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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #121463
Title: FUMONISINS IN FOODS: EFFICACY OF METHODS FOR DECONTAMINATION AND MEANS OF DETECTION

Author
item Voss, Kenneth
item Poling, Stephen
item Meredith, Filmore
item SAUNDERS, D - FRITO-LAY,INC, PLANO, TX

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/30/2001
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: No interpretive summary required. Abstract for presentation: Eighth Annual Meeting of the Center for Food Safety, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Renaissance Concourse Hotel, One Hartsfield Centre Parkway, Atlanta, GA, March 6-7, 2001.

Technical Abstract: Fumonisins are mycotoxins that occur in corn and are suspected human carcinogens. It is therefore important to identify methods that reduce their concentrations in foods. We studied the fate of fumonisin B1 (FB1) during the commercial manufacture of fried tortilla chips, a process involving steps also used in household food preparation: cooking/soaking (nixtamalization to produce masa), rinsing, sheeting, baking, and frying. Significant amounts of hydrolyzed FB1 (HFB1) and partially hydrolyzed FB1 (PHFB1), and lesser amounts of FB1, were found in the cooking/soaking liquid and solid waste. FB1 concentrations in masa, the first major intermediate produce, averaged 20 to 60 percent of those in raw corn. Later steps had no further effect on fumonisin concentrations. HFB1 and PHFB1 were found in the masa and fried chips, but only at relatively low concentrations. Significant amounts of N-(carboxymethyl)-FB1 or N-(1-deoxy-D- fructos-1-yl)-FB1, compounds indicative of fumonisin-sugar adduct formation, were not found. Thus, FB1 was diverted from the corn and into waste products during the manufacture of fried tortilla chips. The critical steps for achieving reduced fumonisin concentrations in the fried chips were cooking/soaking (nixtamalization) and rinsing.