Risk communication is the interactive process of exchanging information and opinions on risk among stakeholders, and is a component of risk analysis ensuring food safety. This study examined individual differences in the effectiveness of the participatory risk communication method concerning food additives. The five individual differences which may influence the participatory method, measured at baseline, were trust in the government, perception of governmental procedural fairness, high expectation to participate in policy discussions, prior risk perception of food additives, and attitude. The results showed that most participants reported the enhanced understanding of food additives and more interest in food safety after the participatory risk communication. The tendency was higher for those who have a greater expectation to participate in political discussions. We also found that those with low trust in the government tended to have a lower understanding of food additives. The results confirmed that the participatory risk communication method is more effective and suitable for public meetings where it is assumed that gathered those have a high expectation to participate in political discussions, and also suggested that the importance of establishing trust in advance.

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A simple and sensitive analytical method for determining residues of the tranquilizer chlorpromazine in foods such as livestock products, seafood, and honey was developed. The method involves solvent extraction with acetone, clean-up using InertSep MC-1 strong cation-exchange solid-phase extraction cartridges, and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis with selective reaction monitoring in positive ionization mode. Because chlorpromazine was gradually degraded in the extraction step when using methanol or ethanol as the extraction solvent, we examined the stability of chlorpromazine in the presence of various solvents. Acetone was selected as the extraction solvent because chlorpromazine was not degraded over time in acetone extracts. Because chlorpromazine adsorbs onto glass surfaces, polypropylene tubes were used for the extraction step to prevent loss of the recovery. The developed method was validated using eight food products spiked with chlorpromazine at 0.1 μg/ kg. The validation results exhibited excellent recovery (range, 86-106%) and precision (variation < 10%). The limit of quantification (S/N ≥ 10) of the developed method was 0.1 μg/kg. The proposed method would be very useful for regulatory monitoring of the illegal use of chlorpromazine in foods.

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We examined the optimum extraction solvent and conditions for fluorescence derivatization for a simultaneous analytical method that uses HPLC-FLD to measure five aflatoxins (AFB₁, AFB₂, AFG₁, AFG₂, and AFM₁) in egg and processed egg samples. An egg sample and a processed egg sample were extracted under weakly acidic conditions using 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile / water (9:1), cleaned up with an immunoaffinity column, and derivatized to fluoresce using trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and n-hexane under warming conditions. The method was validated by replicate analysis of egg samples and granulated whole egg powder samples spiked with each AFB₁, AFB₂, AFG₁, AFG₂, and AFM₁ at 0.1, 0.5 and 5.0 μg/kg. The recoveries of the egg samples and the granulated whole egg powder samples were 85.1-93.2% and 82.7-88.9%, respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of repeatability and intermediate precision were ≤ 5.7% and ≤ 7.8%, respectively, all samples. The method detection limit (MDL) and the method quantification limit (MQL) were 0.004-0.010 μg/kg and 0.014-0.035 μg/kg, respectively, and MQL of the proposed method was lower than LOQ of official method in Japan. The proposed method was applied to four commercial egg samples and 19 processed egg samples, and no AFs were detected.

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The risk communication method for pesticide residues was examined. The examined method was evaluated by analysis of a questionnaire conducted on participants before and after the risk communication event using Fisher’s exact test and logistic regression analysis. The risk communication method consisted of a 65-min lecture with a 10-min break in the middle followed by a 15-min question-and-answer session. The lecture material consisted of the effectiveness of pesticides in food production, risk assessment of pesticides, and risk management of pesticide residues. Analysis of the questionnaires revealed that this risk communication method significantly promoted participants’ understanding of pesticide residues. This method also decreased the number of participants with a negative image of pesticides and increased the number of participants with a positive image.

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In April 2015, the system of Foods with Functional Claims (FFC) was launched and consumers expected health benefits from the FFC whose function was supported by scientific evidence. As the FFC guideline requires food manufacturers to keep the amount of a functional component in the product more than the labeling amount, it is also desirable to test its disintegration and dissolution in order to ensure the effectiveness of the FFC products. In this study, we focused on FFC products containing piperine and monoglucosyl hesperidin as functional substances to perform the weigh variation, disintegration, and dissolution tests. In the disintegration tests, two products (MGH-3 and 4) in uncoated tablet form failed to meet the acceptance criteria for drugs listed in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia as well as for dietary supplements listed in the United States Pharmacopoeia. The dissolution test method for FFC products needed modification from the general Pharmacopoeial method in order to evaporate and concentrate the analyte. The dissolution rates of 5 FFC products dissolved in 1 or 2 hours in water were 82 ～ 118% of the labeled content and at least 2 products met the acceptance criteria for dietary supplements listed in the United States Pharmacopoeia. These results indicated that some FFCs products were put on the market with evidence-based functions despite the lack of disintegration. Additionally, more investigation and discussion must be done for developing an adequate dissolution test method and criteria for FFC products.

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This study aims to improve the versatility of AOAC Official Method 2015.01 (Method 2015.01) for the determination of arsenic in infant formula and milk products in international trade. The sample preparation was changed from a wet ashing method using a microwave digester to a dry ashing one with an electric furnace, which will simplify the process and allow the processing of several samples. Magnesium nitrate solution was added before dry ashing to prevent arsenic volatilization. Importantly, helium was used as a replacement for oxygen as the reaction cell gas during sample measurement with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, for making the process highly versatile. The modified method exhibited excellent linearity over the concentration range of the standard solutions, and all the conditions (lower limit of quantification, repeatability, and recovery factor) of the Standard Method Performance Requirement of AOAC International were met. When the sample used in the proficiency test for the trace element, provided by KANSO CO., LTD. (PTP-1801WR), was measured, the result was close to the value allowed by KANSO CO., LTD. By modifying the sample preparation and the reaction cell gas, we enhanced the versatility of Method 2015.01 for the analysis of arsenic in infant formula and dairy products.

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