Europe - Challenges with Increasing Level of Mycotoxins in Wheat

An article from University of Bath (UK) discusses the rise in fungal toxins in wheat and other cereal grains in Europe, specifically those toxins associated with Fusarium Head Blight.

Their findings - "Fusarium mycotoxins were discovered in every European country. Half of the wheat intended for human food in Europe contains the Fusarium mycotoxin “DON” (commonly referred to as vomitoxin) while in the UK, 70% of wheat is contaminated. Governments set legal limits on DON contamination levels in wheat that is to be consumed by humans. These regulations provide effective protection, with 95% of wheat destined for the table meeting the safety limits for DON concentration. However, the finding that mycotoxins are ubiquitous is concerning, as the effect of constant, low-level exposure to mycotoxins in our diet over the course of a lifetime is not known."

Penn State Extension has a piece on Fusarium Head Blight - Fusarium Head Blight (psu.edu)

So what may have led to this this increase?  Speaking with our European expert on grain Mold, Dr. Voloshchuk, she said two factors that need investigation are  weather conditions associated with global climate change and along with that, the push to decrease the use of fungicides.

Harmful fungal toxins in wheat: a growing threat across Europe (bath.ac.uk)
Harmful fungal toxins in wheat: a growing threat across Europe
Harmful fungal toxins are on the rise in Europe’s wheat and affect almost half of crops, according to a new study led by the University of Bath.

Press release
Published on Thursday 15 December 2022
Last updated on Friday 16 December 2022

Wheat – the most widely cultivated crop in the world – is under growing attack from harmful toxins. Across Europe, almost half of wheat crops are impacted by the fungal infection that gives rise to these toxins, according to a study led by fungal biologist Dr Neil Brown from the University of Bath, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Exeter.

These troublesome ‘mycotoxins’ are produced by the fungus that causes Fusarium Head Blight, a disease that affects wheat and other cereals growing in the field. Eating products contaminated with mycotoxins causes sickness in humans and livestock, such as vomiting and other gastrointestinal problems. Mycotoxins are also bad news for farmers and the economy because they reduce the grain’s value.

Wheat plays a huge role in feeding humanity, providing 18% of the total calories in people’s diets globally. Concerns both for our health and for global food supplies were the impetuses for the new study.

Dr Brown, who works in the Milner Centre for Evolution in the Department of Life Sciences at Bath, said: “Contaminated crops and Fusarium toxins are always a worry, as they pose a significant threat to our health, especially as we only partially understand their effects on our wellbeing.”

“But on top of these health concerns, we must remember that wheat is a hugely important global crop, so it’s essential for us to maintain high yields along with safe food production – not least because climate change, and now the war in Ukraine (the world’s fourth largest exporter of wheat), are already impacting on wheat yields and grain prices.”

Preventing toxin contaminations is therefore important both to help maintain the stable price of wheat and to protect our food security, ensuring global stability.

Fungal toxins present in almost half of wheat

The research team examined the largest datasets available from governments and agribusiness, both of which monitor Fusarium mycotoxins in wheat grain entering our food and animal feed supply chains. By using data from across Europe (including the UK) from the past 10 years, the team built the most complete picture yet of the mycotoxin threat and how it is changing.

Fusarium mycotoxins were discovered in every European country. Half of the wheat intended for human food in Europe contains the Fusarium mycotoxin “DON” (commonly referred to as vomitoxin) while in the UK, 70% of wheat is contaminated. Governments set legal limits on DON contamination levels in wheat that is to be consumed by humans. These regulations provide effective protection, with 95% of wheat destined for the table meeting the safety limits for DON concentration. However, the finding that mycotoxins are ubiquitous is concerning, as the effect of constant, low-level exposure to mycotoxins in our diet over the course of a lifetime is not known.

“There are real concerns that chronic dietary exposure to these mycotoxins impacts human health.” said Dr Brown.




https://www.food-safety.com/articles/8006-usda-discovers-33-new-mycotoxin-producing-fungi-species
USDA Discovers 33 New Mycotoxin-Producing Fungi Species
September 20, 2022

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA’s ARS) has discovered 33 new species of mycotoxin-producing fungi belonging to the genus Fusarium.

According to ARS scientists, many Fusarium species produce harmful secondary metabolites in plant tissues including trichothecenes, which are among the mycotoxins of greatest concern to food safety and human health. Not only do mycotoxins present an immediate threat to livestock and humans as they can cause illness, they may also be carcinogenic if consumed regularly over a prolonged period.

Notably, some of the fungal Fusarium species can cause severe cases of Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), a disease that affects crucial crops such as cereal. The FHB-causing fungi infect wheat florets, causing fungi and toxins to accumulate in wheat seeds. If the seeds are harvested and ground into flour, it can cause the toxic contamination of entire loads of grain.

The new fungal species are being held at the ARS Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research unit in Peoria, Illinois, which is part of the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR). Within NCAUR lies the ARS Culture Collection, which is one of the largest public collections of microbes in the world, housing about 98,000 strains of bacteria, yeast, and fungi. The ARS Culture Collection serves as a comprehensive collection of specimens that researchers can use to breed resistant crops, develop tools to monitor pathogens, detect and mitigate the spread of new invasive pathogens, and evaluate possible chemical and biological controls. The discovery of the 33 new Fusarium species enables new avenues of research to combat mycotoxins and FHB.