Research conducted in the mid-1990s indicated that the levels of Trans fats in Canadian diets were among the highest in the world. The consumption of Trans fats raises blood levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, while reducing levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol. In June 2007, Health Canada called on the food industry to voluntarily reduce levels of Trans fats in vegetable oils and soft (tub)-margarines to <2 of total fat, and in all other foods, to <5. Industry must show satisfactory progress by June 2009, or Health Canada might have to introduce legislation to ensure that recommended limits are achieved. Since 2005, Health Canada has been performing a national assessment of prepackaged and restaurant foods that likely contain Trans fats. From 2005 to 2009, 1120 samples were analyzed, of which 852 or approximately 76 met the recommended Trans fat limits. As a result of reformulation, most of the products had decreased Trans + saturated fat content. The estimated average intake of Trans fatty acids (TFA) in Canada significantly dropped from the high value of 8.4 g/day in the mid-1990s to 3.4 g/day (or 1.4 food energy) in 2008. However, this TFA intake of 1.4 of energy is still above the World Health Organization recommended limit of TFA intake of <1 of energy, which suggests that the Canadian food industry needs to put more effort into reducing the TFA content in its products, especially in tub-margarines, donuts, and bakery products.

A process used to prepare the test portion of ground wheat from the whole grain laboratory sample for ochratoxin A (OTA) analysis using dry comminution with homogenisation and sub-sampling via a rotary sample divider was developed and evaluated. With respect to OTA content, the developed process produced a homogeneous sample of ground wheat from 10 kg of whole grain. Relative standard deviations of the mean OTA concentration for five naturally contaminated wheat samples processed using the developed method ranged from 9% to 19% over a relevant concentration range of 1.7 to 7.6 mg/kg. Additional studies demonstrated that OTA was stable in ground wheat with moisture content between 12 to 13% for at least a year when stored at ambient temperatures. Further examination of the developed comminution and dividing procedure demonstrated that higher concentrations were measured in smaller sized particles, indicating that the accuracy and precision of OTA analyses could be affected by the particle size of ground wheat.

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is a multipurpose crop that can be harvested as grain or cut prior to maturity for use as forage. Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a devastating disease of barley that reduces quality of grain. FHB can also result in the accumulation of mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON). Breeding FHB resistant varieties has been a long-term goal of many barley-producing countries, including Canada. While the genetic basis of DON detoxification via production of less-phytotoxic conjugates such as DON-3-glucoside (DON3G) is well documented in barley, little information exists in reference to varietal response. Over two years, 16 spring, two-row barley genotypes, of importance to western Canadian barley breeding programs, were grown as short-rows and inoculated following spike emergence with a Fusarium graminearum conidia suspension. Half of the plots were harvested at soft dough stage and then dissected into rachis and grain components, whereas the remainder was harvested at maturity. Multiple Fusarium-mycotoxins were assayed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Mycotoxin content was elevated at the earlier harvest point, especially in the rachis tissue. DON3G constituted a significant percentage (26%) of total trichothecene content and thus its co-occurrence with DON should be considered by barley industries. DON3G was highly correlated with DON and 3-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (3ADON). The ratio of D3G/DON exhibited consistency across genotypes, however more-resistant genotypes were characterized by a higher ratio at the soft-dough stage followed by a decrease at maturity. Plant breeding practices that use DON content as a biomarker for resistance would likely result in the development of barley cultivars with lower total DON-like compounds.

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