Risk assessment and risk management of mycotoxins for food safety in Asia

Mycotoxins are among the most toxic and dangerous chemicals potentially present in food and agricultural materials. Some of these are aflatoxin, ochratoxin, zearalenone and fumonisin. They can have adverse impact on the health of humans and animals as well as negative economic impacts on agriculture and related industries. Almost one-third of the world's food supply is suspected to have been contaminated with mycotoxins. Asia is an epicenter of mycotoxin contamination of important crops such as corn and peanut, since climatic and crop storage conditions in this region are frequently conducive to fungal growth and mycotoxin production. Most developing countries in Asia, where much of the population relies on subsistence farming or on unregulated local markets, are often without the resources to detect and monitor mycotoxins in their food supplies. Therefore, they are the hardest hit in terms of their health and income.

The search for the real status of mycotoxin contamination

Because mycotoxins are a serious threat to food safety, both producers and government control authorities are directing their efforts toward the implementation of a correct and reliable information of the real status of mycotoxin contamination in food commodities and their impact on human and animal health.

The five-day "International Seminar on Risk Assessment and Risk Management of Mycotoxions for Food Safety in Asia," which was jointly sponsored by FFTC and Thailand's Kasetsart University included topics on the status of mycotoxin damages in agricultural crops in Asian countries, risk assessment of mycotoxins including various analytical and monitoring technologies for mycotoxin detection in both food and feed commodities and other risk management and regulatory issues.

Workshop highlights

Among the discussion highlights were the following:

• • The pre-harvest stage, including the cultivation of healthy plants is a very crucial phase in order to prevent the rapid contamination of mycotoxins. This preventive measure is always better than the curative one;
• • There is a need to compare the methods of mycotoxin contamination assessment between countries. This would include selectivity of test kits, exposure assessment, detoxification approaches (biological and chemical), adequate sampling for surveillance, etc.;
• • Data on mycotoxins should be coming more from tropical countries rather than temperate countries in order to be more relevant;
• • There is a need to set protocols on how to handle the information that is being disseminated to members of the media.

Prospects and recommendations

The establishment of a mycotoxin network is very important in order to create a clear research roadmap and chart new directions for future research. Some of the issues that need to be worked on and resolved are: construction of information protocols, prioritization of important information, standardization of research methodologies, etc.

The participants agreed that in order for the new mycotoxin network to spin off, Kasetsart University, under the supervision of Dr. Warapa Mahakarnchanakul, should take the lead. It was recommended that as a short-term goal, this core group of mycotoxins experts form an e-group or take advantage of the social networking sites in cyberspace in order to speedily exchange information. In the long term, the group also suggested that a resource book on mycotoxins in Asia be written and published in order to provide information on topics like risk management and communication, food consumption and contamination levels, research methodologies, evaluation and techniques, among others.

Risk assessment and risk management

of mycotoxins for food safety in Asia

Held in Pattaya, Thailand, 5-9 September 2011

No. of participating countries: 7 (Indonesia, Japan, Korea,

Philippines, Taiwan, ROC, Vietnam)

No. of papers presented: 15

No. of participants: 12 resource speakers from 7 countries

and 40 local participants

Co-organizer: Kasetsart University, Thailand

List of papers

Keynote paper

• 1. Regulatory update and control measures for preventio and reducxtion of mycotoxins contamination in foods and feeds
• - Sonksak Srianujata

Resource papers

• 1. Risk assessment of contaminants in foods: mycotoxins and pesticide residues
• - Amelia Tejada
• 2. Monitoring of mycotoxins in agricultural products using DOA-aflatoxin ELISA test kit
• - Amara Chinaphuti
• 3. Risk assessment of mycotoxin contamination in Korean Foods
• - Hyang Sook Chun
• 4. Risk management of mycoitoxins
• - Robin Chiou
• 5. Integrated control managament of aflatoxin in Indonesia
• - F.M.C. Suparno
• 6. Significance of the Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Food and Feeds in Thailand
• - Warapa Mahakarnchanakul
• 7. Occurrence of aflatoxin contamination in foods: present status in the Philippines
• - Abigail Rustia
• 8. Current situation of mycotoxin management in Asia in relation to recent actions in Japan
• - Akumi Yoshizawa
• 9. Mycotoxin reduction in selected foods
• - Jinap Selamat
• 10. Analysis of Deoxynivalenol in Indonesian maize-based foods using liquid chromatorgraphy: regulation enforcement and significance of laboratory networks
• - Francis M.C. Sigit Setyabudi
• 11. Development and application of immunodiagnostic test kits and immunoaffinity columns for zearalenone and aflatoxin
• - Ratchanee Hongprayoon
• 12. Development and application of immunologiocal methods for mycotoxins and toxicology
• - Osama Kawamura
• 13. Antibody and nanotechnology used in rapid detection of selected mycotoxins
• - Bing-Hui Liu
• 14. Aflatoxin, zearalenone, fumonisin and T-2/HT-2 toxins contamination in feedstuffs in Thailand from year 2008-2011
• - Prapeuk Tangmungkhong
• For further information, contact: Dr. Bonnie Pan Sun, FFTC Consultant

Index of Images

• 

  Scientists and researchers from seven countries meet in Pattaya Thailand and pledge their support and commitment to form a tight network of experts who will exchange and share information on research updates, technologies and possible protocols for risk assessment and management of the dreaded mycotoxins.

• 

  National Taiwan Ocean University’s Dr. Bonnie Pan Sun (left), is FFTC’s consultant for fisheries and aquaculture. She spearheads the synthesis of issues raised during the seminar. At the right of Dr. Bonnie Pan Sun is Kasetsart University’s Dr. Warapa Mahakarnchanakul, the head of the myctoxocins international seminar held in Pattaya, Thailand.

• 
• 

  Associate Professor Vudtechai Kapilakanchana, President of Kasetsart University (left) and Dr. Hideo Imai, Deputy Director of FFTC (right) deliver the opening and welcome addresses at the mycotoxins international seminar.

• 

  Seminar participants visit the Charoen Pokphand Foods, Co., Ltd., Thailand’s leading industrial and food conglomerate, to observe the company’s stringent food safety practices. Picture at the bottom of the page shows the participants wearing the required lab gowns, helmets and masks inside the facilities of the food company.

•