Take me there again some day!

In the previous post I talked about chilli peppers and how to make a good chilli peppers extra virgin olive oil. One of the most important steps is to dry the chilli peppers under the sun and to do it as quick as possible. One problem could be the growth of some fungi that can produce as secondary metabolites toxins, called mycotoxins. Most fungi are aerobic (use oxygen) and are found almost everywhere in extremely small quantities due to the minute size of their spores. They consume organic matter wherever humidity and temperature are sufficient. One mold species may produce many different mycotoxins and/or the same mycotoxin as another species. Major groups of these mycotoxins include aflatoxins, ochratoxin, patulin, fusarium toxins. Most official control methods all over the world are based on high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and it explains the important role of the chemist. There are several methods to prevention of the growth of these fungi and/or the decontamination of mycotoxins from food. How to prevent growth and invasion of pathogenic fungi in agricultural commodities is very important in preventing mycotoxin contamination. The inhibition of fungal growth as well as the decontamination of mycotoxins can be achieved by physical, chemical and biological treatments. Chemical treatment has been used as the most effective means for the removal of mycotoxins from contaminated commodities. The method should be sure that the detoxification system is capable of converting the toxin to a nontoxic derivative (s) without deleterious change in the raw product. Many common chemicals have been brought to test the effectiveness in detoxification of aflatoxin. These chemicals include the followings:

* acetic acid
* ammonia gas or ammonia solutions or ammonium salts, 3-5%
* calcium hydroxide
* hydrogen peroxide
* ozone gas
* phosphoric acid
* sodium bicarbonate
* sodium bisulfite
* sodium hydroxide
* sodium hypochlorite

The chemical reactions of detoxification of aflatoxin are primary addition of the double bond of the furan ring and oxidation involving phenol formation and opening of the lactone ring. Of course among the chemical treatments, a good recipe could be to wash the fruits or vegetables, firstly with water/acetic acid from vinegar, then with a solution of sodium bicarbonate and at the end with a water solution containing some active substances that produce chlorine, like Amuchina solutions.
In any case we have to remember the prevention starts during the growth of crops, then in pre-harvest and harvest time!