Research Publications (Food Safety)

“Green-covering” Tuqu (TQ), as one of Xiaoqu, is a special fermentative starter (also known as Jiuqu in Chinese) that originated in southern China and is characterized by a layer of green mold covering (Aspergillus clavatus) the surface and (sometimes) with a red heart. It plays a vital role in producing light-aroma-type Baijiu (LATB).

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, Accepted Article. This study investigated the effect of radiofrequency treatment (RF) on the quality of peanut and peanut oil. After treating at the least electrode height and conveyor speed of 180mm and 5m/h respectively, it resulted in a temperature rise of up to 89.96°C showing a maximum effect on the quality of peanuts and peanut oil.

Studies on microorganism response spaceflight date back to 1960. However, nothing conclusive is known concerning the effects of spaceflight on virulence and environmental tolerance of entomopathogenic fungi; thus, this area of research remains open to further exploration.

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by a variety of fungi, which when ingested can cause several deleterious effects to the health of humans and animals.

This study aimed to determine the effects of dietary lanthanum chloride on the growth and health performance of juvenile Clarias gariepinus when fed diets experimentally contaminated with mixtures of aflatoxin B1 and fumonisin B1.

Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is an important risk factor threatening the safety of milk and dairy products due to its carcinogenic and teratogenic effects on humans. To prevent AFM1 from causing damage to human health, developing reliable methods to monitor its levels in milk and dairy products is of great importance. Biosensors built with recognition and detection systems have attracted extensive attention for their simplicity, portability, sensitivity, and selectivity.

Background Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most common environmental pollutants that induces intestinal inflammation and microbiota dysbiosis. Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) is a probiotic that not only has anti-inflammatory effects, but also shows protective effect on the intestinal barrier. However, it is still unknown whether LGG exerts beneficial effects against DON-induced intestinal damage in piglets.

Yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) is a supplementary protein source for food and feed and represents a promising solution to manage grain contaminated with Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1).

Mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol introduce a health risk to the food supply and are costly to manage or avoid. Technologies for reducing or eliminating the toxicity of deoxynivalenol could be useful in a variety of processes, such as in preserving the value as animal feed of byproducts of ethanol production.

Rapid, cost-efficient, and eco-friendly methods are desired today for routine analysis of the Fusarium mycotoxin zearalenone (ZEN) in edible vegetable oils. Liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) is commonly used to reliably control the specified ZEN maximum levels, which requires efficient sample clean-up to avoid matrix interferences.

Aspergillus niger produces carcinogenic ochratoxin A (OTA), a serious food safety and human health concern. Here, the ability of A. niger CBS 513.88 to produce OTA using different carbon sources was investigated and the underlying regulatory mechanism was elucidated. The results indicated that 6% sucrose, glucose, and arabinose could trigger OTA biosynthesis and that 1586 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) overlapped compared to a non-inducing nutritional source, peptone.

Contamination of edible oils with aflatoxins (AFs) is a universal issue due to the detrimental effects of aflatoxins on human health and the fact that edible oils are a major source of fungal growth, particularly storage fungi (Aspergillus sp.).

Currently, increasing attention is being paid to conjugated mycotoxins in plant-based foods because of their assumed bioavailability and health risks. However, analytical standards for most mycotoxin glycosides are not available and risk assessment processes have not yet been completed because of the lack of occurrence data.

The dual-mode sensing strategy not only has the inherent characteristics of each response mode but also can mutually verify the detection results obtained by different modes, which will effectively improve the accuracy and reliability of detection. The electrochemical-photothermal dual mode not only has two mode signals, but also has the advantages of fast response, high sensitivity, good selectivity, low cost, and simple operation.

Fumonisin mycotoxins are a family of secondary metabolites produced by Fusarium verticillioides and related species, as well as some strains of Aspergillus niger. Fumonisin contamination of maize is a concern when grown under hot, dry conditions. When present above regulatory levels, there can be effects on animal health. New tools to reduce the toxicity of maize and maize products with high concentrations of fumonisin are needed.

The present study demonstrates first time investigation on encapsulation of Aniba rosaeodora essential oil into chitosan nanoemulsion (AREO-CsNe) with the aim of improvement of its antifungal, and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) inhibitory performance in real food system. The GC–MS analysis of AREO revealed the presence of linalool (81.46%) as a major component. The successful encapsulation of EO into CsNe was confirmed through SEM, FTIR, and XRD analysis.

Nowadays, the bakery industry includes different bioactive ingredients to enrich the nutritional properties of its products, such as betalains from red beetroot (Beta vulgaris). However, cereal products are considered a major route of exposure to many mycotoxins, both individually and in combination, due to their daily consumption, if the cereals used contain these toxins.

Fusarium graminearum is an important pathogen that causes Fusarium head blight (FHB) in several cereal crops worldwide. The potential of this pathogen to contaminate cereals with trichothecene mycotoxins presents a health risk for both humans and animals. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of different trichothecene genotypes of F. graminearum isolated from an alternative host plant to produce mycotoxins under different spring wheat grain incubation conditions. Fourteen F.

Zearalenone (ZEN) is one of the major agricultural feed contaminants causing serious health hazards worldwide and its degradation by beneficial microbial agents is now being widely examined. In this study we investigated the degradation ability of Klebsiella pneumoniae strain GS7-1 isolated from corn field in Shandong province in China on ZEN. The effects of temperature, incubation time and pH were studied.

Hazardous chemicals are commonly found in cereals and cereal-based products. However, most studies focus on the individual effects of these mycotoxins or metals, rather than their combined toxicity.

Deoxynivalenol, a mycotoxin that may present in almost all cereal products, can cause huge economic losses in the agriculture industry and seriously endanger food safety and human health. Microbial detoxifications using microbial consortia may provide a safe and effective strategy for DON mitigation.

The detection of ochratoxin A (OTA), a harmful toxic contaminant of foods causing serious health problems, is of great importance. Common analytical methods for this purpose are expensive, time- and labor-consuming.

Aflatoxin contamination poses serious health concerns to consumers of peanut and peanut products. This study aimed at investigating the response of peanuts to Aspergillus flavus infection and aflatoxin accumulation. Isolates of A. flavus were characterised either as aflatoxigenic or non-aflatoxigenic using multiple cultural techniques. The selected isolates were used in an in vitro seed colonisation (IVSC) experiment on two A. flavus-resistant and susceptible peanut genotypes.

This study reports levels of multiple mycotoxins across Nigeria’s six agro-ecological zones and corresponding levels of natural anti-fungal phytochemicals present in pearl millet (PM).

Fusarium toxins are the largest group of mycotoxins, which contain more than 140 known secondary metabolites of fungi. Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most important compounds of this class due to its high toxicity and its potential to harm mankind and animals and a widespread contaminant of agricultural commodities, such as wheat, corn, barley, oats, bread, and biscuits.