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We thank Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (grant MINECO-18-AGL2017-88095-R), Programa de Ayudas a Grupos de Investigación del Principado de Asturias (IDI/2018/000120), and the research project NOMORFILM, funded by the EU H2020 Program under contract agreement 634588, for financial support.

Humans are widely exposed to synthetic chemicals, especially via food. The types of chemical contaminants in food (including food contact chemicals) are diverse, and many of these are known to be hazardous, with mounting evidence that some contribute to noncommunicable diseases. The increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods, which contain synthetic chemicals, also contributes to adverse health. If the chemical contamination of foods were better characterized, then this issue would likely receive more attention as an important opportunity for disease prevention. In this Review, we discuss types and sources of synthetic food contaminants, focusing on food contact chemicals and their presence in ultra-processed foods. We outline future research needs and highlight possible responses at different food system levels. A sustainable transition of the food system must address the health impacts of synthetic chemicals in food; we discuss existing solutions that do justice to the complexity of the issue while avoiding regrettable substitutions and rebound effects. This Review summarizes the current knowledge on sources, types and health effects of synthetic chemical contaminants in foods, particularly ultra-processed foods, and discusses regulatory shortcomings and policy-relevant research needs.

Concern that synthetic food dyes may impact behavior in children prompted a review by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). OEHHA conducted a systematic review of the epidemiologic research on synthetic food dyes and neurobehavioral outcomes in children with or without identified behavioral disorders (particularly attention and activity). We also conducted a search of the animal toxicology literature to identify studies of neurobehavioral effects in laboratory animals exposed to synthetic food dyes. Finally, we conducted a hazard characterization of the potential neurobehavioral impacts of food dye consumption. We identified 27 clinical trials of children exposed to synthetic food dyes in this review, of which 25 were challenge studies. All studies used a cross-over design and most were double blinded and the cross-over design was randomized. Sixteen (64%) out of 25 challenge studies identified some evidence of a positive association, and in 13 (52%) the association was statistically significant. These studies support a relationship between food dye exposure and adverse behavioral outcomes in children. Animal toxicology literature provides additional support for effects on behavior. Together, the human clinical trials and animal toxicology literature support an association between synthetic food dyes and behavioral impacts in children. The current Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acceptable daily intakes are based on older studies that were not designed to assess the types of behavioral effects observed in children. For four dyes where adequate dose-response data from animal and human studies were available, comparisons of the effective doses in studies that measured behavioral or brain effects following exposure to synthetic food dyes indicate that the basis of the ADIs may not be adequate to protect neurobehavior in susceptible children. There is a need to re-evaluate exposure in children and for additional research to provide a more complete database for establishing ADIs protective of neurobehavioral effects.

Synthetic food antioxidants such as tert‐butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), and propyl gallate (PG) have been extensively utilized in different food industries because of their high protectant activities to stop food spoilage and remove foodborne diseases in humans and animals. It would be emphasized that increasing the intake of antioxidants through intracellular may lead to cyto/genotoxicity, and their complex formation with biological molecules eventually accelerate the progress of various diseases like multiple sclerosis, diabetes, neurological disorders, cardiac vascular disease, cancer, etc. Therefore, their toxicity is one of the challenging subjects due to their extensive use in food‐related industries. TBHQ, BHA, and PG antioxidants have cytotoxic, genotoxic, and carcinogenic effects if absorbed in high doses through the gastrointestinal tract. Thermodynamic parameters presented that the hydrophobic bind plays a key role in the complexation of the TBHQ, BHA, and PG with albumin. The molecular modeling results showed that subdomain IIA plays a vital role in the interaction of TBHQ and BHA with albumin. To comprehend the mechanisms of the cyto/genotoxicity effects of these food antioxidants and conformational alterations of albumin macromolecule, we aim to overview numerous types of research that evaluated the cyto/genotoxicity effects of these antioxidants using several procedures. Synthetic food antioxidant properties have been discussed in detail. Cyto/genotoxicity of synthetic food antioxidants has been reviewed. Interaction of food antioxidants with albumin approved via various methods.

The recent increase in chronic diseases worldwide is a major cause for concern, with processed foods containing synthetic additives being a leading contributor. These additives are commonly used in the food industry for processing, storage, and packaging, and prolonged exposure to them can pose serious health risks. To address this issue, there is a growing demand for bio-based food additives that are environmentally friendly, free of side effects and chronic diseases like cancer, and promote overall health. Nanoemulsion technology can be used to create these natural-based additives, effectively enhancing their solubility, stability, and bioavailability. As such, natural-based nanoemulsions have the potential to become the next generation of food additives and pave the way for healthier food products. This study provides an overview of the production of natural-based food additives using nanotechnology approaches, examining their effects on different food products and in vitro and exploring their mechanisms of action.

Natural fruits contain a large variety of cis -diols. However, due to the lack of a high-resolution sensor that can simultaneously identify all cis -diols without a need of complex sample pretreatment, direct and rapid analysis of fruits in a hand-held device has never been previously reported. Nanopore, a versatile single molecule sensor, can be specially engineered to perform this task. A hetero-octameric Mycobacterium smegmatis porin A (MspA) nanopore modified with a sole phenylboronic acid (PBA) adapter is prepared. This engineered MspA accurately recognizes 1,2-diphenols, alditols, α-hydroxy acids and saccharides in prune, grape, lemon, different varieties of kiwifruits and commercial juice products. Assisted with a custom machine learning program, an accuracy of 99.3% is reported and the sample pretreatment is significantly simplified. Enantiomers such as DL-malic acids can also be directly identified, enabling sensing of synthetic food additives. Though demonstrated with fruits, these results suggest wide applications of nanopore in food and drug administration uses. Fruits contain a large variety of cis -diols but their rapid and direct analysis without complex sample pretreatment was not achieved. Here, the authors report a Mycobacterium smegmatis porin A nanopore modified with a phenylboronic acid adapter for recognition of 1,2-diphenols, alditols, α-hydroxy acids and saccharides in fruits.

The toxicity of food additives is widely studied and concerns many consumers worldwide. Synthetic food colors are often considered an unnecessary risk to consumer health. Since the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) re-evaluation between 2009 and 2014, the body of scientific literature on food colors has grown, and new evaluations are being published by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). Therefore, this narrative review aims to review the toxicological data that have become available since 2014. The reviewed colors are Quinoline Yellow, Sunset Yellow, Azorubine, Amaranth, Ponceau 4R, Erythrosine, Allura Red, Patent Blue, Indigo Carmine, Brilliant Blue FCF, Green S, Brilliant Black, Brown HT, and Lithol Rubine BK. Tartrazine was not included in this paper; the overwhelming amount of recent data on Tartrazine toxicity requires more space than this review can provide. The issues regarding the toxicity of synthetic food colors and real population exposures are being regularly examined and reviewed by relevant authorities, such as the EFSA and JECFA. The current ADI limits set by the authorities are mostly in agreement, and they seem safe. However, the EFSA and JECFA assessments of some of the colors are more than a decade old, and new evidence will soon be required.

Tissue-like cultured meats of some livestock have successfully been established by different approaches. However, the production of a structure similar to fish fillets is still challenging. Here, we develop tissue-like cultured fish fillets by assembly of large yellow croaker muscle fibers and adipocytes with 3D-printed gel. Inhibition of Tgf-β and Notch signals significantly promoted myogenic differentiation of piscine satellite cells (PSCs). The mixture of fish gelatin and sodium alginate combined with a p53 inhibitor and a Yap activator supported PSC viability and proliferation. Based on the texture of fish muscle tissue, a 3D scaffold was constructed by gelatin-based gel mixed with PSCs. After proliferation and differentiation, the muscle scaffold was filled with cultured piscine adipocytes. Finally, tissue-like fish fillets with 20 × 12 × 4 mm were formed, consisting of 5.67 × 10 7 muscles and 4.02 × 10 7 adipocytes. The biomanufacture of tissue-like cultured fish fillet here could be a promising technology to customize meat production with high fidelity.

A large number of food additives are used to enhance their marketable quality. Similarly, for increasing the aesthetic value of food, different synthetic food colors are incorporated that are believed to cause severe problems to humans and the environment. Thus, to overcome these issues, biocolors have been utilized sharply due to their potential therapeutic and medicinal benefits. A wide variety of industries, including medicines, textiles, food, and beverage, have used biocolor additives. Biocolors are deployed in the food sector ranging from beverages to confectionary to processed meals to bakery goods to dairy products to pet treats to colored sugar. Considering the stability and sensitivity of biocolors towards the extraction process and environment, new emerging non-thermal or mild technologies are gaining popularity in order to preserve the biocolors from degradation. This comprehensive review focuses on recent advances in knowledge and understanding of the extraction techniques of biocolors, their sources, and their applications.

It was found that three kinds of the synthetic food additive dyes, red nr. 3 (erythrosine), nr. 104 (phloxine), and nr. 105 (rose bengal) were adsorbed to the surface of charred cellulose granules and the maximum amounts of adsorption of these dyes were 3.75, 3.42, and 4.74 mg/g cellulose, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy-electron probe micro analysis (SEM-EPMA) showed a coating of the dyes on the surface of charred cellulose granules. Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) suggested the presence of NH₃ ⁺ in the surface of charred cellulose granules. Since all three dye compounds have both anionic carboxylate and hydrophobic groups and were released from the surface of charred cellulose granules by 0.1 N NaOH solution, it was surmised that these three food additive dyes were bound to the surface of cellulose granules by both ionic and physical interactions.