; for sample 5, which declared egg only via PAL, egg proteins were undetectable, just as—as expected—they were undetectable in sample 6.In conclusion, the molecular structure of the allergenic proteins in the tested foods remains unaltered—regarding their sensitivity to analytical detection—following technological treatments (which are likely primarily thermal). This demonstrates that the described analytical approach adequately protects the health of allergic consumers and is applicable even to highly processed foods. (This activity was carried out within the framework of project RC 02/25 IZS PLV).

Gluten monitoring is essential to protect consumers requiring gluten avoidance, but interpretation of multicentre surveillance data may be influenced by changes in sampling intensity, food categories and monitoring contexts. This study characterised gluten-monitoring activities conducted by nine Italian institutions between 2021 and 2025 and evaluated temporal and food-category patterns of non-compliance, complemented by proficiency-testing (PT) data from the CReNaRiA laboratory network. Aggregated monitoring data were analysed by year, food category and sampling context, and samples containing >20 mg/kg gluten were classified as non-compliant. Overall, 10,376 samples were analysed, of which 94 (0.91%) were non-compliant. Pasta, bakery and pastry products, and ready-to-eat foods accounted for 84.0% of non-compliant samples. Annual non-compliance remained below 1% between 2021 and 2023 and was higher in 2024 and 2025. Temporal variation was supported overall (p = 0.005), but these years showed different patterns: the 2024 signal remained evident after sensitivity analysis, whereas the 2025 increase was largely attributable to a concentrated bakery and pastry monitoring context. CReNaRiA PT exercises showed consistently high interlaboratory qualitative agreement across the study period. Overall, gluten non-compliance was infrequent but unevenly distributed across food categories and over time. Integrating analytical results with harmonised information on sampling context, claim status, product characteristics and traceability may strengthen targeted, risk-informed gluten surveillance.