INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY

Volume 15, No. 01, Month JANUARY, Year 2019, Pages 17 - 34

The contamination of toxins produced by naturally occurring fungi in non-chemical rice products

Jitjak, W. and Sanoamuang, N.

Abstract Download PDF

A number of non-chemical products are increasing because customers are more aware of the sources and production processes of the products. One such product is rice, which is the main food source of Thai people. It can be seen that a variety of rice products are from nonchemical processes i.e. without chemical fertilizers and pesticides. However, these products could have naturally occurring toxins produced by fungi. Thus, the contamination of toxins naturally produced was investigated the fungi to ensure the trust of consumers that the products are safe to eat. Thirty-one rice products were randomly collected from retail stores in Muang District, Khon Kaen, Thailand and isolated fungi for molecular identification. The fungi found among the products were Aspergillus syndowii, A. amstelodamii, A. tamari, A. niger, A. aculeatus, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, Fusarium equiseti, Rhizopus oryzae, R. microspores, Trichoderma asperellum, Dendryphiella sp. and Phoma multirostrata. The toxins related to the fungi were quantified using a highly accurate method, High Performance Liquid Chromatography with Fluorescence Detector (HPLC/FLD) in comparison with toxin standards (aflatoxin B1, aflatoxin B2, aflatoxin G1, aflatoxin G2, ochratoxin A, and zearalenone). The result suggested that among 31 samples with undetectable amounts, only one rice sample was contaminated with aflatoxin B1 (<1.5 ug/kg), total aflatoxin (0.66 ug/kg) and zearalenone (0.7 ug/kg).

Keywords

mycotoxins; organic; brown rice; food safety; local products

---