A 2019 STUDY ON TOTAL AFLATOXINS IN ROMANIAN MAIZE (ZEA MAYS L.) SAMPLES

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Irina Zmeu ◽  
Elena Mirela Cucu ◽  
Alina Alexandra Dobre ◽  
Hellene Casian
Keyword(s):  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Aflatoxin Contamination ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Physical Treatment ◽  
Agronomic Practices ◽  
Commission Regulation ◽  
Maize Sample ◽  
Food And Feed ◽  
Risk Areas

Mycotoxin contamination represents a clear public health concern. In this context, a maize survey was conducted in Romania, to monitor the occurrence of total aflatoxins in maize samples collected during the 2019 growing season from fields located in all counties. A total of 95 maize samples were collected along with information regarding the specific location of fields, the applied agronomic practices and cropping systems. ELISA method was used for the quantification of AFs. The results showed 88 contaminated samples. Only one sample registered aflatoxin levels higher than the limit of 10.00 μg/kg, settled by the Commission Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 for maize to be subjected to soring or other physical treatment before human consumption or use as an ingredient in foodstuffs. The highest AFs level was 77.59 μg/kg, noted by a maize sample from Argeș County (the South-Muntenia development region, macro region 3). When referring to the analysed samples, the total aflatoxin contamination was independent of the type of hybrid, but strongly influenced by the pedo-climatic differences between counties. The southern counties proved to represent critical risk areas for aflatoxin contamination when referring to maize crops. These results highlight the importance of an effective and sustainable mycotoxin management along the food and feed chain, as well as the need of mapping the mycotoxin risk areas.

scholarly journals AFLA-PISTACHIO: Development of a Mechanistic Model to Predict the Aflatoxin Contamination of Pistachio Nuts

Toxins ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michail D. Kaminiaris ◽  
Marco Camardo Leggieri ◽  
Dimitrios I. Tsitsigiannis ◽  
Paola Battilani
Keyword(s):  
Mechanistic Model ◽  
External Validation ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Aflatoxin Contamination ◽  
Prototype Model ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Growth Stages ◽  
Physical Treatment ◽  
Internal Validation ◽  
Pistachio Nuts

In recent years, very many incidences of contamination with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in pistachio nuts have been reported as a major global problem for the crop. In Europe, legislation is in force and 12 μg/kg of AFB1 is the maximum limit set for pistachios to be subjected to physical treatment before human consumption. The goal of the current study was to develop a mechanistic, weather-driven model to predict Aspergillus flavus growth and the AFB1 contamination of pistachios on a daily basis from nut setting until harvest. The planned steps were to: (i) build a phenology model to predict the pistachio growth stages, (ii) develop a prototype model named AFLA-pistachio (model transfer from AFLA-maize), (iii) collect the meteorological and AFB1 contamination data from pistachio orchards, (iv) run the model and elaborate a probability function to estimate the likelihood of overcoming the legal limit, and (v) manage a preliminary validation. The internal validation of AFLA-pistachio indicated that 75% of the predictions were correct. In the external validation with an independent three-year dataset, 95.6% of the samples were correctly predicted. According to the results, AFLA-pistachio seems to be a reliable tool to follow the dynamic of AFB1 contamination risk throughout the pistachio growing season.

scholarly journals Aflatoxin M1 levels in sow milk

2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 341
Author(s):  
J. PRODANOV-RADULOVIĆ ◽  
M. ŽIVKOV-BALOŠ ◽  
S. JAKŠIĆ ◽  
Z. GRGIĆ ◽  
I. STOJANOV ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Aflatoxin Contamination ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Aflatoxin M1 ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Milk Samples ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
Food And Feed ◽  
Special Health

Aflatoxins (AFs) are one of the most known and investigated group of mycotoxins, which can be found as contaminants in different types of food and feed. Animals are exposed to AFs mainly through the consumption of contaminated feed, particularly products of plant origin. Among AFs, aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is the monohydroxylated derivative of AFB1 formed in the liver and excreted into the milk of lactating animals. This study encompassed the Vojvodina region of Serbia and was aimed at determining the levels of AFM1 excretion in sows’ milk in the first 3‒5 days of lactation, after consumption of naturally contaminated with AFB1 maize. A total of 110 sows’ milk samples from 11 swine farms in the specific region were analyzed by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Different levels of AFM1 were detected in the majority (97%) of the examined milk samples. The obtained results showed AFM1 levels ranging from 5 to 165.4 ng/L. The results of this study pose special health concern associated with aflatoxin contamination of swine feed raw materials in this particular part of Serbia. Moreover, such high incidence of AFM1 detection in sows’ milk may suggest the occurrence of long-term low level aflatoxicosis clinical cases.

scholarly journals Occurrence and Distribution of Aflatoxin in Maize from Selected Counties, Eastern Region, Kenya

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-20
Author(s):  
Nicholas M. Jacob ◽  
Shem O. Wandiga ◽  
David K. Kariuki ◽  
Vincent O. Madadi
Keyword(s):  
Aflatoxin B1 ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Aflatoxin Contamination ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Eastern Region ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Fluorescence Detector ◽  
Total Aflatoxin ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Maize Sample

Purpose: The study aimed to assess the occurrence and distribution of aflatoxin contamination on dry maize in different types of stores in Meru, Embu, Isiolo, Makueni and Machakos Counties of Eastern region of Kenya.Methodology: Automatic spear sampler was used to collect maize samples from each bag at even intervals. 280 maize samples were collected from 29 stores in five Counties. 100 g of each maize sample was ground, resampled into 50g, blended, extracted, centrifuged, filtered and a quantified for Aflatoxin B1, B2, G1 and G2. Samples were prepared and extracted with methanol/water. The bulky of the samples were analyzed with enzyme-linked immunoassay test kits. Confirmation of positive samples was done with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with fluorescence detector.  Data analysis was done with SPSS and Microsoft excel.Findings: Maize samples from Counties in eastern region of Kenya had significantly high levels of (93.10%) aflatoxin contamination. The mean values for aflatoxin B1, B2, G1 and G2 were: 50.08± 4.42, 17.26±1.08, 30.17±2.06 and 10.54± 1.52 (ng/g) in that order. Only nine samples had total aflatoxin within the accepted limit for human consumption of 15 ng/g. The highest total aflatoxin contamination recorded was 198.45ng/g in Makueni county and the lowest recorded was 8.76ng/g in Embu county. Makueni and Embu had mean values for aflatoxin B1, B2, G1 and G2 being (83.07±7.53, 22.15± 1.36, 49.38±3.11, 20.52± 0.70 ng/g) and (18.71 ±2.63, 8.07 ±0.64, 17.02 ±1.38, 8.86 ±1.62 ng/g). Makueni NCPB depot had the highest mean contamination with aflatoxin B1 of 92.67± 5.78 ng/g and Embu had the lowest with 6.26 ± 4.14 ng/g. All the county markets recorded high aflatoxin B1 contamination with exception of Embu county which had a mean of 4.0 ±0.84, Makueni (83.67± 10.42 ng/g), Isiolo (51.27± 32.29 ng/g), Meru (46.02± 23.88 ng/g) and Machakos (36.34± 26.27 ng/g). The stores had aflatoxin load varied from on store to the other and county to county.Unique contribution to theory, policy and practice: The counties in the region had high occurrence and distribution of aflatoxin B1, B2, G1 and G2 in maize in all stores where samples were picked. Location for maize stores should be in areas with low levels of carbon dioxide because mycotoxins are produced under aerobic conditions. The design for maize threshing machines should not course shocks, breakage and cracks on maize grains to decrease chances of mycotoxins infestation during their storage.

Aflatoxin contamination and recommendations to improve its control: a review

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
L.D. Kaale ◽  
M.E. Kimanya ◽  
I.J. Macha ◽  
N. Mlalila
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Aflatoxin Contamination ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Creative Art ◽  
Health Concept ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Food And Feed ◽  
On Line

Aflatoxin producing fungi cause contamination of food and feed resulting in health hazards and economic loss. It is imperative to develop workable control measures throughout the food chain to prevent and reduce aflatoxin contamination. This is a critical review of contemporary published papers in the field. It is a review of reports from the original aflatoxin researches conducted on foods, from 2015-2020. Most of the reports show high aflatoxin contaminations in food at levels that exceed a regulatory limit of 20 μg/kg and 4 μg/kg set for foods for human consumption in the USA and European Union, respectively. The highest aflatoxin concentration (3,760 μg/kg) was observed in maize. Some of the strategies being deployed in aflatoxin control include application of biocontrol agents, specifically of Aflasafe™, development of resistant crop varieties, and application of other good agricultural practices. We recommend the adoption of emerging technologies such as combined methods technology (CMT) or hurdle technology, one health concept (OHC), improved regulations, on-line monitoring of aflatoxins, and creative art intervention (CAI) to prevent or restrict the growth of target aflatoxin causative fungi.

Aflatoxins in Domestic and Imported Foods and Feeds

1989 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 543-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garnett E Wood
Keyword(s):  
Cottonseed Meal ◽  
Animal Feed ◽  
Aflatoxin Contamination ◽  
Fiscal Year ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Compliance Programs ◽  
Metabolic Products ◽  
Corn Products ◽  
Food And Feed ◽  
Imported Foods

Abstract Aflatoxins, metabolic products of the molds Aspergillus flams and A. parasiticus, may occur in foods and feeds. These toxins cannot be entirely avoided or eliminated from foods or feeds by current agronomic and manufacturing processes and are considered unavoidable contaminants. To limit aflatoxin exposure, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set action levels for these toxins in foods and feeds involved in interstate commerce. FDA continually monitors food and feed industries through compliance programs. This report summarizes data generated from compliance programs on aflatoxins for the fiscal year 1986. Commodities sampled included peanuts and peanut products, corn and corn products, tree nuts, cottonseed, milk, spices, manufactured products, and miscellaneous foods and feeds. Correlations were highest between aflatoxin contamination and geographical areas for corn/corn products and cottonseed/cottonseed meal. Higher incidences of aflatoxin contamination in corn and corn products designated for human consumption were observed in samples collected in the southeastern states (32 and 28%, respectively). A higher incidence of contamination was observed in corn designated for animal feed from Arkansas-Texas (74%) than from the southeastern states (47%). Only 3% of feed corn from corn belt states contained detectable aflatoxins. All aflatoxin-contaminated cottonseed was collected in the Arizona-California area; 80% of cottonseed meal analyzed from this area also contained detectable levels of aflatoxins. No aflatoxin Mi was detected in any of the 182 samples of fluid milk and milk products examined. The percentage of samples that contain measurable levels of aflatoxins is expected to vary with commodities from year to year; thus, the 1986 information can be used as a baseline for comparison to determine the effectiveness of control efforts exerted by the food and feed industries.

scholarly journals A Legionnaires’ Disease Cluster in a Private Building in Italy

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (13) ◽  
pp. 6922
Author(s):  
Maria Luisa Ricci ◽  
Maria Cristina Rota ◽  
Maria Grazia Caporali ◽  
Antonietta Girolamo ◽  
Maria Scaturro
Keyword(s):  
Severe Pneumonia ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Domestic Water ◽  
Quality Of Water ◽  
Legionnaires Disease ◽  
Prevention And Control Measures ◽  
Private Homes ◽  
And Control

Legionnaires’ disease (LD) is a severe pneumonia caused by bacteria belonging to the genus Legionella. This is a major public health concern and infections are steadily increasing worldwide. Several sources of infection have been identified, but they have not always been linked to human isolates by molecular match. The well-known Legionella contamination of private homes has rarely been associated with the acquisition of the disease, although some patients never left their homes during the incubation period. This study demonstrated by genomic matching between clinical and environmental Legionella isolates that the source of an LD cluster was a private building. Monoclonal antibodies and sequence-based typing were used to type the isolates, and the results clearly demonstrated the molecular relationship between the strains highlighting the risk of contracting LD at home. To contain this risk, the new European directive on the quality of water intended for human consumption has introduced for the first time Legionella as a microbiological parameter to be investigated in domestic water systems. This should lead to a greater attention to prevention and control measures for domestic Legionella contamination and, consequently, to a possible reduction in community acquired LD cases.

scholarly journals Unsafe “crossover-use” of chloramphenicol in Uganda: importance of a One Health approach in antimicrobial resistance policy and regulatory action

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kayley D. McCubbin ◽  
John W. Ramatowski ◽  
Esther Buregyeya ◽  
Eleanor Hutchinson ◽  
Harparkash Kaur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Low Income ◽  
One Health ◽  
Antibiotic Use ◽  
Regulatory Action ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Drug Shop ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Human Use

AbstractSince the introduction of antibiotics into mainstream health care, resistance to these drugs has become a widespread issue that continues to increase worldwide. Policy decisions to mitigate the development of antimicrobial resistance are hampered by the current lack of surveillance data on antibiotic product availability and use in low-income countries. This study collected data on the antibiotics stocked in human (42) and veterinary (21) drug shops in five sub-counties in Luwero district of Uganda. Focus group discussions with drug shop vendors were also employed to explore antibiotic use practices in the community. Focus group participants reported that farmers used human-intended antibiotics for their livestock, and community members obtain animal-intended antibiotics for their own personal human use. Specifically, chloramphenicol products licensed for human use were being administered to Ugandan poultry. Human consumption of chloramphenicol residues through local animal products represents a serious public health concern. By limiting the health sector scope of antimicrobial resistance research to either human or animal antibiotic use, results can falsely inform policy and intervention strategies. Therefore, a One Health approach is required to understand the wider impact of community antibiotic use and improve overall effectiveness of intervention policy and regulatory action.

scholarly journals Soil Fungal Resources in Annual Cropping Systems and Their Potential for Management

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walid Ellouze ◽  
Ahmad Esmaeili Taheri ◽  
Luke D. Bainard ◽  
Chao Yang ◽  
Navid Bazghaleh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Soil Fungi ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Soil Biodiversity ◽  
Agricultural Ecosystems ◽  
Agronomic Practices ◽  
Rhizosphere Fungi ◽  
Fungal Organisms ◽  
Selection Of

Soil fungi are a critical component of agroecosystems and provide ecological services that impact the production of food and bioproducts. Effective management of fungal resources is essential to optimize the productivity and sustainability of agricultural ecosystems. In this review, we (i) highlight the functional groups of fungi that play key roles in agricultural ecosystems, (ii) examine the influence of agronomic practices on these fungi, and (iii) propose ways to improve the management and contribution of soil fungi to annual cropping systems. Many of these key soil fungal organisms (i.e., arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and fungal root endophytes) interact directly with plants and are determinants of the efficiency of agroecosystems. In turn, plants largely control rhizosphere fungi through the production of carbon and energy rich compounds and of bioactive phytochemicals, making them a powerful tool for the management of soil fungal diversity in agriculture. The use of crop rotations and selection of optimal plant genotypes can be used to improve soil biodiversity and promote beneficial soil fungi. In addition, other agronomic practices (e.g., no-till, microbial inoculants, and biochemical amendments) can be used to enhance the effect of beneficial fungi and increase the health and productivity of cultivated soils.

scholarly journals Spatial-time Visualization of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in an Urban Area: Informing Health Policy and Practice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neda Firouraghi ◽  
Sayyed Mostafa Mostafavi ◽  
Amene Raouf-Rahmati ◽  
Alireza Mohammadi ◽  
Reza Saemi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Incidence Rate ◽  
Urban Area ◽  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Low Risk ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
Risk Areas

Abstract Background:Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an important public health concern worldwide. Iran is among the most CL-affected countries, being listed as one of the first six endemic countries in the world. In order to develop targeted interventions, we performed a spatial-time visualization of CL cases in an urban area to identify high-risk and low-risk areas during 2016-2019.Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted in the city of Mashhad. Patient data were gathered from Mashhad health centers. All cases (n=2425) were diagnosed in two stages; the initial diagnosis was based on clinical findings. Subsequently, clinical manifestation was confirmed by parasitological tests. The data were aggregated at the neighborhood and district levels and smoothed CL incidence rates per 100,000 individuals were calculated using the spatial empirical Bayesian approach. Furthermore, we used the Anselin Local Moran’s I statistic to identify clusters and outliers of CL distribution during 2016-2019 in Mashhad. Results:The overall incidence rates decreased from 34.6 per 100,000 in 2016 to 19.9 per 100,000 individuals in 2019. Both cluster analyses by crude incidence rate and smoothed incidence rate identified high-risk areas in southwestern Mashhad over the study period. Furthermore, the analyses revealed low-risk areas in northeastern Mashhad over the same 3-year period.Conclusions:The southwestern area of Mashhad had the highest CL incidence rates. This piece of information might be of value to design tailored interventions such as running effective resource allocation models, informed control plans and implementation of efficient surveillance systems. Furthermore, this study generates new hypotheses to test potential relationships between socio-economic and environmental risk factors and incidence of CL in areas with higher associated risks.

scholarly journals Understanding the Relationships Between the Consumer Perception on Food Risks, Quality, and Safety Indicators of Braised Meat Sold in “Dibiterie” Restaurants in Dakar, Senegal

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malik Orou Seko ◽  
Walter Ossebi ◽  
Nibangue Laré ◽  
Bassirou Bonfoh
Keyword(s):  
Latent Variables ◽  
Nutritional Quality ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Small Ruminants ◽  
Consumer Perception ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Quality And Safety ◽  
Potential Health

Dibiteries are restaurants that sell braised meat of small ruminants and sometimes chicken. Current microbiological data indicate that the products sold are sometimes contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms exceeding the quality standards recommended for human consumption, hence a real public health concern. Despite the lack of hygiene, these establishments continue to thrive in the Senegalese food ecosystem. However, very few studies have analyzed the socio-economic motivations and risk representations of these populations who participate in the growing demand for meat from dibiteries. The main objective is to understand the relationships between consumer perception of food risks, quality, and safety indicators of braised meat sold in Dibiteries in Dakar. A total of 479 people from 404 households in the Dakar region were randomly selected and surveyed on the consumption of dibiterie meat using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire allowed to measure the relative importance given by each interviewee to the indicators related to the risk of food infection, and the quality and safety of dibiterie meat. The structural equation model was used to design the paths and analyze the relationships. Of the 479 people interviewed, 291 people consumed dibiterie meat. Only 16% of consumers strongly perceive the quality and safety of meat. This strong perception has been positively associated with monthly food expenditure, while the age of consumers explained it negatively. Among the latent variables identified, the perceived price effect and the dibiteries' expertise were positively related to the perception on the safety and the perception on the nutritional quality of the product. The nutritional quality of the product had negatively impacted the risks of food infection perceived by consumers. The results of this study suggest the strengthening of hygiene standards in dibiteries and the awareness of consumers, especially young people, about the potential health risks associated with the consumption of dibiterie meat. Further work on willingness to pay to improve the safety of dibiterie meat is needed.

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