Food quality and safety are related to the health and safety of people, and food hazards are important influencing factors affecting food safety. It is strongly necessary to develop food safety rapid detection technology to ensure food safety. As a new detection technology, artificial nanochannel-based electrochemical and other methods have the advantages of being real-time, simple, and sensitive and are widely used in the detection of food hazards. In this paper, we review artificial nanochannel sensors as a new detection technology in food safety for different types of food hazards: biological hazards (bacteria, toxins, viruses) and chemical hazards (heavy metals, organic pollutants, food additives). At the same time, we critically discuss the advantages and disadvantages of artificial nanochannel sensor detection, as well as the restrictions and solutions of detection, and finally look forward to the challenges and development prospects of food safety detection technology based on the limitations of artificial nanochannel detection. We expect to provide a theoretical basis and inspiration for the development of rapid real-time detection technology for food hazards and the production of portable detection equipment in the future.

Food analysis plays a critical role in assessing human health risks and monitoring food quality and safety. Currently, there is a pressing need for a reliable, portable, and quick recognition element for point-of-care testing (POCT) to better serve the demands of on-site food analysis. Aptamer-modified paper-based analytical devices (Apt-PADs) have excellent characteristics of high portability, high sensitivity, high specificity, and on-site detection, which have been widely used and concerned in the field of food safety. The article reviews the basic components and working principles of Apt-PADs, and introduces their representative applications detecting food hazards. Finally, the advantages, challenges, and future directions of Apt-PADs-based sensing performance are discussed, to provide new directions and insights for researchers to select appropriate Apt-PADs according to specific applications.

Food safety has received increased attention, and food detection is of great significance. The food matrix is complex, and diverse food hazards have been identified. Thus, the detection methods and sample preparation techniques for food matrices must be continuously optimized and updated. Several steps are usually required when a chromatographic system is used to determine food hazards: sample preparation, that is, the separation of targets from different substrates using a suitable preprocessing method and target-substance separation and purification, which is usually achieved using chromatographic separation. The selection of an appropriate detector for qualitative and quantitative analyses is usually based on the properties of the target compound. The sample preparation procedure is considered the most time-consuming aspect of the entire food-analysis process. It is also prone to analytical errors. Therefore, optimization of the sample preparation process is a key issue in the field of chemical analysis. Researchers have developed a series of new, efficient, and accurate sample preprocessing methods, and an on-line sample-preparation system has been found to be a feasible approach. On-line sample preparation coupled with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) presents many advantages. First, manual operation could reduce analytical errors to ensure good accuracy and repeatability. It could also reduce the consumption of chemical reagents and avoid cross-contamination between samples. Furthermore, an on-line sample-preparation system could shorten the sample-preparation time and improve the detection efficiency. On-line sample preparation coupled with LC-MS has been widely applied in the fields of environment, biology, and food. On-line sample preparation systems coupled with LC-MS are divided into two modules: the first modules involves sample preparation and the second module involves the LC system. The first module remove impurities and isolates the target compounds in preparation for their qualitative and quantitative detection. The coupling of these two modules depends mainly on valve switching. In this paper, we introduce the most frequently used on-line sample-preparation techniques, including on-line solid phase extraction (on-line SPE), in-tube solid phase microextraction (in-tube SPME), and turbulent chromatography (TFC). We then describe the basic principles and coupling equipment of these three on-line analytical technologies in detail. The coupling equipment establishes a physical connection between the two modules. Next, we discuss the properties of different purification fillers in an on-line sample-preparation column. The applications and research progress of on-line systems for pesticide residues, veterinary drug residues, and biotoxins are also discussed. Compared with offline sample preparation, on-line analytical systems present several advantages. On-line analytical systems can not only greatly reduce the analysis time and solvent consumption but also improve the detection sensitivity and accuracy. Such systems can be used to determine food hazards to ensure food safety. Finally, the existing problems and development trends of on-line analytical systems are discussed and prospected. To promote the applications of on-line analytical technology in food-safety detection, we suggest that the following three aspects be considered. First, more on-line purification columns with novel fillers, in addition to C18 or polymer fillers, should be developed. Second, compared with ordinary detectors, high-resolution MS detectors have better precision and accuracy. Coupling on-line analytical technologies with a high-resolution mass spectrometer may be beneficial for the further development of on-line analyses. Third, different food matrices should be compared and evaluated to continuously optimize the detection process and improve the efficiency of on-line analytical systems. As concerns regarding food safety issues have increased, the applications of on-line analytical technologies for food detection can be expected to become increasingly important.

Food safety has long been an area of concern. The selection of stable and efficient model organisms is particularly important for food toxicology studies. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are small model vertebrates, and 70% of human genes have at least one zebrafish ortholog. Zebrafish have advantages as model organisms due to their short life cycle, strong reproductive ability, easy rearing, and low cost. Zebrafish embryos have the advantage of being sensitive to the breeding environment and thus have been used as biosensors. Zebrafish and their embryos have been widely used for food toxicology assessments. This review provides a systematic and comprehensive summary of food toxicology studies using zebrafish as model organisms. First, we briefly introduce the multidimensional mechanisms and structure-activity relationship studies of food toxicological assessment. Second, we categorize these studies according to eight types of hazards in foods, including mycotoxins, pesticides, antibiotics, heavy metals, endocrine disruptors, food additives, nanoparticles, and other food-related ingredients. Finally, we list the applications of zebrafish in food toxicology studies in line with future research prospects, aiming to provide a valuable reference for researchers in the field of food science.

Most colorimetric methods based on nanozymes need to have excellent performance under acidic condition, so they are currently facing some challenges in the field of food hazard detection. Herein, a facile and rapid colorimetric sensor for kanamycin (KAN) detection in foods under neutral condition has been designed using the peroxidase-mimic activity of porous nanozyme like Co3 O4 nanodisk. Further investigations showed that the interaction mechanism between porous Co3 O4 nanodisk and substrates belongs to a ping-pong model, and the inhibition type of KAN on the peroxidase-mimic activity is noncompetitive inhibition. The constructed sensor has good sensitivity for KAN with the limit of 57 nM, and the color changes can be discerned visually when KAN exceeds 0.5 µM. Besides, the colorimetric sensor obtains excellent recovery results in chicken serum, milk, honey, and pork, which shows that the proposed sensing strategy can provide a rapid and convenient detection method for KAN in foods under neutral condition. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The established sensing strategy can rapidly distinguish whether KAN residue exceeds the permissible level within 10 min, which meets the requirement for on-site monitoring of antibiotics in foods, and also open up a new idea for other hazards detection under neutral condition.

Food safety issues caused by foodborne pathogens, chemical pollutants, and heavy metals have aroused widespread concern because they are closely related to human health. Nanozyme-based biosensors have excellent characteristics such as high sensitivity, selectivity, and cost-effectiveness and have been used to detect the risk factors in foods. In this work, the common detection methods for pathogenic microorganisms, toxins, heavy metals, pesticide residues, veterinary drugs, and illegal additives are firstly reviewed. Then, the principles and applications of immunosensors based on various nanozymes are reviewed and explained. Applying nanozymes to the detection of pathogenic bacteria holds great potential for real-time evaluation and detection protocols for food risk factors.

Nitrite (NO2-) and formaldehyde (FA) are practice common food hazards, seriously threatening human health. Herein, for the first time a de novo nanoprobe, named MTB, with a single response group exhibiting different optical signals for NO2-/FA was reported, which had the following characteristics: i) An adamantane-labeled small molecule NI-adH grafted with polycyclodextrin (Poly-β-CD) to form MTB with excellent water-solubility and biocompatibility. ii) O-phenylenediamine (OPD) with photoinduced electron transfer (PET) played both a fluorescence quencher and as NO2-/FA trappers. Interestingly, fixed on pH6.0, OPD rapidly reacted with NO2- forming triazoles, inhibiting the PET effect and releasing bright fluorescence at 530 nm. While adding FA, OPD ultrafast formed Schiff-base, and MTB absorption red-shifted from 452 nm to 545 nm. Moreover, MTB exhibited excellent selectivity, high sensitivity (21.8 nM/17.1 nM), and rapid response towards (60 s/65 s) NO2-/FA. Impressively, MTB has been successfully adopted to detect NO2-/FA in real foods with satisfactory results.

There is still a great challenge of on-site and rapid detection for ethyl carbamate (EC) in liquor. Herein, the aptamer (EC1) against EC was firstly screened by Capture-SELEX strategy, and its affinity and binding sites for EC were further investigated by fluorescence assay and molecular docking. Under the premise of retaining the structural features, the obtained aptamer was further truncated into a short sequence (named EC1-34), which has the dissociation constant of 17.97 ± 0.98 nM for EC. Subsequently, a visible, rapid, and cost-effective test strip was firstly designed for EC detection in liquor, in which the cationic polymer was used to efficiently capture the recognition probe conjugated with EC1-34 aptamer and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The minimum detection limit of the test strip is calculated as 2.14 μg⋅L-1. The rapid test strip can be widely used for EC detection in liquor due to the advantages of high stability, convenience and selectivity.

Development of personal glucose meters (PGMs) for blood glucose monitoring and management by the diabetic patients has been a long history since its first invention in 1968 and commercial application in 1975. The main reasons for its wide acceptance and popularity can be attributed mainly to the easy operation, test-to-result model, low cost, and small volume of sample required for blood glucose concentration test. During past decades, advances in analytical techniques have repurposed the use of PGMs into a general point-of-care testing platform for a variety of non-glucose targets, especially the food hazards. In this review, we summarized the recent published research using PGMs to detect the food safety hazards of mycotoxins, illegal additives, pathogen bacteria, and pesticide and veterinary drug residues detection with PGMs. The progress on PGM-based detection achieved in food safety have been carefully compared and analyzed. Furthermore, the current bottlenecks and challenges for practical applications of PGM for hazards detection in food safety have also been proposed.

The intestine is an important digestive organ of the human body, and its barrier is the guardian of the body from the external environment. The impairment of the intestinal barrier is believed to be an important determinant in various foodborne diseases. Food hazards can lead to the occurrence of many foodborne diseases represented by inflammation. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of the impact of the food hazards on intestinal barriers is essential for promoting human health. This review examined the relationship between food hazards and the intestinal barrier in three aspects: apoptosis, imbalance of gut microbiota, and pro-inflammatory cytokines. The mechanism of dysfunctional gut microbiota caused by food hazards was also discussed. This review discusses the interaction among food hazards, intestinal barrier, and foodborne diseases and, thus, offers a new thought to deal with foodborne disease.