Research Publications (Food Safety)

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a hazardous mycotoxin that often contaminates animal feed and may potentially induce severe liver damage if ingested. The liver is the primary organ responsible for AFB1 detoxification through enzyme-catalyzed xenobiotic metabolism and bile acid (BA)-associated excretion. In this study, we sought to investigate whether exogenous BA improves hepatic AFB1 detoxification to alleviate AFB1-induced liver injury in broiler chickens.

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in four kinds of fermented soybean-related products used as traditional Chinese food: fermented soybean (FS), fermented qianzhang (FQ), fermented bean curd (FB) and fermented okara (FO). A total of 203 samples, comprising FS (40 samples), FQ (60), FB (41) and FO (62), were collected from free markets of agricultural food, convenience stores and supermarkets in Hubei province, China from November 2021 to January 2022.

This study aimed to measure total aflatoxin (AF) (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, and AFG2) and ochratoxin A (OTA) levels in dried fruit samples and to evaluate the potential dietary exposure and cancer risk to these 

Forage grain contamination with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a global problem, so its detoxification with the aim of providing feed safety and cost-efficiency is still a relevant issue. AFB1 degradation by microbial enzymes is considered to be a promising detoxification approach.

The detection of aflatoxin B in raw food materials represents a topic of great interest worldwide because of the huge health and economic impact of aflatoxin contamination.

Aflatoxin is a group I carcinogen and causes significant public health and food safety risks, throughout the world.

Aim and background Aflatoxins, produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, are among the most toxic mycotoxins. Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is a hydroxylated metabolite of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), found in milk and dairy products from animals fed AFB1-contaminated feed. Consumption of AFM1 has related adverse effects on human health. Breast milk can be a source of contamination for infants due to the presence of AFM.

Peanuts contaminated with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) possess serious health risks. Radio frequency (RF) roasting was used for decontamination of AFB1 in peanuts. The effects of RF roasting on AFB1 degradation and peanuts quality were investigated under varied electrode gaps (90, 100, 110, and 120 mm), target temperatures (120, 130, 140, and 150 °C) and initial moisture contents (10%, 15%, 20%, and 25%).

Aspergillus flavus can cause mildew in corn, peanuts, and other foods as well as animal feed, which seriously endangers human and livestock health; thus, preventing A. flavus contamination is imperative. Previous studies have found that the secondary metabolites of Bacillus subtilis BS-Z15 have broad-spectrum-inhibiting fungal activity, further confirming that the main active inhibiting fungal substance is Mycosubtilin (Myco).

Abstract The present study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary lycopene (LYC) supplementation on the growth performance, meat quality, and antioxidant capacity of breast muscle in aflatoxin B1 (AFB1)‐challenged broilers. A total of 192 1‐day‐old healthy Arbor Acres broilers were randomly assigned to 3 treatments, each with 8 replicates (8 broilers per replicate).

Warm temperatures and drought conditions in the United States (US) Corn Belt in 2012 raised concern for widespread aflatoxin (AFL) contamination in Iowa corn. To identify the prevalence of AFL in the 2012 corn crop, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) conducted a sample of Iowa corn to assess the incidence and severity of AFL contamination.

Mycotoxins are considered the most threating natural contaminants in food. Among these mycotoxins, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and fumonisin B1 (FB1) are the most prominent fungal metabolites that represent high food safety risks, due to their widespread co-occurrence in several food commodities, and their profound toxic effects on humans. Considering the ethical and more humane animal research, the 3Rs (replacement, reduction, and refinement) principle has been promoted in the last few years.

The objective was the development and validation of a method for simultaneous mycotoxins determination (aflatoxins B1 — AFB1, G1 — AFG1, G2 — AFG2 and M1 — AFM1, ochratoxin — OTA, and zearalenone — ZEA) in milk by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detector.

Aflatoxins are liver carcinogens and are common contaminants in unpackaged peanut (UPP) oil. However, the health risks associated with consuming aflatoxins in UPP oil remain unclear. In this study, aflatoxin contamination in 143 UPP oil samples from Guangdong Province were assessed via liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS). We also recruited 168 human subjects, who consumed this oil, to measure their liver functions and lipid metabolism status.

Abstract BACKGROUND Laboratory scale experiments have shown that treatment with selective lignin degrading white rot fungi improves the nutritional value and ruminal degradability of lignocellulosic biomass (LCB). However, the lack of effective field‐applicable pasteurization methods has long been recognized as a major obstacle for scaling up the technique for fungal treatment of large quantities of LCB for animal feeding.

The aim of this survey was to compare the occurrence and contamination levels of six major mycotoxin categories found in corn and corn by-product feed ingredients harvested in the United States from 2018 through 2022. Mycotoxins are secondary fungal metabolites that can negatively impact animal health and performance and have been routinely found in a variety of feedstuffs including, but not limited to, cereal grains, by-products, silages, dry hays and pasture grasses.

The current research was conducted to determine and frequency of aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, G2), in main feed ingredients (corn and soybean meal) and poultry finished feed (in mash and pellet forms). Eighty-five samples of corn, soybean meal, and poultry finished feed was randomly collected from feed mills in Iran.

Mycotoxin contamination of corn is a pervasive problem that negatively impacts human and animal health and causes economic losses to the agricultural industry worldwide.

Organic acids and essential oils are commonly used in the poultry industry as antimicrobials and for their beneficial effects on gut health, growth performance, and meat quality. A common postharvest storage fungal colonist, Aspergillus flavus, contaminates corn, the primary component of poultry feed, with the highly detrimental mycotoxin, aflatoxin.

Food and feed contamination with mycotoxins is a major public health concern. Humans and animals are exposed to these toxins by consuming contaminated products throughout their lives. In this study, a method based on dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME), followed by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (LC-FLD), was validated for the determination of aflatoxins (AFs) M1, B1, B2, G1, G2, zearalenone (ZEN), and ochratoxin A (OTA).

This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of mycotoxin mitigation product containing yeast extract on intestinal health and growth of newly weaned pigs under chronic dietary challenges of fumonisin and aflatoxin. Newly weaned pigs (n = 48; 21 days old; 6.4 ± 0.3 kg BW) were allotted to 4 treatments based on randomized complete block design with initial BW and sex as blocks and fed for 32 d in 3 phases (P1/2/3 for 11/11/10 days, respectively).

Mycotoxins present a significant health concern within the animal-feed industry, with profound implications for the pig-farming sector.

Aflatoxins pose a severe risk to the human health. In this study, the detoxifying capacity of a thermal cooking treatment applied to white and brown rice spiked with aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 as well as the aflatoxin bioaccessibility in cooked rice after applying an in vitro digestion model was evaluated.

Aflatoxins are mycotoxins produced by several species of Aspergillus fungi which can be found in food and feed. When lactating animals are exposed to feedstuff contaminated by aflatoxin B1, they can excrete its hydroxylated form, aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), into milk.

Mycotoxin contamination on food and feed can have deleterious effect on human and animal health. Agricultural crops may contain one or more mycotoxin compounds; therefore, a good multiplex detection method is desirable to ensure food safety. In this study, we developed a rapid method using label-free surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to simultaneously detect three common types of mycotoxins found on corn, namely aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), zearalenone (ZEN), and ochratoxin A (OTA).