Biosensor-Based Technologies for the Evaluation of Quality - Postharvest Biology and Technology of Fruits, Vegetables, and Flowers - page 418

Chapter 20
Biosensor-Based Technologies
for the Evaluation of Quality
Barry Byrne, Neil Carolan and Richard O'Kennedy
Abbreviations used
Ala, alanine; BSA, bovine serum albumin; CDR, complementarity-determining region;
CFU, colony-forming unit; ELISA, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; EU, European
Union; HRP, horseradish peroxidase; Met, methionine; MRL, maximum residue limit; NTA,
nitrilotriacetic acid; Pro, proline; RI, refractive index; RU, response units; SIRE, sensors
based on injection of the recognition element; SPR, surface plasmon resonance; TIR, total
internal reflection.
Structures
A list of chemical structures is provided in the Appendix. These are molecules that are
referred to in the text and are relevant.
20.1 Introduction
The monitoring of quality of agricultural produce is of huge importance for farmers, the food
industry, legislators, and, most importantly, for consumers (Karlsson, 2004). The quality of
fruits and vegetables may be compromised by the presence of toxic materials such as herbi-
cides and pesticides. The extensive use of such compounds to suppress the growth of plant
and insect populations, respectively, implies that consumers could be exposed, on a daily ba-
sis, to a vast number of different toxic chemicals, if food produce is not carefully monitored.
The presence of mycotoxins, such as aflatoxin B 1 , also poses a potential threat to consumers.
Over recent years, public concern has increased with regard to the possible health risks as-
sociated with long-term and low-level exposure to various food-borne chemicals that could
ultimately result in chronic toxicity (Keay and McNeil, 1998). The conditions in which
fruit crops are stored are often the most important factors in determining the efficiency
and profitability of the harvest (Shmulevich et al., 2003) and can influence contamina-
tion levels significantly. Hence, the development of methods to detect traces of potentially
harmful contaminants is crucial for monitoring the overall quality of fruit and vegetable
products.
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