Fungi are distributed worldwide and can be found in various foods and feedstuffs from almost every part of the world. Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by some fungal species and may impose food safety risks to human health. Among all mycotoxins, aflatoxins (AFs), ochratoxin A (OTA), trichothecenes, deoxynivalenol (DON and T-2 toxin), zearalenone (ZEN), and fumonisins (FMN) have received much attention due to high frequency and severe health effects in humans and animals. Malaysia has heavy rainfall throughout the year, high temperatures (28 to 31 °C), and high relative humidity (70% to 80% during wet seasons). Stored crops under such conditions can easily be contaminated by mycotoxin-producing fungi. The most important mycotoxins in Malaysian foods are AFs, OTA, DON, ZEN, and FMN that can be found in peanuts, cereal grains, cocoa beans, and spices. AFs have been reported to occur in several cereal grains, feeds, nuts, and nut products consumed in Malaysia. Spices, oilseeds, milk, eggs, and herbal medicines have been reported to be contaminated with AFs (lower than the Malaysian acceptable level of 35 ng/g for total AFs). OTA, a possible human carcinogen, was reported in cereal grains, nuts, and spices in Malaysian market. ZEN was detected in Malaysian rice, oat, barley, maize meal, and wheat at different levels. DON contamination, although at low levels, was reported in rice, maize, barley, oat, wheat, and wheat-based products in Malaysia. FMN was reported in feed and some cereal grains consumed in Malaysia. Since some food commodities are more susceptible than others to fungal growth and mycotoxin contamination, more stringent prevention and control methods are required.
Local and regional decline of Asian horseshoe crabs has spurred a study on its spawning population at Balok Beach, Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. This location was identified as spawning site due to the occurrence of horseshoe crab spawning pairs and nests. Size-frequency, length-weight relationships, sex ratio and epibiont infestation of Tachypleus gigas were studied. Instar stage was estimated based on prosomal width. Condition of the horseshoe crab carapace was reported. Visual search technique of horseshoe crab was conducted during high tide of new and full moons. Prosomal, opisthosomal and telson length and weight of each horseshoe crab were measured. Largest female was recorded with mean prosomal length and width of 154.4 and 246.9 mm, respectively. About 69.8% of the males belonged to size group of 151-200 mm and 53.3% of females were grouped into 201-250 mm. All individuals were of fourteenth to sixteenth instar stages. Sex ratio varied from 0.313 to 2.5 and attributed to commercial harvest and monsoon season. Sand sediment of study site showed 93% of fine sands with grain size ranged from 120 to 250 microm. Acorn and pedunculate barnacle, conical and flat slipper shells were found on the carapace of the specimens. Most males had damaged eyes and carapaces while females with broken telsons. Body damages of about 19.9% on the specimens were likely due to nearby fishing activities. Lack of satellite male indicated low spawning population. The finding of this study showed that the species is extremely threatened by human activities and coastal development.
Toxic elements such as mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and lead, sometimes called heavy metals, can diminish mental and central nervous system function; elicit damage to blood composition as well as the kidneys, lungs, and liver; and reduce energy levels. Food is considered one of the main routes of their entry into the human body. Numerous studies have been performed to examine the effects of common food processing procedures on the levels of toxic elements in food. While some studies have reported negative effects of processing, several have shown that processing practices may have a positive effect on the reduction of toxic elements in foodstuffs. A number of studies have also introduced protocols and suggested chemical agents that reduce the amount of toxic elements in the final food products. In this review, the reported methods employed for the reduction of toxic elements are discussed with particular emphasis on the chemical binding of both the organic and inorganic forms of each element in various foods. The molecular groups and the ligands by which the food products bind with the metals and the types of these reactions are also presented.
High-quality fish oil for human consumption requires low levels of toxic elements. The aim of this study was to compare different oil extraction methods to identify the most efficient method for extracting fish oil of high quality with the least contamination. The methods used in this study were Soxhlet extraction, enzymatic extraction, wet reduction, and supercritical fluid extraction. The results showed that toxic elements in fish oil could be reduced using supercritical CO2 at a modest temperature (60°C) and pressure (35 MPa) with little reduction in the oil yield. There were significant reductions in mercury (85 to 100%), cadmium (97 to 100%), and lead (100%) content of the fish oil extracted using the supercritical fluid extraction method. The fish oil extracted using conventional methods contained toxic elements at levels much higher than the accepted limits of 0.1 μg/g.