Michael Rychlik
Technical University of Munich
Germany
Title: Emerging, modified and masked mycotoxins in foods – Current risk assessments
Biography
Biography: Michael Rychlik
Abstract
According to WHO estimation, about 25% of agricultural commodities are contaminated with mycotoxins world-wide. In cereals, the most common fungal genus involved is Fusarium. Major Fusarium toxins such as deoxynivalenol, zearalenone and fumonisins are regulated by EU legislation. Analytical food chemistry has developed accurate LC-MS/MS methods for controlling these contaminants. However, during the last years so called “modified” or “emerging” mycotoxins have been discovered, which are either plant metabolites of the fungal toxins or produced by other ubiquitous fungi such as Alternaria species, respectively. Targeted approaches have been developed to accurately quantitate “emerging” and “modified” mycotoxins along with multi-analyte approaches based on stable isotope dilution assays (SIDAs) for efficient mycotoxin control. In this regard, most Fusarium toxins and major modifications were included and detected in cereal products. Besides, major Alternaria toxins were analyzed and risk assessments along with management actions for infant foods were initiated. Moreover, non-targeted approaches were initiated to screen for other fungal metabolites. Despite the current analytical developments in metabolomics, mycotoxin analysis still is challenging with regard to accurate quantitation and newly identified compounds. However, risk assessment and preventing hazards for the consumers requires data on exposure and toxicological properties, which are still lacking for many substances.
