Medicinal herbs, including the Asteraceae family (AF), have different antimicrobial and therapeutic effects. Therefore, they can be used as health factors in the food and medicinal industries. In this systematic review, the essential information was collected from the relevant databases, e.g., PubMed, Sciencedirect, and Google Scholar based on medicinal herbs, AF, essential oil, antimicrobial, antioxidant, therapeutic effect, and Covid-19 keywords. AF can be used as safe preservatives and food additives with a specific amount of consumption in the food industry thanks to their good flavor, antioxidant and antimicrobial effect. Due to their therapeutic effects, they can improve the health role of food. AF herbs contain important bioactive compounds, but not all of them can be used as medicine and food supplements since yarrow, chamomile, and artichoke exhibit toxic effects in high dosage, therefore, the consumption of these herbs should be considered to not endanger the health of the consumer. پرونده مقاله

The prevalence of contaminated foodborne diseases has always been a major challenge all around the world. A huge amount of money is spent on treating these diseases every year. This study investigated the status of chemical and microbial contamination of confectionery products in Iran. Data were collected from electronic databases including Pubmed, Science Direct, Elsevier, SID, Magiran, and Google Scholar during 2001 - 2017. Search keywords included microbial contamination, chemical contamination, confectionery products, cream-filled pastry, and Iran. The results indicated that the highest contamination rates in South Khorasan, Tehran, Gorgan, and Isfahan were related to Staphylococcus aureus (80%), Escherichia coli(57%), Enterobacteriaceae (25.1%), and yeasts (100%), respectively. Moreover, the least prevalent pathogens in west of Tehran, Tabriz, east of Gilan, and south of Tehran were S. aureus (4.81%), Coliform (2.51%), Bacillus cereus (1.2%), and E. coli (2%), respectively. In addition, there was no Salmonella in southeast of Tehran and Yasouj. Most confectionery products contained unauthorized artificial dyes, and authorized artificial dyes were also overused. The most commonly used artificial dye was sunset yellow with 80% use in Arak. Moreover, 100% of the samples in Arak contained unauthorized artificial dyes. Confectionery products are an important part of food products in the country. The likelihood of microbial and chemical spoilage of these products increases due to the use of such ingredients as eggs, milk, and color additives. Further training and supervision on the preparation and maintenance of these products by the local health authorities can be effective in reducing the contamination. پرونده مقاله

Honey is a unique food product containing bioactive compounds derived from bees and plantsNowadays, animal food products that may contain antibiotic residues have caused a lot of concern for the consumers. The presence of antibiotic residues in honey may be harmful to human health. One of the most important risks of antibiotic residues in food products is the occurrence of drug resistance in pathogenic bacteria in the body. Regarding the complications caused by these residues, the present research has investigated sulfonamide antibiotic residues in the honey samples consumed in Qazvin province. The present research is a cross-sectional study performed in different regions of Qazvin province in 2019. For this purpose, 80 honey samples were collected from different regions of Qazvin. The samples were transferred to the food safety laboratory of the Health Faculty under proper conditions. First, the samples were tested to check the sulfonamide antibiotic residue by the semi-quantitative ELISA assay. The data were recorded in SPSS 23, and data analysis was done by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and (post hoc) Tukey test at the significant level of P˂0.05. According to the results of the ELISA assay, 10-120 ng of sulfonamide antibiotic residue was found in 23.75% (19 samples) of the samples. The findings showed that the highest and the lowest sulfonamide concentrations were respectively reported as 30.81 and 6.26 ppb, and the average sulfonamide residue was obtained as 14.50 ppb. According to the results, more than 75% of the honey samples collected from Qazvin province are free of sulfonamide or contain a little sulfonamide concentration. The research showed that most of the honey samples collected from different regions of Qazvin province are free of sulfonamide or contain a little sulfonamide concentration. Regarding the important role of honey consumption in health and the wide use of antibiotics in beehives, it is necessary to take the necessary actions to control the quality of this product. پرونده مقاله

Nowadays, antibiotic residues as a global concern pose a threat not only to public health, but also to the food industry all around the world. There have been many studies on contamination sources of bee products, which the most important of them is evaluation of honey contamination extent with various antibiotics used in colonies. Antibiotic residues have a relatively long half life and may have direct toxic effects on consumers. Considering the adverse effects of this residues, we decided to measure the residual erythromycin in different samples of honey consumes in Qazvin, Iran. The present study is a cross-sectional study which conducted in different regions of Qazvin, Iran, in 2019. 80 samples of honey were collected from different regions in Qazvin. Using semi-quantitative ELISA, honey samples were evaluated for the presence of residual erythromycin. Based on the results obtained by ELISA, residual erythromycin was detected only in 8 samples (10.66%), of which, 5 samples (6.66%) and 3 samples (4%) had between 10-120 ng g-1 erythromycin and higher than 120 ng g-1 erythromycin (higher than detection limit of kit), respectively. According to the results, more than 96 percent of our honey samples lacked any erythromycin or had erythromycin concentration lower than allowable limit. The present study demonstrated that most of the honey samples collected from different regions of Qazvin lacked erythromycin residues, but due to the importance of drug residues on community health, annual screening of produced honey for the presence of drug residues by competent authorities. پرونده مقاله

The accumulation of heavy metals in crops irrigated with wastewater is a serious environmental problem. Wastewater irrigation is widespread, particularly for rice due to its high water demands. This can lead to heavy metal accumulation in rice and subsequent entry into the human body, posing detrimental health effects. This study investigated heavy metal accumulation in 12 rice brands (6 imported and 6 domestic) from the Bushehr city market in Iran. The mean values of lead, arsenic, and cadmium in domestic rice brands were 0.246±0.194, 0.074±0.025, and 0.150±0.124 mg kg-1 respectively, while in imported rice brands they were 0.086±0.031, 0.085±0.021, and 0.031±0.007 mg kg-1 respectively. The mean lead and cadmium levels in domestic rice brands slightly exceeded the FAO/WHO limit, while the mean arsenic concentration was below the limit. To protect human health and reduce food contamination with heavy metals, preventive measures such as regular monitoring of heavy metals in food must be taken. پرونده مقاله