Various Aspergilli and mycotoxins in traditional products in Oran, Algeria

Essential oils from aerial parts of Senecio nutans, Senecio viridis, Tagetes terniflora and Aloysia gratissima were analysed by GC-MS and their antifungal activities were assayed on toxigenic Fusarium and Aspergillus species. Sabinene (27.6 ± 0.1%), α-phellandrene (15.7 ± 0.3%), o-cymene (9.6 ± 0.2%) and β-pinene (6.1 ± 0.2%) in S. nutans, 9,10-dehydrofukinone (92.7 ± 0.2%) in S. viridis, β-thujone (36.1 ± 0.1%), α-thujone (32.2 ± 0.2%), 1,8-cineol (10.7 ± 0.1%) and sabinene (6.2 ± 0.2%) in A. gratissima, and cis-tagetone (33.6 ± 0.2%), cis-β-ocimene (17.1 ± 0.2%), trans-tagetone (17.0 ± 0.1%), cis-ocimenone (8.0 ± 0.2%) and trans-ocimenone (8.2 ± 0.1%) in T. terniflora. The oils showed moderate antifungal activity (1.2 mg/mL > MIC >0.6 mg/mL) on the Fusarium species and a weak effect on Aspergillus species. The antifungal activity was associated on F. verticillioides to the high content of cis-tagetone, trans-tagetone, cis-β-ocimene, cis-ocimenone, trans-ocimenone and on F. graminearum due to the total content of oxygenated sesquiterpenes and 9,10- dehydrofukinone. The oil of S. viridis synergized the effect of fungicides and food preservatives on F. verticillioides.

The traditional products exploitation is the source of income for many European manufacturers who have obtained the certification of traditional products at European level; thus, many of them avoided bankruptcy. This research has proposed to find out the situation at European and Romanian level for traditional product certification. In the end, conclusions were drawn based on the results, followed by ways to improve the situation in Romania.

Malaise and sleepiness behind the wheel are considered to be the leading causes of fatal highway accidents. With the body area networks (BANs), a continuous health monitoring of a driver can be performed without any constraint on his/her normal daily life activities. Many of the systems proposed in the literature are intended to prevent traffic accidents but without treating this kind of cause because difficult to highlight in an accident. This paper proposes “HAaaS,” a new vehicular cloud computing service based on BANs to detect, monitor, and manage driver malaise and provide a cooperation support for the driver rescue. The objective is to reduce the number of accidents, the material and human damage as the time and fuel lost in traffic jams. The proposed service has been validated by simulating real-world highway scenarios extracted from Oran city in Algeria. The results show that the service is efficient at a significant rate.

Chapter 6 - Control of foodborne pathogens in common foods in the Middle East

Soil as a source of dioxin contamination in eggs from free-range hens on a Polish farm

Nowadays, adulteration of traditional food products is a very important field in the general food authenticity sector. Moreover, it is important to create databases with authentic traditional products. In Cyprus, research about the traditional dairy products is scarce. Anari is predominantly made from goat’s and sheep’s milk, but milk from cows can also be used. It is produced during the process of Halloumi cheese making. Classification of Halloumi and Anari cheese took place in two classes, thus per cheese type, and after that in milk species subclasses such as cow and goat-sheep origins for each cheese type. This research study aims to enlighten the field of food authenticity in terms of traditional Cypriot dairy products. The first step of the methodology is the freeze-drying process for lyophilization of samples. Forty-four samples have been analyzed thus far, including both Halloumi and Anari cheese. Measurements for each sample were obtained by using Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. Interpretation of the extensive data was undertaken via Orthogonal Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA), and through the SIMCA chemometrics package. Characterization of Anari cheese by applying FTIR took place. In terms of cheese type, Halloumi and Anari cheese samples were classified correctly. In addition, Anari samples were classified correctly regarding the milk species’ origin. The proposed experimental procedure along with chemometrics allow the detection of the milk species’ origin of traditional Anari samples, highlighting the importance of FTIR spectroscopy in combination with chemometrics in food authenticity. Creation of a database with Anari samples from Cyprus has started, and this is a very important step towards authenticity of traditional dairy products of Cyprus.

The presence of fungi of the genus Aspergillus must be investigated because it is related to the diminishment of quality and consequently to the risk to health of consumers due to the possible production of mycotoxins. In this context, this study was performed with the aim to evaluate the presence of Aspergillus species in cocoa beans produced in the state of Rondônia, Brazil, as well as verify the toxigenic potential of these species and the effect of the geographical origin on the incidence of toxigenic and non-toxigenic species of fungi. The technique of logistic regression was used to estimate the probability of occurrence of the genus Aspergillus. A total of 185 Aspergillus were identified. Among the tested Aspergillus carbonarius, 79.41% produced ochratoxin on levels from 0.08 to 44.09 µg/g in the culture medium. For the other Aspergillus species, the production potential was only assessed, and 3.13% of the A. niger presented potential to produce OTA and 83.33% of A. flavus which was able to produce aflatoxins. The presence of these toxigenic species indicates a potential risk of mycotoxin in cocoa beans and in their derived products in the studied region. Besides, the occurrence of Aspergillus species differed in function of geographical coordinates and temperature, presenting higher probability of occurrence on cocoa beans of municipalities located in Southern Rondônia, Brazil. Key words: Cocoa beans, Aspergillus, mycotoxins, ochratoxin A, aflatoxins, logistic regression, thin layer chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography.

Study of the regional air quality south of Mexico City (Morelos state)

Mycotoxins such as aflatoxins (AFs), fumonisins (FBs), zearalenone (ZEN), and deoxynivalenol (DON) pose a risk to public health due to their carcinogenic potency (AFs and FBs) and anti-nutritional effects. The hazards associated with mycotoxins are accentuated where food management practices, control, and regulatory systems from farm to plate are sub-optimal. Information on the frequency of these mycotoxins in rice commercialized in markets in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) is limited. The current study examined AF concentrations in 527 rice samples collected from 54 markets in five SSA countries. Grain quality characteristics, processing methods, and origin of samples were contrasted with toxin levels. In total, 72% of the samples had detectable AFs levels (range = 3.0 to 89.8 µg/kg). Forty-seven percent (47%) of the samples had AFs above 4 µg/kg, the European Union maximum level (ML), and were evaluated for cooccurrence with FBs, ZEN, and DON. Total AFs and ZEN cooccurred in 40% of the samples, and 30% of the positive ZEN samples had concentrations above the ML of 75 µg/kg. Total AFs did not co-occur with FBs and DON. Multivariate analysis revealed that length-to-width ratio (p < 0.0001), mixed variety for width (p = 0.04), and chalkiness (p = 0.009) significantly influenced aflatoxin concentrations. Slender grains had higher AFs concentrations than bold and medium grains (p < 0.0001). Possible strategies to mitigate mycotoxin contamination in rice include improving grain quality traits and practicing proper drying and hermetic storage before and after milling. These findings provide valuable insights for both domestic and international actors in establishing and strengthening regulations and management systems to mitigate rice mycotoxin contamination.

The presence of mycotoxins, including ochratoxin A (OTA) and deoxynivalenol (DON), in tortillas raises potential food safety concerns, particularly in regions where these products constitute a dietary staple. In the present study, the natural occurrence and concentrations of OTA and DON were determined in commercially available tortillas in Turkey. A total of 84 tortilla samples were analysed using an in-house validated high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. OTA was detected in 25% of the samples, with concentrations ranging from 0.079 to 0.93µg/kg, all of which remained below the European Union maximum level (EU ML) of 3µg/kg. DON was found in 10.7% of the samples, with concentrations between 13.1 and 158µg/kg, also within the EU ML of 400µg/kg. Co-occurrence of OTA and DON was observed in three samples. These findings highlight considered variability among products, likely attributable to differences in raw material quality, environmental conditions, and post-harvest handling practices. This variability underscores the need for enhanced regulatory surveillance, improved storage conditions, and the implementation of optimised processing technologies. Furthermore, the estimated dietary exposure levels for both OTA and DON were found to pose no significant health risks under current consumption patterns.

This paper presents 3 years of data (2009-2011) on the occurrence of two mycotoxins, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and zearalenone (ZEA), in samples of feedstuff for dairy cows (n = 963), ewes (n = 42), and goats (n = 131) produced in Portugal. AFB1 was found in 15 samples of cow feed (1.6%), 3 samples of ewe feed (2.3%) and in 2 samples of goat feed (4.8%). All but two samples contained AFB1 at levels below the European Union maximum level (5 μg/kg). Nearly half (45%) of the samples were contaminated with ZEA, but its levels were relatively low, at 5-136.9 μg/kg, well below the European Union guidance value (500 μg/kg).

Monitoring of nitrate in Swedish-produced lettuce and spinach over the past 10 years (1996–2005) showed that more than 95% of the samples were below the maximum levels established by the European Commission in 1997. The good agricultural practices used by Swedish farmers may partly explain these results. Analytical results of organic farming production of lettuce from 2000 showed low nitrate levels compared with conventional production. The 10 years of Swedish experience has shown good compliance with the European Union maximum levels, but even lower nitrate levels may be achieved by organic farming methods, at least regarding fresh lettuce grown under cover.

Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in milk from 100 different herds of free-grazing cows in Abeokuta, Nigeria, was analysed by immunoaffinity column cleanup and HPLC with fluorescence detection. AFM1 was found in 75% of the samples, the toxin levels in positive samples ranged from 9.0 to 456.0 ng/l. The mean AFM1 level in positive samples was 108.15 ng/l, exceeding, for example, the European Union maximum level by a factor of two. These results indicated that there is an urgent need to more closely control the milk of free-grazing cows for AFM1 in order to protect the health of humans consuming milk and milk products.

A large number of traditional herbal products from medicinal plants are available in local markets. However, the risk of fungal contamination especially toxigenic Aspergillus species, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus was potentially possible. Thus, this study targeted to investigate the prevalence of A. niger and A. flavus and the occurrence of genes encoding toxins, aflatoxins and ochratoxin A among the fungi using the molecular method in 33 herbal products randomly collected from local markets in Khon Kaen province, Thailand. Based on the identification using DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), there were two Aspergillus species, A. niger and A. flavus, with prevalence rates of 73.6% and 0.1% respectively. The genes related to aflatoxins and ochratoxin A were undetectable in all isolates. This study suggested the products were naturally contaminated with the fungi, but they were safe from the toxigenic A. niger and A. flavus.

Regional distribution and diversity of Aspergillus and Penicillium species on Croatian traditional meat products