Scientists measure moulds in cornflake brands

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Scientists measure moulds in cornflake brands

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9/2/2005 - Concentrations of harmful moulds called fumonisins were

higher in organic samples of cornflakes, finds an investigative

study on over 200 samples of this popular breakfast cereal.

Researchers from Ghent University, the Catholic University of

Louvain in Belgium and the Agricultural and Biotechnology Centre in

Hungary screened 205 cornflake samples, conventionally produced and

organic, purchased from retail outlets in Belgium, for the natural

occurrence of fumonisin B1 (FB1), B2 (FB2), and B3 (FB3).

Fusarium toxins are produced by several species of the genus

Fusarium which infect the grain of developing cereals such as wheat

and maize. They include a range of mycotoxins including the

fumonisins, which affect the nervous systems of horses and cause

cancer in rodents.

In addition to infecting the grains, fumonisins are associated with

foods derived from maize such as polenta, corn snacks and cornflakes.

The UN's 56th Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives has

set a provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PMTDI) for

nephrotoxicity at 2 microgram per kg of fumonisins B1, B2, and B3,

alone or in combination, per kg of bodyweight per day.

Cooking in alkaline water can reduce fumonisin levels in food

products and baking, frying and extrusion processes at temperatures

around 190 o C can also diminish their presence.

The scientists in the study practiced rapid screening using a flow-

through enzyme immunoassay method to demonstrate the practicability

of a screening test, coupled to a validated confirmatory LC-MS/MS

method for the management of food safety risks.

FB1 concentrations ranged from not detected to 464 microgram/kg with

mean and median concentrations of respectively 104 ± 113 and 54

microgram/kg.

For FB2 and FB3, the concentration ranges varied respectively from

not detected to 43 microgram/kg and from not detected to 90

microgram/kg.

Concentrations of fumonisins were higher in the organic samples,

significantly so in the case of FB1.

But the scientists concluded from the statistical tests that the

agricultural practice did not have any significant effect on the

fumonisin concentrations, but that the variation between different

batches was significant.

Although they reported that there were no significant differences in

fumonisin content cornflake brands.

Full findings are published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food

Chemistry .