Solution Against Mold-Derived Toxins Causing Food Loss

Mycotoxins produced from toxic compounds originating from molds can form during food production and storage. Aflatoxins, which appear in edible tree nuts such as peanuts and hazelnuts, dried fruits, spices and cereals, rank among the most common, toxic and carcinogenic mycotoxins. Frequent and regular measurement of aflatoxins is of great importance to prevent food loss. Selçuk Uğurlu, founder partner of Chemcode, which conducted R&D work at the AgriGenomik Hub-Animal and Plant Genomic Research Innovation Center managed by Ankara University Teknokent, answered questions about the biosensor they developed for easy measurement and the device that will use it and is still in development. Uğurlu noted that mycotoxin levels from molds remain below legal limits in 70 to 80 percent of consumed foods, while 20 to 30 percent of products exceeding legal limits become waste. He stated that they designed an integrated system to prevent this loss, which is a significant problem particularly in the dried fruits, fig and dried fruit sectors in Turkey and causes major issues in exports. Uğurlu said: "Our venture actually seeks to solve a problem created by mycotoxins and turns one quarter of our food globally into waste, causing a loss of one billion tons annually. We detect toxins produced by molds. For example, there is Aflatoxin B1. This is the toxin that causes the most loss and is the most carcinogenic substance known in the world. There are many toxins, different types develop in different food types."

"We measure toxin concentration from the size of the signal"

Uğurlu explained that the biosensor they developed converts biological detection into electronic signals, and that the device in which this sensor is installed can be used by everyone in the field, adding that mycotoxin measurements at laboratory quality can be performed this way.  

Uğurlu continued as follows:

"The technology of the sensors we use here is very similar to the strips that measure glucose from blood taken from a finger. Just as these strips measure glucose, ours measure toxins actually. We develop biologically-based receptors that capture those toxins on these strips. We bind them chemically to their surfaces and they capture the toxin like a lock-and-key relationship. When it captures it, an electronic signal is created and from the size of this signal we measure the concentration of the toxin." Emphasizing that the measurements taken will be transferred to a mobile application and thus current information about the situation in the field or storage can be obtained continuously, Uğurlu noted that thanks to the integrated system they developed, it can be learned how long the product will last when purchased and whether precautions need to be taken to prevent product spoilage.

The following information was provided about device usage:

"The farmer will take this device, place the sample on it, enter which toxins they want to analyze and press the analyze button. Analysis results will be on the mobile phone in 25 minutes. If the farmer has an agreement with the firms they will sell to, the firm will also be able to see the analysis the farmer did from their own factory through our mobile application. If there is a problem in their storage, they will see it. They can take measures accordingly or the farmer can see, depending on the situation, and say 'I am about to exceed the limit, let me harvest early' and save their product." Noting that the cost of measurement performed with the device, which they designed to be portable and carried in a backpack, will be one fifth or one sixth of laboratory analyses, Uğurlu said: "This gives us an advantage like this, farmers without sufficient financial strength will start conducting analyses, or exporters will increase the number of analyses to be sure." Uğurlu also added that they plan to put the device on sale by the end of 2024.   Source