Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Biotechnological decontamination of mycotoxins in foods and beverages
Coordinator
Innovative mitigation measures to reduce the risks through the application of bacterial pathogens challenges in food models. Tailored fermentation processes, based on QPS microorganisms (i.e., biocontrol agents, lactic acid bacteria, non-conventional yeasts, symbiotic culture of microorganisms) and hydrolysed food matrices, will be set-up and integrated in traditional food production protocols to increase food safety. Selected natural antimicrobials (e.g., essential oils) and hydrolysed raw matrices will be used to inactivate pathogens at food processing, storage, and retail levels.
Protective bacterial and phage cultures
Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by certain fungi. The presence of these molecules causes great economic losses and in general negatively impact the sustainability of the food chain. Consumption of food and beverages containing high levels of mycotoxins represents a serious health threat for the consumers.
Chemical or heat treatments are well-known strategies to destroy mycotoxins, but they cannot always be applied. The biological detoxification with lactic acid bacteria could represent an innovative and natural solution to detoxify food and beverages containing mycotoxins.
The operational plan would include the following steps:
Definition of a food culture effective in detoxification of plant-based substrates from mycotoxins.
