Spectral kernel sorting based on high-risk visual features associated with mycotoxin contamination reduces aflatoxin and fumonisin contamination in maize from Ghana

Highlights Abstract Rapid single kernel analysis could enable physical sorting to remove mycotoxins from bulk grains. The purpose of this study was to use visual characteristics previously associated with aflatoxin and fumonisin contamination of maize kernels to calibrate a multi-spectral sorter and then sort mycotoxin contaminated lots. A total of 76 corn samples were collected from poultry farmers in the Dorma-Ahenkro area, Ghana. Paired […]

Efficacy of electron beam irradiation in reduction of mycotoxin-producing fungi, aflatoxin, and fumonisin, in naturally contaminated maize slurry

Highlights Abstract Maize is a staple food in Kenya. However, maize is prone to fungal infestation, which may result in production of harmful aflatoxins and fumonisins. Electron beam (eBeam) food processing is a proven post-harvest technology, but published literature is rare on the ability of eBeam to reduce mycotoxins in naturally contaminated maize samples. This study evaluated the efficacy of […]

Perspective: Challenges with product testing in powdered infant formula

Abstract Right now, many concerned parents are probably thinking, how could Cronobacter sakazakii get through the powdered infant formula (PIF) production system? Shouldn’t a food safety monitoring system find such a serious problem? Aren’t those products tested before arriving on shelves? And the very challenging answer is yes, these products were likely tested with a standardized sampling and […]

Single kernel aflatoxin and fumonisin contamination distribution and spectral classification in commercial corn

Highlights Abstract Aflatoxin and fumonisin contamination distribution in corn is non-homogeneous. Therefore, bulk sample testing may not accurately represent the levels of contamination. Single kernel analysis could provide a solution to these problems and lead to remediation strategies such as sorting. Our study uses extensive single kernel aflatoxin (AF) and fumonisin (FM) measurements to (i) demonstrate skewness, calculate weighted sums […]

Evaluation of the Impact of Skewness, Clustering, and Probe Sampling Plan on Aflatoxin Detection in Corn

Abstract Probe sampling plans for aflatoxin in corn attempt to reliably estimate concentrations in bulk corn given complications like skewed contamination distribution and hotspots. To evaluate and improve sampling plans, three sampling strategies (simple random sampling, stratified random sampling, systematic sampling with U.S. GIPSA sampling schemes), three numbers of probes (5, 10, 100, the last […]

When to use one-dimensional, two-dimensional, and Shifted Transversal Design pooling in mycotoxin screening

Abstract While complex sample pooling strategies have been developed for large-scale experiments with robotic liquid handling, many medium-scale experiments like mycotoxin screening by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) are still conducted manually in 48- and 96-well plates. At this scale, the opportunity to save on reagent costs is offset by the increased costs of labor, materials, […]

Classification of aflatoxin contaminated single corn kernels by ultraviolet to near infrared spectroscopy

Highlights Abstract Aflatoxin contamination in corn poses threats to consumer food safety and grower economic stability. Current industrial methods for aflatoxin management in corn focus on the bulk aflatoxin level, which can lead to either acceptance of lots with contaminated corn kernels (consumer food safety risk) or rejection of lots with mostly harmless corn kernels (grower economic loss). […]