Search

This review examines the 15-year presence of mycotoxins in food from Serbia and Croatia to provide a comprehensive overview of trends. Encompassing the timeframe from 2009 to 2023, this study integrates data from both countries and investigates climate change patterns. The results from Serbia focus primarily on maize and milk and show a strong dependence of contamination on weather conditions. However, there is limited data on mycotoxins in cereals other than maize, as well as in other food categories. Conversely, Croatia has a broader spectrum of studies, with significant attention given to milk and maize, along with more research on other cereals, meat, and meat products compared to Serbia. Over the investigated 15-year period, both Serbia and Croatia have experienced notable shifts in climate, including fluctuations in temperature, precipitation, and humidity levels. These changes have significantly influenced agriculture, consequently affecting the occurrence of mycotoxins in various food products. The results summarized in this 15-year review indicate the urgent need for further research and action to address mycotoxins contamination in Serbian and Croatian food supply chains. This urgency is further emphasized by the changing climatic conditions and their potential to exacerbate public health and food safety risks associated with mycotoxins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many parts of the world, the major cereal crops (maize, wheat, barley, rye and oats) are particularly susceptible to infection by Fusarium species. Moniliformin (MON) is a mycotoxin produced by Fusarium species, most often F. proliferatum, F. avenaceum and F. subglutinans. The occurrence of MON has been recorded worldwide, with the highest detected value of 530 mg/kg in maize intended for human consumption. Limited information on toxicity in experimental and farm animals indicates haematotoxicity and cardiotoxicity as the main damaging effects of MON on human health. Its stability and fate during processing has also been poorly studied, so the degree of consumer's exposure to MON is still uncertain. This review summarizes available information on the MON chemistry, toxicity, its worldwide occurrence in cereals, methods of analysis and the potential methods for its decontamination in food and feed.

Moniliformin (MON) is a polyketide mycotoxin with low molecular weight, which in nature generally occurs as a sodium or potassium salt. It is frequently detected in cereals, while the highest contamination was detected in maize. The aim of this study was to develop and validate an HPLC–DAD method for the detection of MON in maize. Extraction with the mixture of acetonitrile:water (84:16, vol/vol) without clean‐up protocols provided the best MON recoveries. The mobile phase was acetonitrile/water (12.5:87.5, vol/vol) or acetonitrile:water with ion‐pair reagent (12.5:87.5, vol/vol) using an isocratic method, while MON was evaluated by the HPLC column (C18, 4.6 x 250mm, 5 µm). The developed method was validated and provided satisfactory quantitative performance in terms of limit of detection (41 μg/kg), limit of quantification (125 μg/kg), linearity (125–2,000 μg/kg), repeatability (3%–7%), reproducibility (7%–15%), and recovery (83%–95%). Thus, the developed and validated method is suitable for the determination of MON in maize. Novelty impact statement: In this work, a new HPLC–DAD method was developed and validated for the determination of MON in maize samples. Since there are only a few developed HPLC–DAD methods for the determination of MON so far, the obtained results may contribute to the increase in knowledge in the field of analytical methods for its determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aspergillus species produce numerous metabolites, including mycotoxins, which prevalence in maize is a significant health and economic issue worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Aspergillus metabolites in 458 maize samples collected during 2016 and 2017 in the Republic of Serbia. Samples were analyzed by the liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry method. Among the 32 investigated Aspergillus metabolites 9 and 20 were detected in maize samples collected from 2016 and 2017, respectively. The metabolites with the greatest prevalence in 2016 were kojic acid (12%) and 3‐nitropropionic acid (10%), while the most commonly detected metabolites in maize from 2017 were kojic acid (54%), 3‐nitropropionic acid (44%), aflatoxin B1 (31%), and averufin (29%). Maize growing season in 2017 was characterized by higher deviations of air temperature and a smaller amount of precipitation, which resulted in a greater prevalence of Aspergillus metabolites in maize from 2017 (65%) in comparison to 2016 (23%). Novelty impact statement: The main novelty of this study is achieved through the creation of unique database, based on the analysis of 32 Aspergillus metabolites in the great number of maize samples, collected in two different years in the Republic of Serbia. The created extensive database of Aspergillus metabolites is one of the few from this part of Europe, and it will contribute to significant improvement and upgrading of currently existing knowledge and information in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to apply modern analytical tools, liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometric method (LC‐MS/MS), for identification and quantitation of Alternaria metabolites in maize samples. Maize samples were collected from the main maize‐producing regions (Bačka, Banat, and Srem) of the Republic of Serbia during two harvest seasons (2016 and 2017). The most commonly detected Alternaria toxin in maize samples from both years was tenuazonic acid. On the other hand, determined mean concentrations of quantified tenuazonic acid were significantly higher in maize samples from Banat from both maize growing seasons in comparison to its concentrations in maize samples from Bačka and Srem. As a consequence of influence of microclimate conditions in investigated regions, the highest percentages of contaminated maize samples by Alternaria toxins, in both the years 2016 and 2017, were 48% and 47%, respectively from Srem, while the lowest percentages of 29% and 23%, respectively were found in Bačka. Novelty impact statement: The main novelty of this study is achieved through increased knowledge and creation of one of the few database from this part of Europe regarding the frequencies of occurrence of "emerging" Alternaria toxins in maize, depending on weather conditions and some of the applied agrotechnical measures during a two‐year period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) are aimed at increasing the consumption of foods rich in omega 3 fatty acids. The recommended ratio of omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids in diet is 4-10 : 1, which allows muscle building, hormone production, reduces risk of the cardiovascular diseases, reduces blood pressure, triglyceride concentrations, improves brain functions, mood, intelligence etc. However, just some foods (eg. flaxseed oil, fish oils etc.) are rich in these compounds. The aim of this study was to examine the possibility of enriching refined sunflower oil (RSO) with omega 3 fatty acids by adding cold pressed flaxseed oil (CPFO). Samples: refined sunflower oil, cold pressed flaxseed oil, their blends in the mass ratio 70:30, 50:50 and 30:70 were analised, and the obtained results were compared with the one comertial vegetable oil blend present on the market of R. Serbia. The content of saturated fatty acids in analysed samples ranged from 9.63 to 10.3 2%, monounsaturated from 17.15 to 30.44 % and polyunsaturated from 59.78 to 73.15 %. The ratio of omega 6 : omega 3 fatty acids found in the samples was between 853 : 1 and 0.33 : 1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]