46I-6 |
Efficacy and safety of ozonation to reduce aflatoxin in raw peanuts |
J. M. KING, A. Moustafa, and J. N. Losso. Department of Food Science, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, 111 Food Science Bldg., Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 Ozone is a powerful oxidant capable of reaction with numerous chemical groups. Ozone has been used to inactivate microorganisms on foods, disinfect food processing operations and in water sterilization. The objective of this research was to use ozone to destroy aflatoxin in contaminated raw peanuts in the least amount of time without forming new mutagens. Aflatoxin contaminated peanut samples (400 ppb) were treated in a glass vessel with removable Teflon end caps. Samples were treated with ozone gas(10-12 wt%) at a rate of 1.5 L/ min for 9, 18, 36 or 72 hours, followed by drying at room temperature for 24 hours. Aflatoxin was extracted using acetonitrile-water(9:1) and extracts passed through Mycosep columns for clean-up. Samples were derivatized prior to HPLC analysis for aflatoxin content. Ozone reaction products formation of the 72-hour samples was evaluated through a series of extraction, partition, and digestion procedures. Mutagenic potential of the extracts were evaluated by the Ames assay using TA98 and TA100 strains. After 9 hours of ozone treatment aflatoxin content was reduced by 58.8%. After 72 hours of ozonation AFB1 level decreased 92.7%. The results suggest that more than 72 hours of exposure time is required for complete degradation of AFB1. Greater beginning quantities of aflatoxin are expected to require longer ozone exposure times for degradation. None of the extracts showed mutagenic response for TA 100, but all extracts except methylene chloride(MC) and organic pronase phase showed lower revertants than the natural numbers indicating that there were interfering compounds, especially for methanol extracts. MC extracts showed mutagenicity for TA 98, but lower than natural revertant numbers for all other extracts. Ozonation may be a valuable method for the decontamination of aflatoxin containing peanuts, but further analysis is required on the mutagenic and inhibitory effects of the reaction products.
Session 46I, Toxicology & Safety Evaluation
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