Mycotoxins in food systems in Sub Saharan Africa: A review |
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Authors: | S Bankole M Schollenberger W Drochner |
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Institution: | 1. Institute of Animal Nutrition, University of Hohenheim, Emil-Wolf-Str 10, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany
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Abstract: | Mycotoxins, toxic secondary metabolites of fungi are now recognised as major cause of food intoxications in Sub Saharan Africa
(SSA). Aflatoxins, the most important of the group have been implicated in acute aflatoxicoses, carcinogenicity, growth retardation,
neonatal jaundice and immunological suppression in SSA. The hot and humid tropical climate provides ideal condition for growth
of toxigenicAspergillus spp, making food contamination to be widespread in SSA, with maize and groundnuts being the most contaminated. The available
data suggests that cassava products (the most important African food) are not prone to aflatoxin contamination. Recent data
on ochratoxin A produced by species ofAspergillus on grains have indicated the necessity for it to be monitored in SSA. Fumonisins represent the most importantFusarium mycotoxins in SSA, and surveillance data indicate very high contamination rates of almost 100% in maize samples from West
Africa. Limited information exists on the occurrence of trichothecenes, while the data currently available suggest that zearalenone
contamination seems not to be a problem in SSA. The strategies under investigation to mitigate the mycotoxin problem in SSA
include education of the people on the danger of consuming mouldy foods, pre and post harvest management strategies with emphasis
on biological control, use of plant products to arrest fungal growth during storage, enterosorbent clay technology, and the
search for traditional techniques that could reduce/detoxify mycotoxins during food processing. |
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