Research Publications (Food Safety)

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).

Abstract BACKGROUND Mycotoxin monitoring in cereal grains has great importance in the food and feed industries. This study evaluated mycotoxin contamination in corns with different endosperm textures in 2 years of cultivation. Samples of dent, semi‐dent, flint and semi‐flint corns from field experiments were analyzed by high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC‐MS/MS).

Abstract BACKGROUND Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and ochratoxin A (OTA) are among the most important mycotoxins with common presence in bread and bakery products. Biological detoxification of mould food spoilage and mycotoxin contamination by lactic acid bacteria (LABs) exhibits high potential on a cost‐effective and large scale.

As a relatively mature detection method, the test strip can quickly and sensitively detect the target. We designed an immunochromatographic strip based on biotin-streptavidin system to protect antibody (Ab) activity and achieve signal amplification. The coupling condition of biotin (B) and antibody is relatively mild, which protects the activity of antibody.

Mycotoxins are abiotic hazards whose contamination occurs at the pre- and post-harvest stages of the maize value chain, with animal exposure through contaminated feed leading to their excretion into milk. Currently, only aflatoxin M1 is regulated in milk products.

The developed multispectral imaging system was tested in the current study for its detection accuracy of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in single kernel almonds.

Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is a mycotoxin that is commonly found as a milk contaminant, and its presence in milk has been linked to cytotoxicity. The present study aimed to evaluate the acute cytotoxic effects of AFM1 on intestinal Caco-2 cells.

The climate is changing in Europe: average temperatures are increasing, and so is the frequency of extreme weather events. Climate change has a severe impact on areas suitable for growing certain crops and on food safety, for example, affecting the occurrence of the aflatoxin contamination of maize.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), an extremely toxic mycotoxin that extensively contaminates feed and food worldwide, poses a major hazard to poultry and human health. Curcumin, a polyphenol derived from turmeric, has attracted great attention due to its wonderful antioxidant properties. Nevertheless, effects of curcumin on the kidneys of ducks exposed to AFB1 remain unclear.

Aspergillus flavus is a significant fungus that poses a threat to food safety by producing mycotoxins in various crops. In this study, A.

A large proportion (69%) of the imported foods tested in this study were contaminated with one or several mycotoxins, including zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, and aflatoxins. Their high levels in rice, walnuts, pistachios, peanuts, and coffee beans underscore the need for robust surveillance and quality assurance systems across the food supply chains, from production to retail, to effectively protect the public from mycotoxin exposure.

Dried fruits are popular and nutritious snacks consumed worldwide due to their long shelf life and concentrated nutrient content. However, fruits can be contaminated with various toxigenic fungal species during different stages, including cultivation, harvesting, processing, drying, and storage. Consequently, these products may contain high levels of mycotoxins. This risk is particularly pronounced in developed countries due to the impact of climate change.

Maize is frequently contaminated with multiple mycotoxins, especially those produced by Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium verticillioides. As mycotoxin contamination is a critical factor that destabilizes global food safety, the current review provides an updated overview of the (co-)occurrence of A. flavus and F. verticillioides and (co-)contamination of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and fumonisin B1 (FB1) in maize. Furthermore, it summarizes their interactions in maize.

In this study, aflatoxins (AFs) and ochratoxin A (OTA) were analyzed in grains, specifically wheat and corn, from Albania. To summarize, 71 wheat and 45 corn samples from different growing areas were collected. The multi-toxin analytical procedure involved sample extraction and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). The incidence of AF was 18% in the analyzed wheat and 71% in the corn samples.

Aflatoxins, a family of fungal secondary metabolites, are toxic and carcinogenic compounds that pose an enormous threat to global food safety and agricultural sustainability. Specifically agricultural products in African, Southeast Asian and hot and humid regions of American countries suffer most damage from aflatoxin producing molds due to the ideal climate conditions promoting their growth.

Foodborne mycotoxins are a significant food safety risk in developing countries. Our objective was to determine the occurrence of and exposure levels to aflatoxins (AFs) and fumonisins (FBs) in maize intended for human and animal consumption in food-insecure regions of western Honduras. Total AFs and FBs were quantified with a monoclonal antibody-based affinity spectrofluorimetric method.

After India and the USA, Pakistan is the third country leading in global dairy production, a sector of very high socioeconomic relevance in Asia. Mycotoxins can affect animal health, reproduction and productivity. This study analysed a broad range of co-occurring mycotoxins and fungal secondary metabolites derived from Alternaria, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium and other fungal species.

To evaluate the toxic effects of mycotoxin-contaminated corn (MC) on the breeders and their progeny chicks, a total of 480 fifty-wk-old Cobb broiler breeder hens were fed the following dies: 1) a corn-soybean meal diet (Control; containing 70.35% corn), 2) MC substituting for 5