Department of Animal Health, Northwest University, Mafikeng, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho 2735, South Africa.
Department of Applied Biology and Biochemistry, National University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box AC 939 Ascot, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Toxins (Basel). 2018 May 3;10(5):89. doi: 10.3390/toxins10050089.
Agricultural products, especially cereal grains, serve as staple foods in sub-Saharan Africa. However, climatic conditions in this region can lead to contamination of these commodities by moulds, with subsequent production of mycotoxins posing health risks to both humans and animals. There is limited documentation on the occurrence of mycotoxins in sub-Saharan African countries, leading to the exposure of their populations to a wide variety of mycotoxins through consumption of contaminated foods. This review aims at highlighting the current status of mycotoxin contamination of food products in Zimbabwe and recommended strategies of reducing this problem. Zimbabwe is one of the African countries with very little information with regards to mycotoxin contamination of its food commodities, both on the market and at household levels. Even though evidence of multitoxin occurrence in some food commodities such as maize and other staple foods exist, available published research focuses only on Aspergillus and Fusarium mycotoxins, namely aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol (DON), trichothecenes, fumonisins, and zearalenone (ZEA). Occurrence of mycotoxins in the food chain has been mainly associated with poor agricultural practices. Analysis of mycotoxins has been done mainly using chromatographic and immunological methods. Zimbabwe has adopted European standards, but the legislation is quite flexible, with testing for mycotoxin contamination in food commodities being done voluntarily or upon request. Therefore, the country needs to tighten its legislation as well as adopt stricter standards that will improve the food safety and security of the masses.
农产品,尤其是谷物,是撒哈拉以南非洲地区的主食。然而,该地区的气候条件可能导致这些商品受到霉菌污染,随后产生的霉菌毒素会对人类和动物的健康构成威胁。关于撒哈拉以南非洲国家霉菌毒素的发生情况,文献记载有限,导致这些国家的人民通过食用受污染的食物而接触到各种各样的霉菌毒素。本综述旨在强调津巴布韦食品中霉菌毒素污染的现状,并提出减少这一问题的建议策略。津巴布韦是非洲国家中有关其食品商品霉菌毒素污染信息非常少的国家之一,无论是在市场上还是在家庭层面。尽管有证据表明某些食品商品(如玉米和其他主食)中存在多种毒素,但现有的已发表研究仅集中于曲霉属和镰刀菌属霉菌毒素,即黄曲霉毒素、脱氧雪腐镰刀菌烯醇(DON)、单端孢霉烯族化合物、伏马菌素和玉米赤霉烯酮(ZEA)。霉菌毒素在食物链中的存在主要与农业实践不佳有关。霉菌毒素的分析主要使用色谱法和免疫学方法进行。津巴布韦采用了欧洲标准,但法规相当灵活,对食品商品中霉菌毒素污染的检测是自愿进行的,或应要求进行。因此,该国需要收紧其法规,并采用更严格的标准,以提高民众的食品安全和保障。