{"id":1539,"date":"2024-02-18T15:24:07","date_gmt":"2024-02-18T09:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/?p=1539"},"modified":"2024-04-03T07:01:13","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T01:31:13","slug":"q-improper-handling-and-storage-of-cereal-grains-and-oilseeds-result-in-the-production-of-toxins-known-as-aflatoxins-which-are-not-generally-destroyed-by-normal-cooking-process-aflatoxins-are-p","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/upsc\/q-improper-handling-and-storage-of-cereal-grains-and-oilseeds-result-in-the-production-of-toxins-known-as-aflatoxins-which-are-not-generally-destroyed-by-normal-cooking-process-aflatoxins-are-p","title":{"rendered":"Q.\u00a0Improper handling and storage of cereal grains and oilseeds result in the production of toxins known as aflatoxins which are not generally destroyed by normal cooking process. Aflatoxins are produced by"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"mcq wp-block-list\">\n<li>Bacteria<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Protozoa<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Moulds<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Viruses<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Answer: (c) Moulds<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"aflatoxins\">Aflatoxins<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Aflatoxins are various&nbsp;<strong>poisonous carcinogens and mutagens<\/strong>&nbsp;that are&nbsp;<strong>produced by certain molds, particularly Aspergillus species.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Aflatoxins are&nbsp;<strong>a family of toxins produced by certain fungi that are found on agricultural crops such as maize (corn), peanuts, cottonseed, and tree nuts<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The main fungi that produce aflatoxins are&nbsp;<strong>Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus<\/strong>, which are abundant in&nbsp;<strong>warm and humid regions<\/strong>&nbsp;of the world.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Aflatoxin-producing fungi can contaminate crops&nbsp;<strong>in the field, at harvest, and during storage<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The fungi grow in soil, decaying vegetation and various staple foodstuffs and commodities such as hay, sweetcorn, wheat, millet, sorghum, cassava, rice, chili peppers, cottonseed, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, and various spices. In short, the relevant fungi grow on almost any crop or food.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>When such contaminated food is processed or consumed, the aflatoxins enter the general food supply. They have been found in both pet and human foods, as well as in feedstocks for agricultural animals. Animals fed contaminated food can pass aflatoxin transformation products into eggs, milk products, and meat.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For example, contaminated poultry feed is the suspected source of aflatoxin-contaminated chicken meat and eggs in Pakistan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Children are particularly affected by aflatoxin exposure, which is associated with stunted growth, delayed development, liver damage, and liver cancer.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Adults have a higher tolerance to exposure, but are also at risk. No animal species is immune.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Aflatoxin poisoning most commonly results from ingestion, but the most toxic aflatoxin compound, B1, can permeate through the skin.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Prevention:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A primary means of limiting risk from aflatoxins in the food supply is<strong>&nbsp;food hygiene<\/strong>&nbsp;in the commercial commodity supply chain, such as rejecting moldy grain for use in food processing plants and testing of batches of ingredients for aflatoxin levels before adding them to the mix.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Regulatory agencies<\/strong>&nbsp;such as the FDA set limits on acceptable levels.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Grain drying<\/strong>&nbsp;itself, which is necessary for viable combine harvesting in many regions, lays the fundamentals for this effort by preventing stored grain from being too damp in the first place.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/aflatoxins.jpeg\" alt=\"aflatoxins\" class=\"wp-image-48363\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"mold\">Mold<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mold\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mold<\/a>&nbsp;is one of the structures that certain fungi can form. The&nbsp;<strong>dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of spores containing fungal secondary metabolites<\/strong>. The spores are the dispersal units of the fungi.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Not all fungi form molds<\/strong>. Some fungi form mushrooms; others grow as single cells and are called microfungi (for example yeasts).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A large and taxonomically diverse number of fungal species form molds. The growth of hyphae results in discoloration and a fuzzy appearance, especially on food.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Molds cause biodegradation of natural materials, which can be unwanted when it becomes food spoilage or damage to property. They also play important roles in biotechnology and food science in the production of various pigments, foods, beverages, antibiotics, pharmaceuticals and enzymes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some diseases of animals and humans can be caused by certain molds: disease may result from allergic sensitivity to mold spores, from growth of pathogenic molds within the body, or from the effects of ingested or inhaled toxic compounds (mycotoxins) produced by molds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Answer: (c) Moulds Aflatoxins Mold<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,3],"tags":[44],"years":[60],"class_list":["post-1539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-upsc","category-prelims","tag-science-and-tech","years-60"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":1,"label":"UPSC"},{"value":3,"label":"Prelims"}],"post_tag":[{"value":44,"label":"Science and Tech"}],"years":[{"value":60,"label":"2013"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"LotusArise","author_link":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/author\/team-lotusarise"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":1,"name":"UPSC","slug":"upsc","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":1269,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":1,"category_count":1269,"category_description":"","cat_name":"UPSC","category_nicename":"upsc","category_parent":0},{"term_id":3,"name":"Prelims","slug":"prelims","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":1,"count":1251,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":3,"category_count":1251,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Prelims","category_nicename":"prelims","category_parent":1}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":44,"name":"Science and Tech","slug":"science-and-tech","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":44,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":167,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1539"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1556,"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1539\/revisions\/1556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1539"},{"taxonomy":"years","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/years?post=1539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}