EU – African Collaboration on Food Systems for Nutrition: 24th January 2017 Food Safety – Mycotoxins, including aflatoxin – challenges for research and innovation - Approaches to Innovation By Andrew Emmott PAEPARD, Aflatoxin Expert Group

1. EU – African Collaboration on Food Systems for Nutrition:
24th January 2017
Food Safety – Mycotoxins, including aflatoxin – challenges
for research and innovation - Approaches to Innovation
By
Andrew Emmott
PAEPARD,
Aflatoxin Expert Group.

2. “Grains have always been the major source of mycotoxin in the diet of man
and his domesticated animals.”
These include: Ergots, Penecilliums & Fusariums
Source: A concise History of Mycotoxin Research
Food Safety – Mycotoxins, including aflatoxin
New York Times 25/04/1965
• 1950s - Aflatoxin link -
outbreaks of poisoning in
swine, cattle and poultry.
• Attention focused in 1960 on the
potential health hazard to man.
• Turkey X disease –
100,000 poults died from
moldy peanut meal.
• Studies reveal extensive
hemorrhaging and liver
cancer in rats and trout
• Potential link to high
levels of liver cancer in
Asia and Africa

3. Collapse of African groundnut exports to international markets
late 1960’s.
3
40% in the 1970’s
90% in the 1960’s
<5% by 2005
Food Safety – Mycotoxins, including aflatoxin
• 1960-65 UK & Dutch
authorities share aflatoxin
research findings;
• 1961 WHO/FAO/UNICEF
Protein Advisory Group respond
to the aflatoxin problem;
• 1964 Dutch authorities
explore <5ppb limit for human
consumption;
• African exports collapsed but
production & regional trade is
now increasing;
• US, China, & Argentina now
dominate exports with co-
ordinated supply chains
developed for aflatoxin regulated
markets.

4. Food Safety – Mycotoxins, including aflatoxin – challenges for research and innovation
1976 African Groundnut Council
• Strengthen extension
services
• Segregate & decontaminate
• Improve storage facilities
• Build laboratory capacity /
training
• Breed mycotoxin resistant
crops
1977 Joint FAO/WHO/UNEP meeting on mycotoxins
• Provide labs with trained staff
• Develop rapid analysis
• Train domestic science & public health officers in
knowledge transfer re: mycotoxins.
• Improve insect control
• Develop practical storage incl. units suitable at
the village level
• Breed mycotoxin resistant crops
1999 Joint FAO/WHO/UNEP meeting on mycotoxins
• Sensitize all in production chain, esp. farmers, how to reduce / avoid mycotoxin
contamination.
• Support collaborative research partnerships in developing and developed countries
• Assess extent of mycotoxin contamination.
• Develop simple, robust, low cost analytical methods.
• Breed crop varieties resistant to fungal infection, insect damage & toxin formation.
• Potential to increase fungal contamination when new crops or genotypes introduced
into new environments.
• Set up strong mycotoxin management programs with training in GAP and GMP.

5. Food Safety – Mycotoxins, including aflatoxin – challenges for research and innovation
Strategies to reduce human exposure to aflatoxins
and fumonisins (WHO IARC Report No 9, 2015)
15 interventions categorized as having:
(1) Sufficient evidence for implementation;
(2) Needs more field evaluation;
(3) Needs formative research; and,
(4) No evidence or ineffective.
Example of a category (1) post harvest intervention:
• Sorting:
• Ergot sclerotia – removed by specific gravity seed cleaning equipment
• Aflatoxin – “early 1960’s sorting emerged as a regular and effective practice
to improve safety for groundnuts”
• Research needs:
• “Adapt optical sorting for large & small African groundnut value chains”
• “Targeted training in manual sorting for rural women would appear to be a
good investment”
• “Food security is the major barrier to implementation of sorting”
• “Safe alternative uses for rejected lots need further research”

6. • Groundnut flour had most
contaminated samples;
• 73% > EU 4ppb level.
• 25% above 100ppb
• highest = 3871 ppb
• 70% of families add
groundnut flour to meals ca.
twice/ week.
Testson260mtofgroundnuts
<2%
sorted out
60% used in food or feed
Sources:
ICRISAT (2011) &
Twin GPAF (2013)
On farm hand sorting: Not enough contaminated crop is removed from the food chain!
Food Safety – Mycotoxins, including aflatoxin – challenges for research and innovation

7. • Majority of market led work re: aflatoxin
and groundnuts focuses on building
export value chains;
• Export driven groundnut market system
and value chains fail to serve the needs of
smallholder producers and consumers;
• Need for a food safety focus in local food
systems and farm level infrastructure as
well as export value chains.
Key Challenge: Importance of food safety in all food systems
There is a need for a cross sector
approach to the issue of aflatoxin
Food Safety – Mycotoxins, including aflatoxin – challenges for research and innovation

8. Food Safety – Mycotoxins, including aflatoxin – Approaches to innovation
“Evidence shows that developing a functioning food safety system begins in the
corporate sector, both for domestic consumption and for export crops.”
WHO IARC Report No 9, 2015
Support to entrepreneurs and innovators is needed. BUT:
“70 to 80% of new businesses fail and only half survive for 5 years or more.”
[PAEPARD] Training course on Promoting Entrepreneurship and Agribusiness Development
Innovations in formal value chains: (Protects consumers in export, local retail &
regional, inter/intra regional and international markets)
• Meet growing needs to urban consumers;
• Local produced safe RUTFs for severely malnourished children;
Informal value chains: (Improve quality so that all consumers benefit)
• Increase awareness or food safety & control of aflatoxin;
• Improve storage close to farmers to reduce waste & reduce contamination;
Cross cutting:
• Reduce cost and reliability of testing;
• Identify incentives to reduce aflatoxin & remove contamination from food chain;
• Remove or add value to contaminated crop informal & informal chains;
• Develop local use of ICT / Big Data eg: Mycotoxin Early Warning System

9. Thank you