The guarantee of the high quality of rice is of utmost importance because any toxic contaminant may affect consumer health, especially in countries such as Brazil where rice is part of the daily diet. A total of 187 rice samples, from field, processing and market from two different production systems, wetland from the state of Rio Grande do Sul, dryland, from the state of Maranhão and market samples from the state of São Paulo, were analyzed for fungi belonging to Aspergillus section Flavi and the presence of aflatoxins. Twenty-three soil samples from wetland and dryland were also analyzed. A total of 383 Aspergillus section Flavi strains were isolated from rice and soil samples. Using a polyphasic approach, with phenotypic (morphology and extrolite profiles) and molecular data (beta-tubulin gene sequences), five species were identified: A. flavus, A. caelatus, A. novoparasiticus, A. arachidicola and A. pseudocaelatus. This is the first report of these last three species from rice and rice plantation soil. Only seven (17%) of the A. flavus isolates produced type B aflatoxins, but 95% produced kojic acid and 69% cyclopiazonic acid. Less than 14% of the rice samples were contaminated with aflatoxins, but two of the market samples were well above the maximum tolerable limit (5μg/kg), established by the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency.

Este é um artigo publicado em acesso aberto (Open Access) sob a licença Creative Commons Attribution, que permite uso, distribuição e reprodução em qualquer meio, sem restrições desde que o trabalho original seja corretamente citado. Fungos e aflatoxinas no arroz: ocorrência e significado na saúde do consumidorFungi and aflatoxins in rice: occurrence and significance to consumer health ResumoO arroz é um dos cereais mais consumidos no Brasil e no mundo. Devido ao grande impacto do consumo de arroz na população, estudos sobre a qualidade deste produto são de grande importância. É um ótimo substrato para a produção de micotoxinas e, quando os fungos toxigênicos encontram condições de crescer e produzir toxinas, estes as produzem em grandes quantidades. Embora não seja comum a presença de micotoxinas, existem alguns relatos sobre a ocorrência de aflatoxinas e fungos aflatoxigênicos no arroz. O presente artigo é uma revisão sobre os aspectos gerais do arroz, sua produção, ocorrência de fungos, aflatoxinas e micotoxinas no Brasil e no mundo, bem como sobre a redução de aflatoxinas durante o processamento do arroz. Palavras-chave: Arroz; Produção; Aflatoxinas; Fungos; Micotoxinas. AbstractRice is one of the cereals most consumed in Brazil and in the world. Due to the significant impact of rice consumption on the population, studies regarding its quality are of great importance. It is an excellent substrate for fungal growth and mycotoxin production, so when toxigenic fungi find conditions to grow and produce toxins, they produce large quantities. Although the presence of mycotoxins is not common in rice, some previous reports have shown the presence of aflatoxins and aflatoxigenic fungi in rice. Thus the present article is a review concerning the general aspects of rice, its production, and the occurrence of fungi, aflatoxins and other mycotoxins in Brazil and in the world, and also the reduction of aflatoxin during rice processing. Food Technol., v. 20, e2017006, 2017. Received: Jan. 27, 2017 Accepted: Apr. 12, 2017 1 Introdução O arroz é um dos cereais mais consumidos e faz parte da dieta de milhões de pessoas. A garantia de qualidade e sanidade do arroz é de máxima importância, porque qualquer contaminante presente poderá afetar a saúde do consumidor, principalmente nos países como o Brasil, onde o arroz faz parte da dieta diária. KeywordsUm fator preocupante do arroz é que este cereal é um ótimo substrato para a produção de micotoxinas e os fungos as produzem em grandes quantidades (KJER et al., 2010). As micotoxinas que já foram encontradas nas amostras de arroz são: citrinina, luteosquirina, cicloclorotina, islanditoxina, rugulosina, ocratoxina A, aflatoxinas, desoxinivalenol, fumonisinas e zearalenona, entre outras (FREDLUND et al., 2009;AYDIN et al., 2011;ALMEIDA et al., 2012). Na presente revisão, serão tratados os aspectos gerais do arroz, sua produção, ocorrência de fungos, aflatoxinas e micotoxinas no Brasil e no mundo, bem como a redução de aflatoxinas durante o processamento do arroz. Aspectos gera...

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Most part of Brazilians does not usually make meals in their homes due to the bustling routine. The kebab (consisting of bread, meat and vinaigrette), marketed mainly in the downtown of São Paulo, is a good choice because of speed of preparation and low cost but, street foods stand out for the frequency of foodborne illness outbreaks. According to Brazilian legislation, are allowed to 10²/g of thermotolerant coliforms (TtC), coagulase-positive staphylococci 10³/g of (CPS) and sulfite-reducing Clostridium (SRC) in the absence of Salmonella spp., in 25 grams of the product. The aim of this study was to evaluate the microbiological quality of kebab marketed in downtown of São Paulo, noting whether they are within those standards. A hundred samples were analyzed, from 10 snack bars located in this region, processed and subjected to analysis according to APHA (2001). 1% had Salmonella spp., 12% contained SRC, but only 4% out of the allowed amount, 70% had TtC above these standards and 5% had CPE, but within the allowed parameters. Altogether, 71% of the samples were outside the parameters. These results indicate health risk to consumers, showing also the need to develop SOPs to improve the hygienic-health aspects.