Research Publications (Food Safety)

Maize is mainly affected by two fungal pathogens, Fusarium verticillioides and Aspergillus flavus, causing Fusarium ear rot (FER) and Aspergillus ear rot (AER), respectively. Both fungi are of concern to stakeholders as they affect crop yield and quality, contaminating maize grains with the mycotoxins fumonisins and aflatoxins. The easiest strategy to prevent pre-harvest contamination by F. verticillioides and A.

We investigated ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination in raisin samples purchased from Slovak markets and determined the diversity of black-spored aspergilli as potential OTA and fumonisin (FB1 and FB2) producers. The taxonomic identification was performed using sequences of the nuclear ITS1-5.8s-ITS2 region, the calmodulin and beta-tubulin genes. We obtained 239 isolates from eight fungal genera, of which 197 belonged to Aspergillus (82%) and 42 strains (18%) to other fungal genera.

The feed supplementation of probiotic microorganisms is a promising method for detoxification of ochratoxin A (OTA) in poultry. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of newly elaborated synbiotics on the turkey performance, the intestinal microbiota and its enzymatic activity in turkeys (0–15 weeks) fed OTA contaminated feed (198.6–462.0 µg/kg) compared to control group (OTA-free feed).

Author(s): Tomoki Imaoka, Jade Yang, Lu Wang, Matthew G. McDonald, Zahra Afsharinejad, Theo K. Bammler, Kirk Van Ness, Catherine K. Yeung, Allan E. Rettie, Jonathan Himmelfarb, Edward J. Kelly

BACKGROUND Patulin is a mycotoxin that mainly contaminates apple juice which is a typical high sugar matrix. Many different adsorbents have been utilized to develop sample pretreatment method to minimize the matrix interferences from apple juice. RESULTS A simple and reliable extraction method for the determination of patulin in apple juice has been developed.

BACKGROUND The toxicity and health risks of mycotoxins have encouraged increased awareness and strict monitoring of these contaminants in agricultural byproducts. In this paper, we developed and tested a sensitive, selective, and self‐assembling immunochromatographic (IC) strip for on‐site detection of ochratoxin A (OTA). We were able to demonstrate semi‐quantitative and quantitative detection of OTA in agricultural byproduct samples.

Zearalenone (ZEA), a nonsteroidal estrogenic mycotoxin produced by Fusarium graminearum, induces hyperestrogenic responses in mammals and can cause reproductive disorders in farm animals.

Patulin (PAT), a mycotoxin mainly produced by Penicillium expansum, is of high concern with regard to human food safety. This study examined the stability of PAT in artificially contaminated cloudy apple juice (CAJ) produced on a semi-industrial scale using an innovative technology allowing degassing and pressing under low-oxygen conditions (VaculIQ 1000).

Use of plant‐based ingredients in aquafeeds, especially for carnivorous species, is likely to increase in view of concerns regaridng the sustainability, price, and availability of fishmeal.

Author(s): Pradeep Kumar, Dipendra Kumar Mahato, Bharti Sharma, Rituraj Borah, Shafiul Haque, M.M. Chayan Mahmud, Ajay Kumar Shah, Deepaksshi Rawal, Himashree Bora, Sukni Bui

In this paper, a study of fungal and multi-mycotoxin contamination in 140 Camellia sinensis and 26 herbal teas marketed in Latvia is discussed. The analysis was performed using two-dimensional liquid chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (2D-LC-TOF-MS) and MALDI-TOF-MS.

Penicillium expansum is a necrotrophic plant pathogen with a wide range of fruit hosts. It causes blue mold rot during fruit storage, transport, and sale, resulting in huge economic losses to the fruit industry. Moreover, this pathogen is also the main producer of patulin, a toxic secondary metabolite that contaminates fruit and fruit‐derived products and impairs human health.

Ochratoxins are possible human carcinogens. The aim of this study is to develop a rapid and sensitive competitive immunofluorescent analysis for determination of ochratoxin A (OTA) on the base of immobilized polyclonal antibody against ochratoxin and immobilized F(ab′)2 fragment on magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). F(ab′)2 fragment of anti-OTA antibody was obtained by pepsin hydrolysis of polyclonal antibody against OTA.

Author(s): Peipei Pan, Yingfen Ying, Feifei Ma, Cheng Zou, Yige Yu, Yang Li, Zengqiang Li, Yinghui Fang, Tongliang Huang, Ren-Shan Ge, Yiyan Wang

Ochratoxin A (OTA) and citrinin (CIT) are nephrotoxic mycotoxins, found in various foodstuffs and in animal feed, and may cause adverse effects on animal and human health. Previous biomonitoring data indicate a frequent co-exposure of Bangladeshi adults to these mycotoxins. However, since such data are not yet available for young children, a vulnerable part of the population, we conducted this study to assess their exposure to OTA and CIT and compare it with that of adults in Bangladesh.

With high fat and protein content, maize germ is easily infected with fungus and mycotoxins during its storage. The qualities and safety of germ and its processing products may be affected by the storage. However, studies on the effect of storage on quality and polluted mycotoxin level of maize germ are limited. In this study, maize germ was stored with different initial moisture contents (5.03, 9.07, 11.82 and 17.97%) or at different relative humidity (75, 85 and 95%) for 30 days.

Push‐pull involves intercropping of cereals with Desmodium as a ‘push’ crop and planting Napier grass/Brachiaria as the ‘pull’ crop at the border. The technology has been reported to effectively control stemborers, striga weed and fall armyworm (FAW), and to improve soil nutrition resulting in increased grain yield.

Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, and Alternaria species which produce toxic metabolites, create a big problem in terms of the production of reliable human food and animal feeds. This study was conducted to determine the mycotoxin contents of foodstuff collected uniformly in each year of 2017, 2018, and 2019 in Şebinkarahisar, Turkey by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay.

Zearalenone (ZEN) and metabolites were measured in livers of turkeys and broilers fed a control diet free of mycotoxins, a diet that contained 0.5 mg/kg ZEN (ZEN diet), and a diet that contained 0.5, 5, and 20 mg/kg of ZEN, fumonisins, and deoxynivalenol, respectively (ZENDONFB diet). The feed was individually distributed to male Grade Maker turkeys from the 55th to the 70th day of age and to male Ross chickens from the 1st to the 35th day of age, without any signs of toxicity.

Author(s): Bing Han, Cheng Fang, Lingjun Sha, Mohammed Jalalah, M.S. Al-Assiri, Farid A. Harraz, Ya Cao

Zearalenone (ZEN) is a prevalent mycotoxin that needs intensive monitoring. A semi-quantitative and quantitative immunochromatographic assay (ICA) was assembled for investigating ZEN contamination in 187 samples of cereal and their products from China in 2019. The semi-quantitative detection model had a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.50 ng/mL with visual judgment and could be completely inhibited within 5 min at 3.0 ng/mL ZEN.

Author(s): Valentina Meucci, Andrea Armani, Lara Tinacci, Lisa Guardone, Federica Battaglia, Luigi Intorre

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a nephrotoxic mycotoxin, which deserves particular attention for its widespread contamination of a variety of food and feed. Aspergillus ochraceus, Aspergillus carbonarius, and Penicillium nordicum are an important source of OTA in three different kinds of food commodities, including cereals, grape and dried fruit products, and dry-cured meat products.

Author(s): Manshun Liu, Jing Wang, Xin Wang, Jingke Xu, Linxuan Xie, Huilan Hu, Jing Sun, Tianli Yue, Jianlong Wang

Author(s): So-Young Choi, Tae Hyun Kim, Min-Wook Hong, Tae Sub Park, Hyojeong Lee, Sung-Jin Lee