Mycotoxin profile of staple grains in northern Uganda: Understanding the level of human exposure and potential risks

Wokorach, Godfrey; Landschoot, Sofie; Anena, Juliet; Audenaert, Kris; Echodu, Richard; Haesaert, Geert

doi:10.1016/j.foodcont.2020.107813

Cited by 22 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The high occurrence of Fusarium among household grains is an indication of a deficit in the implementation of best practices that reduced Fusarium load in the field among farmers of northern Uganda. Despite the low occurrence of Aspergillus flavus among the isolates analyzed, aflatoxin has been demonstrated to be common among grains in Uganda and is considered a major mycotoxin that consistently contaminates grains in Uganda [13,19].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Spoilage of grains with fungal toxins appears to increase when grains take longer within storage facilities in African settings [10]. As such, most grains produced in sub-Saharan Africa are often contaminated with mycotoxins besides severe yield losses caused by a fungal infection [11][12][13]. In east Africa, fatality due to dietary consumption of grains or grainbased products contaminated with aflatoxins is the highest in the world, ranging between 29% and 33% [14][15][16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Worldwide, several species of toxigenic and pathogenic fungi have been characterized. The characterization of fungal diversity and their distribution among household grains in Uganda is a worthwhile undertaking to improve food safety, given the high level of mycotoxins contamination of grains in Uganda [13,19,20]. The limited knowledge on the occurrence and distribution pattern of the different fungi in Uganda make the current crop protection and food safety regulation procedures fall short of many unidentified fungal pathogens, which may present a silent burden to farmers in terms of toxin contaminations of food and crop damage [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genetic Characterization of Fungal Biodiversity in Storage Grains: Towards Enhancing Food Safety in Northern Uganda

et al. 2021

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Worldwide fungal contamination leads to both quantitative and qualitative grain losses during crop growth and/or storage. A greater proportion of grains contamination with toxins often occurs in sub-Saharan Africa, where control measures are limited. We determined fungal diversity and their toxin production ability in household grains meant for human consumption to highlight the risk of mycotoxin exposure among people from northern Uganda. The study underlines the high diversity of fungi that group into 15 genera; many of which are plant pathogens with toxigenic potential. Fusarium verticillioides was the most common fungal species isolated from household grains. The study also indicates that northern Uganda is favored by a high proportion of toxigenic isolates of F. verticillioides, F. andiyazi, and F. proliferatum, which are characterized by a high fumonisins production capability. The fumonisins production ability was not dependent on the species, grain types, and haplotype group to which the isolates belong. The contamination of most household grains with fungi capable of producing a high amount of toxin shows that most people are exposed to an elevated amount of mycotoxins, which shows the frequent problems with mycotoxins that have been reported in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genetic Characterization of Fungal Biodiversity in Storage Grains: Towards Enhancing Food Safety in Northern Uganda

et al. 2021

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“…The main genera of mycotoxigenic fungi are: Aspergillus , Fusarium , Penicillium , Alternaria , Claviceps, and Stachybotrys [ 3 ]. Among the mycotoxins, aflatoxins (AFs), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEA), patulin (PAT), fumonisins (FUMs), and trichothecenes (TCs) like deoxynivalenol (DON) and T-2 toxin (T-2) are the most concerning [ 4 , 5 ]. Many agricultural commodities such as wheat, barley, maize, oat, rice [ 2 ], vegetables, fruits [ 6 ] are contaminated with mycotoxins.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Existing Methods and Novel Approaches in Mycotoxins’ Detection

et al. 2021

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Mycotoxins represent a wide range of secondary, naturally occurring and practically unavoidable fungal metabolites. They contaminate various agricultural commodities like cereals, maize, peanuts, fruits, and feed at any stage in pre- or post-harvest conditions. Consumption of mycotoxin-contaminated food and feed can cause acute or chronic toxicity in human and animals. The risk that is posed to public health have prompted the need to develop methods of analysis and detection of mycotoxins in food products. Mycotoxins wide range of structural diversity, high chemical stability, and low concentrations in tested samples require robust, effective, and comprehensible detection methods. This review summarizes current methods, such as chromatographic and immunochemical techniques, as well as novel, alternative approaches like biosensors, electronic noses, or molecularly imprinted polymers that have been successfully applied in detection and identification of various mycotoxins in food commodities. In order to highlight the significance of sampling and sample treatment in the analytical process, these steps have been comprehensively described.

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“…Toxigenic strains of Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Penicillium genera are well-known contaminants of cereals used as raw material in malting and beer brewing process Schabo et al, 2021). The presence of toxigenic fungi of these genera, followed by favorable climatic conditions, and poor preand postharvest practices are the main factors responsible for the contamination of grains by mycotoxins (Wokorach et al, 2021). It is estimated that mycotoxin contamination above the Codex Alimentarius limits occurs in about 25% of food worldwide, whereas occurrence of mycotoxins above the levels detectable by many analytical methods is as high as 60%-80% (Eskola et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A worldwide systematic review, meta‐analysis, and health risk assessment study of mycotoxins in beers

Schabo

Alvarenga

Schaffner

et al. 2021

Comp Rev Food Sci Food Safe

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Mycotoxins, including aflatoxins (AFs), ochratoxin A (OTA), deoxynivalenol (DON), fumonisins (FBs), and zearalenone (ZEN), have been reported as beer contaminants. This systematic review and meta-analysis provide the prevalence and concentration of mycotoxins in beers and their worldwide distribution. Mycotoxin's exposure and cancer risk through beer consumption were determined. The overall pooled prevalence of mycotoxins in beers was 31% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 28%-35%; I 2 = 90%, p = .00). The most prevalent mycotoxins in beers were DON and its derivatives (53%), OTA (52%), FBs (47%), followed by AFs (12%). Iran (99%), Hungary (95%), Denmark (92%), Armenia (83%), and Cyprus (83%) had the highest mycotoxin prevalence in beers. The global mycotoxins average concentration in beers was 12.52 μg/L (95% CI = 10.70-14.75 μg/L; I 2 = 100%, p = .00). DON and its derivatives showed the highest concentration (26.91 μg/L), followed by FBs (23.19 μg/L), ZEN and its derivatives (20.25 μg/L), and AFs (15.65 μg/L). African region had the highest mycotoxins concentration (73.95 μg/L) mostly due to the high levels reported in beers from Cameroon (293.02 μg/L), Malawi (132.34 μg/L), and Eastern Cape province (126.12 μg/L). The meta-regression indicated stability (p ≥ .05) of the global pooled concentration of mycotoxins in beers over the years, whereas FBs concentration increased. The intake of DON and its derivatives, FBs, ZEN and its derivatives, and OTA through beers is of concern in African countries. OTA is also of concern in Brazil and Belgium. Results show high mycotoxins concentration in beers worldwide and highlight the health risks through contaminated beer consumption.

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Mycotoxin profile of staple grains in northern Uganda: Understanding the level of human exposure and potential risks

Cited by 22 publications

References 36 publications

Genetic Characterization of Fungal Biodiversity in Storage Grains: Towards Enhancing Food Safety in Northern Uganda

Genetic Characterization of Fungal Biodiversity in Storage Grains: Towards Enhancing Food Safety in Northern Uganda

The Existing Methods and Novel Approaches in Mycotoxins’ Detection

A worldwide systematic review, meta‐analysis, and health risk assessment study of mycotoxins in beers

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