Meyve ve Sebzelerde Gıda Güvenliği ve Kalitesinin Sağlanması

Fruits and vegetables are fundamental to a healthy diet, providing essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. However, ensuring their safety and quality is a growing challenge due to contaminants, pesticide residues, and microbiological risks. Strict regulatory standards and advanced analytical techniques are required to maintain consumer trust and product integrity.

In Europe, the fruit and vegetable sector is valued at around 50 billion euros, with Spain and Italy leading in production and exports. Given the high consumer expectations for safety, sustainability, and transparency, the industry must continuously evolve to meet stringent regulations.

Market Trends and Consumer Expectations

The fruit and vegetable industry is evolving to meet high food safety and quality standards, influenced by:

  • Sustainable farming practices – Organic farming, integrated production, and zero-residue approaches.
  • Environmental concerns – The European Green Deal promotes reduced pesticide use.
  • Consumer awareness – Demand for transparent sourcing and certified quality products is rising.

To address these challenges, Mérieux NutriSciences supports agribusinesses with accredited laboratory services that ensure compliance with food safety regulations and evolving market expectations.

Mérieux NutriSciences: Comprehensive Analytical Services for Fruits and Vegetables

Pesticide Residue Analysis

Pesticide residues are one of the most critical chemical hazards in the fruit and vegetable sector, especially for vulnerable consumer groups such as children.

Mérieux NutriSciences provides:

  • Extended multi-residue screening (>900 active substances).
  • Anionic and cationic pesticide analysis.
  • Dedicated profiles for organic, baby food, and zero-residue production.
  • UNI EN ISO 15662:2018 compliant methods (QuEChERS extraction).
Our Pesticide Residues Services

Mycotoxins and Plant Toxins Analysis

Climate change and agricultural intensification have increased the prevalence of mycotoxins in fresh produce. These fungal toxins pose a serious health risk.

Key analyses include:

  • LC-MS/MS multi-residue screening for regulated mycotoxins.
  • Targeted analysis for Alternaria mycotoxins, Patulin (in fruit purées), and ergot alkaloids.
  • Plant toxin detection, including pyrrolizidine alkaloids and tropane alkaloids.
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Heavy Metals and Inorganic Contaminants Analysis

Heavy metals and inorganic contaminants accumulate in fruits and vegetables through soil, water, and air pollution, posing long-term health risks.

Mérieux NutriSciences offers:

  • Comprehensive testing for cadmium, lead, mercury, chromium, and inorganic arsenic.
  • Detection of nitrites and nitrates in vegetables.
Our Heavy Metals Solutions

Nutritional Analysis and Labeling Compliance

Fruits and vegetables contain high levels of vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds, which define their nutritional value.

Our laboratories provide:

  • Complete nutrient profiling (vitamins, minerals, fiber, macronutrients, etc.).
  • Labeling compliance for nutritional claims under Regulation (EU) 1169/2011.
Composition & Nutritional Analysis

GMO Analysis

In the EU, GMOs must be labeled if their content exceeds 0.9%.

Mérieux NutriSciences offers:

  • GMO screening for authorized and non-authorized events.
  • Identification and quantification of specific GMO events.
GMO Testing & Analysis

Allergen Detection in Fruits and Vegetables

Food allergens, such as celery and tree nuts, pose a serious health risk. Rigorous testing is essential to prevent cross-contamination.

Our expertise includes:

Allergen Management

Microbiological Testing for Fresh Produce

Fruits and vegetables can be contaminated by bacteria, viruses, and fungi through soil, irrigation water, and handling.

Our microbiological testing includes:

Microbiology Testing

Shelf Life Studies for Fruits and Vegetables

Determining the shelf life of fresh, processed, and frozen products is crucial for quality assurance.

Mérieux NutriSciences provides:

  • Chemical, microbiological, and sensory evaluations over time.
  • Shelf-life optimization studies for fresh-cut and heat-treated products.
Shelf Life Studies

Food Authenticity and Fraud Prevention

Ensuring the authenticity of fruits and vegetables is vital for brand protection and consumer trust.

  • DNA-based species identification
  • Isotopic analysis for geographical origin
  • Traceability systems to confirm organic certification

Mérieux NutriSciences provides comprehensive support to Fruits and Vegetables industries at every stage of the supply chain

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Our accreditations

FAQ About Food Safety and Quality in Fruits and Vegetables

The service by Mérieux NutriSciences

Mérieux NutriSciences offers a complete analytical service to guarantee the safety and quality of fruit (including dried fruit), vegetables (including legumes), along the whole production chain.

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Pesticides

The plant protection products are certainly among the most famous contaminants, especially in those agricultural practices that overuse synthetic products. Despite strict European regulation about the nature and the amount of molecules allowed, still are the doubts about safety, also due to the non-evaluation of the mix effect with particular concern for the most vulnerable consumer groups, like children.

Mérieux NutriSciences has a dedicated laboratory for the analysis of pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables, cereals, dried fruit, dehydrated and seeds.

  • Multiresidual analysis (> 900 active principles) and single determinations
  • Multiparameter analysis
  • Anionic and cationic pesticides
  • Dedicated analytical profiles for fruits (including nuts), vegetables (including legumes) and cereals, organic food, baby food, feed
  • Compliance with 2018 update of the scientific norm UNI EN ISO 15662:2018 (QuEChERS procedure with and without hydrolysis)
  • 50 Proficiency Tests/year, > 1000 analytical determinations, > 96% of results within ±2 Z-score

 

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Mycotoxins and Alkaloids

Although known for several years, the families of mycotoxins and alkaloids are so diverse and so steadily increasing due to the climate and the intensification of agricultural practices, which are now a constant emerging concern. The alkaloids are produced by plants as a defense mechanism and can accumulate in the crops under plant-stressing conditions; mycotoxins are fungal in nature and accumulate in the field or during storage due to conditions that favor the growth of fungi (high humidity / rainfall followed by high temperatures). It is now established that these compounds act on the animal organism by ingestion, inhalation or by simple contact, carrying out a series of direct or indirect negative effects.

  • Multiresidual LC-MS/MS analysis for regulated mycotoxins, including their main metabolites
  • Alternaria mycotoxins (tomatoes, cereals, apples)
  • Patulin (fruit purees)
  • Ergot alkaloids
  • Tropanic alkaloids
  • Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids
  • Glycoalkaloids
  • Slurry preparation step on request
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Inorganic contaminants

Inorganic contaminants are characterized by natural as well anthropic origin; they have now been dispersed and accumulated in the environment due to industrial and urban waste, extractive industries, excessive use and incorrect disposal of fertilizers and pesticides.

Inorganic contaminants enter the food chain through contaminated water and soils that in turn affects vegetables and animals. The matrices involved are different and range from cereals and derived products to algae (foods for special dietary uses), bottled water, coffee and beer, vegetables, rice and rice-based products (As inorganic) , etc.

  • Heavy metals: Lead, Cadmium, etc.
  • Inorganic Arsenic
  • Nitrites and nitrates
  • Hydrocyanic acid (apricot seeds according to Reg. EC 1237/2017, almonds)
  • …
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Mérieux NutriSciences' services for pesticides testing in Fruits and Vegetables