Percorrer por autor "Cardoso, Diogo"
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- Assessing Contaminant Uptake and Elimination in Insects: Implications for Sustainable Food Production and Waste ManagementPublication . Cardoso, Diogo; Silva, Ana; Duarte, Regina; Brandão, Pedro; Epifânio, Joana; Azevedo, Abraão; Prodana, Maria; Mostafaie, Amid; Pinto, José; Silva, Patrícia; Coelho, Inês; Rego, Andreia; Alvito, Paula; Brooks, Bryan; Loureiro, SusanaConsidering the global food crisis and the pressing issue of waste generation, sustainable solutions for food demand are crucial. Insects have emerged as a promising protein source for food and feed due to their efficient bioconversion capacity and ability to utilize nonvaluable products. However, ensuring the safety of insects for food and feed is essential. This study aims to comprehensively evaluate the uptake and elimination of contaminants by insects, going beyond conventional measurements of contamination levels. Methodology: The study employed two-phase bioaccumulation studies involving an uptake phase with a contaminated substrate followed by an elimination phase in a clean substrate. Data from these studies were used in toxicokinetic modelling. The objective was to assess the bioaccumulation capacity of mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), and various polycyclic aromatic compounds (benzo[a] pyrene [B[a]P], benz[a]anthracene [B[a]A], benzo[b]fluoranthene [B[a] F], and crysene [Cry]) in black soldier fly (BSF) larvae (Hermetia illucens). Although high metal bioaccumulation potential (e.g., for Hg, Cd, Pb, As) in edible insects has already been identified as risk, there is a gap regarding hazard assessment of the organic contaminants (e.g., B[a]P, B[a]A, B[a]F, Cry). The findings indicate that when insects were exposed to the maximum allowed levels of metals according to European Union feed regulations, they accumulated contaminant levels unsuitable for feeding other animals. However, after a depuration period, the insects could reduce the contaminant concentrations to comply with the existing legislation. For instance, a 4 to 5 days depuration period was found sufficient for safer consumption of insects exposed to Hg, while a longer period was required for Cd elimination. Interestingly, no significant accumulation of polycyclic aromatic compounds was observed when insects were fed at the maximum allowed levels. Conclusion: These findings have significant implications, particularly when insects are employed as waste converters, where concerns arise regarding contaminants. This study supports the implementation of a depuration period after exposure to waste that may vary depending on the classes of contaminants involved. Toxicokinetics is an adequate tool for the safety assessment of insects as feed and food, but it also defines the conditions that will assure their sustainable use in waste management.
- ENTOSAFE - Edible insects: From a sustainable food production to a food safety concern.Publication . Cardoso, Diogo; Mostafaie, Amid; Silva, Ana Rita; Motta, Carla; Murta, Daniel; Pinto, Glória; Coelho, Inês; Prodana, Marija; Silva, Patricia; Alvito, Paula; Calisto, Vania; Loureiro, SusanaThe use of insects as a food and feed source is nowadays considered a solution for the increasing food demands in the following years. With that in mind, the recently funded project “ENTOSAFE - Edible insects: From a sustainable food production to a food safety concern” aims to integrate the food safety and the environmental sustainability aspects of edible insect farming. ENTOSAFE will take advantage of a symbiotic multidisciplinary team with members from industry (EntoGreen® - Ingredient Odyssey, Portugal) and academia (Univ. of Aveiro and National Health Institute Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Portugal). The project is committed to provide knowledge on the accumulation and transfer of potential contaminants (e.g., metals, mycotoxins, PAHs, pharmaceuticals) in insects farmed in rearing facilities, contributing directly with data sets to the new legislation and regulatory limits, concerning the presence of these compounds in the substrate. ENTOSAFE brings new approaches, focusing on full bioaccumulation studies through a complete uptake phase, assessing the contaminant into insects in different times during this phase. Considering the lack of information on insects’ elimination capacity to excrete contaminants from their body, an elimination phase will be studied in a non-contaminated substrate. ENTOSAFE is also promoting environmentally sustainable strategies while avoiding any wasted components from the process. The application of frass, as an organic fertilizer - produced by the digestion of the agricultural wastes or other residues by insects - on crops is presented as a promising solution to a zero-waste policy. Despite promising, the available information on the benefits that this by-product has on crop productivity is scarce. In this context, ENTOSAFE seeks evidence on the impact of this frass on agricultural soil’s main functions and the key processes behind. The project will evaluate the effects in soil quality and functions, soil-biota interactions in soils enriched with organic amendments and plant responses to stressors, by performing a series of experiments from laboratory to greenhouse scale. In summary, ENTOSAFE will contribute to an upscaling on the use of edible insects as feed and food, covering not only safety concerns but also promoting the sustainability of insect rearing processes.
- A geographically weighted regression approach to investigate air pollution effect on lung cancer: A case study in PortugalPublication . Roquette, Rita; Painho, Marco; Cardoso, DiogoThe risk of developing lung cancer might to a certain extent be attributed to tobacco. Nevertheless, the role of air pollution, both form urban and industrial sources, needs to be addressed. Numerous studies have concluded that long-term exposure to air pollution is an important environmental risk factor for lung cancer mortality. Still, there are only a few studies on air pollution and lung cancer in Portugal and none addressing its spatial dimension. The goal was to determine the influence of air pollution and urbanization rate on lung cancer mortality. A geographically weighted regression (GWR) model was performed to evaluate the relation between particle matter10 (PM10) emissions and lung cancer mortality relative risk (RR) for males and females in Portugal between 2007 and 2011. RR was computed with the BYM model. For a more in-depth analysis, the urbanization rate and the percentage of industrial area in each municipality were added. GWR efforts led to identifying three variables that were statistically significant in explaining lung cancer relative risk mortality, PM10 emissions, urbanization rate and the percentage of industrial area with an adjusted R2 of 0,63 for men and 0,59 for women. A small set of 8 municipalities with high correlation values was also identified (local R2 above 0,70). Stronger relationships were found in the north-western part of mainland Portugal. The local R2 tends to be higher when the emissions of PM10 are joined by urbanization and industrial areas. However, when assessing the industrial areas alone, it was noted that its impact was lower overall. As one of the first communications on this subject in Portugal, we have identified municipalities where possible impacts of air pollution on lung cancer mortality RR are higher thereby highlighting the role of geography and spatial analysis in explaining the associations between a disease and its determinants.