Research Publications (Food Safety)

Monascus sp. is an important food microbial resource with the production of cholesterol-lowering agent lovastatin and other healthy metabolites. However, the mycotoxin citrinin naturally produced by Monascus sp. and the insufficient productivity of lovastatin limit its large-scale use in food industry.

Abstract Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin that causes renal carcinogenicity following the induction of karyomegaly in proximal tubular cells after repeated administration to rats. Here, we performed gene profiling regarding altered DNA methylation and gene expression in the renal tubules focusing on the mechanism of OTA‐induced carcinogenesis.

Rice is a widely consumed food worldwide; however, it can be a source of pollutants, such as potentially toxic elements (PTEs), mycotoxins, and pesticides.

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.

Food bio-preservatives are requested as substituents of chemical pesticides in food. The aim of this study was to carry out a screening of twenty biocontrol agents (BCAs) for their potential fungicidal activity in vitro. Twenty BCAs were tested against ten pathogenic fungi. Some of the cell-free supernatants (CFS) tested showed in vitro antifungal activity versus pathogenic fungi.

Wine is a worldwide alcoholic beverage with antioxidant active substances and complex flavors. Moderate drinking of wine has been proven to be beneficial to health. However, wine has some negative components, such as residual pesticides, heavy metals, and biotoxins. Of these, biotoxins from microorganisms were characterized as the most important toxins in wine.

Food can be contaminated by various types of contaminants such as mycotoxins and toxic heavy metals. Therefore, it is very likely that simultaneous intake of more than one type of food contaminant by consumers may take place, which provides a strong rationale for investigating the combined toxicities of these food contaminants. Patulin is one of the most common food-borne mycotoxins, whereas cadmium is a representative of toxic heavy metals found in food.

Application of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation for the degradation of chemical contaminants in food products has gained more and more interest in the past two decades. The majority of the research in this field was on mycotoxins, especially aflatoxins and patulin, with limited studies on pesticide residues and other chemical contaminants in food.

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.

There is little knowledge of the microbial diversity, mycotoxins and associated secondary metabolites in GM maize and isogenic non-GM cultivars (cvs). This study has quantified the microbial populations and dominant fungal genera in 6 cvs of each type representative of herbicide, pesticide or stacked resistance to both. The predominant mycotoxins and targeted metabolomics profiles were also compared between the two sets of cvs.

Background Nutritional and environmental benefits of mycoprotein verify its health beneficial role on humankind in next decades. Agro‐industrial wastes can be used as cheap substrates to decrease total cost of product. However, fungi may produce toxins or lead to allergic reactions in consumer. So, the study of the safety and nutritional aspects of this product are very imperative. Results Fusarium (F) venenatum IR372C was cultured on date wastes and ammonium salts in submerge fermentation.

Cannabidiol (CBD) food supplements made of Cannabis sativa L. extracts have quickly become popular products due to their health-promoting effects. However, potential contaminants, such as mycotoxins and pesticides, can be coextracted during the manufacturing process and placed into the final product.

The present study was envisaged with an aim to determine the occurrence of antibiotic residues; enrofloxacin, oxytetracycline, penicillin G, sulphamethoxazole and chloramphenicol as well as mycotoxins; aflatoxin M1 and ochratoxin A in raw milk samples collected from individual animals from dairy farms located in 9 districts of Punjab, India. A total of 168 raw milk samples were collected and analysed using commercially available competitive Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay kits.

Author(s): Xianli Yang, Zhiyong Zhao, Yanglan Tan, Bo Chen, Changyan Zhou, Aibo Wu

Toxins, Vol. 11, Pages 295: Fengycin Produced by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42 Inhibits Fusarium graminearum Growth and Mycotoxins Biosynthesis

Toxins doi: 10.3390/toxins11050295

Toxins, Vol. 11, Pages 292: Rapid and Simple Detection of Ochratoxin A using Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer on Lateral Flow Immunoassay (FRET-LFI)

Toxins doi: 10.3390/toxins11050292

Authors:
Hyun-Kyung Oh
Hyou-Arm Joung
Minhyuk Jung
Hohjai Lee
Min-Gon Kim

Toxins, Vol. 11, Pages 56: Simultaneous Lateral Flow Immunoassay for Multi-Class Chemical Contaminants in Maize and Peanut with One-Stop Sample Preparation

Toxins doi: 10.3390/toxins11010056

Authors:
Du Wang
Jianguo Zhu
Zhaowei Zhang
Qi Zhang
Wen Zhang
Li Yu
Jun Jiang
Xiaomei Chen
Xuefang Wang
Peiwu Li

Available online 11 January 2019

Author(s): Min Wei, Chunlei Wang, Ensheng Xu, Jin Chen, Xiaolin Xu, Wei Wei, Songqin Liu

Publication date: 1 June 2017
, Volume 224

Author(s): Verónica Carrasco-Sánchez, Gal Y. Kreitman, Christian Folch-Cano, Ryan J. Elias, V. Felipe Laurie

Publication date: June 2016
, Volume 64

Author(s): Kyung-Min Lee, Timothy J. Herrman, Susie Y. Dai