Research Publications (Food Safety)

This study investigated two outbreaks of spontaneous poisoning by Baccharis coridifolia (Asteraceae) in early-weaned beef calves in Tacuarembó, Uruguay. A total of 34 affected calves showed signs of salivation, anorexia, apathy, marked dehydration, and diarrhea. Deaths occurred 36–72 h after consumption and mortality varied from 37.5% to 43.3% for outbreak 1 and outbreak 2, respectively.

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%).

Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 2023, 67, 202300317 DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.202300317 Deoxynivalenol (DON), the most common mycotoxin occurring in grain and grain products, can destroy the integrity of the colonic physical barrier and induce oxidative stress and apoptosis in the colon of mice with or without the existence of gut microbiota. Meanwhile, fecal microbiota transplantation did not show significant role of gut microbiota in DON‐induced colon damage.

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).

Fusarium head blight (FHB) of barley (Hordeum vulgare) causes yield losses and accumulation of trichothecene mycotoxins (e.g. deoxynivalenol [DON]) in grains. Glucosylation of DON to the nontoxic DON-3-O-glucoside (D3G) is catalyzed by UDP-glucosyltransferases (UGTs), such as barley UGT13248.

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).

α-Amanitin, the primary lethal toxin of Amanita, specifically targets the liver, causing oxidative stress, hepatocyte apoptosis, and irreversible liver damage. As little as 0.1 mg/kg of α-amanitin can be lethal for humans, and there is currently no effective antidote for α-amanitin poisoning. Cannabidiol is a non-psychoactive natural compound derived from Cannabis sativa that exhibits a wide range of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-apoptotic effects.

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.

The biological properties of sphinganine-(d18:0)-, sphingosine-(d18:1)-, deoxysphinganine-(m18: 0)-, deoxysphingosine-(m18:1)-, deoxymethylsphinganine-(m17:0)-, deoxymethylsphingosine-(m17:1)-, sphingadienine-(d18:2)-, and phytosphingosine-(t18:0)-sphingolipids have been reported to vary, but little is known about the effects of fumonisins, which are 

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.

Zearalenone (ZEN) is a fungal toxin produced by Fusarium that widely occurs in various types of grains and feed. It has strong reproductive toxicity and a wide range of distribution, which will impact food and feed safety. In this study, Bacillus subtilis ZENL09, which is capable of transforming ZEN was investigated.

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.

Zearalenone (ZEA) is a mycotoxin that is highly contaminated in feed and can cause severe toxic effects on the kidneys and other organs of animals. Quercetin (QUE) is a plant-derived flavonoid with a variety of detoxification properties, but the mechanism by which QUE detoxifies the toxic effects induced by ZEA has not yet been fully elucidated. We treated porcine kidney cells (PK15) with 80 μM ZEA and/or 30 μM QUE.

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.

Abstract In 2004, the EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) adopted a Scientific Opinion on the risks to animal health and transfer from feed to food of animal origin related to the presence of ochratoxin A (OTA) in feed. The European Commission requested EFSA to assess newly available scientific information and to update the 2004 Scientific Opinion. OTA is produced by several fungi of the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium.

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).