Explore the vast range of titles available.

This study reports the inherent phytochemical contents in leaves and roots of nine sweet potato varieties from Kenya. Results indicated that vitamin C content varied significantly (P<0.05) among the sweet potato varieties regardless of the plant part, leaves having significantly (P<0.05) higher levels than in the roots. Total flavonoids and phenolic compounds differed significantly (P<0.05) among varieties, higher values were found in leaves than in roots. Flavonoid contents in roots ranged from below detectable limits (Whitesp) to 25.8 mg CE/100 g (SPK031), while in leaves it ranged from 4097 to 7316 mg CE/100 g in SPK4 and Kenspot 5, respectively. Phenolic content was below detectable limits in the roots of whitesp but it was in substantial amounts in orange fleshed varieties. The β-carotene content was significantly (P<0.05) higher in leaves (16.43–34.47 mg/100 g dry weight) than in roots (not detected—11.1 mg/100 g dry weight). Total and phytic phosphorus were directly correlated with phytate contents in leaves and the roots. Tannins and soluble oxalates varied significantly (P<0.05) with variety and plant part being higher in leaves. The current information is important for ration formulations and dietary recommendations utilizing sweet potato leaves and roots. Future studies on effects of processing methods on these phytochemicals are recommended.

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of fungi that contaminate food and feed and have a significant negative impact on human and animal health and productivity. The tropical condition in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) together with poor storage of feed promotes fungal growth and subsequent mycotoxin production. Aflatoxins (AF) produced by Aspergillus species, fumonisins (FUM), zearalenone (ZEN), T-2 toxin (T-2), and deoxynivalenol (DON) produced by Fusarium species, and ochratoxin A (OTA) produced by Penicillium and Aspergillus species are well-known mycotoxins of agricultural importance. Consumption of feed contaminated with these toxins may cause mycotoxicoses in animals, characterized by a range of clinical signs depending on the toxin, and losses in the animal industry. In SSA, contamination of dairy feed with mycotoxins has been frequently reported, which poses a serious constraint to animal health and productivity, and is also a hazard to human health since some mycotoxins and their metabolites are excreted in milk, especially aflatoxin M1. This review describes the major mycotoxins, their occurrence, and impact in dairy cattle diets in SSA highlighting the problems related to animal health, productivity, and food safety and the up-to-date post-harvest mitigation strategies for the prevention and reduction of contamination of dairy feed.

The poultry industry in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is faced with feed insecurity, associated with high cost of feeds, and feed safety, associated with locally produced feeds often contaminated with mycotoxins. Mycotoxins, including aflatoxins (AFs), fumonisins (FBs), trichothecenes, and zearalenone (ZEN), are common contaminants of poultry feeds and feed ingredients from SSA. These mycotoxins cause deleterious effects on the health and productivity of chickens and can also be present in poultry food products, thereby posing a health hazard to human consumers of these products. This review summarizes studies of major mycotoxins in poultry feeds, feed ingredients, and poultry food products from SSA as well as aflatoxicosis outbreaks. Additionally reviewed are the worldwide regulation of mycotoxins in poultry feeds, the impact of major mycotoxins in the production of chickens, and the postharvest use of mycotoxin detoxifiers. In most studies, AFs are most commonly quantified, and levels above the European Union regulatory limits of 20 μg/kg are reported. Trichothecenes, FBs, ZEN, and OTA are also reported but are less frequently analyzed. Co-occurrences of mycotoxins, especially AFs and FBs, are reported in some studies. The effects of AFs on chickens’ health and productivity, carryover to their products, as well as use of mycotoxin binders are reported in few studies conducted in SSA. More research should therefore be conducted in SSA to evaluate occurrences, toxicological effects, and mitigation strategies to prevent the toxic effects of mycotoxins.

Mycotoxins are common in grains in sub-Saharan Africa and negatively impact human and animal health and production. This study assessed occurrences of mycotoxins, some plant, and bacterial metabolites in 16 dairy and 27 poultry feeds, and 24 feed ingredients from Machakos town, Kenya, in February and August 2019. We analyzed the samples using a validated multi-toxin liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method. A total of 153 mycotoxins, plant, and bacterial toxins, were detected in the samples. All the samples were co-contaminated with 21 to 116 different mycotoxins and/or metabolites. The commonly occurring and EU regulated mycotoxins reported were; aflatoxins (AFs) (70%; range 0.2–318.5 μg/kg), deoxynivalenol (82%; range 22.2–1037 μg/kg), ergot alkaloids (70%; range 0.4–285.7 μg/kg), fumonisins (90%; range 32.4–14,346 μg/kg), HT-2 toxin (3%; range 11.9–13.8 μg/kg), ochratoxin A (24%; range 1.1–24.3 μg/kg), T-2 toxin (4%; range 2.7–5.2 μg/kg) and zearalenone (94%; range 0.3–910.4 μg/kg). Other unregulated emerging mycotoxins and metabolites including Alternaria toxins, Aspergillus toxins, bacterial metabolites, cytochalasins, depsipeptides, Fusarium metabolites, metabolites from other fungi, Penicillium toxins, phytoestrogens, plant metabolites, and unspecific metabolites were also detected at varying levels. Except for total AFs, where the average contamination level was above the EU regulatory limit, all the other mycotoxins detected had average contamination levels below the limits. Ninety-six percent of all the samples were contaminated with more than one of the EU regulated mycotoxins. These co-occurrences may cause synergistic and additive health effects thereby hindering the growth of the Kenyan livestock sector.

Aflatoxins (AFs) frequently contaminate food and animal feeds, especially in (sub) tropical countries. If animals consume contaminated feeds, AFs (mainly aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), B2 (AFB2), G1 (AFG1), G2 (AFG2) and their major metabolites aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) and M2 (AFM2)) can be transferred to edible tissues and products, such as eggs, liver and muscle tissue and milk, which ultimately can reach the human food chain. Currently, the European Union has established a maximum level for AFM1 in milk (0.05 µg kg−1). Dietary adsorbents, such as bentonite clay, have been used to reduce AFs exposure in animal husbandry and carry over to edible tissues and products. To investigate the efficacy of adding bentonite clay to animal diets in reducing the concentration of AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2, and the metabolites AFM1 and AFM2 in animal-derived foods (chicken muscle and liver, eggs, and cattle milk), chicken and cattle plasma and cattle ruminal fluid, a sensitive and selective ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method has been developed. High-throughput sample preparation procedures were optimized, allowing the analysis of 96 samples per analytical batch and consisted of a liquid extraction using 1% formic acid in acetonitrile, followed by a further clean-up using QuEChERS (muscle tissue), QuEChERS in combination with Oasis® Ostro (liver tissue), Oasis® Ostro (egg, plasma), and Oasis® PRiME HLB (milk, ruminal fluid). The different procedures were validated in accordance with European guidelines. As a proof-of-concept, the final methods were used to successfully determine AFs concentrations in chicken and cattle samples collected during feeding trials for efficacy and safety evaluation of mycotoxin detoxifiers to protect against AFs as well as their carry-over to animal products.

Warm and humid climatic conditions coupled with poor agricultural practices in sub-Saharan Africa favor the contamination of food and feed by Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium verticillioides fungi, which subsequently may produce aflatoxins (AFs) and fumonisins (FBs), respectively. The growth of fungi and the production of mycotoxins are influenced by physical (temperature, pH, water activity, light and aeration), nutritional, and biological factors. This study aimed at optimizing the conditions for the laboratory production of large quantities of AFs and FBs for use in the animal experiments. A. flavus and F. verticillioides strains, previously isolated from maize in Kenya, were used. Levels of AFB1 and total FBs (FB1, FB2, and FB3) in different growth substrates were screened using ELISA methods. Maize kernels inoculated with three different strains of A. flavus simultaneously and incubated at 29 °C for 21 days had the highest AFB1 level of 12,550 ± 3397 μg/kg of substrate. The highest level of total FBs (386,533 ± 153,302 μg/kg of substrate) was detected in cracked maize inoculated with three different strains of F. verticillioides and incubated for 21 days at temperatures of 22–25 °C in a growth chamber fitted with yellow light. These two methods are recommended for the mass production of AFB1 and FBs for animal feeding trials.

This study examined the effects of fumonisins (FBs) and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), alone or in combination, on the productivity and health of laying hens, as well as the transfer of aflatoxins (AFs) to chicken food products. The efficacy and safety of mycotoxin detoxifiers (bentonite and fumonisin esterase) to mitigate these effects were also assessed. Laying hens (400) were divided into 20 groups and fed a control, moderate (54.6 µg/kg feed) or high (546 µg/kg feed) AFB1 or FBs (7.9 mg/kg feed) added diets, either alone or in combination, with the mycotoxin detoxifiers added in selected diets. Productivity was evaluated by feed intake, egg weight, egg production, and feed conversion ratio whereas health was assessed by organ weights, blood biochemistry, and mortality. Aflatoxins residues in plasma, liver, muscle, and eggs were determined using UHPLC-MS/MS methods. A diet with AFB1 at a concentration of 546 µg/kg feed decreased egg production and various AFB1-contaminated diets increased serum uric acid levels and weights of liver, spleen, heart, and gizzard. Interactions between AFB1 and FBs significantly impacted spleen, heart, and gizzard weights as well as AFB1 residues in eggs. Maximum AFB1 residues of 0.64 µg/kg and aflatoxin M1 (below limits of quantification) were observed in liver, plasma, and eggs of layers fed diets with AFB1. The mycotoxin detoxifiers reduced effects of AFB1 and FBs on egg production, organ weights, blood biochemistry, and AFB1 residues in tissues. This study highlights the importance of mycotoxin detoxifiers as a mitigation strategy against mycotoxins in poultry production.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing many fields including food safety. In food safety, the available data generated within the agrifood systems can potentially feed into AI applications. This review presents an overview of the use of AI in different fields of food safety. The study introduces a framework of AI in food safety, focusing on the research domain, application context, data collection method, and AI technique. The AI tool ASReview, which uses active learning to select top-priority papers, was used to conduct the study in a systematic way. Over 150 peer-reviewed journal publications were reviewed and described according to this framework. The review concludes with a summary of the challenges for AI in food safety and an outlook of future opportunities for AI in food safety.