Mycotoxins in Fruits and Vegetables

R. Barkai-Golan · Nachman Paster

Sep 2011 · Elsevier

About this ebook

Mycotoxins are toxins produced by aerobic, microscopic fungus under special conditions of moisture and temperature. They colonize in a variety of foods from harvest to the grocer. Mycotoxins have gained world wide interest in recent years with the revelation of the effect of these toxins on health. A current example is the presence of ochratoxin A, a human carcinogen and nephrotoxin, in wines. The increased concern about fruit safety has led to increased studies throughout the world and enhanced awareness for stringent regulations governing mycotoxin limits in food.Presented in three defined sections, this is the first book to provide comprehensive analysis of the main mycotoxins contaminating fruits and vegetables and their derived products. The first section provides a safety evaluation of mycotoxins in fruits and vegetables, details regarding factors affecting mycotoxin production and diffusion in the fruit tissue, and recent methods for detection of mycotoxigenic fungi and mycotoxins produced by the fungi. The second part takes a critical look at the main individual mycotoxins and the third section focuses on approaches for prevention and control. - The first book dedicated to mycotoxins in fruits and vegetables - Presents mycological, mycotoxicological and phytopathological aspects of fruits and vegetables - Includes an analysis of detection, prevention and control methods for mycotoxigenic fungi and the mycotoxins they produce - Provides a complete risk assessment and safety evaluation of mycotoxins in perishable produce

About the author

Prof. Rivka Barkai-Golan received her Ph.D in 1956 from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She has been a Senior Research Scientist in Postharvest Pathology and Mycology at the Volcani Center, Bet Dagan and a Professor of Postharvest Pathology at the Faculty of Agriculture of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she has been honored a Distinguished Professor.Prof. Barkai-Golan has been a pioneer in the research on ionizing radiation as a means for prolongation of the postharvest life of fruits and vegetables; Chairman of the microbiological Group of the Institute of Technology and Storage of Agricultural Products (1979); Chairman of the Food Technology Committee of the United States - Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development (BARD) (1984); Chairman of the Steering Committee for Radiation Applications in Agriculture, and a Delegateof the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture for the International Conference on Food Irradiation in Geneva (1988) for the preparation of International Document on the Acceptance, Control and Trade in Irradiated Food.Prof. Barkai-Golan has been the recipient of search grants from BARD (1985, 1987) and from the CDR US-Israel Cooperative Development Research Fund (1988). She has published over 150 scientific papers as well as invited reviews and chapters. She wrote 4 books in the field of postharvest diseases. She was invited to present introductory and review lectures at International Congresses and Workshops, was the organizer and chairman of postharvest sessions in Israel, Wageningen Holland, Pretoria S.A., Caracas Venezuela, Kyoto Japan, Belgerate Italy, and presided over the Third Israeli-Italian Phytopathological Symposium, Tel Aviv (1994). Her current research interests are host-pathogen interactions, non-chemical means for postharvest disease suppression and factors involved in mycotoxin production in harvested fruits and vegetables.

Prof. Nachman Paster is an expert in Mycoflora and Mycotoxins of Stored Products and Food, in the Volcani Center and a Professor in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJ), The Faculty of Agriculture, giving the course on: "Moulds and Mycotoxins in Agricultural Produce and Processed Foods".