Factors controlling mycotoxin contamination in maize and food in the Hebei province, China

Abstract

Mycotoxins contaminate maize and thus pose a serious economic and health risk. Despite the prevalence of mycotoxins in maize and other crops, the agricultural management system has not yet been fully implemented in China. Thereby, there is an urgent need to implement management programs to control mycotoxin contamination in maize and maize-based feed. Here, we conducted a survey on the traditional maize production and feed processing practices in the Hebei province. We analyzed the factors of fungal infection and subsequent mycotoxin contamination in maize and feed supply chain and management systems. Our results show that the stored maize samples from local feed mills were heavily contaminated with fumonisin, at 9638 μg/kg on the average, and deoxynivalenol, at 996.3 μg/kg on the average. We also found that more than 75.0 % of the farmers followed good agricultural practices, whereas only 38.1 % of the farmers cared for storage conditions. The main factors for mycotoxin contamination included less strict receiving and inspection criteria, inappropriate storage conditions, and poor processing practices. The critical control points were feed mill receiving, storage, and feed processing. Visual quality, moisture contents, and mycotoxin levels in maize and feed were used as monitoring parameters at critical control points. This is the first study to thoroughly explore traditional maize and feed manufacturing practices adopted by farmers.

Resilience of local food systems and links to food security – A review of some important concepts in the context of COVID-19 and other shocks

“…The direct impact of a landslide or a drought may not just lead to the interruption of supply –affecting the availability dimension of food security. It is likely to affect also the access/affordability of food items (Islam and Al Mamun 2020 ) leading to subsequent rise in local food price or deterioration in the quality of the items traded, with potential issues of food losses (food products damaged by flood for instance, Reddy et al 2016 ); food safety (mycotoxins/aflatoxins contamination due to too long storage in humid/unsanitary conditions, Liu et al 2016 ) or even nutrient leakages (heat sensitive micronutrients deteriorating quickly when exposed to high temperatures).…”

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“…). The target storage temperatures, according to our acquired data on measured temperatures, with an assumed receiving amount of grain humidity of 13–14.5%, would be 20 °C or lower (Table ) . The data shown in Table and Fig.…”

“…When preparing the maize grains before storage, it is essential to clean and sanitize feed storage bins, because grain silos can harbor pests which could multiply more rapidly under elevated temperatures, producing more metabolic water. The resultant increase in condensation and wet spots can initiate spoilage fungi activity with the possibility for increased contamination with mycotoxins such as ochratoxin A (OTA), AFs and perhaps trichothecenes (TCTs) in damp grain . The potential for increased spontaneous heating of such stored products may well be exacerbated under such conditions .…”

“…The target storage temperatures, according to our acquired data on measured temperatures, with an assumed receiving amount of grain humidity of 13-14.5%, would be 20 ∘ C or lower (Table 2). 28,29 The data shown in Table 2 and Fig. 3 were adopted from scientific literature, and they have been customized and implemented in feed safety management systems by local feed mill warehouses and feed producers.…”

“…The resultant increase in condensation and wet spots can initiate wileyonlinelibrary.com/jsfa spoilage fungi activity with the possibility for increased contamination with mycotoxins such as ochratoxin A (OTA), AFs and perhaps trichothecenes (TCTs) in damp grain. 29 The potential for increased spontaneous heating of such stored products may well be exacerbated under such conditions. 26 The interaction with elevated CO 2 is another important factor.…”