Research Publications (Food Safety)

Author(s): Akshay Kumar, Prem Pratap Singh, Vishal Gupta, Bhanu Prakash

In vitro antifungal activity of the essential oil from Monarda citriodora (MCEO) with possible mode of action was evaluated against A. flavus (AF-LHP-SH1) and 15 other storage molds for controlling postharvest deterioration of stored functional food samples. The chemical profiling of MCEO as done through GC–MS analysis revealed caryophyllene (19.15%) as the major component.

Aflatoxins as the remarkable food safety issues are toxic compounds produced by some of the fungus among variety of food and feed products while their decontamination has been investigated through some proposed kinetics based on the various conversion factors. Among them, in terms of the chemical based decontamination techniques, the zero, first, and second‐order reaction mechanisms are utilized conventionally alone or in combination with the Arrhenius model.

Animal feed is a potential route for contaminants like mycotoxins to enter into the human food chain. Hence, close monitoring is fundamental and should be performed with adequate analytical methods. In this study, a commercial ELISA kit for aflatoxin B1 detection in feed corn samples, RIDASCREEN® Aflatoxin B1 30/15, was assessed by the evaluation of some performance parameters.

Mycotoxins such as aflatoxins (AFs), ochratoxin A (OTA) fumonisins (FMN), deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEN), and patulin are stable at regular food process practices. Ozone (O3) is a strong oxidizer and generally considered as a safe antimicrobial agent in food industries. Ozone disrupts fungal cells through oxidizing sulfhydryl and amino acid groups of enzymes or attacks the polyunsaturated fatty acids of the cell wall.

by Hansen Murcia, Gonzalo J. Diaz

Author(s): Muhammad Asif Asghar, Aftab Ahmed, Muhammad Arif Asghar

Author(s): Xiaohui Xiong, Yafei Li, Yichen Lu, Xiong Xiong, Wei Yuan, Yi Li, Yuanjian Liu, Lixia Lu

Author(s): Chaochao Chen, Xuezhi Yu, Diangang Han, Jun Ai, Yuebin Ke, Zhanhui Wang, Geng Meng

Almond is a desirable and high-quality food source where the presence of nut allergens and a vulnerability to aflatoxin and Salmonella contamination represent threats to consumer safety. In 2019, over 1 billion kg. of almonds, representing over 80% of the world total, were produced in California from a relatively few varieties with a very narrow genetic base.

The aim of the study was to determine the levels of aflatoxin B1 (AFB 1 ) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in durum wheat samples collected over six period of time, from two official warehouses A and B in Lebanon. The concentrations of AFB 1 in wheat samples taken from warehouses A and B were ranging from 1.05 to 7.36 µg/kg. Results showed that 23.3% and 25.3% of samples taken from warehouse A and B respectively had AFB 1 levels greater than 2 μg/kg (> 2 μg/kg).

Aflatoxins are highly toxic carcinogens that detrimentally influence profitability of agriculture and the health of humans and domestic animals. Several phylogenetically distinct fungi within Aspergillus section Flavi have S-morphology (average sclerotial size < 400 μm), and consistently produce high concentrations of aflatoxins in crops.

Author(s): Mohamed M. Abdel-Daim, Mahmoud A.O. Dawood, Abdullah A. AlKahtane, Ahmed Abdeen, Hany M.R. Abdel-Latif, Hoda H. Senousy, Lotfi Aleya, Saad Alkahtani

In warm regions, agricultural fields are occupied by complex Aspergillus flavus communities composed of isolates in many vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs) with varying abilities to produce highly toxic, carcinogenic aflatoxins. Aflatoxin contamination is reduced with biocontrol products that enable atoxigenic isolates from atoxigenic VCGs to dominate the population.

One of the concerns when using grain ingredients in feed formulation for livestock and poultry diets is mycotoxin contamination. Aflatoxin, fumonisin, ochratoxin, trichothecene (deoxynivalenol, T-2 and HT-2) and zearalenone (ZEN) are mycotoxins that have been frequently reported in animal feed. ZEN, which has raised additional concern due to its estrogenic response in animals, is mainly produced by Fusarium graminearum (F. graminearum), F. culmorum, F. cerealis, F. equiseti, F.

Aflatoxins represent one of the biggest public health problems in food safety, due to their toxic potential for humans and animals. They can lead to serious threats, such as hepatotoxicity, teratogenicity and immunotoxicity. Maize is the most important cereal consumed in Mexico, with which tortillas, tamales, flours, toasts and other products are elaborated.

The adverse effect of Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and the beneficial effects of gallic Acid (GA) against AFB1 induced toxicity in vitro have been published. Here we present in vivo findings on AFB1 and GA on hepatorenal function in rats, exposed to AFB1 only or co‐treated with GA for 28 successive days. AFB1 significantly increased pro‐inflammatory biomarkers, suppressed IL‐10 levels, and increased oxidative stress in rats’ liver and kidney.

Chlorpyrifos (CPF) and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) are each known to adversely affect hepatic tissue individually, but their combined hepatic effects have never been previously investigated. HepG2 cell viability, oxidative status, and genetic impairment were examined after exposing HepG2 cells to: (1) CPF alone, (2) AFB1 alone, and (3) CPF and AFB1 combined (20:1).

Mycotoxins are toxic compounds for humans and animals that are produced by fungi. Mycotoxin contamination in feed is a global safety concern and effective control of these compounds in this matrix is needed.

Dried beef meat, a locally processed meat from the cow, is vulnerable to contamination by mycotoxins, due to its exposure to the environmental microbiota during processing, drying, and point of sale. In this study, 108 dried beef samples were examined for the occurrence of 17 mycotoxins.

Author(s): Somenath Das, Vipin Kumar Singh, Abhishek Kumar Dwivedy, Anand Kumar Chaudhari, Nawal Kishore Dubey

The interaction between Aspergillus flavus and Zea mays is complex, and the identification of plant genes and pathways conferring resistance to the fungus has been challenging. Therefore, the authors undertook a systems biology approach involving dual RNA-seq to determine the simultaneous response from the host and the pathogen. What was dramatically highlighted in the analysis is the uniformity in the development patterns of gene expression of the host and the pathogen during infection.

Background Aflatoxins, a kind of carcinogen, have attracted increasing attentions due to their toxicity and harmfulness to human health. Traditional methods for aflatoxins analysis usually involve tedious extraction steps with subsequent derivatization process. Herein, a simple and efficient liquid phase micro‐extraction (LPME) method based on deep eutectic solvents (DESs) for direct analysis of aflatoxins was developed.

Author(s): Ahmed Salem Sebaei, Hoda M. Refai, Hannah Tarek Elbadry, Sandra Mounir Armeya

Author(s): Esther GARCIA-CELA, Carol VERHEECKE-VAESSEN, Maria GUTIERREZ-POZO, Elisavet KIAITSI, Alessandra MARCON-GASPERINI, Naresh MAGAN, Angel MEDINA