Aflatoxin—recognition, Understanding, and Control With Particular Emphasis on the Role of the Agricultural Research Service

Robens, Jane F.

doi:10.1080/15569540802450367

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Nevertheless, integrated aflatoxin management practices are recommended to reduce contamination. Preharvest crop contamination with aflatoxins costs farmers in the United States hundreds of millions of dollars annually (Robens 1988). In 1988, major US crop organizations joined the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to form the Multi-crop Aflatoxin Working Group to increase research toward ending repeated epidemics of aflatoxin contamination; the development of resistant crops through breeding and transgenics were major emphases for the twenty years of this effort.…”

Section: For Further Reading For Further Readingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aflatoxins - finding solutions for improved food safety

Unnevehr¹,

Grace²

2013

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A key tenet of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) is that agricultural practices, interventions, and policies can be better configured both to maximize health and nutrition benefits and to reduce health risks. This is particularly true regarding aflatoxins and other mycotoxins, an important food safety health risk with significant implications for developing countries. Aflatoxin exposure is particularly problematic in low-income populations in the tropics that consume relatively large quantities of staples, particularly maize and groundnuts. The best documented health impact of chronic exposure to aflatoxins is liver cancer. It is estimated that 26,000 Africans living south of the Sahara die annually of liver cancer associated with aflatoxin exposure. Broader health effects such as immune suppression with higher rates of illness and child stunting have also been associated with aflatoxin exposure. The presence of aflatoxins can also limit the growth of commercial markets and trade. As but one example, aflatoxin contamination has sharply limited the quantities of maize that the World Food Programme has been able to purchase locally in Africa since 2007. Given the complexity of the problem of controlling aflatoxins, IFPRI's 2020 Vision Initiative and A4NH invited Laurian Unnevehr and Delia Grace to convene a diverse panel of global aflatoxin experts to write briefs surveying the emerging policy-relevant research. We would like to express our appreciation to the editors, Laurian Unnevehr and Delia Grace, the authors of the briefs, and the anonymous peer reviewers for their contributions to this effort. This set of 2020 Vision briefs provides key insights into aflatoxin control and how we can bring about a shift from a market characterized by poor information, low food quality, and high public health risk to one in which improvements in both information and technology facilitate better market opportunities and income, higher quality food, and reduced health risk.

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Section: For Further Reading For Further Readingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aflatoxins - finding solutions for improved food safety

Unnevehr¹,

Grace²

2013

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“…These mold species naturally inhabit soils and thrive well under high heat and humidity. Aflatoxin is carcinogenic and is linked to liver disease, cancer, childhood stunting, and high mortality in both humans and animals [ 2 ]. Thus, aflatoxin contamination in maize is a major food safety issue worldwide.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Low-Cost, Portable Device for Detecting and Sorting Aflatoxin-Contaminated Maize Kernels

Yao

Zhu

Kincaid

et al. 2023

Toxins

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Aflatoxin contamination of maize is a major food safety issue worldwide. The problem is of special significance in African countries because maize is a staple food. This manuscript describes a low-cost, portable, non-invasive device for detecting and sorting aflatoxin-contaminated maize kernels. We developed a prototype employing a modified, normalized difference fluorescence index (NDFI) detection method to identify potentially aflatoxin-contaminated maize kernels. Once identified, these contaminated kernels can be manually removed by the user. The device consists of a fluorescence excitation light source, a tablet for image acquisition, and detection/visualization software. Two experiments using maize kernels artificially infected with toxigenic Aspergillus flavus were implemented to evaluate the performance and efficiency of the device. The first experiment utilized highly contaminated kernels (71.18 ppb), while mildly contaminated kernels (1.22 ppb) were used for the second experiment. Evidently, the combined approach of detection and sorting was effective in reducing aflatoxin levels in maize kernels. With a maize rejection rate of 1.02% and 1.34% in the two experiments, aflatoxin reduction was achieved at 99.3% and 40.7%, respectively. This study demonstrated the potential of using this low-cost and non-invasive fluorescence detection technology, followed by manual sorting, to significantly reduce aflatoxin levels in maize samples. This technology would be beneficial to village farmers and consumers in developing countries by enabling safer foods that are free of potentially lethal levels of aflatoxins.

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“…It is regarded as one of the most important food safety problems in the world [1] . In the US, aflatoxin levels in food and feed are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Utilizing fluorescence hyperspectral imaging to differentiate corn inoculated with toxigenic and atoxigenic fungal strains

et al. 2012

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Naturally occurring Aspergillus flavus strains can be either toxigenic or atoxigenic, indicating their ability to produce aflatoxin or not, under specific conditions. Corn contaminated with toxigenic strains of A. flavus can result in great losses to the agricultural industry and pose threats to public health. Past research showed that fluorescence hyperspectral imaging could be a potential tool for rapid and non-invasive detection of aflatoxin contaminated corn. The objective of the current study was to assess, with the use of a hyperspectral sensor, the difference in fluorescence emission between corn kernels inoculated with toxigenic and atoxigenic inoculums of A. flavus. Corn ears were inoculated with AF13, a toxigenic strain of A. flavus, and AF38, an atoxigenic strain of A. flavus, at dough stage of development and harvested 8 weeks after inoculation. After harvest, single corn kernels were divided into three groups prior to imaging: control, adjacent, and glowing. Both sides of the kernel, germplasm and endosperm, were imaged separately using a fluorescence hyperspectral imaging system. It was found that the classification accuracies of the three manually designated groups were not promising. However, the separation of corn kernels based on different fungal inoculums yielded better results. The best result was achieved with the germplasm side of the corn kernels. Results are expected to enhance the potential of fluorescence hyperspectral imaging for the detection of aflatoxin contaminated corn.

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Aflatoxin—recognition, Understanding, and Control With Particular Emphasis on the Role of the Agricultural Research Service

Cited by 12 publications

References 56 publications

Aflatoxins - finding solutions for improved food safety

Aflatoxins - finding solutions for improved food safety

A Low-Cost, Portable Device for Detecting and Sorting Aflatoxin-Contaminated Maize Kernels

Utilizing fluorescence hyperspectral imaging to differentiate corn inoculated with toxigenic and atoxigenic fungal strains

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