Research Publications (Food Safety)

The present study describes using molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) technology for determination of patulin (PAT) and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) in beverages by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to photodiode array (UPLC-PDA). PAT (4-hydroxy-4H-furo[3,2-c]pyran-2(6H)-one) is a mycotoxin produced by Penicillium fungi and Penicillium expansum is probably the most commonly encountered species that infects apples during their growth, harvest, storage or processing.

Several food commodities can be infected by filamentous fungi, both in the field and during storage. Some of these fungi, under appropriate conditions, are capable of producing a wide range of secondary metabolites, including mycotoxins, which may resist food processing and arise in the final feed and food products. Contamination of these products with mycotoxins still occurs very often and that is why research in this area is valuable and still evolving.

Today, mycotoxins are considered a serious risk for human health and the economy around the world. Hence, dealing with them in such a way as to minimise damage to food and plant materials has become an important issue. Cold atmospheric plasma and electron beam irradiation are updated and non-thermal technologies, which are recently used in detoxification of mycotoxins. Both of these technologies have several unique features that turn them into efficient methods for degrading mycotoxins.

Grains and feed are severely contaminated by deoxynivalenol (DON) globally, threatening both human and animal health. Research on bio-degradation of DON, in general, is gaining attention. The aim of this research was to estimate the effect of Clostridium sp. WJ06 as a microbiological detoxification of DON based on the expression and distribution of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) as well as ghrelin in the small intestine.

Mycotoxins are one of the most common types of chemical hazards related to edible oils. Although the refining process can remove such contaminations, they may still be present in the final oils due to defects during the refining steps. In addition, most oils produced in local manufactories are not refined and as such may be contaminated with mycotoxins. However, the effect of various cooking methods on the stability of mycotoxins in edible oils has rarely been studied.

To mitigate the risk of erosion and nutrient runoff, reduced tillage has become more prevalent in Norway. Within within recent decades, there have been some years with relatively high occurrence of Fusarium head blight and mycotoxins in Norwegian cereal grain. This is thought to have been caused by an increased inoculum potential (IP) of Fusarium spp.

Aflatoxin production by isolates of Aspergillus flavus varies, ranging from highly toxigenic to completely atoxigenic. Several mechanisms have been identified which regulate aflatoxin production including medium carbon source and oxidative stress. In recent studies, aflatoxin production has been implicated in partially ameliorating oxidative stress in A. flavus.

Interactions between livestock management practices and toxicological outcomes of mycotoxin exposure may explain the range of tolerable toxin levels reported for various species. In the current study, we investigated the effect of concurrent mycotoxin exposure with a high starch diet in 12 beef steers in a partial cross-over experiment using a 21-day treatment period, followed by a 14-day clearance.

As fish has been known for its high protein content and other health benefits, aquaculture production has started to flourish in Serbia. Common carp is the predominant species being farmed, comprising more than 80% of the total fish production in Serbia. The primary ingredients in fish feed are plant-based products, which present a risk of mycotoxin contamination, posing a potential risk to consumers.

The purpose of this study was to provide data on the presence of ochratoxin A (OTA) in artisan salamis produced in the Campania and Marche regions (Italy). For this aim, 96 different salamis were purchased from farms and small salami factories.

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.

Contamination of food and feed items with mycotoxins causes extensive economic damage. It is therefore important to explore environmentally friendly approaches to manage these toxins with less drawbacks. Phytochemicals can provide a safe alternative to synthetic chemicals. This study was designed to investigate the detoxification potential of water-based extracts of Acacia nilotica against aflatoxins B1 and B2.

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).

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by filamentous fungi that colonise various crops around the world and cause major damage to the agro-industrial sector on a global scale. Considering the estimative of population growth in the next decades, it is of fundamental importance the implementation of practices that help prevent the economics and social impacts of aflatoxin contamination.

Aflatoxins represent one of the biggest public health problems in food safety, due to their toxic potential for humans and animals. They can lead to serious threats, such as hepatotoxicity, teratogenicity and immunotoxicity. Maize is the most important cereal consumed in Mexico, with which tortillas, tamales, flours, toasts and other products are elaborated.

Zearalenone is a mycotoxin widely found worldwide that is produced by several fungal species. Due to its similarity to estradiol, it has been shown to have toxic effects on the reproductive system. Although various animal studies have been conducted to investigate the toxic effects of zearalenone, the mechanisms of toxicity have not been fully elucidated. The aim of the study was to investigate the dose-dependent toxic effects of zearalenone exposure in human kidney cells.

Ontario has suffered widespread epidemics of Fusarium Head Blight or Gibberella Ear Rot roughly every five years since the late 1970s. We undertook a study of the chemotype and genotype of Fusarium graminearum isolated from 1,800 samples of wheat and maize collected across the cereal growing areas over three years. 468 isolates obtained were genotyped and 60 were selected for chemotyping. The dominant genotype has remained the native 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (15-ADON) population.

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi. These compounds have different structures and target different organs, acting at different steps of biological processes inside the cell. Around 32 mycotoxins have been identified in fungal Penicillium spp. isolated from food and feed. Some of these species are important pathogens which contaminate food, such as maize, cereals, soybeans, sorghum, peanuts, among others.

In South Africa, child malnutrition is highly prevalent among children from in rural areas mostly at risk. In the Eastern Cape (EC) Province, maize is commonly used as complementary and weaning food. Previous studies conducted in parts of EC have indicated high levels of fumonisin B (FB) mycotoxins in home-grown maize, as well as the co-occurrence of other Fusarium mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN).

Penicillium verrucosum survives in soil and on cereal debris. It colonises grain during harvesting, drying and storage. There is no information on the relative tolerance of P. verrucosum to solute and matric stress in terms of colonisation, or on the biosynthetic toxin gene clusters or ochratoxin A (OTA) production.

Fusarium verticillioides is the primary fungus that causes Fusarium ear rot (FER) of maize. Infection results in reduced grain yield and quality due to moulding and the contamination of grain with toxic compounds namely fumonisins. Resistance to fungal infection and fumonisin accumulation in maize and maize grain is governed at different levels. In this study, the structural, physico-chemical and genetic basis of resistance to F.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a possibly carcinogenic mycotoxin which is one of the most abundant food contaminants. It can be normally monitored and detected by immunochromatographic assays (ICG) which have a good sensitivity and specificity and easy to operate. However, the development of normal ICG is based on traditional OTA-conjugates or chemosynthetic mimotope peptides, which are very high-cost reagents with a detrimental effect on the environment and operators.

Mycotoxin contamination in agro-food systems has been a serious concern over the last few decades around the world, and very much as well in China. The change of climate and farming methods are favourable for prevalence of toxigenic fungi and consequently cause the increase of mycotoxins in food and feed.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin produced by Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp. and poses a threat to food safety. Biodegradation may be a promising strategy for reducing the OTA contamination in the future. In this study, Aspergillus niger strain W-35 was isolated from cereals and studied for its ability to degrade OTA. Results showed that the supernatant of W-35 could degrade OTA both in vitro and in commercial feeds after incubation at 37 °C for 12 h by 78.0 and 37.0%, respectively.

Risk characterisation of dietary exposure of aflatoxins (AFs), fumonisins (FBs), deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEA) in maize from Shandong Province was conducted in this study. A total of 520 maize samples were collected after harvesting in 2014 and 2015 from 26 selected villages in Shandong Province, China. A deterministic approach was used in the current study. The dietary intake data of maize was obtained from ‘Shandong Statistical Yearbook 2018’.