Mycotoxin Contamination of Edible Non-Timber Forest Products in Cameroon

Zearalenone contamination in maize, its associated producing fungi, control strategies, and legislation in Sub-Saharan Africa

The fungal genus Fusarium contains many important plant pathogens as well as endophytes of wild and crop plants. Globally, Fusarium toxins in food crops are considered one of the greatest food safety concerns. Their occurrence has become more pronounced in Africa in recent times. Among the major Fusarium mycotoxins with food and feed safety concerns, zearalenone is frequently detected in finished feeds and cereals in Africa. However, the impact of indigenous agricultural practices (pre- and postharvest factors) and food processing techniques on the prevalence rate of Fusarium species and zearalenone occurrence in food and feed have not been collated and documented systematically. This review studies and analyzes recent reports on zearalenone contamination in maize and other cereal products from Africa, including its fungi producers, agronomic and climate variables impacting their occurrences, preventive measures, removal/decontamination methods, and legislations regulating their limits. Reports from relevant studies demonstrated a high prevalence of F. verticillioides and F. graminearum as Africa's main producers of zearalenone. Elevated CO2 concentration and high precipitation may carry along an increased risk of zearalenone contamination in maize. African indigenous processing methods may contribute to reduced ZEA levels in agricultural products and foods. Most African countries do not know their zearalenone status in the food supply chain and they have limited regulations that control its occurrence.

Postharvest Practices, Perceptions, and Knowledge of Mycotoxins among Groundnut Farmers in the Adamawa, Centre, and North Regions of Cameroon

In many parts of the world, including Cameroon, mycotoxin contamination of groundnuts remains a major constraint affecting their use as food. Understanding the contributing factors is an essential intervention to reduce contamination and people's exposure to these harmful toxins. The aim of this research was to identify the factors associated with the knowledge, perceptions, and postharvest practices of groundnut farmers in three production basins in Cameroon. Data were collected through surveys and analyzed using descriptive methods and logistic regression models. The results show that groundnut farmers are little aware of the existence of mycotoxins (12%) and totally unaware of the existence of aflatoxins (100%). Only 7.1% of these farmers are aware of the effects of mycotoxins on consumer health. After evaluation, the large majority of farmers scored poor marks for knowledge (86%) and practice (98.7%) in the management of mould and mycotoxins in groundnuts. Knowledge of mycotoxins was positively associated with the level of education [OR = 3.42; (95%-IC: 1.00-16.00); p < 0.05] and region [OR = 4.49; (95%-IC: 1.09-20.3); p < 0.05]. Farmers' good practices were linked to their production experience [OR = 6.06, (95% CI: 0.91-18.4), p = 0.035]. The use of mouldy groundnut for feed was associated with age [OR = 3.34, (95% CI: 1.14-10.2), p = 0.03], sex [OR = 0. 43, (IC-95%: 1.14-1.05), p = 0.026], marital status [OR = 0.35, (IC-95%: 0.14-0.79), p = 0.015], and production region [OR = 0.27, (IC-95%: 0.13-0.56)]. In conclusion, groundnut farmers had insufficient knowledge of mycotoxins, no knowledge of aflatoxins, and suboptimal handling and storage practices for this commodity. This contributes to increasing the risk of exposure for the population and requires mitigation measures, including awareness campaigns on mycotoxins, specifically aflatoxins, and capacity building for farmers in terms of storage and postharvest management of foodstuffs.

Occurrence and Dietary Risk Assessment of Mycotoxins in Most Consumed Foods in Cameroon: Exploring Current Data to Understand Futures Challenges

Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxins that contaminate different crops and foodstuffs under certain circumstances during harvesting, handling, storage, and processing. Neither the dietary intake of mycotoxins in Cameroon is well characterized, nor its health effects on the consumers. This review is intended to be the first milestone towards national risk management of mycotoxins. It is noteworthy that mycotoxins contaminate the main staple foods of Cameroonian communities, which are also often used as complementary foods for infants, young children, and people with compromised immune systems (e.g., HIV/AIDS), thus calling for urgent intervention in primary and secondary prevention. Very few data exist on mycotoxin contamination in Cameroonian agricultural commodities and food items. Only 25 studies from 14 different authors have been published in the last decade. On the basis of available data in Cameroon, the Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) of major mycotoxins in foods for Aflatoxins was 0.0018-14.2 µg/kgbw/day in maize, 0.027-2.36 µg/kgbw/day in cassava, and 0.023-0.1 µg/kgbw/day in groundnuts. The estimated daily intake of fumonisins was 0.12-60.6 µg/kgbw/day in maize and 0.056-0.82 µg/kgbw/day in beans. Based on the estimated distribution of human exposure levels by food, maize and cassava are the major sources of exposure and should be prioritized, followed by beans and spices. This estimate will be updated along with improvements on the national database on mycotoxin contamination of Cameroonian foods.

Fumonisins in African Countries

Maize and other cereals are the commodities most contaminated with fumonisins. The maize acreage is increasing in Africa, and the maize harvest provides important foods for humans and feeds for domestic animals throughout the continent. In North Africa, high levels of fumonisins have been reported from Algeria and Morocco, while low levels have been detected in the rather few fumonisin analyses reported from Tunisia and Egypt. The West African countries Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, and Nigeria all report high levels of fumonisin contamination of maize, while the few maize samples analysed in Togo contain low levels. In Eastern Africa, high levels of fumonisin contamination have been reported from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The samples analysed from Rwanda contained low levels of fumonisins. Analysis of maize from the Southern African countries Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe revealed high fumonisin levels, while low levels of fumonisins were detected in the few analyses of maize from Botswana and Mozambique.