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Lookup NU author(s): Enas Sufar, Emeritus Professor Chris SealORCiD, Dr Leo RempelosORCiD, Gultakin Hasanaliyeva, Dr Marcin Baranski, Dr Nikolaos Volakakis, Professor Carlo Leifert
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).
© 2024 The Authors. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Institute of Food Technologists. There is still considerable controversy about the relative risk of mycotoxin exposure associated with the consumption of organic and conventional cereals. Using validated protocols, we carried out a systematic literature review and meta-analyses of data on the incidence and concentrations of mycotoxins produced by Fusarium, Claviceps, Penicillium, and Aspergillus species in organic and conventional cereal grains/products. The standard weighted meta-analysis of concentration data detected a significant effect of production system (organic vs. conventional) only for the Fusarium mycotoxins deoxynivalenol, with concentrations ∼50% higher in conventional than organic cereal grains/products (p < 0.0001). Weighted meta-analyses of incidence data and unweighted meta-analyses of concentration data also detected small, but significant effects of production system on the incidence and/or concentrations of T-2/HT-2 toxins, zearalenone, enniatin, beauvericin, ochratoxin A (OTA), and aflatoxins. Multilevel meta-analyses identified climatic conditions, cereal species, study type, and analytical methods used as important confounding factors for the effects of production system. Overall, results from this study suggest that (i) Fusarium mycotoxin contamination decreased between the 1990s and 2020, (ii) contamination levels are similar in organic and conventional cereals used for human consumption, and (iii) maintaining OTA concentrations below the maximum contamination levels (3.0 μg/kg) set by the EU remains a major challenge.
Author(s): Wang J, Sufar EK, Bernhoft A, Seal C, Rempelos L, Hasanaliyeva G, Zhao B, Iversen PO, Baranski M, Volakakis N, Leifert C
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety
Year: 2024
Volume: 23
Issue: 3
Online publication date: 08/05/2024
Acceptance date: 18/04/2024
Date deposited: 20/05/2024
ISSN (electronic): 1541-4337
Publisher: Institute of Food Technologists
URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/1541-4337.13363
DOI: 10.1111/1541-4337.13363
PubMed id: 38720588
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