Application of superabsorbent polymers (SAP) as desiccants to dry maize and reduce aflatoxin contamination

Mbuge, Duncan Onyango; Negrini, Renata; Nyakundi, Livine Osiemo; Kuate, Serge Philibert; Bandyopadhyay, Ranajit; Muiru, W. M.; Torto, Baldwyn; Mezzenga, Raffaele

doi:10.1007/s13197-016-2289-6

Cited by 23 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Mbuge and others () investigated the use of a food grade super‐absorbent polymer (SAP) as desiccant for the drying of maize in order to reduce mold growth, and, consequently, aflatoxin contamination. The applied SAP, a cross‐linked poly(acrylic acid) sodium salt powder, was placed into a porous “tea bag” membrane and integrated into sealed containers (material not stated) containing fresh maize with a water content of about 32%.…”

Section: Moisture Scavengersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Active Packaging Applications for Food

Yildirim

Röcker

Pettersen

et al. 2017

Comp Rev Food Sci Food Safe

719

390

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The traditional role of food packaging is continuing to evolve in response to changing market needs. Current drivers such as consumer's demand for safer, "healthier," and higher-quality foods, ideally with a long shelf-life; the demand for convenient and transparent packaging, and the preference for more sustainable packaging materials, have led to the development of new packaging technologies, such as active packaging (AP). As defined in the European regulation (EC) No 450/2009, AP systems are designed to "deliberately incorporate components that would release or absorb substances into or from the packaged food or the environment surrounding the food." Active packaging materials are thereby "intended to extend the shelf-life or to maintain or improve the condition of packaged food." Although extensive research on AP technologies is being undertaken, many of these technologies have not yet been implemented successfully in commercial food packaging systems. Broad communication of their benefits in food product applications will facilitate the successful development and market introduction. In this review, an overview of AP technologies, such as antimicrobial, antioxidant or carbon dioxide-releasing systems, and systems absorbing oxygen, moisture or ethylene, is provided, and, in particular, scientific publications illustrating the benefits of such technologies for specific food products are reviewed. Furthermore, the challenges in applying such AP technologies to food systems and the anticipated direction of future developments are discussed. This review will provide food and packaging scientists with a thorough understanding of the benefits of AP technologies when applied to specific foods and hence can assist in accelerating commercial adoption.

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Section: Moisture Scavengersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Active Packaging Applications for Food

Yildirim

Röcker

Pettersen

et al. 2017

Comp Rev Food Sci Food Safe

719

390

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“…Some of these are chemical treatments whose safety has not been researched while for others, the cost of scaling has not been justified. For example, the potential for use of food grade super absorbent polymers (SAP) in the reduction of aflatoxins by targeting moisture reduction has been explored (Mbuge et al , 2016 ) and requires further investigation on safety, cost-effectiveness and scaling.…”

Section: Knowledge Gaps and Prioritisation Of Research Effortsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence and mitigation of aflatoxins in Kenya (1960-to date)

Mutegi

Cotty

Bandyopadhyay

2018

WMJ

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Aflatoxins are highly toxic metabolites of several Aspergillus species widely distributed throughout the environment. These toxins have adverse effects on humans and livestock at a few micrograms per kilogram (μg/kg) concentrations. Strict regulations on the concentrations of aflatoxins allowed in food and feed exist in many nations in the developing world. Loopholes in implementing regulations result in the consumption of dangerous concentrations of aflatoxins. In Kenya, where ‘farm-to-mouth’ crops become severely contaminated, solutions to the aflatoxins problem are needed. Across the decades, aflatoxins have repeatedly caused loss of human and animal life. A prerequisite to developing viable solutions for managing aflatoxins is understanding the geographical distribution and severity of food and feed contamination, and the impact on lives. This review discusses the scope of the aflatoxins problem and management efforts by various players in Kenya. Economic drivers likely to influence the choice of aflatoxins management options include historical adverse health effects on humans and animals, cost of intervention for mitigation of aflatoxins, knowledge about aflatoxins and their impact, incentives for aflatoxins safe food and intended scope of use of interventions. It also highlights knowledge gaps that can direct future management efforts. These include: sparse documented information on human exposure; few robust tools to accurately measure economic impact in widely unstructured value chains; lack of long-term impact studies on benefits of aflatoxins mitigation; inadequate sampling mechanisms in smallholder farms and grain holding stores/containers; overlooking social learning networks in technology uptake and lack of in-depth studies on an array of aflatoxins control measures followed in households. The review proposes improved linkages between agriculture, nutrition and health sectors to address aflatoxins contamination better. Sustained public awareness at all levels, capacity building and aflatoxins related policies are necessary to support management initiatives.

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“…Differences in K G were significantly larger between sample treatments than between species. For pre-dried and stored leaves, values of K G are an order of magnitude larger than those for fresh leaf samples (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20). The increased moisture sorption at the lowest relative humidities for dried leaves can also be seen in Fig.…”

Section: Moisture Content and Moisture Sorption Isotherms Of The Leavesmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…Its highly toxic secondary metabolite aflatoxin B1 is estimated to be responsible for up to 28% of the cases of hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer. 7 In Kenya, outbreaks of aflatoxin poisoning have been reported in 1978, 1982 and annually between 2001 and 2012, leading to loss of human lives and destruction of tons of contaminated food. 8 Drying of ALVs can address post-harvest losses due to reduced microbial contamination.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…9 This has become particu-larly significant in recent years, since the weather has become more unpredictable and the rainy season often continues during the harvest time. 7 A recent study by some of us showed that upon controlled drying at 40°C the β-carotene levels ( provitamin A) in Cowpea and Jute Mallow leaves was only reduced by ∼10%, whereas drying at 100°C caused a reduction of 35-50%. 11 The more hydrophilic vitamins B2 and C were also preserved significantly better at 40°C (loss of only 15-20% and 25-40%, respectively) compared to 100°C (both loss of ∼50%).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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