Laboratory of Food Analysis

Prof. Dr. Pharm.D. Sarah De Saeger

Faculty of Pharmaceutical SciencesGhent University

Laboratory of Food Analysis:

Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences800 students180 personnel staff3 departments: - Pharmaceutics

- Pharmaceutical analysis- Bioanalysis: - Laboratory of Food Analysis

- Laboratory of Toxicology- Laboratory of Medical Biochemistry and Clinical Analysis

Laboratory of Food Analysis: Prof. dr. Sarah De Saeger:

Post-doctoral researchers:Dr. Johan Aerts (honorary fellow)Dr. Natalia Arroyo-ManzanaresDr. Natalia BeloglazovaDr. Marthe De BoevreDr. José Diana Di MavunguDr. Ellen Heyndrickx

PhD students:Cynthia ChilakaMarlies DecleerGilke De MiddeleerKarl De RuyckAstrid FoubertValentina GoftmanKinga GraniczkowskaMelody HoveSomar Khalil Al Ibrahim TraoreJeroen Walravens

Administrative personnel:Marianne BailleulAnnie De Lobelle

Lab technicians:Kelly BoerjanChrist’l DetavernierTom DevosFréderic DumoulinJolien ScheerlinckMario Van De Velde

Teaching assistant:Esther De Rycke

Prof. dr. Sarah De Saeger is the founder and coordinator of the MYTOX research platform. For many years, the research activities in the Laboratory of Food Analysis have focused on the development and application of various analytical tools (rapid screening and confirmation) for the determination of mycotoxins in diverse biological samples (including food, feed, urine, tissues). The Laboratory of Food Analysis is an accredited laboratory (ISO17025) for multi-mycotoxin analysis in several matrices. Next to different LC-MS/MS instrumentaria, a new Ultra High-Performance liquid chromatograph in combination with a Quadrupole Traveling-wave Ion Mobility Separation (IMS) Time-of-Flight high resolution mass spectrometer (HRMS) instrument has been recently acquired through funding from the Hercules Foundation. This new equipment will further strengthen the (un)targeted- and metabolomics-based research performed in this research group.

Prof. dr. Sarah De Saeger is also member of the Ghent University Committee for Development Cooperation and she successfully organized short training initiatives (VLIR-UOS-STI) on mycotoxin analysis in the years 2012, 2013 and 2014 for people from developing countries. Furthermore, she is promoter of several (Sandwich) PhD projects with candidates (and promoted ones) from Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Malawi.

www.mytox.be

mycologists

plant pathologists

food chemists

veterinarians

epidemiologistsmedical doctors

analytical chemists

MYTOX

Interdisciplinary research platform on mycotoxins and toxigenic moulds:- Toxigenic moulds- Mycotoxins- Effects on animal health- Effects on human health

Eleven research laboratories with more than 50 researchers involved.More information and contacts: www.mytox.be

Laboratory of Food AnalysisMYTOX COORDINATION

Faculty of Bioscience Engineering- Research Group Food Chemistry and Human Nutrition - nutriFOODchem-Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Food Preservation-Department of Applied Bioscience Engineering

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine- Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology

Faculty of Sciences- Polymer Chemistry and Biomaterials Research Group- Laboratory for Organic and Biomimetic Chemistry

Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences- Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology

Faculty of Life Sciences and Technology-Agro- and Biotechnology-Laboratory of Brewing and Biochemistry

www.mytox.be

Research: Joint Laboratory of Mycotoxin Research UGent - Shanghai

Jiao Tong University – Chinese Academy of Sciences – signed during State Visit

of the Belgian King in China (June 2015)

Education: Short Training on Mycotoxin Analysis – VLIR-UOS,

Summer 2012, 2013, 2014 ….

Many different projects and PhD students from different

countries (including developing countries)

International activities initiated by Prof. Sarah De Saeger

Ongoing projects and cooperations with Africa:

KEY-topics:- Training in analytical methods for mycotoxin detection- Surveys on mycotoxin occurrence- Biomonitoring studies to assess human mycotoxin exposure- Influence of traditional food processing on (modified) mycotoxin occurrence

Countries in Africa with ongoing cooperation:- Burkina Faso- Cameroon- Ethiopia- Malawi- Nigeria- South-Africa- Zimbabwe

• Prof. De Saeger as promotor of defended doctorates with African candidate:

Emmanuel Njumbe Ediage, UGent, 12/09/2012, “Development of analytical tools and strategies to assess mycotoxin contamination and exposure: case study Cameroon”

Limbikani Matumba, UGent, 30/09/2014, “Understanding and tackling the complexity of the mycotoxin problem in sub-saharan Africa: regulations and decontamination strategies”

• Prof. De Saeger as promotor of ongoing (sandwich) doctorates with African candidate:

Melody Hove, Ugent, University of Zimbabwe (03/01/14 - now), “Human dietary exposure to mycotoxins in Zimbabwe and related risk assessment and management”

Cynthia Chilaka, Ugent, McPherson University (01/01/2015 - now), ” Fusarium mycotoxins and their masked forms in Nigerian foods: occurrence and influence of traditional processing methods”

Al Ibrahim Traore, Ugent, (starting 01/06/2016), “The impact of mycotoxin exposure on malnutrition incidence in Burkina Faso using biomarker analysis”

“Human dietary exposure to mycotoxins in Zimbabwe and related risk assessment and management”

Melody Hove

• Aim• To develop a science-based reduction

strategy for mycotoxins in locally grown maize in Zimbabwe such to decrease dietary exposure of rural subsistence farming communities to these toxins.

Objectives• To determine mycotoxin contamination of subsistence farmed maize in Zimbabwe.

• To obtain insight into the possible relationship between agricultural practices of maize cultivation by rural subsistence farmers and mycotoxin contamination of the maize.

• To develop a model to predict the occurrence of aflatoxins and fumonisins in subsistence farmed maize cultivated in Zimbabwe.

• To obtain insight into the exposure of the rural subsistence farming communities in Zimbabwe to AFB1 and FB1 through consumption of locally grown maizerelated human health risk.

• To provide science based recommendations for modified and sustainable subsistence farming practices for maize cultivation and mycotoxin legislation in Zimbabwe

Project sites• Manicaland Province

– Chisengu (region I)– Nyanga (region IIa)– Chipinge (region IIb)– Rusape (region IIb)– Chisumbanje (region V)

• Mashonaland West Province– Chinhoyi (region IIa)– Karoi (region IIa)– Kadoma (region IIb)– Mhondoro (region IIb)

261 maize samples have been collected from 95 households since December 2014

Fusarium mycotoxins and their modified forms in Nigerian foods: occurrence and influence of traditional

processing methods

Cynthia A. Chilaka

Aim• To investigate the occurrence of Fusarium

mycotoxins and modified forms in Nigerian staple crops and their locally processed food products, as well as the behaviour of Fusarium mycotoxins and modified forms during traditional processing of food products

Crops: Maize, sorghum, millet, soybean, castor bean seed, African locust bean, mesquite seed

Food products: Fermented beverages (Pito, burukutu), Traditional spices (dawadawa, ogiri, okpehe), Staple foods (Gari, lafun, amala), Infant foods (ogi, soybean powder)

Crops and food products of interest

Objectives• To investigate the occurrence of Fusarium (modified)

mycotoxins forms in Nigerian crops; and their processed products

• To investigate the effect of traditional processing methods on the occurrence of Fusarium mycotoxins and modified mycotoxin

• To identify new, unknown modified mycotoxins in the staple and processed food products

• To compile guidelines in terms of processing and the reduction of the mycotoxin content in processed foods in Nigeria

• To sensitize relevant stakeholders in Nigeria towards an action plan based on the obtained results

Sampling sites

• 5 Agro-ecological zones• 10 States• 749 samples were collected in 2015 from randomly selected markets

“Evaluating the safety of complementary foods produced at community level using locally available

Ingredients in Ethiopia”

Sub title done at UGent “Assessment of the levels of aflatoxin exposure among young children using

urinary aflatoxin biomarkers in Ethiopia”Abebe Ayelign

Aim: • Assess aflatoxin exposure among the young children

and to correlate with anthropometric measurements.

Objectives

• Measure the anthropometric measurements of the young children,

• Identify the possible routes of aflatoxin exposure of the young children using Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ).

• Determine the levels of urinary aflatoxin (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2, and AFM1) with LC-MS/MS.

Sampling sites

• 146 complementary food (CFs) samples were collected from 20 woredas in four regional states (Amhara, Tigray, Oromia and SSNNP) of Ethiopia.

• For aflatoxin and microbiological analysis.

• Morning urine samples (n= 200, aged 1-4 years) from 10 woredas in Amhara and Tigray regions (100 each region) were collected in January 2016.

• For urinary aflatoxin analysis.

Training experience (Coördinator) – MYTOX initiative• - “Intensive training on mycotoxin analysis”. Short Training

Initiative (STI) for participants from developing countries, 2012 (27.08.2012-07.09.2012), VLIR-UOS.

• - “Intensive training on mycotoxin analysis”. Short Training Initiative (STI) for participants from developing countries, 2013 (28.08.2013-11.09.2013), VLIR-UOS.

• - “Intensive training on mycotoxin analysis”. Short Training Initiative (STI) for participants from developing countries, 2014 (28.08.2014-10.09.2014), VLIR-UOS.

Individual training of people from developing countries• continuously; depending on the available scholarships

General problems associated with mycotoxin analysis in Africa are:

1) analytical tests are expensive; there is a lack of expertise, or a limited number of laboratories performing the tests;2) there is a lack of technical support from companies selling analytical instruments;3) turn-around times for results are generally poor: a farmer with production ready-for-the-market cannot afford to wait for 1 month for analytical test results;4) small-scale farmers or informal markets are not aware of the potential harm caused by mycotoxins;5) there is an increasing stringent list of regulated mycotoxins, and laboratories are not always up-to-date with corresponding analytical tests;6) adopting EU regulations requires sensitive and accurate methods such as mass spectrometric methods.