Influence of aflatoxin in Nuruk on the safety of starch‐based alcoholic beverage

Abstract

Nuruk is a fermentation agent used to manufacture alcoholic beverages, which contains a variety of microorganisms. Most microorganisms in Nuruk are useful for the production of alcoholic beverages; however, Nuruk can be infected with Aspergillus flavus, which produces aflatoxin (AF). Therefore, this study analyzed total AF concentrations in Nuruk, the transfer of AF from Nuruk to alcoholic beverages, and AF‐producing microorganisms to determine the safety of alcoholic beverages with respect to this toxin. ELISA showed that total AF levels in 14 of 61 Nuruk samples exceeded 15 ppb, the Korean permissible level in cereal products. In alcoholic beverages produced with Nuruk containing AF levels >15 ppb, only AF G1 was detected, at a level of 0.3 ppb, and the transfer ratio of AF G1 was approximately 1.2% to 1.3%. The dominant genera in Nuruk were Aspergillus and Rhizopus. Among 30 strains belonging to Aspergillus, 10 produced only AF B1 at levels of 0.1 to 2.4 ppb after incubation at 25 °C for 8 days on potato dextrose agar plates. Although AF in Nuruk was rarely transferred to alcoholic beverages and the aflatoxigenic strains were found to possess poor AF‐producing capacity, further efforts to reduce AF in Nuruk are needed to ensure the safety of alcoholic beverages.

Recent Developments in Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy and Its Application in Food Analysis: Alcoholic Beverages as an Example

“…It contains a variety of microorganisms, and most of these microorganisms are useful to produce alcoholic beverages. However, Nuruk can be contaminated with Aspergillus , which produce aflatoxins (AF) that is harmful to the human body [ 42 ].…”

“…These microorganisms affect the sensory quality of alcoholic beverages and also affect product safety [ 143 ]. Some microorganisms produce toxic byproducts, including aflatoxins [ 42 ].…”

“…The composition and safety testing of alcoholic beverages has become an extremely important stage in the import, export, and sales of the industry at home and abroad. As a liquid beverage, an alcoholic beverage may contain self-produced or artificially added toxic and harmful substances [ 40 ], such as food additives and food colorants [ 41 ], food adulterants, toxins [ 42 ], heavy metal [ 43 ] etc., which can be directly ingested and accumulated in the body, and ultimately affect human health [ 44 ]. However, there are the following difficulties in the component and safety detection of alcoholic beverages: the main component is water, the content of detection substances is low, and the components in wine are complex.…”