engleski

EU legislative and Mycotoxins in Malt and Beer – Are We Taking Seriously?

Wheat and barley have always been a valuable source of food. However, their susceptibility to Fusarium infections can gravely affect the malting and brewing processes by degrading and lowering the quality of malting cereals. Malting and brewing companies are especially sensitive to Fusarium infection since it causes great economic losses. The most important problem occurring with Fusarium fungi is that they produce mycotoxins, compounds toxic for humans and animals. Due to their water-soluble property, some of the mycotoxins are considered very important (deoxynivalenol, nivalenol, zearalenone, aflatoxins, fumonisins, ochratoxin A, etc.) in barley-to-beer-chain. They are regularly monitored even before the cereals enters the malting industry. Besides these regular mycotoxins, emerging, modified mycotoxins can be detected in beer in much higher concentrations and ratios than in other food. Modified mycotoxins can be described as conjugation products created through the detoxification mechanisms of living organisms. With the development of analytical methods, detection and quantification of very low concentrations of new mycotoxins in different foodstuffs is possible. The data base of known mycotoxins is getting bigger, but the health safety regulations are moving very slow in updating new compounds as potentially dangerous for humans and animals. However, even though the scientific community gives enough attention and space to mycotoxins that contaminate malt and beer, none of these mycotoxins have been regulated in beer so far. Given that beer is such a popular recreational drink, drank in every corner of the world, clear limits and especially regular and mandatory controls of mycotoxins in malt and beer should be introduced.

malt ; beer ; mycotoxins ; legislative

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