Research Publications (Food Safety)

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.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a potent carcinogenic mycotoxin that contaminates numerous crops pre- and post-harvest. To protect foods and feeds from such toxins without resorting to pesticides, the use of plant extracts has been increasingly studied. The most interesting candidate plants are those with strong antioxidative activity because oxidation reactions may interfere with AFB1 production.

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.

A simple methodology for the simultaneous determination of 67 pesticides, 25 veterinary drugs, and aflatoxin M1 in raw milk was developed and validated. After evaluating different combinations of sample preparation protocols, an extraction with acetonitrile:water (2:1) with QuEChERS citrate buffer salts and a combination of RP-C18 and anhydrous magnesium sulfate for the dispersive clean-up, using gas and liquid chromatography couples to mass spectrometry for determination, was selected.

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.

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.

Author(s): Somenath Das, Vipin Kumar Singh, Abhishek Kumar Dwivedy, Anand Kumar Chaudhari, Neha Upadhyay, Akanksha Singh, Deepika, Nawal Kishore Dubey

The presence of ear rots in maize caused by Aspergillus flavus that are also associated with the production of aflatoxins has evolved into an increasing problem over the last few years. Since no commercial biological control products are still available to control A. flavus in maize in Europe, this study targets to the evaluation of six biopesticides/biostimulants (Botector®, Mycostop®, Serenade Max®, Trianum®, Vacciplant®, and zeolite) for the control of A.

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

Publication date: November 2018
, Volume 93

Author(s): Rose Omari, Godfred K. Frempong, Winifred Arthur

Abstract

Aims

To assess frequencies of the Aspergillus flavus atoxigenic vegetative compatibility group (VCG) YV36, to which the biocontrol agent AF36 belongs, in maize-growing regions of Mexico.

Publication date: January 2016
, Volume 59
Author(s): Gerardo Martínez-Domínguez , Roberto Romero-González , Francisco Javier Arrebola , Antonia Garrido Frenich