RELOAD at the 1st African Symposium on Mycotoxicology
PhD student Chemeda Abedeta Garbaba from Jimma University, Ethiopia, presented his work on post-harvest management in maize to reduce mycotoxin contamination at the 1st African Symposium on Mycotoxicology in Livingstone, Zambia, 26-28 May 2015.
The salient point of Mr Abedetas work is that it focused on assessing the incidence of mycotoxin-producing fungi in maize by following the way of the product along the supply chain in several districts of Jimma zone in southwest Ethiopia. He repeatedly collected samples from maize stores on farm, at collectors and wholesalers, for a period of approximately 6 months after the maize was harvested. By doing so, Mr Abedeta could assess the frequency and degree of fungal contamination as well as the range of species that was present in the samples.
At the farm level, up to 50% of maize cobs were infested by fungal spores. The degree of infestation depended on the length of the storage period as well as on the prevailing climatic conditions. Not all the fungi found are detrimental to human health; however, Fusarium, Penicillium and Aspergillus spp., which are capable to produce mycotoxins, are the most dominant species; the proportion of Aspergillus and Penicillium was found to further increase under collectors’ and wholesalers’ storage condition.
The results highlight the need for evaluating different storage technologies in relation to climatic conditions and to design appropriate management option at each point of the supply chain.
See the presentation >>here
See the abstract >>here
