Nutrient requirements of poultry

Application of ozone for enhancing the microbiological safety and quality of foods: a review.

Mycotoxins are fungal secondary metabolites that have been associated with severe toxic effects to vertebrates produced by many important phytopathogenic and food spoilage fungi including Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, and Alternaria species. The contamination of foods and animal feeds with mycotoxins is a worldwide problem. We reviewed various control strategies to prevent the growth of mycotoxigenic fungi as well as to inhibit mycotoxin biosynthesis including pre-harvest (resistance varieties, field management and the use of biological and chemical agents), harvest management, and post-harvest (improving of drying and storage conditions, the use of natural and chemical agents, and irradiation) applications. While much work in this area has been performed on the most economically important mycotoxins, aflatoxin B(1) and ochratoxin A much less information is available on other mycotoxins such as trichothecenes, fumonisin B(1), zearalenone, citrinin, and patulin. In addition, physical, chemical, and biological detoxification methods used to prevent exposure to the toxic and carcinogenic effect of mycotoxins are discussed. Finally, dietary strategies, which are one of the most recent approaches to counteract the mycotoxin problem with special emphasis on in vivo and in vitro efficacy of several of binding agents (activated carbons, hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate, bentonite, zeolites, and lactic acid bacteria) have also been reviewed.

Strategies to Prevent Mycotoxin Contamination of Food and Animal Feed: A Review

Scope In response to the current public health concerns with the microbiological safety of fresh and fresh-cut produce, researchers have investigated the efficiency of numerous physical, chemical, and biological methods for reducing the microbiological load of produce. This chapter focuses on this growing area of research with a particular emphasis on human pathogenic microorganisms; however, research related to mitigation treatment effects on nonpathogenic organisms is also included. There have been several reviews that address this topic and they are pointed out throughout the chapter; therefore, the focus here is on the latest and most significant research findings. A matrix (Table V-1) summarizing the characteristics of intervention methods is also included at the end of the chapter.

Methods to Reduce/Eliminate Pathogens from Fresh and Fresh-Cut Produce

Aflatoxin B1: A review on metabolism, toxicity, occurrence in food, occupational exposure, and detoxification methods.

Peanut meal containing aflatoxins was heat treated in the presence of moisture and chemicals to reduce the aflatoxin content. Treatments with ammonia, methylamine, sodium hydroxide and ozone were effective in either destroying aflatoxins or greatly reducing aflatoxin levels as indicated both by TLC analysis and feeding experiments with ducklings and rats. Weight gains for animals receiving the treated meals were essentially comparable to those for animals receiving aflatoxin-free meal. The treated meals, however, had somewhat reduced protein efficiency ratios, as indicated by rat feeding tests. Complete elimination of aflatoxins from contaminated peanut meal was achieved by extraction with a 90% acetone-10% water (w/w) solvent system. The extracted aflatoxin-free peanut meal gave good growth in the duckling and rat feeding tests, and had a relatively high protein efficiency ratio.

Elimination of aflatoxins from peanut meal.

Cottonseed and peanut meals were treated with ozone to destroy or eliminate aflatoxins. High meal moistures (cottonseed 22%, peanut 30%), high temperature (100C), and longer treatment times favored inactivation as measured by thin-layer chromatography. Aflatoxins B1 and G1 were readily destroyed by the ozone processes whereas aflatoxin B2 appeared relatively resistant. In cottonseed meal, 91% of the total aflatoxins was destroyed in 2 hr, a decrease from 214 to 20 ppb; in peanut meal, 78% was destroyed in 1 hr, a decrease from 82 to 18 ppb. In both meals, aflatoxin B1 was totally inactivated within the times specified.

Reduction of aflatoxin levels in cottonseed and peanut meals by ozonization

Aflatoxins in peanut and cottonseed meal can be inactivated by treatment with gaseous ammonia In pilot plant runs, contaminated peanut meal was ammoniated at two levels each of moisture content, reaction time, temperature and ammonia pressure Thin layer chromatography indicated that ammoniation inactivated the aflatoxins (121 ppb) in the meal to a nondetectable level With a similar treatment, total aflatoxins (350 ppb) in cottonseed meal were reduced to 4 ppb A series of runs was made with large scale equipment using cottonseed meal containing an average of 519 ppb total aflatoxins Under optimum processing conditions, aflatoxin content of this meal was reduced to below 5 ppb and non-detectable levels

Inactivation of aflatoxins in peanut and cottonseed meals by ammoniation

Effect of heat on aflatoxins in oilseed meals

Organic and inorganic reagents have been tested for destruction or inactivation of the aflatoxins present in peanut and cottonseed meals. The treatments were made in a special laboratory-scale reactor, and were evaluated by determination of the aflatoxins in the products by thin layer chromatography. In some instances, a larger pilot-plant scale reactor was used. Ammonia, methylamine, sodium hydroxide and formaldehyde reduced aflatoxin levels and appear practical for large scale treatments. Effects of various reaction parameters including time, temperature and moisture content on the efficiency of these reagents are presented.

F. G. Dollear

Papers

Elimination of aflatoxins from peanut meal.

Reduction of aflatoxin levels in cottonseed and peanut meals by ozonization

Inactivation of aflatoxins in peanut and cottonseed meals by ammoniation

Effect of heat on aflatoxins in oilseed meals

Chemical inactivation of aflatoxins in peanut and cottonseed meals