Food safety risk analysis: scientific interpretation of deoxynivalenol

Recently, the food safety supervision and sampling inspection of the food and drug regulatory authority found that individual wheat flour products Deoxynivalenol (DON) exceeded the standard limit value
.
What is DON, what is the cause of pollution, what are the health risks, and how to prevent and control it
.
A few days ago, the State Food and Drug Administration released the seventh issue of 2016 Food Safety Risk Analysis, organizing relevant experts to interpret deoxynivalenol
.
1.
DON is a mycotoxin with the highest detection rate in grains in various countries.
DON belongs to the trichothecenes group.
It is the most common type of contaminating mycotoxins in wheat, barley, oats, corn and other grains and their products.
The main toxin-producing fungi are F.
graminearum (F.
graminearum) and F.
culmorum (F.
culmorum)
.
Because of the characteristics of causing vomiting in animals, DON is also called vomiting toxin (Vomitoxin, VT)
.
DON has stable properties, heat resistance, pressure resistance, weak acid resistance, and storage resistance.
General food processing cannot destroy its structure.
Only alkali or high pressure treatment can destroy some toxins
.

Grain DON pollution is prone to occur globally.
The main reason is that the grains are infected by fungi such as Fusarium graminearum in the field, which causes wheat head blight and corn ear rot.
It reproduces and produces toxins under suitable temperature and humidity conditions.

.
The prevalence of wheat and other grain scabs in China is mainly distributed in the area south of the Yangtze River.
There is generally a relatively large epidemic every 3 to 5 years, and it is more frequent in the Yangtze River, Huai River and Yellow River basins
.
2.
DON is toxic to animals and humans.
Low doses of DON may cause loss of appetite, weight loss, and metabolic disorders in animals.
Large doses can cause vomiting
.
Human ingestion of foods made from grains contaminated with DON may cause vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dizziness and other mycotoxin poisoning with digestive system and nervous system as the main symptoms.
Some patients also have fatigue, general malaise, and facial flushing.
, Unsteady pace and other symptoms like drunkenness (also known as drunken valley disease in folk)
.
Symptoms usually recover on their own after 2 hours
.
Special populations such as the elderly and young children, or those who have been poisoned by large doses, will have aggravated symptoms
.
　　3.
The world attaches great importance to the control of DON in grains and products.
DON within the food safety limit will not pose a health risk to consumers. 　　Due to the widespread existence of DON pollution, many countries and regions have formulated DON according to the types of grains and processing purposes.
Limited standard
.
For example, the DON limit set by the EU is 200-1750μg/kg, the United States is 1000μg/kg, Canada is 600-2000μg/kg, and Japan is 1100μg/kg
.
In 2015, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) promulgated the DON limit standard for the first time, stipulating that the limit of DON in unprocessed grains is 2000μg/kg, the limit in cereal products is 1000μg/kg, and the limit in cereal-based infant food is 200μg/kg
.

　　China stipulates the allowable limit of DON for wheat and other products ≤1000μg/kg in standards such as "Food Sanitation Standards" (GB2715-2005) and "Limits of Mycotoxins in Foods" (GB2761-2011); "Amount" (GB13078.
3-2007) stipulates that the limit of DON in compound feed for pigs, cattle and poultry is 1000-5000μg/kg
.
According to the results of the risk assessment, the content of DON in the food within the limit specified in the food safety standard will not pose a risk to the health of consumers
.
　　Therefore, experts suggest: Strengthen the risk control of the entire chain from "field to processing", build a full-process quality and safety traceability system, and check key links at all levels to reduce pollution risks
.
Strengthen the cultivation of disease-resistant varieties, crop rotation, epidemic forecasting and disease prevention and control, especially in the period of wheat heading and blooming, to increase the prevention and control of grain fungal pollution, to eliminate and reduce pollution from the source
.
Strengthen the supervision of grain purchase and storage and transportation monitoring, and strictly control the entry of polluted wheat into the food circulation and processing links
.
Food production and processing enterprises have increased their control of raw materials, and through increased rapid testing and laboratory inspections, they have avoided purchasing raw materials from areas where head blight is affected and using excessive grains as food raw materials; at the same time, they have strengthened prevention and control of the production process of flour products Management and product factory inspection
.