Dr. Sarah Al Hamli Assistant Research Scientist Food and Nutrition program Environment & Life Science Research Centre Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research Screening of mycotoxin in Kuwaiti food

Outlines Introduction Mycotoxin-related events Factors favoring for mycotoxin Food susceptible in Mycotoxins Routs of exposure Case study Outcomes

Introduction Mycotoxins are low-molecular-weight substances Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by fungi (commonly by molds) Mycotoxins can survive harsh condition (heat stable)

Introduction Mycotoxin are toxic substance and their toxicity ranged from gastroenteritis to cancer Unlike bacterial toxins, mycotoxins are not proteins and therefore are not usually detectable by the immune systems of humans and animals Aflatoxin & Ochratoxin are few types of mycotoxins

Structures of the types of Aflatoxins:

Ochratoxin A is potentially carcinogenic to humans Structure of Ochratoxin A:

Mycotoxin-related events United Kingdom –1960s: Turkey X disease and ‘syndrome X’ –The death of more than 100,000 turkey birds Kenya – : Acute Aflatoxicosis and human mortality Aflatoxin contamination of corn caused over 150 human deaths United States – : Crop contamination Drought conditions and moisture stress led to aflatoxin on corn in Missouri which caused rejection of some harvested corn by buyers

The presence of mycotoxins depends on several factors: Factors favoring mycotoxin contamination Environmental factors Harvesting conditions Storage conditions Process conditions Moisture Agricultural practice Heat

Food susceptible to Mycotoxins Mycotoxin Corn Seeds Rye Cheese Milk Coffee Tea Cereals Nuts

Routes of exposure Ingestion of contaminated food or feed

Fungal growth / mycotoxin flourish Contamination of human & animal food Animal consumption Human consumption Environmental / agricultural: heat, storage etc. Human, Animal, and Environmental Interactions Milk eggs

Case study: Kuwait Kuwait considered a favorable condition (heat and humid) 90% of food commodities are imported from all over the world Mycotoxins are common contaminants of majority staple foods (wheat, spices, rice etc.)

Kuwait: case study The inspection of these toxins is controlled by ministry of Health (MOH) Storage conditions is neither monitored nor known

Ref.MycotoxinFood#Outcomes Sirvastava, et al, 2001 Aflatoxin M 1 Dairy products54 6% were above the permissible limits Dashti et al, 2004 Total Aflatoxin & Ochratoxin A Different food commodities % of milk samples were above the permissible limits (0.05 µg/l) 8.3% of feed samples were above the permissible limits 6.8% of nuts samples were above the permissible limits Beg et al, 2006 Total Aflatoxin and Ochratoxin A Poultry Feed- Samples were below the permissible limits Dashti et al, 2009 Total Aflatoxin and Ochratoxin A Different food commodities % of milk samples were above permissible limits 2.5% of cheese samples were above permissible limits (250 ng/kg) 79.8% feed samples were tested positive Case study: Kuwait Published data regarding the prevalence of mycotoxins is limited:

Kisr conducted a study testing a total of 276 different food commodities collected and purchased randomly from 6 different governorate and from different Kuwaiti markets. Foods were analyzed for total aflatoxin and Ochratoxin A using immuno-sorbent enzyme linked assay (ELISA) technique and immuno affinity columns Screening of mycotoxin in Kuwait market

Food samples # of samplesDescription Cereals and puffed corn 25Ready to eat cereals Coffee39Turkish, Arabic, instant coffee Flour4Different brands of flour samples Non-alcoholic beer12Different brands of beer samples Nuts40 Pistachio, cashew, peanut, almonds, walnuts, hazelnut, macadamia Spices117 Different types of spice samples purchased from open and closed markets Tea leaves39Different types of tea samples and brands Total276 Screening of mycotoxin in Kuwait market

Food samplesToxinOutcomes Cereals and puffed corn Total aflatoxinNegative CoffeeOchratoxin APositive and below the permissible limit FlourOchratoxin ANegative Non-alcoholic beerOchratoxin ANegative NutsTotal aflatoxin 10 % of the nuts samples were above the permissible limit (pistachio) SpicesTotal aflatoxin 6.8% of spices samples were above the permissible limit Tea leavesTotal aflatoxin 56% were negative (the rest below the permissible limit ) Outcomes

According to the outcomes from the study: o The effects of seasonal variation was notice in spices where highest contamination was found in samples purchased in the summer o Highest contamination were found in spices purchased from open area markets o Nuts samples with highest contamination were found in the grinded and the unpeeled samples o Tea samples with highest contamination were found in countries with favorable conditions Outcomes

Food samplesToxinPermissible limit µg/kg (European Commission) Cereals and puffed corn Total aflatoxin Ochratoxin A 4.0 µg/kg 3.0 µg/kg CoffeeOchratoxin A Instant coffee 5 µg/kg soluble coffee 10 µg/kg Flour Total aflatoxin Ochratoxin A 4.0 µg/kg 5.0 µg/kg Non-alcoholic beerOchratoxin A There is no permissible limit (contaminated cereals) NutsTotal aflatoxin 10 µg/kg SpicesTotal aflatoxin 5.0 µg/kg Tea leavesTotal aflatoxin There is no permissible limit Allowable mycotoxin Levels in Human Foods

Recommendations More investigation are needed Frequent analytical surveillance by food control agencies is highly recommended Implanting food control system like HACCP system in food industries Serious actions should be taken with contaminated food by companies Necessary action should be taken by the authorities on the open area markets Conditions of storage should be identified and controlled Educate the companies and other health professionals for protecting the health of the consumers and future generations

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