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The incidence of Fusarium head blight (FHB) in cereal grains such as barley and wheat is of growing concern due to climate change threatening food safety. Further processing of cereals by malting provides an ideal environment for the growth of Fusarium, leading to food safety concerns due to the production of mycotoxins, production challenges with the negative effects to malt and beer qualities, and economic loss owing to the field yield reduction. To improve food safety and product quality, different methods of fungal control have been investigated and reported in the literature. Traditional methods to control fungal growth and mycotoxin production have included chemical and physical methods, but these treatments led to worsened malt properties, limiting their applicability to the brewing industry. Biological control methods have, therefore, attracted wide interest as alternative treatments due to their ability to limit Fusarium growth and mycotoxin production in malting cereals without toxic by-products, thus exhibiting promise for improving food safety. Various biological agents have been investigated and applied in malting and have shown the potential to suppress Fusarium spp. growth and mycotoxin production. These agents include several lactic acid bacterial (LAB) species and Geotrichum candidum. Another promising biocontrol agent for malting control is Pythium oligandrum, which has successfully limited Fusarium infection in other agricultural crops. The review outlines the Fusarium-control methods reported referenced for the brewing industry and the present prospects in biological control applications on the promise of P. oligandrum as a novel agent for malting.

This study investigates the potential of Pythium oligandrum (strains M1 and 00X48) as a biocontrol agent in suppressing the growth of Fusarium culmorum and the production of mycotoxins during the malting of naturally contaminated barley (Hordeum vulgare). The effects of the biocontrol agent on F. culmorum-infected barley malt (BM) were evaluated through real-time PCR and its impact on mycotoxin production was determined by quantitative analysis of deoxynivalenol (DON) and deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside (D3G). The effect of treatment on BM and beer quality were also determined through European Brewery Convention (EBC) standard methods. Optimal treatment with P. oligandrum strains M1 and 00X48 yielded a 59% and 48% reduction in F. culmorum contamination, by 37% and 17% lower DON, and 27% and 32% lower D3G, respectively. BM treated with both P. oligandrum strains exhibited quality enhancement; beer produced from the BM treated with P. oligandrum strain M1 resulted in no quality deterioration and with 26% and 18% less DON and D3G, respectively, transferred to the final product.