Detection in Food and Drinks

Mycotoxins food contamination represents a serious risk for consumers health. They are 12 secondary metabolites of fungi that can be present in a wide range of foodstuffs. Ochratoxin A 13 (OTA) is one of the most toxic compound and it is classified as a possible carcinogenic molecule. 14 The harmful effects of OTA on human and animal health lead to a big boost to develop and 15 optimize highly sensitive and accurate methods for OTA detection. An innovative and rapid 16 detection method based on microcantilever resonators for ochratoxin A identification in food 17 matrix has been developed. This work demonstrates the possibility to apply microcantilever 18 technology in food safety field, showing for the first time in literature the successful detection of 19 one of the most dangerous mycotoxin in different food matrixes both solids and liquids, such as 20 green coffee, grape juice and wine. Sensing performances are discussed in terms of calibration plot 21 and limit of detection. 22