1. Robert C. Baker Head of Food Safety, Mars Incorporated
“Managing Aflatoxin Risks From Farm To Fork” 4TH Dubai International Food Safety Conference
Robert C. Baker Head of Food Safety, Mars Incorporated 1
26 February 2009

2. Objectives
Provide basic awareness of Aflatoxin and potential risks in the Food Chain
Provide a framework for managing Aflatoxin risks
Provide a means of monitoring and verifying the effectiveness of aflatoxin management processes
In 30 minutes…..

3. Agenda What are aflatoxins? At risk materials
Factors influencing aflatoxin production
Methods for managing aflatoxin risks
Methods of aflatoxin detection
Summary

4. Mycotoxins
Zearalenone
Secondary fungal metabolites that exert toxic effects on animals and human beings.
More than 300 secondary metabolites have been described but only thirty really exert toxic effects.
The chemical structure of mycotoxin is very diverse
Deoxynivalenol
Polyacetates : aflatoxins, citrinine, ochratoxins
patulin, zearalenone, fumonisins,
Terpenes : trichothecenes (sesqui), tremorgenes,
Peptides : ergotamin (alcaloïdes), tryptoquivaline,..
Piperazines : sporidesmin, gliotoxin, roquefortine,..
Aflatoxin B1
Fumonisin B1
Ochratoxin A

5. Aflatoxins Four aflatoxins (order of toxicity):
B1 >G1 > B2 > G2
Other aflatoxins occur as metabolic products (e.g., aflatoxin M1 in milk)
Highly toxic
Aflatoxins are among the most toxic naturally occurring substances known.
Carcinogenic, hepatotoxic, mutagenic and teratogenic
All animal species affected by aflatoxins.
Can be passed through food chain (e.g., milk of animals which are fed contaminated feed).
Heat Stable
Withstand typical food processing temperatures
Aflatoxin B1

6. Aflatoxin production
Aflatoxin is produced by species of the fungus Aspergillus:
Aspergillus flavus
aw range:
Temperature range: 10-43oC
Aspergillus parasiticus
aw range:
Toxins can be produced over a wide temperature range: 15-37oC

7. Aflatoxin associated alerts
Peanuts – Saudi Arabia
Dog food – US (23 dog deaths)
Maize – Kenya (125 deaths)
Paprika – Hungary
2001 – Rice – China
**THESE ARE TAKEN FROM ALERTS via PROMED ARCHIVE**

8. RASFF Aflatoxin reports
RASFF: Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed.
Aflatoxin most significant mycotoxin.
(Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) Annual Report, 2005)

9. Aflatoxin associated notifications (EU)
In 2005 : 947 aflatoxin notifications
498 pistachio nuts : (92% from Iran)
219 peanuts and derived products : (36% from China, 15% Brazil)
64 hazelnuts and derived products : (83% from Turkey)
33 almonds and derived products : (85% from US)
48 dried figs : (96% from Turkey)
13 melon seeds : (77% from Nigeria)
48 herbs and spices : (56% from India)
**RASFF alerts 2005 – border inspection etc – Europe**
(Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) Annual Report, 2005)

10. Legal limits – raw materials
Reference
Human Raws
Nuts & dried fruits for direct consumption or ingredient use.
Total Aflatoxin: 4 ppb
Aflatoxin B1: 2 ppb
Commission Regulation (EC) 1881/2006
Nuts & dried fruits to be subjected physical treatment prior to consumption.
Total Aflatoxin : 10 ppb
Aflatoxin B1: 5 ppb
All Cereals and derived products.
Spices (inc. chilli powder, nutmeg, ginger etc).
Petfood Raws
Maize and co-products
Total Aflatoxin : 20 ppb
Aflatoxin B1: 10 ppb
Commission Regulation (EC) 2002/32/EC

11. Materials at risk of aflatoxin contamination
Crops which are frequently affected include:
Cereals (barley, wheat, oats, maize, rice, sorghum, dried grains).
Nuts (peanuts, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, pistachio nuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, pine nuts).
Spices (chilli peppers, black pepper, coriander, tumeric, ginger)
Animal products from which contaminated feeds were consumed (i.e. milk & dairy products. protein meals)

12. Factors influencing aflatoxin production
Need to understand risks at each
Step and evaluate every year!!!
In the field
Agricultural Practices
Climate (humidity / temperature / rainfall)
Crop variety
Treatments (insects and fungi)
At harvesting
Maturity at harvesting
Moisture
Disease State
During storage
Temperature
Moisture
Insect treatment
During
transformation & process
Cleaning
Temperature
Process

13. Aflatoxin management
Starts with a comprehensive “Material Quality Management Program”
Needs to be risk based and cover the entire pipeline
Risk assessments are not static and need to be performed for each material and harvested crop.
In the Field (GAP, climate & crop monitoring)
During Harvest / Storage (moisture control, interim storage conditions)
Inbound acceptance (specifications)
Storage (silo design / management, conditioning, cleaning, monitoring)
Finished Product (specifications and distribution)

14. Aflatoxin management: In the Field
Drought during pollination
Farm geography and climate.
Crop species and variety.
Regional crop risk assessment via industry, government or academic sources, where available, on a seasonal basis.
Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).
Biocontrol systems
Monsoon after Drought

15. Aflatoxin management: Harvest
Harvest weather conditions.
Harvesting at appropriate moisture content (max. moisture 13%).
Harvest maturity.
Interim storage of harvested materials.
Disease state of crop & bushel weight.

16. Aflatoxin management: Inbound
Robust sampling of inbound raws:
Risk Based
Take into account that mycotoxin contaminations are skewed and not evenly distributed
Stationary bulk loads (flatbed trucks, rail cars, and barges), sampled using probes as approved by GIPSA (GIPSA, Grain Sampling Procedures, Jan 2001).
At least 10 incremental samples taken and aggregated into one sample.
Personnel must be trained on importance of sampling

17. Truck Sampling Plan Sampling 20 samples from truck
10 first points combined as Group A
10 latter points combined as Group B
Sample A&B are individually ground for testing

18. Aflatoxin management: Storage
Materials stored under conditions to minimise mould growth.
Suitable material (stainless steel, plastic).
Smooth/flat walled bins & silos.
Vessels designed to prevent moisture and pest ingress.
Vessels shall be designed such that they empty completely.

19. Aflatoxin management: Finished Product
Product designs and specifications must take into account legal and material risks
Solid understanding of distribution pipeline and potential for temperature shock
Finished product testing is a valid means of verifying “Front End” risk management processes.
Mycotoxin binders ???

20. Methods of aflatoxin detection: HPLC
Gold-standard for mycotoxin detection.
Reverse phase HPLC used most widely.
Can be automated.
Method must to be validated for specific material and toxin.
Operator needs to be well trained.
Participation in recognized proficiency testing program Highly Recommended.

21. Methods of aflatoxin detection: ELISA
Rapid and reliable ‘screen’ for aflatoxin.
Does not require specialised equipment (like HPLC).
Commercial ELISA kits available for detection of total aflatoxins.
Easily trained to factory personnel
Must be validated for specific material
Comparable to HPLC in 4-40 ppb range (Zheng et al, Mycopathologia; 2005).

22. Methods of aflatoxin detection: Black (UV) Light
Not recommended
Works through florescence of contaminated kernels
Florescence based on detection of Kojic Acid not aflatoxin
Kojic acid breaks down leading to false “negative” results
Issue greater in tropical regions

23. Summary Key Points in Aflatoxin Management
A sound Material Quality Management program is critical.
Aflatoxin risk can change with every new crop, growing location, supplier and / or change along the pipeline.
Effective sampling, validated methods and trained personnel are required
Be prepared for the unexpected….

24. Thank You!!!