In north-east Italy the occurrence of mycotoxins, and particularly
fumonisin, on maize infected before harvest is of great
concern for food and feed safety. To prevent the introduction of
contaminated grain lots into the food chain, there is an urgent
need for rapid methods for early assessment of contamination,
since extraction and analysis of samples is time-consuming, and
not suitable for routine analysis of grain at the time of delivery to
drying and storage services. Here, we report the development
and the evaluation of methods for early assessment of contamination
risk. They include: (i) aereobiological analysis of fungal
spores with a cyclone-type air sampler during maize harvest; (ii)
proximal imaging analysis with near infrared illumination; and
(iii) electronic nose detection of volatile metabolites associated
with Fusarium infection. The prediction data were correlated
with the content of different toxins (fumonisin, aflatoxin, ochratoxin)
in field-collected maize samples as determined by ELISA
and HPLC, and with quantitative data obtained by Real Time
PCR of FUM1 (a gene involved in fumonisin biosynthesis) and
by ELISA of Fusarium-specific exopolysaccharides. Agronomic
and environmental data (hybrid, seed date, harvest date, water
content at harvest, irrigation, and pest management) were also
integrated with the aim of developing risk assessment models
and protocols for the Friuli Venezia Giulia region.
