Integrated risk assessment of selected mycotoxins in fresh produce and derived food products throughout the food chain, affected by climate changes and globalization

Fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet, and their consumption is expected to increase in the future because of health promotion. However, climate change and globalization will have an effect on their food safety (Paterson & Lima 2010). In order to maintain the desired level of food safety in Europe, it is necessary to explore new food contamination pathways and approaches to deal with these projected changes. An imported food safety problem is the presence of fungi and mycotoxins. (Semi) dried plants are mainly associated with mycotoxins but recently fresh produce are associated with new emerging mycotoxins. The objective of the research is to develop a farm-to-fork risk assessment model to predict the mycotoxin concentration in fresh and derived products in order to predict future risks due to climate change and growing import of foods from third countries. An initial inventory is made of relevant moulds and mycotoxins present on fresh produce and derived food products. Therefore data of mycotoxin concentration on dried plant, fresh and derived products are collected. This is done in cooperation with ICPC partners (e.g. Egypt, Brazil, Serbia and India) and is extended with European and national data. The data are obtained by including both scientific articles and grey literature (e.g. EFSA, RASFF). Most data are found from dried products, such as nuts, dried fruits and spices and herbs. Almost no data is available on fresh produce. To collect additional information (on fresh produce and derived products) a screening method with LC-TOF-MS is running for ochratoxin A, fumonisin B1, B2, B3, alternariol and alternariol monomethyl ether in tomatoes, onions, sweet bell peppers and soft red fruits. The MS parameters were tuned for each mycotoxin and both positive and negative electrospray conditions were checked. It was decided to screen for the mycotoxins in two separated runs (positive and negative electrospray run). The six mycotoxins can be screened in one sample in a relative short time of one hour. To screen for patulin we performed an non quantitative method with an HPLC with an extraction method described by Sanzani et al. (Sanzani et al. 2009). Preliminary results showed a presence of 14% of patulin in mouldy tomatoes (15 out of 107)

Comparative Growth Inhibition of Bread Spoilage Fungi by Different Preservative Concentrations Using a Rapid Turbidimetric Assay System

© 2021 Garcia, Garcia-Cela, Magan, Copetti and Medina. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Bread and intermediate moisture bakery products are mainly spoiled by yeasts and filamentous fungi. The inoculum load and preservation system used determines their shelf life. To extend the shelf life of such commodities, the use of chemical preservatives is the most common way to try and control the initiation of mold spoilage of bread. This study has utilized a rapid turbidimetric assay system (Bioscreen C) to examine the temporal efficacy of calcium propionate (CP) and potassium sorbate (PS) for controlling the growth of important bread spoilage fungi. The objectives were to compare the temporal growth of strains of three important spoilage fungi Hyphopichia burtonii (HB17), Paecilomyces variotii (PV11), and Penicillium roqueforti (PR06) isolated from visibly molded bread to (a) different concentrations of CP and PS (0–128 mM), (b) temperatures (25°C, 30°C), (c) water activity (aw; 0.95, 0.97), and (d) pH (5.0, 5.5). All three abiotic factors, pH, aw, and temperature, and preservative concentrations influenced the relative growth of the species examined. In general, PS was more effective than CP in inhibiting the growth of the strains of these three species. In addition, the Time to Detection (TTD) for the efficacy of the preservatives under the interacting abiotic factors was compared. The strain of Paecilomyces variotii (PV10) was the most tolerant to the preservatives, with the shortest TTD values for both preservatives. P. roqueforti was the most sensitive with the longest TTD values under all conditions examined. These results are discussed in the context of the evolution of resistance to food-grade preservatives by such spoilage fungi in bakery products.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Alternative techniques for the prevention of spoilage of industrial bakery products by fungi based upon predictive modelling

The classical way to prevent fungal spoilage of bakery products is the use of chemical preservatives such as sorbate and propionate. However, the use of these preservatives is coming under more and more pressure partly due to their possible causal link with adverse health effects (e.g. allergic reactions). Moreover, the use of preservatives does not fit with the 'clean label' strategy (ingredients list without preservatives like sorbate or propionate) that food companies are now pursuing. Industrial producers of bakery products are searching for alternative (more natural) techniques that are equally capable or even better in preventing the growth of fungi as compared to the traditional preservatives. The goal of this PhD research was to test different alternative components and to help the industry in meeting consumer demands regarding the safe and healthy preservation of bakery products. The alternative components/techniques that were tested against fungal spoilage were, ethanol, lactic- and acetic acid, sodium - and ammonium bicarbonate and modified atmosphere packaging. The data were not treated solely as discrete data points but also predictive models were developed. These models are mathematical equations that describe the relationship between various intrinsic factors (pH, aw and concentration of antifungal component) and the time it takes for fungal spores or cells to develop and cause spoilage of bakery products. The obtained data and the predictive models allow product developers to assess the microbial stability of their products when these alternative components/techniques are used

Identification and characterization of chalk moulds in bread

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Modelling of the growth/no growth interface of Wallemia sebi and Eurotium herbariorum as a function of pH, aW and ethanol concentration

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