MYCOTOXINS AND

PESTICIDE RESIDUES
V.USHASREE
MAHIMA V.V
ROSEMARY INASU
SHERIN VARGHEESE
RAGHUL RAJESH
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Mycotoxin
• Mycotoxin originated from the Greek words mykes, means "fungus" and toxikon, meaning
"poison")
• Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of fungi.
• Mycotoxins are considered to be one of the most important contaminants in
foods and feeds.
• These cause liver damage, kidney damage and immune system damage.
• According to the FAO, more than 25% of the world’s agricultural production is
contaminated with Mycotoxins.

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• Mycotoxins tend to be very hardy and some of them might not be effected
by heating or freezing, hence they are very hazardous for health.

• The level of contamination of agricultural commodities with fungi

and mycotoxins varies with crop cultivar, climate, and agricultural practices.

• 350-400 known mycotoxins.

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Storage conditions that favor production of
mycotoxins:
• Temperature (40 - 90F ; 4oC – 32oC)

• Relative Humidity (> 70%)

• Moisture (22-23% in grain)

• Oxygen (1-2%)

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Types of Mycotoxin

• Aflatoxin : B1, B2, G1, and G2.

• Ochratoxin: Ochratoxin A (OTA), Ochratoxin B (OTB), Ochratoxin C
(OTC)
• Citrinin
• ErgotAlkaloids
• Patulin
• Fusarium: Fumonisins
• Trichothecenes
• Zearalenone.
• T-2 Toxin, Deoxyniba-lenol (DON) or VomitoxinNatural Toxic

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HEALTH EFFECTS

• Food poisoning and vomiting (Vomitoxin)

• Aflatoxicosis (Aflatoxin)
• Aplastic anemia (bone marrow failure)
• Bleeding (Trichothecenes)
• Acute pulmonary hemorrhage
• Cancer (Aflatoxin)
• Birth defects (Fumonisins)

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SOME OCCURENCES

IN FOOD
• In 2004 in Kenya, 125 people died and nearly 200 others were treated after
eating aflatoxin-contaminated maize.
• The deaths were mainly associated with homegrown maize that had not
been treated with fungicides or properly dried before storage.
• Due to food shortages at the time, farmers may have been harvesting
maize earlier than normal to prevent thefts from their fields, so that the
grain had not fully matured and was more susceptible to infection.

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SOME OCCURENCES

IN ANIMAL FOOD
• There were outbreaks of dog food containing aflatoxin in North America
in late 2005 and early 2006, and again in late 2011
IN DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS
• Contamination of medicinal plants with mycotoxins can contribute to
adverse human health problems and therefore represents a special
hazard.
• Numerous natural occurrences of mycotoxins in medicinal plants and
herbal medicines have been reported from various countries including
Spain, China, Germany, India, Turkey and from the Middle East.

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R & D CENTRES FOR STUDY OF MYCOTOXINS IN INDIA
Considerable R & D work on mycotoxin contamination is being
carried out at the following centres:
• National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad.
• Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore.
• Indian Grain Storage Institute (IGSI), Hapur.
• Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI), Lucknow.
• Industrial Toxicology Research Centre (ITRC), Lucknow.
• Vallabh Bhai Patel Chest Institute, New Delhi.
• Universities/Regional Research Laboratories under the CSIR.
• I.C.A.R. and its Centres.

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REGULATION

• Many international agencies are trying to achieve universal

standardization of regulatory limits for mycotoxins.
• Currently, over 100 countries have regulations regarding mycotoxins in
the feed industry, in which 13 mycotoxins or groups of mycotoxins are of
concern.
• The process of assessing a need for mycotoxin regulation includes a wide
array of in-laboratory testing that includes extracting, clean-up and
separation techniques.
• Most official regulations and control methods are based on high-
performance liquid techniques through international bodies. (e.g., HPLC)
• The standards for the method performance analysis for mycotoxins is set
by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN).
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REGULATION IN INDIA
• In India, the Governmental agencies procure food grains
confirming to prescribed specifications thereby minimising the
chances of contamination and thus ensure the supply of good
quality food grains to the consumers through PDS.
• At farm level also quality consciousness is created amongst the
farmers through a network of 17 teams of Save Grain Campaign.
• The Quality Control Teams monitor the quality of foodgrains at
commercial level.
•

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PESTICIDES RESIDUES
PESTICIDE RESIDUES

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PESTICIDES
• Pesticides are used to protect crops against insects, weeds, fungi
and other pests.
• Pesticides are potentially toxic to humans and can have both acute
and chronic health effects, depending on the quantity and ways in
which a person is exposed.
• Some of the older, cheaper pesticides can remain for years in soil
and water. These chemicals have been banned from agricultural use
in developed countries, but they are still used in many developing
countries.

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WHO defined pesticide residues as,

• "Any substance or mixture of substances in food for man or animals

resulting from the use of a pesticide and includes any specified
derivatives, such as degradation and conversion products,
metabolites, reaction products, and impurities that are considered
to be of toxicological significance”.

• refers to the pesticide that may remain on or in food after they are
applied to food crops.
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• People who face the greatest health risks from exposure to
pesticides are those who come into contact with them at work, in
their home or garden.
• Pesticides play a significant role in food production. They protect or
increase yields and the number of times per year a crop can be
grown on the same land. This is particularly important in countries
that face food shortages.
• To protect food consumers from adverse effects of pesticides, WHO
reviews evidence and develops internationally-accepted Maximum
Residue Limits (MRL).

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• Pesticides can be grouped according to the types of pests which
they kill:

Insecticides - Insects
Herbicides - plants
Rodenticides - rodents (rats and mice)
Bactericides - bacteria
Fungicides - fungi
Larvicides - larvae

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• There are more than 1000 pesticides used around the world to ensure
food is not damaged or destroyed by pests. Each pesticide has different
properties and toxicological effects.

• Many of the older, cheaper (off-patent) pesticides, such as

dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and Lindane, can remain for years
in soil and water.

• These chemicals have been banned by countries who signed the 2001
Stockholm Convention – an international treaty that aims to eliminate or
restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants.

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• The toxicity of a pesticide depends on its function and other factors.
For example, insecticides tend to be more toxic to humans than
herbicides.
• The same chemical can have different effects at different doses (how
much of the chemical a person is exposed to).
• It can also depend on the route by which the exposure occurs (such
as swallowing, inhaling, or direct contact with the skin).

• None of the pesticides that are authorized for use on food in

international trade today are genotoxic (damaging to DNA, which
can cause mutations or cancer).

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• Adverse effects from these pesticides occur only above a certain safe
level of exposure.
• When people come into contact with large quantities of pesticide,
this may cause acute poisoning or long-term health effects,
including cancer and adverse effects on reproduction.
• As they are intrinsically toxic and deliberately spread in the
environment, the production, distribution, and use of pesticides
require strict regulation and control. Regular monitoring of
residues in food and the environment is also required.

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• WHO has two objectives in relation to pesticides:

1. To ban pesticides that are most toxic to humans, as well as

pesticides that remain for the longest time in the environment.
2. To protect public health by setting maximum limits for pesticide
residues in food and water.

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Who is at risk?
• People who are directly exposed to pesticides. agricultural workers
who apply pesticides, and other people in the immediate area
during and right after pesticides are spread.

• The general population – who are not in the area where pesticides
are used – is exposed to significantly lower levels of pesticide
residues through food and water.

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PREVENTION AND CONTROL
• Nobody should be exposed to unsafe amounts of pesticide.

• People spreading pesticide on crops, in homes, or in gardens should

be adequately protected. People not directly involved in the spread
of pesticides should stay away from the area during and just after a
spread.

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• Food that is sold or donated (such as food aid) should comply with
pesticide regulations, in particular with MRL. People who grow
their own food should, when using pesticides, follow instructions
for use and protect themselves by wearing gloves and face masks as
necessary.

• Consumers can further limit their intake of pesticide residues by

peeling or washing fruit and vegetables, which also reduces other
foodborne hazards, such as harmful bacteria.

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GLOBAL IMPACT
• The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO) estimates that, in developing countries, 80% of the necessary
increases in food production keep pace with population growth are
projected to come from increases in yields and the number of times
per year crops can be grown on the same land. Only 20% of new
food production is expected to come from expansion of farming
land.
• Pesticides can prevent large crop losses and will therefore continue
to play a role in agriculture. However, the effects on humans and
the environment of exposure to pesticides are a continuing concern.

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• The use of pesticides to produce food, both to feed local
populations and for export, should comply with good agricultural
practices regardless of the economic status of a country. Farmers
should limit the amount of pesticide used to the minimum
necessary to protect their crops.

• It is also possible, under certain circumstances, to produce food

without the use of pesticides.

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WHO RESPONSE
• WHO, in collaboration with FAO, is responsible for assessing the risks to
humans of pesticides – both through direct exposure, and through
residues in food – and for recommending adequate protections.

• Risk assessments for pesticide residues in food are conducted by an

independent, international expert scientific group, the Joint FAO/WHO
Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR). These assessments are based on all
of the data submitted for national registrations of pesticides worldwide as
well as all scientific studies published in peer-reviewed journals. After
assessing the level of risk, the JMPR establishes limits for safe intake to
ensure that the amount of pesticide residue people are exposed to through
eating food over their lifetime will not result in adverse health effects.

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Most Pesticide-Contaminated Fruits and Vegetables

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99 percent of apple samples tested positive for at least one
pesticide residue.

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98 percent of peaches tested positive for at least one pesticide
residue

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97 percent of nectarines tested positive for at least one
pesticide residues.

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A single sample of strawberry showed 13 different pesticide.

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A single grape sample contained 15 pesticides.

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It ranked sixth on this year's list of Dirty
Dozen.

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This leafy veggie dropped to seventh this
year, from sixth last year.

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Single samples of cherry tomatoes
showed 13 different pesticides.

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• Always Wash The Produce Before Eating Them
• Grow Your Own Fruits And Veggies In Your Garden
• Buy Only Unsprayed Or Organic Products
• Dry The Produce Before Consumption
• Harvest Your Products From The Forest
• Never Rinse Your Fruits And Vegetables With Soap
• Use Only Organic Repellents For Your Garden
• Peel The Outer Layers
• Identify The Fruits And Vegetables With The Highest Pesticide
Load

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