Mycotoxin removal

The removal of ochratoxin A and patulin from solution by 30 different LAB was studied by Fuchs et al. (2008). Results showed thatL. acidophilus was able to remove at least 95% of ochratoxin A from liquid medium, while Bifidobacterium animalis was able to bind and remove 80% of patulin in solution. Hatab, Yue, and Mohamad (2012) also studied the ability of LAB strains to remove patuhn from liquid medium, in this case apple juice. All 10 strains used in the experiments were able to remove the toxin, at significantly different amounts, with best binding ability shown by L rhamnosus 6224 (80.4%) and Enterococcus faecium 21605 (64.5%). According to the authors, the optimal mycotoxin removal was achieved at 30 °C, the binding was toxin concentration dependent (the amount of toxin removal increased with decreasing toxin levels) and the adsorption of patulin by LAB had no negative impact on the quality of the apple juice, based on various quahty parameters (Hatab et al., 2012). 

Kamimura, H., Removal of mycotoxins during food processing, in Natori, S., Hashimoto, K. and Ueno, Y., eds., Mycotoxins and Phycotoxins 88, Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, 1989. 

Since most mycotoxins in agricultural materials are usually contained in a very small proportion of individual seeds or kernels the most practical and effective method of reducing the mycotoxin content of the whole commodity is to remove the contaminated seeds or kernels mechanically (West and Bullerman, 1991). Various techniques have been devised, based on colour and visual appearance of decay or damage to separate out contaminated seed etc. This may be manual or by more advanced electronic instrumental selection. 

For zinc, copper and iron, the 31st CCFAC in 1999 recommended that the relevant Commodity Committees take appropriate steps to remove the provisions concerning zinc, copper and iron from the contaminant section of all commodity standards. These provisions should be considered as quality parameters and can be included in the standards as such.13 Moreover, there are draft standards for the mycotoxins aflatoxins, ochratoxin A and patulin, and Position Papers are becoming available for fumonisins and zearalenone. 

Detoxification of mycotoxins can be achieved by removal or elimination of the contaminated commodities or by the inactivation of toxins present in the commodities through various physical, chemical and biological means. For a successful detoxification procedure, the following basic criteria have been suggested [199] ... 

Removal or elimination of mycotoxins. Since most of the mycotoxin burden in contaminated commodities is localized to a relatively small number or seeds or kernels [reviewed in Dickens, 200], removal of these contaminated seeds/kemels is effective in detoxifying the commodity. Methods currently used include (a) physical separation by identification and removal of damaged seeds, mechanical or electronic sorting, flotation and density separation of damaged or contaminated seeds (b) removal by filtration and adsorption onto filter pads, clays, activated charcoal (c) removal of the toxin by milling processes and (d) removal of the mycotoxin by solvent extraction. 

Inactivation of mycotoxins. When removal or elimination of mycotoxins is not possible, mycotoxins can be inactivated by (a) physical methods such as thermal inactivation, photochemical or gamma irradiation (b) chemical methods such as treatment of commodities with acids, alkalis, aldehydes, oxidizing agents, and gases like chlorine, sulfur dioxide, ozone and ammonia [201] and (c) biological methods such as fermentations or enzymatic digestions that cause the breakdown of mycotoxins [202]. 

Another mycotoxin is patulin, produced by certain species of the moulds Penicillium and Aspergillus, which may grow on apples. There have been occasions when apple juice has been contaminated with patuhn but, provided producers remove infected apples and levels are monitored, there is not normally a danger from exposure (see Chapter 12). 

Optimizing deodorization technology and process conditions for the removal of specific contaminants (pesticides, PAH, dioxins, PCB, mycotoxins, ) and maxi-... 

In terms of product safety, diffusion of mycotoxins in infected fruits and possible health risks associated with the processing or consumption of the remainder of an infected fruit after removal of visibly rotted tissue is of interest. Laidou et al. (2001) investigated the diffusion of patulin in the flesh of pears inoculated with four pathogens, P. expansum, A. flavus, Stemphy-lium vesicarium, and A. alternata. P. expansum and A. flavus penetrated more rapidly into the flesh than S. vesicarium and A. alternata because of the... 

Reactive Skin Decontamination Lotion (RSDL) has recently been approved for procurement by the U.S. military (F-Z-EM 2007). RSDL is currently marketed by E-Z-EM, Inc. and is a patented, broad spectrum, skin decontamination lotion that is used to remove or neutralize chemical threat agents and biological warfare agents such as trichothecene mycotoxin (T2 toxin), which can cause severe skin and eye irritation. RSDL was originally developed by the Canadian Defense Research Establishment and consists of 1.25 molar potassium 2,3-butanedione monoximate in poly-etheylene glycol monoethyl ethers with 10% w/v water (Sabourin et al. 2001 Lukey et al. 2004). 

The foreign body issue can be extended to that of small food product streams contaminated by abnormal individual units. For example, in grain streams it is necessary to detect any contamination by abnormal kernels and to remove these in order to maintain the level of contamination within regulatory limits. In par-hcular, mold contaminahon is of great concern in the grain industry. As an example, Fusarium head blight (also called scab ) produces mycotoxins (deoxyni-valenol, DON) that become concentrated in (but are not limited to) the infected kernel. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) specifies that the DON content of finished wheat products destined for human consumption should not exceed 1 ppm. Moreover, the monetary value of wheat may be reduced by 40% (or even more) if only 5% of the kernels are infected. 

The fluorometric assay is an efficient quantitative method for mycotoxin analysis. To obtain accurate results it is very important to remove interferences before the... 

As a general rule, the decontamination procedure recommended for chemical warfare agents4 effectively destroys toxins. Exposure to 0.1% sodium hypochlorite solution (household bleach) for 10 minutes destroys most protein toxins. The tricho-thecene mycotoxins require more stringent measures to inactivate them, but even they can be removed from the skin (although not inactivated) simply by washing with soap and water. Soap and water, or even just water, can be very effective in removing most toxins from skin, clothing, and equipment. 

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