Aspergillus Species as Mycotoxin Producers in Agricultural Products in Central Europe

Aspergillus species are able to produce a range of mycotoxins, including e.g. aflatoxins, ochratoxins, fumonisins and patulin. Aflatoxins are mainly produced by members of Aspergillus section Flavi, and they contaminate various agricultural products in several parts of the world. Several recent reports have indicated that aflatoxin-producing fungi and consequently aflatoxin contamination occur in agricultural commodities in a number of European countries which have not been faced with this problem before. Indeed, recent surveys have clarified that concentrations of aflatoxins in maize products and milk has been exceeding the EU limit in several regions of Central Europe including Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Northern Italy and Romania. However, aflatoxin contamination and aflatoxin-producing Aspergillus species have not been identified yet in maize in Hungary. We examined the presence of potential aflatoxin-producing Aspergilli in maize samples collected in southern parts of Hungary. Several A. flavus isolates were identified, and preliminary results indicated that some of the isolates were able to produce aflatoxins. Contamination of other agricultural products with aflatoxins can also pose problems in Central Europe due to global warming. Ochratoxin contamination of grapes and grape-derived products is usually caused by black Aspergilli, especially by A. carbonarius and A. niger, although these species have been rare in Central European vineyards due to climatic factors. Ochratoxin contamination of other agricultural products including spices and cereals was also observed in the region. Besides, ochratoxin producing Aspergilli are frequently isolated from imported products including coffee beans, dried fruits and spices, and ochratoxin contamination of these samples was also observed. Fumonisins are produced mainly by Fusarium species, and by the recently identified producers Aspergillus niger and A. awamori. We examined fumonisin producing abilities of A. niger / A. awamori isolates collected from the variety of substrates including raisins, figs, dates, maize and onions. The isolates, which came from dried vine fruits, produced several fumonisin isomers also present in the raisin samples, indicating that fumonisin contamination of these products was probably caused by black Aspergilli. Besides, strains collected from figs, dates and onions were also able to produce fumonisins, and preliminary data indicated that figs and onions were also contaminated with low but significant amount of fumonisins. Potential fumonisin producing A. awamori isolates were also identified on maize samples. Further studies on 13 Зборник Матице српске за природне науке / Jour. Nat. Sci, Matica Srpska Novi Sad, No 124, 13—25, 2013