Foodstuffs may include natural poisons called mycotoxins. They can be dangerous to both people and animals, therefore it is critical to perform mycotoxin tests.
Mycotoxins may be present in irrigated fields at any point during the growing cycle, but contamination is most likely to occur throughout the harvesting, drying, and storage procedures.
Why Should We Test Food for Mycotoxins?
Mycotoxins are natural and can cause significant health issues. Moulds that produce mycotoxins develop on a variety of crops and foodstuffs.
Mycotoxins cause a variety of health issues, including Mycotoxin poisoning can damage your heart and brain.
- Poisoning that leads to death has an acute onset.
- Immune deficiency
- Damage to the kidneys
- Liver damage
- Cancer
Mycotoxins are toxic to both animals and crops, with economic consequences as well. Following a turkey disease outbreak that killed thousands of birds in England, mycotoxins were first identified. Turkey X was the original name for this illness.
Aflatoxins and genotoxic chemicals were discovered in these molds. They came from a mould that grew on an imported groundnut meal given to the turkeys.
Mycotoxins have the ability to dampen the immune system. This affects both people and animals.
The majority of mycotoxins, however, have been discovered since then. However, the most frequent are:
- Aflatoxins are a type of poison that can be found in some types of mold.
- Vomitoxin is a neurotoxin that acts rapidly, causing symptoms ranging from nausea and vomiting to tingling hands and feet.
- Fumonisin is a mold that attacks the heart and other organs.
- Zearalenone is an estrogenic pesticide that Some plants are able to use to their advantage.
- Ochratoxin is one of the most poisonous mycotoxins.
- T-2 is a mycotoxin produced by mold.
Which Food Can Contain Mycotoxins?
Corn, grapes, nuts and seeds are all examples of foods that might include mycotoxins.
- Cereals
- Nuts
- Spices
- Dried fruits
- Coffee beans
- Apples and apple juice.
Animal feed and animal products, such as:
- Wheat bran
- Maize grain
- Pea pods.
Aflatoxins may be found in a variety of foods, affecting all stages of the food chain. Peanuts, corn, rice, figs, tree nuts, and copra are contaminated with aflatoxin. Vomitoxin is present in cornmeal, wheat flour, barley malt liquor, sorghum beer fermentation mash,, flour bread dough yeast coating., baby food, dairy products, eggs. Aflatoxins can also be found in peanuts and other legume seeds.
Fumonisin primarily affects corn. Zearalenone is present in crops such as corn, barley, rice, oats, rye, sorghum and soya. Ochratoxin is found in wheat, barley, peanuts, and cocoa.
T-2 can affect corn, barley, wheat, oats and rye.
How Should You Test Food for Mycotoxins?
There are several convenient, user-friendly, and cost-effective methods to test food for the presence of mycotoxins. Quick quantitative results can be obtained using charm mycotoxin strips. A variety of lateral flow strips are available for testing for various mycotoxins, including aflatoxin, zearalenone, and fumonisin.
The Charm EZ-M Reader is a quick and automated testing system for detecting these ROSA (Rapid One Step Assay) test strips. An effective, efficient, and rapid mycotoxin testing method is made up of these tests’ strips and readers.
The strips are completely encapsulated, with no opportunity for environmental exposure before testing and the reader controls temperature and incubation time. It will automatically interpret and store your mycotoxin test results. You may assist food safety by developing your own mycotoxin testing program. For more details, please contact Calibre Control.
