Aflatoxin contamination in foods is a global concern as they are carcinogenic, teratogenic and mutagenic compounds. The aflatoxin-producing fungi, mainly from the Aspergillus section Flavi, are ubiquitous in nature and readily contaminate various food commodities, thereby affecting human’s health. The incidence of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus spp. and aflatoxins in various types of food, especially raw peanuts and peanut-based products along the supply chain has been a concern particularly in countries having tropical and sub-tropical climate, including Malaysia. These climatic conditions naturally support the growth of Aspergillus section Flavi, especially A. flavus, particularly when raw peanuts and peanut-based products are stored under inappropriate conditions. Peanut supply chain generally consists of several major stakeholders which include the producers, collectors, exporters, importers, manufacturers, retailers and finally, the consumers. A thorough examination of the processes along the supply chain reveals that Aspergillus section Flavi and aflatoxins could occur at any step along the chain, from farm to table. Thus, this review aims to give an overview on the prevalence of Aspergillus section Flavi and the occurrence of aflatoxins in raw peanuts and peanut-based products, the impact of aflatoxins on global trade, and aflatoxin management in peanuts with a special focus on peanut supply chain in Malaysia. Furthermore, aflatoxin detection and quantification methods as well as the identification of Aspergillus section Flavi are also reviewed herein. This review could help to shed light to the researchers, peanut stakeholders and consumers on the risk of aflatoxin contamination in peanuts along the supply chain.

Stingless bee-collected pollen (bee bread) is a mixture of bee pollen, bee salivary enzymes, and regurgitated honey, fermented by indigenous microbes during storage in the cerumen pot. Current literature data for bee bread is overshadowed by bee pollen, particularly of honeybee Apis. In regions such as South America, Australia, and Southeast Asia, information on stingless bee bee bread is mainly sought to promote the meliponiculture industry for socioeconomic development. This review aims to highlight the physicochemical properties and health benefits of bee bread from the stingless bee. In addition, it describes the current progress on identification of beneficial microbes associated with bee bread and its relation to the bee gut. This review provides the basis for promoting research on stingless bee bee bread, its nutrients, and microbes for application in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Pollen collected by stingless bee is stored and packed in honey pots following the addition of various enzymes and nectar, or honey which contains microorganisms to undergo lactic acid fermentation to produce bee bread. Naturally fermented foods are known to contain probiotic bacteria. Thus, the aim of this study was to isolate probiotic bacteria from bee bread and characterize the probiotic potential of bacteria with antibacterial activities against foodborne pathogens. Bacteria were identified using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The probiotic potential such as acid and bile tolerance, digestive enzymes tolerance, cell surface hydrophobicity, cell autoaggregation, antibacterial activity against foodborne pathogens, blood haemolytic activity, and antibiotic susceptibility were determined. A total of 27 bacteria were isolated from bee bread and were identified as Lactobacillus spp., Fructobacillus fructosus, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Enterococcus faecalis, and Bacillus spp. Most of the Bacillus spp. showed haemolytic abilities. L. musae SGMT17 and L. mindensis SGMT22 had similar antibacterial efficiency against tested pathogens in comparison to L. rhamnosus GG. All of the isolates showed high tolerance to pH 3, 0.3% bile, pepsin, and pancreatin except for F. fructosus strains. Lb. crustorum, Lb. mindensis and Lb. musae showed high hydrophobicity and autoaggregation ranging from 52.09 to 80.52% and 57.47 to 92.77%, respectively, depending on the strain. All strains were susceptible to chloramphenicol, ampicillin and tetracycline, but varied for eight other clinically relevant antibiotics. From the result obtained, Lb. musae SGMT17 and Lb. crustorum SGMT20 showed the highest antibacterial activity and probiotic properties in the human in vitro digestive model. Future studies have to be conducted to assess other therapeutic value and safety of the selected bacteria in vivo.

Aspergillus flavus is the predominant species that produce aflatoxins in stored peanuts under favourable conditions. This study aimed to describe the growth and aflatoxin production by two A. flavus strains isolated from imported raw peanuts and to model the effects of temperature and a_w on their colony growth rate as a function of temperature and a_w in Peanut Meal Extract Agar (PMEA). A full factorial design with seven a_w levels (0.85-0.98 a_w) and five temperature levels (20-40 °C) was used to investigate the growth and aflatoxin production. Colony diameter was measured daily for 28 days while AFB₁ and total aflatoxin were determined on day 3, 7, 14, and 21. The maximum colony growth rate, μ_max (mm/day) was estimated by using the primary model of Baranyi, and the μ_max was then fitted to the secondary model; second-order polynomial and linear Arrhenius-Davey to describe the colony growth rate as a function of temperature and a_w. The results indicated that both strains failed to grow at temperature of 20 °C with a_w <0.94 and a_w of 0.85 for all temperatures except 30 °C. The highest growth rate was observed at 30 °C, with 0.98 a_w for both strains. The analysis of variance showed a significant effect of strain, temperature, and a_w on the fungal growth and aflatoxin production (p < 0.05). Furthermore, both secondary models were in good agreement with the observed μ_max. However, the polynomial model was found to be a better predictor of the experimental data. A similar pattern was observed in aflatoxin production but in a narrower range of temperature (25-35 °C) and a_w (0.92-0.98 a_w). The highest production of aflatoxins was observed on day 21 at 30 °C with the a_w level of 0.98 for both strains. Overall, the current findings may help in improving the mycotoxin management and intervention strategies in peanuts, especially during storage.

Gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) has often been used to quantify fatty acids in fish. This study validated the common method for determining omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA) in the raw and cooked warm-water fish, selayang, using GC-FID for subsequent evaluation on EPA and DHA retention using the Weibull model. The EPA and DHA were separated using a high-polarity capillary GC HP-88 column (60 m length, 0.25 mm ID, 0.2 μm DF) with a total run time of 45.87 min. The method was validated in linearity, precision, accuracy, specificity and sensitivity based on ICH requirements. In addition, it was found that the method had a high recovery rate (>95%) and good precision (RSD ≤ 2%) with overall RSDs ranging below 0.001% for both omega-3 PUFA. In conclusion, this method identified and quantified fatty acids and omega-3 accurately and precisely and can be used effectively for routine FAME analysis in fish samples.