Mycotoxicology.net

AN INTERNATIONAl FORuM FOR MYCOTOxINS
Michelangelo Pascale, group leader of the department of Food Safety and Innovative Methods for Food Analysis at the Institute of Sciences of Food Production www.mycotoxicology.org
2011, Volume xIV, Issue 3
impact of physiologic and climatic factors on mycotoxin occurrence, the health PAST SYMPOSIA AND CONFERENCES
effects of mycotoxin-contaminated food and feed, improved sampling procedures, and emerging analytical methods.
4Speakers from leading European universities and research institutes shared their insights with attendees of the 4th International Symposium on Mycotoxins: For a summary of the workshop program, see the following website: Challenges and Perspectives in Ghent, Belgium. The scientific program at the May 24, 2011, event provided a multi-disciplinary overview of major mycotoxi- 4The agenda at this summer’s Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on cological issues, including updated risk assessment data from the European Food Mycotoxins and Phycotoxins: Discovery and Risk Management of Harmful Safety Agency’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM); Biotoxins at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, included a special preliminary the effects of mycotoxin exposure on human health; and management and testing event for early-career scientists. The June 9–10, 2011, Gordon Research Semi- strategies such as breeding of Fusarium-resistant grains, mycotoxin-detoxifying nar offered graduate students and post-docs a relaxed, supportive, and stimulating agents, and rapid testing for multiple mycotoxins. environment for sharing creative ideas, reporting on the progress of their research The final program can be downloaded from the following website: projects, and networking with potential mentors. This year’s participants included http://www.polymer.ugent.be/pdfs/MYTOX%20FINAL%20PROGRAM.pdf three young mycotoxin researchers who gave presentations entitled The Role of AtfB-mediated Regulation of the Aflatoxin Biosynthetic Cluster; Functional Testing 4Germany’s Society for Mycotoxin Research presented its 33rd Mycotoxin of Barley and Brachypodium distachyon UDP-glucosyltransferases for Their Ability Workshop, from May 30 to June 1, 2011, in the historic town of Freising near to Inactivate Deoxynivalenol by Heterologous Expression in Yeast; and Ecology Munich. Appointees from the Hans Eisenmann-Zentrum and the Institute of of Growth and T-2 and HT-2 Toxin Production by Fusarium langsethiae Strains. Animal Hygiene of the Technische Universität München organized this year’s A career panel moderated by an international team of distinguished biotoxin program. The workshop’s cross-disciplinary review of the latest developments in key research areas featured sessions on the occurrence of mycotoxins and toxigenic fungi in food and feed, health risks, toxicology, and analysis of various Detailed information about the seminar series is available at the following More information on the Society for Mycotoxin Research is available on the 4The subsequent June 12th–17th sessions at the 15th GRC provided seminar following website: http://www.mykotoxin.de/docs/public/home.asp participants with additional opportunities to meet and learn from leading au-thorities in their field. T he program of expert presentations covered the follow- 4The June 9–10, 2011, MycoRed Russian Workshop: Reduction of ing research areas: (1) novel toxins and toxicities, (2) molecular mechanisms Mycotoxins in Production Chains of EU and Russia: Modern Investigations and of toxicity and detoxification, (3) public health effects/disease epidemiology, Practical Features at Moscow’s Russian Academy of Sciences drew 128 research- (4) the social and economic repercussions of biocontamination, (5) genetic and ers, government regulators, and agribusiness professionals from Russia, Ukraine, environmental control of toxigenesis, (6) physiological and ecological roles of Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, Italy, the Netherlands, Hungary, Turkey, and South toxins, (7) analytic advances and predictive modeling, (8) risk assessment and Africa. The event offered attendees a collaborative forum for discussing results of strategies for prevention and control, and (9) the impact of climate change on the MycoRed project, comparing mycotoxin risk assessment and control strategies, mycotoxin occurrence and the future of biotoxin research.
and developing joint research proposals. The workshop sessions focused on the More information on this year’s conference schedule is available at the GRC website: http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2011&program=mycotoxins 4Participants in the June 19–24, 2011, Fusarium Laboratory Workshop at 500 experts from nearly 40 countries. As stakeholders in MoniQA’s mission of Kansas State University (KSU), in Manhattan, Kansas, received hands-on instruction ensuring the quality and safety of the global food supply, partner organizations in morphological, genetic, and molecular biological techniques of identifying actively promote the development and worldwide adoption of harmonized food standard strains of Fusarium from eight leading experts in the field. The work- safety regulations and standardized monitoring and control strategies. MoniQA’s shop’s extensive schedule of lab sessions enabled students to practice a variety of key achievements and ongoing initiatives include the organization of interna- advanced analytic techniques, including testing for vegetative compatibility groups tional scientific conferences and educational outreach programs; development (VCGs) and cross-fertility; strain purification, real-time PCR DNA amplification, and of reference/testing materials and guidelines for laboratory validation studies; DNA sequencing. Lectures on various Fusarium species and related mycotoxins, assessment of the socioeconomic consequences of evolving food safety regula- including trichothecenes, fumonisins, and zearalenone; Fusarium genomics; and tions; validation of new analytic protocols; and dissemination of knowledge related topics rounded out the program.
through multiple channels, including a newsletter, a peer-reviewed journal (Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Food), and various online sources.
To learn more about KSU’s department of plant pathology visit its website: http://www.plantpath.ksu.edu On the following day, MoniQA’s newly elected Supervisory Board took office at the Association’s First General Assembly. The Board’s President, Dr. Angelo Visconti, 4This year’s 125th AOAC Annual Meeting and Exposition took place in New Director of the Institute of Sciences of Food Production (ISPA), National Research Orleans, Louisiana, from September 18th through the 21st. The program featured Council of Italy; Deputy President, Dr. Bert Popping, Director of Scientific Develop- poster sessions, expert presentations, and roundtables on the latest advances in ment of Germany’s Eurofins CTC/Analytik GmbH; and Secretary General, Dr. Ronald the detection and analysis of food-borne contaminants. Discussions of particular Poms, Secretary General of the International Association for Cereal Science and interest to mycotoxicologists and other members of the food safety community Technology in Austria will serve alongside Paul Finglas, a lead researcher at the Institute of Food Research in the United Kingdon; Dr. Wolfgang Kneifel of Austria’s  Proficiency Test for Simultaneous Determination of Up to Eleven Mycotoxins in Universität für Bodenkultur Wien (BOKU); and senior scientist Hans P. Evan Egmond of RIKILT- Institute of Food Safety of the Wageningen University and Research Center in the Netherlands.  Challenges in Masked Mycotoxin Analysis For additional details about the Varna conference see the following Web  Multi-residue Method for Simultaneous Analysis of 45 Mycotoxins in Grapes, page: http://varna2011.moniqa.org/; more information on the MoniQA Association and its activities is available on the organization’s website:  Development and Validation of Multi-detection Method for Simultaneous Analysis of Pesticides and Mycotoxins in Food 4Food science and medical professionals, agribusiness executives, and other Other event highlights included an address entitled Partners in Research Exceed stakeholders in the international food safety community convened in Istanbul, the Sum of the Parts by this year’s Harvey Wiley Award winner, Steven J. Lehotay. Turkey, for the October 10–14, 2011, 2nd ISM-MycoRed Mediterranean Work- A lead chemist at the Eastern Regional Research Center of the USDA Agricultural shop on Mycotoxicological Risks in Mediterranean Countries: Economic Impact, Research Service, in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, Lehotay received the award for Prevention, Management, and Control. A satellite event of the TUBITAK Marmara his contributions to the progress of simple, robust, and cost-effective rapid test Food Institute’s 4th International Congress on Food and Nutrition and the 3rd SAFE methods for chemical residues in food.
Consortium International Congress on Food Safety, the workshop featured expert presentations by prominent mycotoxin researchers from the Southern and Eastern Additional details on the program are available on the AOAC website: Mediterranean Basin. Updates on Fusarium toxins included the latest occurrence http://www.aoac.org/meetings1/125th_annual_mtg/main_2.htm data, current regulations for local foods and export commodities, and new insights 4Agribusiness and consumer representatives exchanged viewpoints on food into trichothecene biosynthesis and the emerging risks of fumonisin B in the grape safety with scientists, socio-economists, and government regulators at the third chain. Sessions on mycotoxin prevalence, molecular detection method, regulatory international conference of the EU-funded Monitoring and Quality Assurance in policies, and post-harvest control strategies rounded out the workshop program. the Food Supply Chain (MoniQA) project in Varna, Bulgaria. The interdisciplinary For more information, see the workshop website: program of the September 27–29, 2011, Food Safety and Consumer Protec- tion Conference addressed the effects of increasing awareness of agricultural contaminants and other food-related hazards on consumer confidence, as well as the progress of scientific, government, and industry risk reduction efforts. OTHER SYMPOSIA AND MEETINGS
In addition to a keynote address on mycotoxin issues in Bulgaria, the scientific program’s coverage of topics of interest to mycotoxicological researchers and their 4Additional information on the following fall events, including details of the industry partners included the following presentations: conference schedules and scientific programs, is available on their respective websites.
 Production of Citrinin-Free Red Pigments of Monascus Yeast  October 19–22, 2011: Power of Fungi and Mycotoxins in Health and  Proficiency Testing for LC-MS/MS Simultaneous Determination of Up to Eleven October 21st (Day 3 of the symposium): Roundtable Discussion on  Effects of Processing on Fusarium Toxins in Traditional Turkish Maize-based Mycotoxins in Food and Feed – Mycotoxins as Economic and Health Hazards Event website: http://www.hmd-cms.hr/power-of-fungi The final conference session on September 29th was devoted to the launch of the MoniQA Association, the successor organization to the MoniQA consortium. The  October 25–28, 2011: MoniQA Food Scientist Training on Mycotoxins, new group will carry on the original consortium’s work as a global network for Determination of Fusarium Toxins by HPLC, LC-MS/MS and Rapid sharing leading-edge food safety expertise, research data, and training and labora- tory resources. Since the MoniQA Association’s August 2011 registration as a Event website: https://www.moniqa.org/node/2209 nonprofit corporation under Austrian law, its membership has grown to more than  November 1–4, 2011: RAFA 2011 – International Symposium on Recent Details of the FSA’s ongoing mycotoxin surveillance efforts are available on the Advances in Food Analysis, Prague, Czech Republic organization’s website: http://www.food.gov.uk Updates from the Codex Alimentarius Commission’s Committee on Contami-nants in Foods  November 15–18, 2011: MycoRed-ISM 2011 South and Central America Conference – Strategies to Reduce the Impact of Mycotoxins in Latin 33rd Session, Geneva, Switzerland, July 5−9, 2010 America in a Global Context, Mendoza, Argentina (http://www.codexalimentarius.net/web/archives.jsp?year=10) Event website: http://www.mycored2011.com.ar/ The delegates’ decisions on new and amended mycotoxin control measures included the following directives: NEWS FROM INTERNATIONAl AGENCIES
 Suspend work on the Proposed Draft Maximum Levels for Fumonisins in Maize and Maize Products and Associated Sampling Plans pending a full JECFA evaluation of all updated occurrence and toxicology data. For more information on the mycotoxin surveil ance, risk assessment, or regulatory development projects summarized below please visit the relevant project’s website or  Add a paragraph to the Additional Measures for Brazil Nuts of the Draft Code of download the pdf version of the full report.
Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of Aflatoxin Contamination in Tree Nuts recommending that harvested Brazil nuts be dried to reduce the water European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA)
activity level to 0.70, preferably within 10 days of collection.
February 2, 2011, Scientific Opinion on the Safety and Efficacy of Bentonite  Set maximum aflatoxin limit of 10 µg/kg for shelled, ready-to-eat Brazil nuts as a Feed Additive for All Animal Species (http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/ and 15 µg/kg for shelled Brazil nuts intended for further processing.
efsajournal/pub/2276.htm) The EFSA’s Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) has concluded that a supplementary  Integrate recommended sampling practices for total aflatoxins in Brazil nuts dossier on the mycotoxin absorbent bentonite (dioctahedral montmorillonite) failed into the sampling plans for aflatoxin contamination in ready-to-eat tree nuts to establish the compound’s efficacy as an aflatoxin binder for all animal species and tree nuts destined for further processing. due to the absence of appropriate in vivo data. In their report, FEEDAP members 5th Session, The Hague, the Netherlands, March 21–25, 2011 also reiterated their earlier conclusion that the additive poses no significant risk to (http://www.codexalimentarius.net/web/archives.jsp?year=11) animal health or the environment and extended their approval of its use for dairy cows to all ruminants.
Committee members agreed to proceed with the following actions: June 24, 2011, Scientific Opinion on the Public Health Risks of Zearalenone Continue drafting discussion papers on pre- and post-harvest Contamination (http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/doc/2197.pdf) management of relevant mycotoxins in sorghum. This CONTAM Panel report assesses the potential public health risk of higher Begin developing a Code of Practice for minimizing levels of zearalenone limits for breakfast cereals. According to the Panel members, new maximum limits (ML) of 75, 100, 125, or 150 µg/kg would be unlikely to raise Redraft proposed maximum levels for DON and its acetylated consumers’ zearalenone intakes above the current TDI of 0.25 μg/kg bw, unless the derivatives in cereals and cereal-based products. same batch of breakfast cereals containing zearalenone at the ML were consumed daily every day for 2 to 4 weeks.
Develop a sampling plan for a maximum limit of 10 μg/kg total Food Standards Agency (FSA) Ergot Survey
The FSA has initiated the first formal program for monitoring the content and
pattern of ergot alkaloids and ergot sclerotia in the EU cereals. Ergot sclerotia
PuBlICATIONS
are parasitic fungal structures that replace seeds and kernels in flowering cereal grains and grasses infected by windborne Claviceps mold spores. In addition to Liquid Chromatography for the Determination of Mycotoxins in Foods, reducing crop yields, ergot sclerotia contain high concentrations of toxic alkaloids. R. Romero-González, J. L. Martínez Vidal, A. Garrido Frenich, Nova Science Six major alkaloids, ergometrine, ergotamine, ergosine, ergocristine, ergocryptine, Publishers: Food Science and Technology Series: January 2011. and ergocornine, and their nine isomers have been targeted for the study. The Co-authored by three analytic chemists from Spain’s Almeria University, this recent development of a validated HPLC/MS/MS method for determining ergot book advocates for increased use of cutting-edge techniques such as LC-MS/MS in raw and processed cereals will enable FSA researchers to not only accurately for laboratory analysis of mycotoxins, citing the superior efficiency and sensitivi- measure individual alkaloid levels but also compare differences in toxicity between ty of techniques that combine mass analysis and physical separation capabilities. the various alkaloids and their isomeric forms. Ingestion of ergot toxins can cause severe gastrointestinal and central nervous system effects, gangrene, and death in Mass Spectrometry in Food Safety: Methods and Protocols, Jerry Zweigenbaum Since the mid-1990s, a resurgence in ergot diseases in growing regions around T his overview of recent advances in food safety technologies discusses the the world has prompted increased international concern about the acute and benefits of emerging applications for increasing the sensitivity, selectivity, chronic effects of ergot consumption in humans and animals. At present, EU regula- and precision of contaminant testing. Written in the highly successful Methods tions restrict the level of ergot-contaminated rye grains in animal feed containing in Molecular Biology™ series format, the book’s detailed descriptions of the unground cereals to 0.1%. While rye remains the most significant source of risk latest LC-MS techniques include easily reproducible laboratory protocols and exposure, the U.K.’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) timesaving troubleshooting tips. Contributing experts explain each analytic has reported that the incidence of ergot-contaminated wheat has also risen in method in the context of current regulatory standards and other relevant issues. recent years. Although EU intervention wheat is subject to legal limits of 0.05%, there are currently no international standards for controlling ergot levels in con-sumer products. The results of the FSA survey will help lay the groundwork for EU efforts to develop appropriate ergot risk control measures for food and feed. Advances in Environmental Health Effects of Toxigenic Mold and Mycotoxins, REQuEST FOR SuBSCRIPTION
Ebere Cyril Anyanwu, Nova Science Publishers: Health and Human Development: March 2011.
o Please sign me up for electrionic version. The authors’ extensive cross-disciplinary expertise in clinical neurophysiology and environmental mycotoxicology informs this authoritative and balanced assessment of the health risks of chronic exposure to toxic molds and mycotoxins. Anyanwu rigorously documents their toxic effects on animals and humans with substantial evidence from peer-reviewed literature. The author’s argument for the exceptional scientific relevance of mycotoxicological research extends beyond the standard warnings about the dangers of exposure to fungal toxins. His thought-provoking claim that deeper insight into their metabolism and toxicity could advance the discovery of safer, more effective medications adds a positive dimension to the on- going debate about the significance of mycotoxin as an environmental health issue. Poisoning by Plants, Mycotoxins, and Related Toxins, James Pfister, Terrie L. Wierenga, Franklin Riet-Correa, Ana Lucia Schild (Eds.), CABI: September 2011.
o Please send more information on the International Society for Mycotoxicology (ISM).
This collection of 124 presentations from the 2009 International Symposium on Poisonous Plants (ISOPP8) covers key developments in recent research on toxic Fax to VICAM, attention Rita Bassaleh, at +1.508.482.4935 or e-mail her plants, mycotoxins and other toxins. Topics include the impact of various toxin species on the nervous systems and organs of laboratory and farm animals, the medicinal properties of their chemical components, and toxin detection and control strategies. ABOuT THE EDITOR
4The editor, Dr. Michelangelo Pascale, is a researcher at the Institute of Sciences of Food Production (ISPA), part of the Italian National Research Council (CNR). ISPA is recognized as one of the world’s foremost institutes for the study of the chemistry and the biology of mycotoxins and mycotoxin-producing fungi. Dr. Pascale is currently group leader of ISPA’s department of Food Safety and Innovative Methods for Food Analysis and a participant in several national and international mycotoxin projects. He is also the president of Safe Wheat S.R.L., a spin-off company of the CNR. The editor welcomes submissions of newsworthy information about mycotoxins, including the dates of upcoming conferences of interest. He can be contacted at the following address: Dr. Michelangelo Pascale Institute of Sciences of Food Production (ISPA-CNR) Via G. Amendola 122/O, 70126 Bari, Italy Tel: +39.080.5929362; fax: +39.080.5929373 E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.ispa.cnr.it Sponsored by: VICAM, A Waters Business 34 34 Maple Street Milford, MA 01757 USA

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