**5. Implementation of HACCP to mycotoxin control**

HACCP is a food management system where food safety is addressed through the analysis, control, and monitoring of physical, chemical, and biological hazards from raw material manufacturing, supply, and handling to production, distribution, and consumption of the finished product [100]. The National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) published a guideline about HACCP containing seven basic principles, decision tree, and all plans in 1992 [101]. Implementation of HACCP is an effective strategy for prevention, control, and periodic monitoring of mycotoxin in all stages from field to the consumer. There are 12 successive steps recommended to implementation of HACCP system. Previous HACCP studies can be researched to set up tasks from 1 to 5 that specify each food process, and tasks required for mycotoxin control begin at 6 (Principle 1).


**53**

**Table 2.**

*Mycotoxins: The Hidden Danger in Foods DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89001*

12. Keep record (Principle 7).

or product recalls, litigation, etc. [102].

**Crops and tolerated levels of mycotoxins (μgkg<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup>**

Hungary Total AF

Japan AFB1

The United States Total AF

Turkey AFB1

limit (**Table 2**).

detect mycotoxin level.

10. Establish corrective action (Principle 5).

fied as a chemical hazard that appears as residues in food.

**Principle 1: identify and analyze hazard—**food safety hazards for HACCP programs are divided into three groups: biological (bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc.), chemical (cleaning agents, pest control, pesticides, biocides, mycotoxin), and physical (glass or metal fragments, jewelry, etc.). Mycotoxins are identified as biological hazards because they are secondary metabolites of mold and also identi-

**Principle 2: determine critical control points (CCPs)—**determining CCPs is an essential step which is decided using the HACCP decision tree to eliminate or prevent a food safety hazard or reduce it to an acceptable level. Dried figs and other dried fruits, pistachios and other edible nuts and cereals, and also animal feed such as maize, groundnut cake, cottonseed cake, babassu, palm kernel cake, copra cake, etc. are susceptible to mycotoxin in planting, harvesting, production, storage, and transport according to EC regulations. Mycotoxins can be considered a CCP for these products. For example, *Aspergillus flavus* is a CCP in maize production. It is a pathogenic fungus which colonizes in broken kernels in stored maize. High concentration of aflatoxin can cause public health problem, rejection of the final product

**Principle 3: establish critical limits—**critical limits must be defined and verified for each CCP. Mycotoxin acceptable limits can be set by country regulation and customer or producer specification which is below of the regulatory mycotoxin

**Principle 4: establish a monitoring system for each CCP—**identifying an appropriate, sensitive, and rapid monitoring method which applies physical, chemical, and biological measurement or observations for each critical control point. HPLC, GC, ELISA, OWLS-based biosensors, rapid test kits, etc. are used to

**Principle 5: establish a corrective action—**Corrective action must be established when monitoring result indicates that there is a deviation of target CCP

**)**

OTA

Patulin

Patulin

Patulin

*Global regulation of mycotoxin contamination in agricultural products [103].*

**Country Mycotoxins Rice Maize Spices Fruit juices** Brazil AFB1/AFG1 30 30 30 30 China AFB1 10 20 — — France FB1 1000 1000 — —

> 50 5

> 20 -

> > 2 -

50 5

20 -

> 2 -


20 -

> 5 -

10 10 10 —



> - -

11. Verify the HACCP plan (Principle 6).


*Mycotoxins and Food Safety*

aflasafe.com/).

220°C (25 min).

product that includes a blend of four fungal species covered over grains which reduce aflatoxigenic fungi that produce AFs in maize and groundnuts (https://

Mycotoxins are resistant to heat and cannot be completely destroyed under normal cooking process. On the other hand, mycotoxin reduction has been determined after heating, and this may be the result of reactions changing the chemical structure [70]. Ryu et al. reported heat treatment (at temperature 120–160°C) causes a reduction between 66 and 83% of ZEN [97]. Scott and Lawrence also reported a reduction of 60–100% of fumonisins with a heat treatment at 190°C (60 min) and

Biological control of mycotoxins via detoxification/degradation offers a promis-

HACCP is a food management system where food safety is addressed through the analysis, control, and monitoring of physical, chemical, and biological hazards from raw material manufacturing, supply, and handling to production, distribution, and consumption of the finished product [100]. The National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) published a guideline about HACCP containing seven basic principles, decision tree, and all plans in 1992 [101]. Implementation of HACCP is an effective strategy for prevention, control, and periodic monitoring of mycotoxin in all stages from field to the consumer. There are 12 successive steps recommended to implementation of HACCP system. Previous HACCP studies can be researched to set up tasks from 1 to 5 that specify each food process, and tasks required for mycotoxin control begin at 6 (Principle 1).

ing alternative method [98]. Recently the effectiveness of fermentation for the reduction and elimination of mycotoxins has also been proven. Studies documented in the literature generally show that mycotoxins are reduced by conversion, detoxification, binding, degradation, and decontamination after food fermentation [99]. Modification of the chemical structure of the mycotoxin molecule, removal or detoxification/inactivation, and adhesion to bacterial cell walls provide a reduced toxicity during fermentation [99]. Implementation of these preventive methods cannot solve the problem alone; also it must be an integral part of an integrated food safety management system based on the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP).

**5. Implementation of HACCP to mycotoxin control**

1.Establish the HACCP team.

3.Identify the product's intended use.

5.Confirm the flow diagram on-site.

4.Draw up the commodity flow diagram.

6.Identify and analyze hazard(s) (Principle 1).

7.Determine the critical control points (CCPs) (Principle 2).

8.Establish critical limits for each (CCP) (Principle 3).

9.Establish a monitoring procedure (Principle 4).

2.Describe the product.

**52**


**Principle 1: identify and analyze hazard—**food safety hazards for HACCP programs are divided into three groups: biological (bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc.), chemical (cleaning agents, pest control, pesticides, biocides, mycotoxin), and physical (glass or metal fragments, jewelry, etc.). Mycotoxins are identified as biological hazards because they are secondary metabolites of mold and also identified as a chemical hazard that appears as residues in food.

**Principle 2: determine critical control points (CCPs)—**determining CCPs is an essential step which is decided using the HACCP decision tree to eliminate or prevent a food safety hazard or reduce it to an acceptable level. Dried figs and other dried fruits, pistachios and other edible nuts and cereals, and also animal feed such as maize, groundnut cake, cottonseed cake, babassu, palm kernel cake, copra cake, etc. are susceptible to mycotoxin in planting, harvesting, production, storage, and transport according to EC regulations. Mycotoxins can be considered a CCP for these products. For example, *Aspergillus flavus* is a CCP in maize production. It is a pathogenic fungus which colonizes in broken kernels in stored maize. High concentration of aflatoxin can cause public health problem, rejection of the final product or product recalls, litigation, etc. [102].

**Principle 3: establish critical limits—**critical limits must be defined and verified for each CCP. Mycotoxin acceptable limits can be set by country regulation and customer or producer specification which is below of the regulatory mycotoxin limit (**Table 2**).

**Principle 4: establish a monitoring system for each CCP—**identifying an appropriate, sensitive, and rapid monitoring method which applies physical, chemical, and biological measurement or observations for each critical control point. HPLC, GC, ELISA, OWLS-based biosensors, rapid test kits, etc. are used to detect mycotoxin level.


**Principle 5: establish a corrective action—**Corrective action must be established when monitoring result indicates that there is a deviation of target CCP

**Table 2.**

*Global regulation of mycotoxin contamination in agricultural products [103].*



**55**

*Mycotoxins: The Hidden Danger in Foods DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89001*

verification:

meeting CCP.

value. Taking appropriate corrective actions immediately is essential to producing safe food [103]. Corrective actions must ensure that the CCP is taken under control.

**Principle 6: establish verification procedures—**regularly at the specified intervals, it must be verified by checking whether the levels of mycotoxin in the final product are within acceptable levels. The following steps are used for

• Microbiological and/or chemical tests can be used to confirm which product is

• Internal or external audit by independent person to check whether HACCP

**Principle 7: establish documentation and record keeping—**record keeping is an evidence of how you identify, monitor, and verify each hazard. HACCP plan, flowchart of product, product description, HACCP team, hazard analysis docu

ments, analysis result sheet, etc. are required for monitoring whether control of

Mycotoxin is a well-known food safety risk, which is a threat to human and livestock health, and has high economic significance in food industry. Recently, the food industry has become aware of the new term modified mycotoxins introduced by Rychlik et al. (masked mycotoxin) [104]. Food safety risk has risen since masked mycotoxins which pose many difficulties including the unknown occurrence/ co-occurrence of these compounds and their toxicological properties. In addition, Lorenz et al. reported that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has taken into account efforts to address this emerging issue in food safety by developing strategies on how to evaluate potential added health risk due to the occurrence of

Mycotoxigenic molds are difficult to prevent and control due to their widespread presence in nature. Prevention of mycotoxin synthesis in all stages of food process

ing is an essential point for public health and economic reasons. Many practices used for prevention of mycotoxin include good agricultural practices (GAP) in field, control practices of harvesting and storage, physical methods (cleaning, milling, etc.), implementation of biotechnological application, biological control through the use of controlled atmosphere during storage, detoxification/degrada

Meanwhile a number of techniques for mycotoxin control and management prove to be quite costly and/or unenforceable in some cases. On the other hand, using fermentation process for appropriate process has been recommended for mycotoxin reduction by Adebiyi et al. [99]. In the future, more emphasis should be given to nanotechnology and genetic engineering practices in the development of

In addition to these applications, food safety management systems such as HACCP, GAP, and good manufacturing practices (GMP) should be integrated at all stages of production, transport, and storage, in order to minimize contamination in food industry. Also fairly new food safety system including threat assessment

**3** .




Corrective action sample of maize production is given in **Table**

• Asking questions especially to CCP employees.

system is being implemented.

each hazard is appropriate or not.

modified mycotoxins [104].

tion, and fermentation techniques.

durable product types to ensure food safety.

**6. Conclusion**

#### *Mycotoxins: The Hidden Danger in Foods DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89001*

*Mycotoxins and Food Safety*

**Corrective action**

**54**

**Step/CCP**

**Hazard analysis**

**Hazard**

> Preharvest/

Low soil moisture leading

Irrigate

to plant stress during

kernel development

Insufficient soil

Fertilize

nutrients leading to plant

stress during kernel

development

Insect attack leading to

Integrated pest

Insect population within

acceptable limits as determined

by control program

Moisture content ≤14%

management (IPM)

plan

Harvest when

kernels are dry

Do not store until

Moisture content ≤14%

kernels are dry

damaged kernels

Harvest Storage

Excessive moisture

content of kernels

Insect attack, allowing

IPM plan

No evidence of insect or rodent

infestation using inspection

protocols specified in IPM plan

Temperature and humidity

Measure and record

Daily during

Adjust aeration time of day

or airflow to achieve desired

temperature and humidity

storage

humidity, ambient

temperature, and airflow

within limits recommended in

industry literature

fungi to penetrate kernels

High ambient humidity

Aerate grain to

control temperature

and humidity

and temperature

**Table 3.**

*HACCP plan of maize [102].*

Damage to kernels from

harvester

growing

**Control**

**Critical limit** Lower limit of critical water

activity (aw) (check with your

agronomist/extension staff for

an exact value)

N, P, and K applications as

Fertilizer applied

As

Additional fertilizer; record

amounts added

recommended

for hybrid

(appropriate for soil type

and hybrid); amounts and

type recorded

Visual inspection and

Weekly

Apply pesticide in

accordance with IPM plan

sample, with results

recorded

Measure and record grain

Prior to harvest

Delay harvest till kernels are

dried enough

moisture

Measure and record grain

Immediately

Dry mechanically

prior to storage

moisture

Visual inspection with

Weekly

Apply pest control methods

in accordance with IPM plan

results recorded

recommended for hybrid by local

agronomists (insert the values)

**Monitoring** Measure soil moisture and

record

**Frequency**

Weekly on

Additional irrigation;

record amounts

Monday

morning

**Monitoring** value. Taking appropriate corrective actions immediately is essential to producing safe food [103]. Corrective actions must ensure that the CCP is taken under control. Corrective action sample of maize production is given in **Table 3**.

**Principle 6: establish verification procedures—**regularly at the specified intervals, it must be verified by checking whether the levels of mycotoxin in the final product are within acceptable levels. The following steps are used for verification:


**Principle 7: establish documentation and record keeping—**record keeping is an evidence of how you identify, monitor, and verify each hazard. HACCP plan, flowchart of product, product description, HACCP team, hazard analysis documents, analysis result sheet, etc. are required for monitoring whether control of each hazard is appropriate or not.
