| Project Detail |
Analytical techniques and design materials to deal with food safety and authenticity
The agri-food chain has exhaustive controls throughout a product’s life cycle. Food authenticity and safety are fully supported by protocols and legislated by various organisations. To address quality, authenticity and safety challenges, the EU-funded PlasMOF project proposes cutting-edge solutions that rely on advanced mass spectrometry and innovative design materials. Using novel ionisation techniques based on dielectric barrier discharge ionisation and green sample preparation methods that are improved with metal-organic frameworks should offer several advantages in tackling food quality and safety issues. The project will implement these technologies to assess virgin olive oil authenticity and to detect fraud in this oil and other products such as wine.
The agri-food chain from the original product to its commercialization has thorough controls. Authenticity and food safety are highly supported by protocols and are legislated by different organizations. PlasMOF aims to propose novel cutting-edge solutions based on state-of-the-art mass spectrometry (MS) and novel design materials. The use of novel ionization methods based on dielectric barrier ionization (DBDI) and green sample preparation techniques enhanced by using Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) may provide unprecedented advantages in solving relevant food quality and safety. This project proposes novel approaches based on the synergic use of advanced materials and ambient mass spectrometry for some of the challenges that need to be addressed in the agri-food sector related to their quality, authenticity and safety. PlasMOF proposed the synthesis, characterization and application of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) as novel sorbent materials in miniaturized solid-phase schemes (µSPE). In a second stage, the elaboration of novel devices based on MOFs and their combination with DBD-based ambient ionization methods for relevant societal applications. Different DBD-based tools configurations will be tested as ionization methods in food authenticity (including two-ring electrode DBDI, flexible microtube plasma (FµTP), active capillary sampling plasma source (ACaPI) and low-temperature plasma (LTP)). These novel technologies will be implemented for the assessment of virgin olive oil VOO authenticity and to detect frauds in VOO and in other food products such as wine. |
