harvesting and during crop storage and transportation. These toxins are named storage (or posthar... more harvesting and during crop storage and transportation. These toxins are named storage (or postharvest) toxins and ochratoxin A belongs to this group. Mycotoxins are small and quite stable molecules which are extremely difficult to remove or eradicate, and which enter the feed chain while keeping their toxic properties.
The development of a plant health barometer, an instrument to measure the general phytosanitary s... more The development of a plant health barometer, an instrument to measure the general phytosanitary situation on a national level (Belgium) and on a yearly basis and to monitor its evolution over time, is described. The elaboration of a set of 13 plant health indicators (PHI's) as the basis for the plant health barometer is discussed. These indicators were weighted by experts-including scientists, policy makers and agro-industrial representatives-to determine their relative impact in the barometer. The result of the barometer is expressed as a comparison with the previous year. Based on the results of the 13 PHI's, it is concluded that the general plant health in Belgium shows a positive evolution from 2007 until 2010 and a negative evolution from 2010 until 2012. The plant health barometer provides a overview of the phytosanitary situation of plants and plant products in Belgium and is a tool to communicate in an intelligible, comprehensible manner on aspects of plant health to consumers and professional stakeholders in the plant production chain. Together with the food safety barometer and the animal health barometer, the plant health barometer is one of the three instruments to provide a overview on the general status of the safety of the food chain in Belgium.
Communications in agricultural and applied biological sciences, 2006
Biofilters were developed in order to eliminate or reduce the quantity of pesticides from rinsing... more Biofilters were developed in order to eliminate or reduce the quantity of pesticides from rinsing and cleaning waters of sprayers. Biofilters consist in 1, 2 or 3 plastic containers of 1 m3 placed in a vertical pile and containing a substrate elaborated from a homogenised mixture of local soil, chopped straw and compost able to absorb and degrade the pesticides. Biofilters are installed near the area for cleaning and rinsing the sprayer and the waste waters are pumped into the system. Since 2002, a pilot study is carried out in Belgium in order to evaluate the efficacy of these systems. Twenty pilot systems were installed since 2002 until 2004 in several farms, agricultural technical centres or schools and in a municipal maintenance service. The efficacy of the biofilters was studied for several chemical classes of herbicides (sulfonylurea, aryloxyalcanoic acids, chloroacetanilides), insecticides (pyrethroids, carbamates) and fungicides (dicarboximides, phenylamides, triazoles and s...
Please be patient while the object screen loads. Changez de vue : Choisir un site UCL FUNDP FUSL... more Please be patient while the object screen loads. Changez de vue : Choisir un site UCL FUNDP FUSL FUCaM. ...
Recently, concerns have been raised about potential adverse effects of synthetic amorphous silica... more Recently, concerns have been raised about potential adverse effects of synthetic amorphous silica, commonly used as food additive (E551), since silica nanoparticles have been detected in food containing E551. We examined the biodistribution and excretion in female Sprague-Dawley rats of NM-200, a well characterized nanostructured silica representative for food applications. A single intravenous injection of NM-200 was applied at a dose of 20 mg/kg bw , followed by autopsy after 6 and 24 h. The main organs where silicon accumulated were liver and spleen. The silicon concentration significantly decreased in spleen between 6 and 24 h. In liver the tendency was the same but the effect was not significant. This could be due to clearance of the spleen to the liver via the splenic vein, while liver clearance takes more time due to hepatic processing and biliary excretion. In treated animals the liver showed in addition a prominent increase of macrophages between both evaluation moments. Within the first 24 h, silicon was mainly excreted through urine. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the toxicokinetics of different types of silica nanomaterials at lower exposure doses in order to be able to predict kinetics and toxicity of silica nanoparticles depending on their physicochemical characteristics.
A comparison of matched pairs deoxynivalenol (DON) loads in wheat samples via VERATOX for DON 5/5... more A comparison of matched pairs deoxynivalenol (DON) loads in wheat samples via VERATOX for DON 5/5 performed by two laboratories against two liquid chromatographic methods (LC-MS/MS and HPLC-UV) used by two other laboratories was carried out using biometrical and sum of ranking differences (SRD) procedures. The Lin's Concordance correlation coefficients, the average discrepancies, the limits of agreement and the SRD between ELISA and reference values showed good overall agreement between VERATOX for DON 5/5 and reference methods for the two datasets. The VERATOX kits are valuable for quantitative screening and even for an initial exposure assessment in situations when there are practical or economical reasons not to use sophisticated methods such as HPLC or GC methods (with or without MS).
... Réduction de la présence de résidus de produits phytosanitaires dans un petit bassin agricole... more ... Réduction de la présence de résidus de produits phytosanitaires dans un petit bassin agricole belge i Sabine Beernaerts, Philippe Debongnie et al. ... de débit), les concentrations détectées sont inférieures à 10 ug/l. Les analyses ont été poursuivies jusqu'à la mi-juin, et seules ...
As a consequence of an initiative of the local authorities of the city of Antwerp (Belgium), diox... more As a consequence of an initiative of the local authorities of the city of Antwerp (Belgium), dioxin levels were determined in eggs from free range hens owned by private owners in the Northern districts of Antwerp. The reasons for this survey stem from some fears that free range eggs could be contaminated by local environmental sources (e.g. soil, grass, earthworms) as a result of the presence in this area of intensive industrial and domestic activities. The analyses revealed high levels of PCDD/F in the home-produced eggs (average = 9.9 pg WHO-TEQ per g of fat; n = 15). An evaluation of the available results has been carried out by the Scientific Committee of the Belgian Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain. From this evaluation, it appeared that the analysis of congener profiles was of limited use because all profiles were dominated by the OCDD congener, independently of the level of contamination. There were not enough indications allowing a causal link to be established between high dioxin levels in eggs and soil contamination and, on the other hand, it was assumed that other factors such as feeding habits, physiological state and egg laying rhythm of the hens could not be ruled out as potential causes of aggravation. A quick risk assessment led to the conclusion that the impact of this contamination is highly relevant for the consumer's health due to the important contribution of such home-produced eggs in the estimations of total body burden.
Revue Scientifique Et Technique Office International Des Epizooties, Aug 1, 2006
Food products should not contain unsafe levels of chemical contaminants. However, it is not possi... more Food products should not contain unsafe levels of chemical contaminants. However, it is not possible to monitor each and every one of the many thousands of chemicals that are used in our advanced societies. Chemical contaminants in foodstuffs of animal origin may be classified into three categories: natural contaminants (e.g. mycotoxins), environmental contaminants linked to industrialisation and/or urbanisation (e.g. dioxins and dioxin-like compounds) and authorised chemical products (e.g. residues of veterinary medical products). Chemical hazards may contaminate foodstuffs of animal origin all the way from farm to fork. Contamination may occur in any of the different production systems, and it is difficult to make comparisons between production systems (e.g. extensive versus intensive farming systems) with regard to food safety. Even when we take into account the latest analytical methods, which can detect ever-smaller quantities of residues, the relative importance of chemical contaminants seems to have declined during recent decades due to improvements in information and prevention. Nonetheless, individual incidents can never be ruled out and may have serious economic, health or social repercussions. Particular attention must be paid to chemical hazards, in order to reduce as much as possible the risks to livestock and to the consumer. Continued monitoring and periodic reassessment of risks posed by these contaminants (at the national level) are needed to detect or anticipate new problems, so that appropriate actions can be taken in the interest of public health. More attention should be paid to the production of detailed information, especially with regard to background data (e.g. the objectives of the monitoring, sampling methods, chemicals to be analysed, analytical methods, detection limits, raw data and specified units), in order to obtain a better basis for risk assessment. Such risk assessment provides control authorities with an effective tool for the exchange of information and measures to be taken to ensure food safety.
This paper discusses the dioxin TEQ levels as determined by the chemically activated luciferase g... more This paper discusses the dioxin TEQ levels as determined by the chemically activated luciferase gene expression assay (CALUX) and by HRGC-HRMS in eggs, soils, faeces and kitchen waste samples obtained in the CONTEGG study. The samples were collected in each Belgian province at private homes and in small gardens where chickens are held. The CALUX levels for eggs sampled in autumn were higher than the levels in eggs obtained at the same locations in spring (median values of 5.86 and 4.08 pg CALUX TEQ/g fat, respectively). The total WHO-TEQ levels in eggs, determined by HRGC-HRMS, ranged from 3.29 to 95.35 pg TEQ/g fat in autumn and from 1.50 to 64.79 pg TEQ/g fat in spring. In the soils on which the chickens forage, levels of 2.51–11.35 pg I-TEQ/g in autumn and 2.00–7.86 pg I-TEQ/g in spring were found. The congener pattern of PCDD/Fs in the eggs, soils and faeces was dominated by OCDD, in addition to 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HeptaCDD, OCDF and 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HeptaCDF. The predominant dioxin-like PCBs were PCB118, PCB 105 and PCB 156. The dioxin-like PCBs contributed on average 47%, 14% and 20% to the total WHO-TEQ in eggs, soils and faeces, respectively. Kitchen waste samples were very low-contaminated with dioxin-like compounds. The present results showed a good agreement between egg and soil TEQ levels for PCDD/Fs but not for dioxin-like PCBs. This study showed that current soil levels found in some private gardens do not lead to egg levels below the current EU maximal level of 6 pg total TEQ/g fat for dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs. The consumers of the analysed eggs attained 5–79% of the tolerable weekly intake (TWI) of 14 pg TEQ/kg bw for dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs by exposure to their home-produced eggs only.
ABSTRACT Silages may represent 50-80 % of the total amount of diet for dairy cows during the wint... more ABSTRACT Silages may represent 50-80 % of the total amount of diet for dairy cows during the winter. There is overwhelming evidence of contamination of maize and grass silages with fungi and associated trichothecenes, fumonisins, zearalenone, aflatoxins, ochratoxin A as well as some emerging mycotoxins (agroclavine, andrastin A, beauvericin, enniatins, festuclavine, fusaric acid, mevinolin, mycophenolic acid, roquefortins, T2/HT2 toxins). From year to year, multi contaminations often occurred with seasonal variations. The levels and incidences of deoxynivalenol and zearalenone raise concerns about animal health, as the levels overpassed the EC regulatory limits (2006/576/EC) for deoxynivalenol in 2006-samples from Poland and for zearalenone in 2000-2001 maize silages from Germany. AFB1 levels exceeded the maximum acceptable level in samples from Argentina. Atypical high occurring mycotoxins such as roquefortine C (up to 36,000 µg/kg), mevinolin (up to 65,400 µg/kg) and mycophenolic acid (up to 35,000 µg/kg) were not covered by routine analysis and legislation. These mycotoxins can diversely affect feed intake, productivity, reproductive performance and animal health but acute intoxications causing death are rare. Monitoring of mycotoxin in silages is extremely necessary. Both European and international legislation concerning the maximum tolerable limits must be strict and should also be adapted to include the interaction impacts between toxins. Further studies are needed to evaluate mycotoxin attributed to carry-over via meat, edible offal and lactation. Reliable multi-detection methods must be developed and should cover the normalized sampling plan to cover the heterogeneous distribution within the silo, the seasonal variation and the requirement to detect low levels of these contaminants. Conjugated (masked) forms of the mycotoxins and the long-term impacts to the exposure to low contamination deserved further assessment challenges.
harvesting and during crop storage and transportation. These toxins are named storage (or posthar... more harvesting and during crop storage and transportation. These toxins are named storage (or postharvest) toxins and ochratoxin A belongs to this group. Mycotoxins are small and quite stable molecules which are extremely difficult to remove or eradicate, and which enter the feed chain while keeping their toxic properties.
The development of a plant health barometer, an instrument to measure the general phytosanitary s... more The development of a plant health barometer, an instrument to measure the general phytosanitary situation on a national level (Belgium) and on a yearly basis and to monitor its evolution over time, is described. The elaboration of a set of 13 plant health indicators (PHI's) as the basis for the plant health barometer is discussed. These indicators were weighted by experts-including scientists, policy makers and agro-industrial representatives-to determine their relative impact in the barometer. The result of the barometer is expressed as a comparison with the previous year. Based on the results of the 13 PHI's, it is concluded that the general plant health in Belgium shows a positive evolution from 2007 until 2010 and a negative evolution from 2010 until 2012. The plant health barometer provides a overview of the phytosanitary situation of plants and plant products in Belgium and is a tool to communicate in an intelligible, comprehensible manner on aspects of plant health to consumers and professional stakeholders in the plant production chain. Together with the food safety barometer and the animal health barometer, the plant health barometer is one of the three instruments to provide a overview on the general status of the safety of the food chain in Belgium.
Communications in agricultural and applied biological sciences, 2006
Biofilters were developed in order to eliminate or reduce the quantity of pesticides from rinsing... more Biofilters were developed in order to eliminate or reduce the quantity of pesticides from rinsing and cleaning waters of sprayers. Biofilters consist in 1, 2 or 3 plastic containers of 1 m3 placed in a vertical pile and containing a substrate elaborated from a homogenised mixture of local soil, chopped straw and compost able to absorb and degrade the pesticides. Biofilters are installed near the area for cleaning and rinsing the sprayer and the waste waters are pumped into the system. Since 2002, a pilot study is carried out in Belgium in order to evaluate the efficacy of these systems. Twenty pilot systems were installed since 2002 until 2004 in several farms, agricultural technical centres or schools and in a municipal maintenance service. The efficacy of the biofilters was studied for several chemical classes of herbicides (sulfonylurea, aryloxyalcanoic acids, chloroacetanilides), insecticides (pyrethroids, carbamates) and fungicides (dicarboximides, phenylamides, triazoles and s...
Please be patient while the object screen loads. Changez de vue : Choisir un site UCL FUNDP FUSL... more Please be patient while the object screen loads. Changez de vue : Choisir un site UCL FUNDP FUSL FUCaM. ...
Recently, concerns have been raised about potential adverse effects of synthetic amorphous silica... more Recently, concerns have been raised about potential adverse effects of synthetic amorphous silica, commonly used as food additive (E551), since silica nanoparticles have been detected in food containing E551. We examined the biodistribution and excretion in female Sprague-Dawley rats of NM-200, a well characterized nanostructured silica representative for food applications. A single intravenous injection of NM-200 was applied at a dose of 20 mg/kg bw , followed by autopsy after 6 and 24 h. The main organs where silicon accumulated were liver and spleen. The silicon concentration significantly decreased in spleen between 6 and 24 h. In liver the tendency was the same but the effect was not significant. This could be due to clearance of the spleen to the liver via the splenic vein, while liver clearance takes more time due to hepatic processing and biliary excretion. In treated animals the liver showed in addition a prominent increase of macrophages between both evaluation moments. Within the first 24 h, silicon was mainly excreted through urine. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the toxicokinetics of different types of silica nanomaterials at lower exposure doses in order to be able to predict kinetics and toxicity of silica nanoparticles depending on their physicochemical characteristics.
A comparison of matched pairs deoxynivalenol (DON) loads in wheat samples via VERATOX for DON 5/5... more A comparison of matched pairs deoxynivalenol (DON) loads in wheat samples via VERATOX for DON 5/5 performed by two laboratories against two liquid chromatographic methods (LC-MS/MS and HPLC-UV) used by two other laboratories was carried out using biometrical and sum of ranking differences (SRD) procedures. The Lin's Concordance correlation coefficients, the average discrepancies, the limits of agreement and the SRD between ELISA and reference values showed good overall agreement between VERATOX for DON 5/5 and reference methods for the two datasets. The VERATOX kits are valuable for quantitative screening and even for an initial exposure assessment in situations when there are practical or economical reasons not to use sophisticated methods such as HPLC or GC methods (with or without MS).
... Réduction de la présence de résidus de produits phytosanitaires dans un petit bassin agricole... more ... Réduction de la présence de résidus de produits phytosanitaires dans un petit bassin agricole belge i Sabine Beernaerts, Philippe Debongnie et al. ... de débit), les concentrations détectées sont inférieures à 10 ug/l. Les analyses ont été poursuivies jusqu'à la mi-juin, et seules ...
As a consequence of an initiative of the local authorities of the city of Antwerp (Belgium), diox... more As a consequence of an initiative of the local authorities of the city of Antwerp (Belgium), dioxin levels were determined in eggs from free range hens owned by private owners in the Northern districts of Antwerp. The reasons for this survey stem from some fears that free range eggs could be contaminated by local environmental sources (e.g. soil, grass, earthworms) as a result of the presence in this area of intensive industrial and domestic activities. The analyses revealed high levels of PCDD/F in the home-produced eggs (average = 9.9 pg WHO-TEQ per g of fat; n = 15). An evaluation of the available results has been carried out by the Scientific Committee of the Belgian Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain. From this evaluation, it appeared that the analysis of congener profiles was of limited use because all profiles were dominated by the OCDD congener, independently of the level of contamination. There were not enough indications allowing a causal link to be established between high dioxin levels in eggs and soil contamination and, on the other hand, it was assumed that other factors such as feeding habits, physiological state and egg laying rhythm of the hens could not be ruled out as potential causes of aggravation. A quick risk assessment led to the conclusion that the impact of this contamination is highly relevant for the consumer's health due to the important contribution of such home-produced eggs in the estimations of total body burden.
Revue Scientifique Et Technique Office International Des Epizooties, Aug 1, 2006
Food products should not contain unsafe levels of chemical contaminants. However, it is not possi... more Food products should not contain unsafe levels of chemical contaminants. However, it is not possible to monitor each and every one of the many thousands of chemicals that are used in our advanced societies. Chemical contaminants in foodstuffs of animal origin may be classified into three categories: natural contaminants (e.g. mycotoxins), environmental contaminants linked to industrialisation and/or urbanisation (e.g. dioxins and dioxin-like compounds) and authorised chemical products (e.g. residues of veterinary medical products). Chemical hazards may contaminate foodstuffs of animal origin all the way from farm to fork. Contamination may occur in any of the different production systems, and it is difficult to make comparisons between production systems (e.g. extensive versus intensive farming systems) with regard to food safety. Even when we take into account the latest analytical methods, which can detect ever-smaller quantities of residues, the relative importance of chemical contaminants seems to have declined during recent decades due to improvements in information and prevention. Nonetheless, individual incidents can never be ruled out and may have serious economic, health or social repercussions. Particular attention must be paid to chemical hazards, in order to reduce as much as possible the risks to livestock and to the consumer. Continued monitoring and periodic reassessment of risks posed by these contaminants (at the national level) are needed to detect or anticipate new problems, so that appropriate actions can be taken in the interest of public health. More attention should be paid to the production of detailed information, especially with regard to background data (e.g. the objectives of the monitoring, sampling methods, chemicals to be analysed, analytical methods, detection limits, raw data and specified units), in order to obtain a better basis for risk assessment. Such risk assessment provides control authorities with an effective tool for the exchange of information and measures to be taken to ensure food safety.
This paper discusses the dioxin TEQ levels as determined by the chemically activated luciferase g... more This paper discusses the dioxin TEQ levels as determined by the chemically activated luciferase gene expression assay (CALUX) and by HRGC-HRMS in eggs, soils, faeces and kitchen waste samples obtained in the CONTEGG study. The samples were collected in each Belgian province at private homes and in small gardens where chickens are held. The CALUX levels for eggs sampled in autumn were higher than the levels in eggs obtained at the same locations in spring (median values of 5.86 and 4.08 pg CALUX TEQ/g fat, respectively). The total WHO-TEQ levels in eggs, determined by HRGC-HRMS, ranged from 3.29 to 95.35 pg TEQ/g fat in autumn and from 1.50 to 64.79 pg TEQ/g fat in spring. In the soils on which the chickens forage, levels of 2.51–11.35 pg I-TEQ/g in autumn and 2.00–7.86 pg I-TEQ/g in spring were found. The congener pattern of PCDD/Fs in the eggs, soils and faeces was dominated by OCDD, in addition to 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HeptaCDD, OCDF and 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HeptaCDF. The predominant dioxin-like PCBs were PCB118, PCB 105 and PCB 156. The dioxin-like PCBs contributed on average 47%, 14% and 20% to the total WHO-TEQ in eggs, soils and faeces, respectively. Kitchen waste samples were very low-contaminated with dioxin-like compounds. The present results showed a good agreement between egg and soil TEQ levels for PCDD/Fs but not for dioxin-like PCBs. This study showed that current soil levels found in some private gardens do not lead to egg levels below the current EU maximal level of 6 pg total TEQ/g fat for dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs. The consumers of the analysed eggs attained 5–79% of the tolerable weekly intake (TWI) of 14 pg TEQ/kg bw for dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs by exposure to their home-produced eggs only.
ABSTRACT Silages may represent 50-80 % of the total amount of diet for dairy cows during the wint... more ABSTRACT Silages may represent 50-80 % of the total amount of diet for dairy cows during the winter. There is overwhelming evidence of contamination of maize and grass silages with fungi and associated trichothecenes, fumonisins, zearalenone, aflatoxins, ochratoxin A as well as some emerging mycotoxins (agroclavine, andrastin A, beauvericin, enniatins, festuclavine, fusaric acid, mevinolin, mycophenolic acid, roquefortins, T2/HT2 toxins). From year to year, multi contaminations often occurred with seasonal variations. The levels and incidences of deoxynivalenol and zearalenone raise concerns about animal health, as the levels overpassed the EC regulatory limits (2006/576/EC) for deoxynivalenol in 2006-samples from Poland and for zearalenone in 2000-2001 maize silages from Germany. AFB1 levels exceeded the maximum acceptable level in samples from Argentina. Atypical high occurring mycotoxins such as roquefortine C (up to 36,000 µg/kg), mevinolin (up to 65,400 µg/kg) and mycophenolic acid (up to 35,000 µg/kg) were not covered by routine analysis and legislation. These mycotoxins can diversely affect feed intake, productivity, reproductive performance and animal health but acute intoxications causing death are rare. Monitoring of mycotoxin in silages is extremely necessary. Both European and international legislation concerning the maximum tolerable limits must be strict and should also be adapted to include the interaction impacts between toxins. Further studies are needed to evaluate mycotoxin attributed to carry-over via meat, edible offal and lactation. Reliable multi-detection methods must be developed and should cover the normalized sampling plan to cover the heterogeneous distribution within the silo, the seasonal variation and the requirement to detect low levels of these contaminants. Conjugated (masked) forms of the mycotoxins and the long-term impacts to the exposure to low contamination deserved further assessment challenges.
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