Farm to fork risk assessment of emerging mycotoxins in fresh produce : the case of tomato considering climate change

The overall objective of the presented work was to establish a farm to fork risk assessment of emerging mycotoxins in fresh produce and derived products in view of the pressure of potential climate change scenarios and increasing import across European borders. A first objective of this work was gaining insights in the potential presence and characterization of emerging mycotoxins in fresh produce and their derived products. Therefore, a multiple mycotoxin extraction and detection method was developed. Based on those results it was decided to work on the tomato case. Stability experiments during the processing of derived tomato products were performed. A second objective of the presented work was the evaluation of pre-harvest conditions on mould growth and mycotoxin production during tomato cultivation. Models were developed for the growth of Alternaria arborescens and the influence of climate change on mould growth was evaluated for two productions regions: Spain and Poland. The third objective of the presented study was a risk assessment calculation on the emerging mycotoxins and their discussion in view of established mycotoxins in plant products

The combined and interactive effects of zinc, temperature and phosphorus on freshwater planktonic communities

The main goal of the ecological risk assessment of chemicals (ERA) is the protection of populations and communities and the correct effect assessment of chemicals on the structure and functioning of aquatic ecosystems. At present, ERA is mainly based on data obtained from standard ecotoxicity experiments. These experiments are typically conducted under standardized optimal conditions, at the species level and exposed at a single stressor at the time. However, these general ERA approaches are in sharp contrast with natural conditions. Natural populations and communities are often exposed to a mixture of multiple stressors that are biotic (e.g. food shortage, predation) and abiotic (e.g. eutrophication, non-optimal temperature or water chemistry, metals). Species interactions such as predation and competition for food are two major biotic factors that are able to significantly affect the responses of organisms to toxicants. Additionally, abiotic factors such as temperature (T) can also play an important role affecting the toxic effects of chemical pollutants (e.g. by influencing its bioavailability and toxicokinetics). Therefore, by ignoring ecological interactions and by not considering natural field conditions these single-species tests oversimplify the actual field situation and ERA may not be protective. The aim of this PhD thesis was to investigate the combined effect of Zn with natural environmental stressors (temperature and/or phosphorous) at different organization levels (population vs. community) on freshwater organisms in order to increase the realism of current ERA

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)

High precision hybrid RF and ultrasonic chirp-based ranging for low-power IoT nodes

Hybrid acoustic-RF systems offer excellent ranging accuracy, yet they typically come at a power consumption that is too high to meet the energy constraints of mobile IoT nodes. We combine pulse compression and synchronized wake-ups to achieve a ranging solution that limits the active time of the nodes to 1 ms. Hence, an ultra low-power consumption of 9.015 µW for a single measurement is achieved. The operation time is estimated on 8.5 years on a CR2032 coin cell battery at a 1 Hz update rate, which is over 250 times larger than state-of-the-art RF-based positioning systems. Measurements based on a proof-of-concept hardware platform show median distance error values below 10 cm. Both simulations and measurements demonstrate that the accuracy is reduced at low signal-to-noise ratios and when reflections occur. We introduce three methods that enhance the distance measurements at a low extra processing power cost. Hence, we validate in realistic environments that the centimeter accuracy can be obtained within the energy budget of mobile devices and IoT nodes. The proposed hybrid signal ranging system can be extended to perform accurate, low-power indoor positioning

Sreening of mycotoxins in tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, soft red fruits and derived tomato products with LC-TOF-MS

Risk assessment studies and legislation are available for multiple mycotoxins such as aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, deoxynivalenol, zeoralenone, fumonisin, T-2 and HT-2 toxin in cereals, maize and dried plant products (e.g. nuts, spices and dried fruits) (1). Also, patulin in apple and apple products is widely documented (2). However, limited data are available for mycotoxins associated with fresh produce and their derived products. Recently, EFSA published a report on the status of fresh produce and possible mycotoxins (3). It indicates the need for further research on hazard identification and risk assessment studies. A multi screening method was developed with LC-TOF-MS to screen moulded fresh produce (tomatoes, onions, sweet bell peppers and soft red fruits) from different countries (Belgium, Spain, India, Brazil, South Africa, Egypt) for the presence of a multitude of mycotoxins possibly associated with fresh produce (alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), ochratoxin A (OTA), fumonisins (FB1, FB2, FB3)). In total 320 moulded products were investigated. AOH and AME was found in all four types of fresh produce (respectively 30 and 25% prevalence). Fumonisins and ochratoxin A seems not to play a major role as a mycotoxin hazard, with exception of FB2 in moulded bell peppers from India. In total 173 samples of derived tomato products (such as ketchups, concentrates, dried tomatoes) were screened. AOH and AME were respectively found in seven and five derived tomato products (concentrates and purees). The presence of these Alternaria mycotoxins in both fresh produce and derived food products urgents the need for a dietary exposure risk assessment, with quantitative mycotoxin concentration data and consumption data

Belastinggedrag en 'tax culture': de wisselwerking tussen de fiscale geschiedenis van België in de 19de eeuw en actuele concepten

The multidisciplinary tax research has developed several understandings which could be inspirational for the historiography of the Belgian tax system. At the same time an historical approach to tax culture can open up relevant prospects for present-day policies. An analysis of determining factors of tax behaviour avails insight into the maturation of a tax culture and tax mentality. What are the difficulties and sensitivities the tax authorities have to deal with? Where do they originate? How can they be understood? The Belgians appear to consider tax fraud as a national sport. How can this be explained? This article maps the most significant concepts drawn from behavioural economics, psychology of taxes and fiscal sociology, and defines the idea of tax culture. Based on these understandings the 19th century Belgian tax culture is explored for the first time. The enquiry proves that current concepts in tax research can offer a whole new dimension to the fiscal historiography. It shows that determining factors of tax behaviour have a long tradition. Hence history can provide useful insight into tax policy. In order to reduce the tax gap authorities do not only benefit from an in-depth examination of the motives for tax compliance today, but should equally consider an historically developed tax culture