Fungal and Mycotoxin Contamination of Green Leaf Spices Commercialized in Romania: A Food Choice Perspective

Anca Cighir, Augustin Curticăpean (), Anca Delia Mare, Teodora Cighir, Manuela Rozalia Gabor, Felicia Toma and Adrian Man
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Anca Cighir: Department of Microbiology, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology of Târgu Mureș, 38 Gheorghe Marinescu Street, 540139 Targu Mureș, Romania
Augustin Curticăpean: Department of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology of Târgu Mureș, 38 Gheorghe Marinescu Street, 540139 Targu Mureș, Romania
Anca Delia Mare: Department of Microbiology, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology of Târgu Mureș, 38 Gheorghe Marinescu Street, 540139 Targu Mureș, Romania
Teodora Cighir: Department of Medical Laboratory, Mureș Clinical County Hospital, 1 Gheorghe Marinescu Street, 540103 Targu Mureș, Romania
Manuela Rozalia Gabor: Department ED1—Economic Sciences, Faculty of Economic and Law, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Târgu Mureș, Livezeni Street 69, 540142 Targu Mureș, Romania
Felicia Toma: Department of Microbiology, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology of Târgu Mureș, 38 Gheorghe Marinescu Street, 540139 Targu Mureș, Romania
Adrian Man: Department of Microbiology, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology of Târgu Mureș, 38 Gheorghe Marinescu Street, 540139 Targu Mureș, Romania

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 23, 1-15

Abstract: A healthy, sustainable diet contributes massively to the general well-being of a population. Nowadays, people have started to significantly improve their diet by reducing processed products, as well as including a higher number of fruits, vegetables, cereals, and spices to flavor their food. However, making the right food choice, without any harmful pathogens that pose a risk to human health, can remain quite challenging. Despite prioritizing food safety in its processing, production, and distribution, food contamination remains a prevalent and undesirable occurrence. This study aims to detect the fungal load of commonly used green leaf spices commercialized in Romania and the impact of those microorganisms and their secondary metabolites on consumers. Six (28.57%) out of the twenty-one tested samples showed different degrees of fungal contamination, mostly with Aspergillus section Flavi , followed by Aspergillus section Nigri and other fungi in lower amounts. Three main fungal secondary metabolites with potential impact on consumers, namely mycotoxins, were determined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC): Aflatoxin B1, Ochratoxin A, and Zearalenone. Moreover, their legal limits (5 μg/kg, 15 μg/kg, and 50 μg/kg, respectively) were exceeded by 95.24%, 100%, and 85.71%, respectively. Environmental factors that affect the processing and packaging of these spices did not show any relation to fungal contamination, conversely to price, which significantly correlates with the mycological quality of the products.

Keywords: health threats in food; green leaf spices; fungal load; mycotoxin (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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