Stakeholders Area

The USC attended the 1st technical coordination and monitoring committee meeting of AGRITOX that took place in Belfast (United Kingdom) on 24th October 2019.

The USC made a review of coordination and financial issues and presented some results within work packages 4 and 5. In this sense, the effect of yessotoxin (a marine toxin with antifungal properties) in the production of mycotoxins by Fusarium graminearum strains was disclosed. An extraction and analysis method were presented to quantify mycotoxins in feedstuffs; these methods were employed by the USC to analyse samples that the Cooperativa Agrícola de Vila do Conde (CAVC) collected from their farms. The 53% of samples contained mycotoxins, mainly emerging mycotoxins. On the other hand, a new methodology to remove mycotoxins from beverages was presented. Thirteen nanostructured materials of different sizes and compositions were developed to remove the main types of mycotoxins from liquid food matrices. In beverages, nanostructured materials allow the elimination of 90% of zearalenone, ochratoxin A and aflatoxins, 65% of fumonisin B1, and 20% of deoxinivalenol. This technology was patented (EP18382104). Studies on the composition of Fusarium populations in forage maize at the time of harvest for silage in NW Spain were also presented, outlining the generalized presence of species that produce type-B trichothecenes (mainly deoxinivalenol and its acetyl derivatives) and zearalenone. Finally, some important remarks about sample collection for fungal detection and identification and for mycotoxin analysis were made.

The USC hosted the kick-off meeting of AGRITOX that took place in Lugo (NW Spain) on 26^th of April 2019.

The USC presented a general overview of the main project objectives. A brief review of each work package as well as administrative, financial and legal issues were done.

The USC has participated in a seminar organized in the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration in Santiago de Compostela (NW Spain) on 19th June 2019. Agritox project has been presented in this event to the FAN-BEST project consortium and other stakeholders from business and academy sectors.

On the 19th September 2019, the USC held a meeting in Sada (NW Spain) with companies from the food and feed manufacturing sector. The presence of mycotoxin in food and feed was addressed, and the methods currently available to minimize their impact on humans and animals were discussed.