Compiled and Edited by Food Science Australia Produced and Published by the Aciar Postharvest Technology Program

Mycotoxins – General DESJARDINS, A.E., MANANDHAR, G., PLATTNER, R.D., MARAGOS, C.M., SHRESTHA, K. and MCCORMICK, S.P. 2000. Occurrence of Fusarium species and mycotoxins in Nepalese maize and wheat and the effect of traditional processing methods on mycotoxin levels. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 48: 1377–1383. Maize (Zea mays) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) collected in the foothills of the Nepal Himalaya Mountains were analysed for Fusarium species and mycotoxins. Predominant species were Gibberella fujikuroi mating population A (Fusarium moniliforme) in maize and F. graminearum in maize and wheat. Strains of G. fujikuroi mating population A produced fumonisins and in 22% of 74 maize samples fumonisins were detected at >1 mg/kg. Strains of F. graminearum produced NIV or DON which were detected at >1 mg/kg in 16% of maize samples but were not detected in wheat. Nepalese rural and urban women were able to detoxify contaminated maize by hand sorting visibly diseased kernels. TUOMI, T., REIJULA, K., JOHNSSON, T., HEMMINKI, K., HINTIKKA, E.L., LINDROOS, O., KALSO, S., KOUKILA-KAHKOLA, P., MUSSALORAUHAMAA, H. and HAAHTELA, T. 2000. Mycotoxins in crude building materials from water-damaged buildings. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 66: 1899–1904. Seventy nine bulk samples of mouldy interior finishes from Finnish buildings were analysed for mycotoxins and fungi. Sterigmatocystin was found in 24% of samples and trichothecenes in 19% of samples. Trichothecenes found included satratoxin G or H in 5 samples; diacetoxyscirpenol in 5 samples; and 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol, deoxynivalenol, verrucarol or T-2-tetraol in an additional 5 samples. Citrinin was found in 3 samples. Aspergillus versicolor was present in most sterigmatocystin containing samples and Stachybotrys species were present in the samples where satratoxins were found. In many cases, however, the presence of fungi thought to produce the mycotoxins was not correlated with the presence of the expected compounds. EFUNTOYE, M.O. 1999. Mycotoxins of fungal strains from stored herbal plants and mycotoxin contents of Nigerian crude herbal drugs. Mycopathologia 147: 43–48. The ability of fungi isolated from stored herbal drug plants to produce mycotoxins in semisynthetic media was studied. Aflatoxins and ochratoxin A were produced by Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus and A. ochraceus isolates. The time production courses of aflatoxins B1, B2 and ochratoxin A in crude herbal drug preparations showed that the potential exists for the toxigenic strains to produce mycotoxins in greater quantity in herbal drug substrates than in semisynthetic media. SHIMADA, T. and ICHINOE, M. 2000. [Production of toxic metabolites by Penicillium strains isolated from moldripened cheese]. Journal of the Food Hygienic Society of Japan 41: 126–132. Penicillium strains isolated from imported and domestic mould ripened cheeses were examined for their mycotoxin producing ability. Sixteen of 37 strains of P. roqueforti were able to produce mycophenolic acid (MPA) in YES broth. In imported blue-veined cheeses, 5/27 isolates from Roquefort cheese and 2/5 isolates from Danablu cheese produced MPA at up to 55.0 and 17.7 mg/L, respectively. None of the examined strains from Gorgonzola, Stilton or Cambozola cheeses produced MPA. In contrast, 9/10 P. roqueforti strains from domestic blue-veined cheese were able to produce MPA at up to 12.2 mg/L. All P. roqueforti strains examined were able to produce roquefortine C. All 20 strains of P. camemberti isolated from imported and domestic cheeses were able to produce cyclopiazonic acid at up to 6.09 mg/L. (In Japanese). MATEO, J.J. and JIMENEZ, M. 2000. Trichothecenes and fumonisins produced in autoclaved tiger nuts by strains of Fusarium sporotrichioides and Fusarium moniliforme. Food Microbiology 17: 167–176. The production of trichothecenes and fumonisins in autoclaved tiger nuts by strains of Fusarium sporotrichioides and F. moniliforme was investigated. Both strains were able to produce mycotoxins in tiger nuts and the concentrations of toxins found depended on the variety of tiger nut used as substrate. The amount of type A trichothecenes produced by F. sporotrichioides was less in tiger nuts than in other substrates. However, strains of F. moniliforme produced similar amounts of fumonisin B1 to that in rice and wheat. Fumonisin B2 was not detected in tiger nuts. GASSER, S., HUNGERBUHLER, E. and WENK, P. 1999. [Beauvericin in corn: Distribution and quantification of mycotoxin]. Alimenta 38: 5–7. Beauvericin was not detected in samples of imported corn collected in the region of Basel, Switzerland. The structure and toxicology of beauvericin and its presence in food is discussed. (In German).