The Fate of Mycotoxins During the Processing of Wheat for Human Consumption

Mycotoxins are a potential health threat in cereals including wheat. In the European Union (EU), mycotoxin maximum levels are laid down for cereal raw materials and final food products. For wheat and wheat‐based products, the EU maximum levels apply to deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone, aflatoxins, and ochratoxin A. This review provides a comprehensive overview on the different mycotoxins and their legal limits and on how processing of wheat can affect such contaminants, from raw material to highly processed final products, based on relevant scientific studies published in the literature. The potential compliance with EU maximum levels is discussed. Of the four mycotoxins regulated in wheat‐based foods in the EU, most data are available for DON, whereas aflatoxins were rarely studied in the processing of wheat. Furthermore, available data on the effect of processing are outlined for mycotoxins not regulated by EU law—including modified and emerging mycotoxins—and which cover DON derivatives (DON‐3‐glucoside, mono‐acetyl‐DONs, norDONs, deepoxy‐DON), nivalenol, T‐2 and HT‐2 toxins, enniatins, beauvericin, moniliformin, and fumonisins. The processing steps addressed in this review cover primary processing (premilling and milling operations) and secondary processing procedures (such as fermentation and thermal treatments). A special focus is on the production of baked goods, and processing factors for DON in wheat bread production were estimated. For wheat milling products derived from the endosperm and for white bread, compliance with legal requirements seems to be mostly achievable when applying good practices. In the case of wholemeal products, bran‐enriched products, or high‐cereal low‐moisture bakery products, this appears to be challenging and improved technology and/or selection of high‐quality raw materials would be required.     

Occurrence and preventive strategies to control mycotoxins in cereal‐based food

Mycotoxins contamination in cereal‐based food is ubiquitous according to systematic review of the scientific documentation of worldwide mycotoxin contamination in cereal and their products between 2008 and 2018, thus representing food safety issue especially in developing tropical countries. Food processing plays a vital role to prevent mycotoxin contamination in food. Therefore, it is with great urgency to develop strategies to inhibit fungi growth and mycotoxin production during food processing. This review begins by discussing physicochemical properties of five most common mycotoxins (aflatoxins, fumonisins, ochratoxins, deoxynivalenol, and zearalenone) found in cereal grains, regulation for mycotoxins in food, and their potential negative impact on human health. The fate of mycotoxins during major cereal‐based food processing including milling, breadmaking, extrusion, malting, and brewing was then summarized. In the end, traditional mitigation strategies including physical and chemical and potential application of biocontrol agent and essential oil nanoemulsions that can be applied during food processing were discussed. It indicated that no single method is currently available to completely prevent mycotoxin contamination in cereal foods.     

Effects of processing on mycotoxin stability in cereals

The mycotoxins that generally occur in cereals and other products are not completely destroyed during food‐processing operations and can contaminate finished processed foods. The mycotoxins most usually associated with cereal grains are aflatoxins, ochratoxins, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone and fumonisins. The various food processes that may have effects on mycotoxins include cleaning, milling, brewing, cooking, baking, frying, roasting, flaking, alkaline cooking, nixtamalization, and extrusion. Most of the food processes have variable effects on mycotoxins, with those that utilize high temperatures having the greatest effects. In general, the processes reduce mycotoxin concentrations significantly, but do not eliminate them completely. This review focuses on the effects of various thermal treatments on mycotoxins. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry     

Natural Antifungal Peptides/Proteins as Model for Novel Food Preservatives

A large range of ingredients for food and food products are subject to fungal contamination, which is a major cause of destruction of crops, exposure of animals and humans to invasive mycotoxins, and food spoilage. The resistance of fungal species to common preservation methods highlights the necessity of new ways to increase the shelf life of raw material for food and food products. Antimicrobial peptides and proteins (AMPs) are essential members of the immune system of most living organisms. Due to their broad range of activity and their stability to commonly used food processes, they represent promising alternatives to traditional preservatives. However, despite the growing number of reports of potential food applications of these AMPs, the number of approved peptides is low. Poor solubility, toxicity, and a time‐consuming extraction are hurdles that limit their application in food products. Thanks to a deep understanding of the key determinants of their activity, the development of optimized synthetic peptides has reduced these drawbacks. This review presents natural and synthetic antifungal peptides/proteins (AFPs), effective against food‐related fungi, with particular emphasis on AFPs from plant sources. The design of novel antifungal peptides via key elements of antifungal activity is also reviewed. The potential applications of natural and synthetic AFPs as novel antifungal food preservatives are finally discussed.     

商品大豆饮料胰蛋白酶抑制剂活性的研究

本研究详细测定了未经热处理的生豆奶、各种经现代技术加工的大豆饮料产品、东方传统大豆食品豆腐等样品的胰蛋白酶抑制剂活性（ＴＩＡ）。其中生豆奶的ＴＩＡ（以每克蛋白质所抑制的纯胰蛋白酶毫克数表示）是６６．４ｍｇ／ｇ蛋白质，经巴氏杀菌的商品大豆饮料ＴＩＡ是２３．７ｍｇ／ｇ蛋白质。检验了经超高温灭菌处理的７种不同商标大豆饮品，结果表明这些饮品的ＴＩＡ在１３．３～３１．６ｍｇ／ｇ蛋白质之间。另有两种已知是经灭菌的大豆饮料，其ＴＩＡ最低，分别为４．１ｍｇ／ｇ蛋白质和７．７ｍｇ／ｇ蛋白质。又分析了一种采用东方传统加工方法生产的豆腐，其ＴＩＡ仅为６．４ｍｇ／ｇ蛋白质。上述这些分析结果反映了某些经现代加工方法生产的商品大豆饮料，在消除抗营养因子的处理上是不够充分的。     

我国大豆食品产业发展现状及存在的问题

大豆及大豆食品关乎国家的粮食安全,关乎大众的营养与健康,理顺和调控好大豆原料生产、食品加工利用和食品制造现代化之间的发展关系对建设中国特色的现代化强国十分重要。我国是重要的大豆生产国,总产量一直位居世界第四,每年有85%以上国产大豆用于食品加工,但是,目前我国大豆食品产业的发展在产业链、供应链和价值链构建方面还面临诸多问题。在原料利用方面,尽管国产大豆在需求量上保障了大豆食品产业的供给,但品质难以达到专用大豆原料的要求;大豆的混种、混收、混用仍是让大豆食品加工企业感到困惑的难题;国产食品专用大豆原料要在未来保持竞争地位,就要在品种选育、种植管理、产销品质控制方面有明确的定位;需建立统一协调的生产、加工、销售制度体系;完善我国大豆原料标准体系以及大豆品种名和加工产品商品名统一的原料标示推广系统。在产业加工方面,大豆食品加工现代化工作在近些年取得了很大的进步,但在传统工艺深度挖掘和新技术、新产品开发方面不足,针对增强营养健康和不同使用功能性诉求的产品市场细分尚需加强。今后,我国的大豆食品加工新技术、新产品、新装备等开发一定要走与数字化技术相结合的道路,不断地提升大豆食品加工的数字化、智能化水平,实现原料、储运、产品生产、制造和流通整个产业链的绿色制造和现代化。     

Advances in Mycotoxin Research: Public Health Perspectives

Aflatoxins, ochratoxins, fumonisins, deoxynivalenol, and zearalenone are of significant public health concern as they can cause serious adverse effects in different organs including the liver, kidney, and immune system in humans. These toxic secondary metabolites are produced by filamentous fungi mainly in the genus Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Fusarium. It is challenging to control the formation of mycotoxins due to the worldwide occurrence of these fungi in food and the environment. In addition to raw agricultural commodities, mycotoxins tend to remain in finished food products as they may not be destroyed by conventional processing techniques. Hence, much of our concern is directed to chronic health effects through long‐term exposure to one or multiple mycotoxins from contaminated foods. Ideally risk assessment requires a comprehensive data, including toxicological and epidemiological studies as well as surveillance and exposure assessment. Setting of regulatory limits for mycotoxins is considered necessary to protect human health from mycotoxin exposure. Although advances in analytical techniques provide basic yet critical tool in regulation as well as all aspects of scientific research, it has been acknowledged that different forms of mycotoxins such as analogs and conjugated mycotoxins may constitute a significant source of dietary exposure. Further studies should be warranted to correlate mycotoxin exposure and human health possibly via identification and validation of suitable biomarkers.     

Influence of malting and lactic acid fermentation on functional bioactive components in cereal‐based raw materials: a review paper

Driven by increased health awareness among consumers, the production of foods and beverages enriched with functional bioactive components is gaining more attention. Malting and lactic acid fermentation are biotechnological processes having potential for producing functional foods and beverages. Due to various biochemical and enzymatic induced changes in raw materials, malting of cereal grains and probiotic lactic acid fermentation of plant‐based media increases the nutritional quality of treated raw materials. The improved nutritional quality is attributed to the accumulation of functional bioactive components along with the degradation of anti‐nutritional components. The selection of raw materials and process parameters are important factors to be considered for increasing the functional bioactive components such as dietary fibres, antioxidants and probiotics. This review article reports the current knowledge on the changes of bioactive components during malting and lactic acid fermentation using probiotic bacterial strains. Process parameters which affect the concentration of bioactive components in raw materials will also be described.     

Keeping mycotoxins away from the food: Does the existence of regulations have any impact in Africa?

Following the discovery of aflatoxins in the early 1960s, there have been many studies leading to the uncovering of many mycotoxins and the understanding of associated health effects in animals and humans. Consequently, there has been a global increase in the number of countries with mycotoxin regulations in foods. However, many African countries have only regulations for aflatoxins (or a few other mycotoxins) in specific foods, or no regulations at all. This paper critically reviews the challenges thwarting the establishment of mycotoxin regulations and their impacts on human dietary mycotoxin exposure in Africa. Mycotoxin regulatory limits for different countries are compared with mycotoxin tolerable daily intakes established by international food safety bodies taking into account consumption patterns. The agrarian setup, food insecurity, and mycotoxin analytical challenges in African countries are discussed; and more feasible mycotoxin dietary exposure reduction strategies are proposed.     

Effects of processing sorghum and millets on their phenolic phytochemicals and the implications of this to the health‐enhancing properties of sorghum and millet food and beverage products

Sorghum and millet grains are generally rich in phytochemicals, particularly various types of phenolics. However, the types and amounts vary greatly between and within species. The food‐processing operations applied to these grains, i.e. dehulling and decortication, malting, fermentation and thermal processing, dramatically affect the quantity of phenolics present, most generally reducing them. Thus the levels of phytochemicals in sorghum and millet foods and beverages are usually considerably lower than in the grains. Notwithstanding this, there is considerable evidence that sorghum and millet foods and beverages have important functional and health‐promoting effects, specifically antidiabetic, cardiovascular disease and cancer prevention, due to the actions of these phytochemicals. Also their lactic acid bacteria‐fermented products may have probiotic effects related to their unique microflora. However, direct proof of these health‐enhancing effects is lacking as most studies have been carried out on the grains or grain extracts and not the food and beverage products themselves, and also most research work has been in vitro or ex vivo and not in vivo. To provide the required evidence, better designed studies are needed. The sorghum and millet products should be fully characterised, especially their phytochemical composition. Most importantly, well‐controlled human clinical studies and intervention trials are required. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry     

A review on novel non-thermal food processing techniques for mycotoxin reduction

The overarching challenges of mycotoxin contamination in food necessitate the development of strategies to be implemented to combat their effects thereof. Common processing techniques have been utilised but do not necessarily meet the desired efficacy. This review appraises studies on novel non-thermal food processing techniques, particularly high pressure processing, pulsed electric filed, cold plasma and ultrasound processing for the decontamination of mycotoxins in food. Although available studies on these techniques have suggested a reduction of mycotoxins and in some instances, complete decontamination of mycotoxins was also reported. The mechanisms by which reduction/elimination occurs include through decomposition of toxins after collision with ions/electrons leading to cleavage of bonds, structural degradation of the mycotoxins structure and cleavage of functional groups. Additional studies into the toxicity of degraded products and the composition of the food products are still required to ensure a more widespread adoption of these techniques to enhance food safety.     

Nonthermal Food Processing Alternatives and Their Effects on Taste and Flavor Compounds of Beverages

Food drinks are normally processed to increase their shelf-life and facilitate distribution before consumption. Thermal pasteurization is quite efficient in preventing microbial spoilage of many types of beverages, but the applied heat may also cause undesirable biochemical and nutritious changes that may affect sensory attributes of the final product. Alternative methods of pasteurization that do not include direct heat have been investigated in order to obtain products safe for consumption, but with sensory attributes maintained as unchanged as possible. Food scientists interested in nonthermal food preservation technologies have claimed that such methods of preserving foods are equally efficient in microbial inactivation as compared with conventional thermal means of food processing. Researchers in the nonthermal food preservation area also affirm that alternative preservation technologies will not affect, as much as thermal processes, nutritional and sensory attributes of processed foods. This article reviews research in nonthermal food preservation, focusing on effects of processing of food drinks such as fruit juices and dairy products. Analytical techniques used to identify volatile flavor-aroma compounds will be reviewed and comparative effects for both thermal and nonthermal preservation technologies will be discussed.     

Occurrence of Alicyclobacillus in the fruit processing environment--a review

Concentrated fruit products have a significant place in modern consumption markets and are valuable semi-prepared food components to the bakery, dairy, confectionary, canning, baby food, frozen food, distilling and beverage industries. There is continuous pressure on the beverage industry to improve the quality of concentrated fruit products in order for reconstituted fruit beverages to compete with beverages that are made from fresh fruits. In recent years, Alicyclobacillus spp. have become a major concern to the beverage industry worldwide as many high-acid, concentrated fruit products have been found to be contaminated with these spoilage microbes. The thermo-acidophilic nature of alicyclobacilli and highly resistant endospores allows for their survival during the production of concentrated fruit products. Under favourable conditions, endospores can germinate and multiply to numbers high enough to cause spoilage and product deterioration through the production of chemical taint compounds. It is imperative to understand the nature of Alicyclobacillus within the fruit concentrate processing environment so as to develop effective control strategies and to prevent spoilage in juice and beverage products that are reconstituted from fruit concentrates. This paper reviews the occurrence of alicyclobacilli in the fruit processing environment, control measures, as well as detection, identification and standardised test methods that are currently used for Alicyclobacillus in concentrated fruit products.     

Potential of Machine Vision Techniques for Detecting Fecal and Microbial Contamination of Food Products: A Review

Consumption of mycotoxin-contaminated agricultural and food products has caused adverse human health effects for many centuries. Although mycotoxin contamination of agricultural products still occurs, application of innovative agricultural practices, food processing, and handling techniques has greatly reduced consumer exposure to mycotoxins. This paper reviews recent developments and potential applications of machine vision systems in replacing current labor-intensive, time-consuming methods by providing a quick, accurate, and low-cost alternative for detecting microbial and fecal contaminants in fresh and processed foods. The basic principles and components of the machine vision system are also discussed.     

2016~2019年国家粮食加工品监督抽检结果分析

目的 分析2016~2019年我国国家粮食加工品的食品安全形势。方法 汇总全国2016~2019年粮食加工品国家食品安全监督抽检结果, 对不合格项目信息进行分类统计分析。结果 在汇总分析2016~2019年粮食加工品监督抽检的15.7万批次中, 检出不合格样品862批次, 总体合格率为99.45%, 抽检的粮食加工品品类中, 大米、小麦粉、挂面、其他粮食加工品等亚类的合格率分别为99.89%、99.28%、99.50%、98.49%。其中大米的不合格原因主要是重金属超标, 小麦粉的不合格原因主要是真菌毒素超标, 挂面的主要问题是食品添加剂不符合规定, 其他粮食加工品的主要问题是微生物超标和食品添加剂不符合规定。农药残留近年来未发现问题。结论 微生物超标、食品添加剂使用不符合规定、真菌毒素超标和重金属超标等是粮食加工品现阶段主要的食品安全问题。     

Balanced diets in food systems: Emerging trends and challenges for human health

ABSTRACT

Processed foods, generally known as modified raw foods produced by innovative processing technologies alters the food constituents such natural enzymes, fatty acids, micronutrients, macronutrients and vitamins. In contrast to fresh and unprocessed foods, processed foods are guaranteed to be safer, imperishable, long lasting and consist high level of nutrients bioactivity. Currently, the evolution in food processing technologies is necessary to face food security and safety, nutrition demand, its availability and also other global challenges in the food system. In this scenario, this review consists of information on two food processing technologies, which effects on processed foods before and after processing and the impact of food products on human health. It is also very well established that understanding the type and structure of foods to be processed can assist food processing industries towards advancement of novel food products. In connection with this fact, the present article also discusses the emerging trends and possible modifications in food processing technologies with the combination of conventional and modern techniques to get the suitable nutritional and safety qualities in food.     

植物基谷物饮料研究及产业开发进展

回顾了国内外植物基谷物饮料的产品与产业发展情况,阐述了植物基谷物饮料制备技术的原料选取、关键技术环节以及影响产品品质的核心问题及改进技术手段等研究进展,展望了植物基谷物饮料的未来研究与开发。     

Cold Plasma for Effective Fungal and Mycotoxin Control in Foods: Mechanisms,Inactivation Effects,and Applications

Cold plasma treatment is a promising intervention in food processing to boost product safety and extend the shelf‐life. The activated chemical species of cold plasma can act rapidly against micro‐organisms at ambient temperatures without leaving any known chemical residues. This review presents an overview of the action of cold plasma against molds and mycotoxins, the underlying mechanisms, and applications for ensuring food safety and quality. The cold plasma species act on multiple sites of a fungal cell resulting in loss of function and structure, and ultimately cell death. Likewise, the species cause chemical breakdown of mycotoxins through various pathways resulting in degradation products that are known to be less toxic. We argue that the preliminary reports from cold plasma research point at good potential of plasma for shelf‐life extension and quality retention of foods. Some of the notable food sectors which could benefit from antimycotic and antimycotoxin efficacy of cold plasma include, the fresh produce, food grains, nuts, spices, herbs, dried meat and fish industries.     

The fate of mycotoxins during thermal food processing

Mycotoxins are considered to be heat‐stable molecules. Because of their toxic effects, information about their stability in thermal processes and potential inactivation procedures is needed. Numerous reports in the literature over a number of years have described the fate of mycotoxin during thermal food processing, including cooking, boiling, baking, frying, roasting and pasteurization. This review focuses on the effects of various thermal treatments on mycotoxins, while the fate of mycotoxins during extrusion processing, which is one of the most important technologies employed in the food industry, will also be reviewed. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry