Perspectives on mycotoxin decontamination procedures

Unquestionably, prevention is the best method for controlling mycotoxin contamination. Should the contamination occur, however, the hazard associated with the toxin must be removed if the product is to be used for food or feed purposes. Decontamination procedures currently used are based on (a) physical, chemical, or biological removal, or (c) physical or chemical inactivation. Ammoniation of corn, peanuts, cottonseed, and meals to alter the toxic and carcinogenic effects of aflatoxin contamination has been the subject of intense research effort by scientists in various government agencies and universities worldwide. Engineers have devised workable systems of treatment of whole seeds, kernels, or meals; chemists have identified and characterized products formed from the reaction of aflatoxin B1 with ammonia with and without a meal matrix; biochemists have studied the biological effects of these compounds in model systems; and nutritionists have studied animal responses to rations containing ammoniated or non-ammoniated components. This review describes these studies as well as other potentially useful decontamination processes. The results of aflatoxin/ammonia decontamination research demonstrate the efficiency and safety of ammoniation as a practical solution to aflatoxin detoxification in foods and animal feeds.