“These days, we can all feel the unpleasant effects of climate change. In spite of this, one of the most important food safety and public health problems relevant to these effects, i.e., the continuing northward spread of the carcinogenic and immune-compromising aflatoxin-producing molds in Europe, including Hungary, still receives relatively little media attention and coverage. Aflatoxins represent a threat to humans of all ages, but are particularly dangerous for developing children. This is why the joint project implemented by the University of Debrecen and the National Food Chain Safety Office between 2018 and 2023 was of pioneering significance,” said István Pócsi, a full professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Debrecen, to hirek.unideb.hu.
As a result of the project (titled Estimation of the long and short-term exposure of Hungarian consumers to Aflatoxins present in dairy products and recommending risk management measures), which was supported by the nationwide Nemzeti Kiválósági Program [National Excellence Program], it has been concluded that the Hungarian population is not currently at significant risk of aflatoxin health risks through the dairy chain, but continuous monitoring of the feed and food chain for aflatoxins is still justified and recommended by all means.
“It is important to highlight that, thanks to the National Excellence Program, the consortium partners have acquired capabilities (in areas such as microplate infection experiments, analytical method development, mycotoxin mitigation and prevention technology development, genomics and metagenomics studies and genetic studies) that now allow us to undertake the broadest spectrum of mycotoxin research at the highest quality in our country. We hope that, together, we can meet the current challenges posed by climate change in this critical area. Perhaps the most important result of our joint consortium-related success is that, through the fruitful implementation of the project, we have also been able to integrate into the efforts of the international mycotoxin research community to address the mycotoxin issue effectively both in the EU and at a global level,” added Professor Pócsi.
The most recent joint success of the cooperating partners is that they have been invited to join and participate in the MYMATCH research and innovation project (HORIZON-CL6-2024-FARM2FORK-01-4 MYMATCH MYcotoxin MAnagement platform To face Climate change impact on food safety and Human Health), which was launched in December thanks to the European Horizon Programme (whose consortium leader is Paola Battilani from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza, Italy).
In addition to Nébih, another consortium partner in the project is Innovative Food Industry Cluster Ltd.(Innovatív Élelmiszeripari Klaszter Kft.), owned by the University of Debrecen. The Hungarian leader of the project is István Pócsi, professor at the University of Debrecen, while Attila Nagy, Director of Food Chain Safety Laboratory Directorate], is the coordinator of the research activities on behalf of Nébih.
One of the key tasks identified in the project is to improve predictive models based on climate change scenarios in order to predict the occurrence of mycotoxins in European food systems.
“This project also represents a splendid opportunity for us to inform and educate farmers. One of the tasks of Pharmapolis Innovative Food Cluster (Pharmapolis Innovatív Élelmiszeripari Klaszter) is to disseminate the findings and forecasts of the project to a broader audience, including farmers in Hungary and the European Union. Both wheat and maize play a very important part in the agriculture of Hungary, which is why it is important for us that our researchers have managed to join such an important project, which will practically investigate and analyze the spread of these molds across Europe,” said Imre Szűcs, Managing Director of Pharmapolis Innovative Food Cluster.
The project called MYMATCH HORIZON EUROPE, launched in December 2024, involves twelve partner institutions from as many as nine European countries. Since climate change seems to be a major driver for the proliferation of mycotoxin-producing molds and thus the entry of harmful mycotoxins into the food supply chain, MYMATCH aims to map up the impact of climate change on the mycotoxins produced by molds commonly found in maize, wheat, tomatoes and nuts.
Hungarian researchers have had a significant role in the monitoring of maize and wheat grain crops and related research, such as Aspergillus and Fusarium species identification and mycotoxin detection and determination.
Press Center – CzA
