Mycotoxin

• CHADDS FORD, Pa., March 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Queen's University Belfast (QUB) and MOBILion Systems, Inc. have launched a partnership to advance food safety by innovating test methods and tools that aim to quickly identify contaminants, enhancing current technologies for better detection.
• The goal is to ensure consumer access to safe, nutritious food, highlighting both organizations' commitment to public health.
• Their work focuses on improving the detection of contaminants such as mycotoxins and PFAS, leveraging QUB's extensive sample libraries and expertise to set new standards in food safety testing.
• This will significantly enhance our food security research within the Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast.

• CHICAGO, Nov. 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AirAnswers®, the leader in air sampling and testing technology, is expanding its test offering to include new HERTSMI-2 and FUNGITEN Tests.
• These tests can detect critical species of airborne mold associated with damp buildings, mycotoxins and CIRS symptoms.
• “This expansion of the AirAnswers test offering emphasizes the flexibility of this technology and expands the contributions AirAnswers will make to indoor air quality,” says Jim Koziarz, CEO of AirAnswers.
• “Effective air management requires the accurate assessment of air quality and the AirAnswers technology is a key element in the Assess-Remediate-Monitor model.

• These include the global nature of the food supply chain has increased the complexity of ensuring food safety.
• With food products crossing international borders, there is a need for standardized testing and quality assurance protocols to ensure that products meet safety standards.
• The largest growing trend in the food safety testing market is food pathogen, which is estimated to be the most significant market.
• The GMO food safety testing market is projected to stand second, in terms of the fastest-growing trends, during the forecast period from 2023 to 2028.

• If there’s one issue that has gripped the dog-loving community for the past few years, it’s that of cereals in dog food, and in particular in the ingredients that make up kibbles.
• The charges are manifold: the grains are said to cause bloating, obesity, gluten intolerance diabetes, and be riddled with mycotoxins (toxins produced by microscopic fungi).

Presumed culprits: cereals!

• A cereal is a herbaceous plant cultivated mainly for the nutritional value of its grains.
• Gluten refers to a group of proteins contained in the seeds of cereals from the Poaceae group.

Charge No. 1: Failing to respect a dog’s “natural” diet

• The first charge levelled against foods containing cereals is that they do not respect the dog’s “natural” diet.
• The diet of feral dogs, on the other hand, is also mainly based on human waste, made up mostly of cereals and human faeces.

Charge No. 2: Dogs can’t digest starch

• Contrary to popular belief, dogs have acquired some salivary alpha amylase – an enzyme responsible for kick-starting the process of breaking down starch – throughout their evolution, and can therefore digest a moderate quantity of starch.
• While dogs can survive without starch in their diets, its presence remains necessary in certain physiological conditions such as gestation and lactation.

Charge No. 3: Gluten makes dogs ill

• In dogs, the relationship between gluten and intestinal disease has been studied in the Irish setter for around 20 years, with researchers having yet to establish any causality.
• At present, these are the only two reports of pathologies that could be associated with the presence of gluten.

Charge No. 4: Cereals can poison dogs with mycotoxins

• They can be present in various plant organs, including grains, fruit and tubers.
• In humans and animals, mycotoxins can cause various health problems (liver toxicity, kidney toxicity, etc.).
• Compared with “premium” dog food, the total aflatoxin content is generally higher for “economy” dog food.

So, are cereal-free foods healthier?

• Finally, recent research has picked upon cases of heart disease (dilated cardiomyopathy) in dogs eating cereal-free foods rich in legumes, including in breeds not predisposed to this pathology.
• Although the association between cereal-free foods and dilated cardiomyopathy is not yet clear, caution is called for, particularly in the case of pea-based foods.

Verdict: It’s complicated

• Having eaten cereals since they were domesticated tens of thousands of years ago, dogs have developed the enzymes necessary for them to digest starch.
• In sum, there is currently no scientific justification for choosing a grain-free food for healthy dogs with no known medical conditions.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.