Honorary degree in Romania to professor Alberto Ritieni

Last June 12 in Constanta (Romania) Alberto Ritieni, Professor of Chemistry and Biotechnology of Fermentations at the Faculty of Agriculture of the Federico II University, as well as Head of the Food, Welfare and Safety Laboratory (LABS) received the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa conferred to him by the Universitatea Ovidius Constanta Facultatea de Stiinte ale Naturi si Stiinte Agricole.

This recognition is an additional stimulus for hisresearch activities in the field of food safety, mycotoxins and quality of agri-food products, fields of study in which the professor has focused his research for more than twenty years.

Research on mycotoxins has shown how these molecules pose an insidious risk to consumers and, that their presence in both raw materials and finished foods should be reduced drastically and rapidly.Mycotoxins are molecules having very varied chemical structures and biological activities, these makes their quantification, risk assessment and elimination from the food chain difficult.

Professor Ritieni is heavily involved in optimizing analytical methods for detecting even minute amounts of mycotoxins from more or less complex matrices. In addition, studies on cellular and animal model systems are opening new possibilities for understanding their mechanism of action by laying the groundwork for better exposure risk assessment. In fact, his studies also play an important role in the development of technologies for raising the safety levels of foods with regard to their contamination by mycotoxins.

On staff at the Federico II since '92, Professor Ritieni has collaborated with numerous international partners includingOvidius University in Romania to increase knowledge regarding mycotoxins and the analytical methodologies necessary for their monitoring.

For information:

www.labs.unina.it