Zearalenone-Contaminated Cereals in African Communities, Probabilistic Exposures and Adverse-Health Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis

Isaac Williams Ofosu; Naa Kwarley-Aba Quartey; William Otoo Ellis; Gloria M. Ankar-Brewoo; Herman Lutterodt

doi:10.4314/just.v42i1.1409

Prof. Isaac Williams Ofosu Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1671-5185
Ms. Naa Kwarley-Aba Quartey KNUST https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2920-7024
Prof. William Otoo Ellis Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6993-4731
Dr. (Mrs.) Gloria Mathanda Ankar-Brewoo Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8574-3409
Dr. Herman Erick Lutterodt Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7015-7597

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/just.v42i1.1409

Keywords: zearalenone, exposures and risks, hazard quotient, probabilistic approach, African communities

Abstract

Zearalenone, a Fusarium spp. mycotoxin is an exposome with estrogenic properties that adversely impact global public health concerns, including African cereal-growing communities. In this study, we used the keywords; “adverse health”, “cereals”, “zearalenone”, and “Africa” to screen published articles from Google Scholar, CrossRef, PubMed and Scopus databases. The returned queries were filtered to obtain 36 relevant articles covering 53 studies. Data including the year of study, zearalenone concentration, number of total samples and total positive samples were extracted from the included papers. The zearalenone concentrations were meta-analyzed to characterize the following: data heterogeneity, weighted averages, effect sizes, and to visualize Forest plots and regression models. The exposures were determined using zearalenone concentrations, mass of cereals ingested, and WHO-recommended body weight according to the EFSA-recommended guidelines. Based on Palisade @Risk probabilistic approaches, the uncertainties of exposures and risks (hazard quotient) were obtained after simulation at 105 iterations and benchmarked against PMTDI (0.25 μg/kg). The meta-analysis results presented a zearalenone contamination occurrence of 16% and a high heterogeneity (I2=97.9), which indicated high variability in the included articles. Zearalenone concentrations ranging from 0.90 to 1.03×103 μg/kg presented high occurrence in rice and rice-based products (75%), while the simulated modal exposures (μg/kg(bw)-d) ranged from 5.33×10-3 to 9.70×10-2, the 95th percentile ranged from 1.91 to 31.60. Although the modal exposures among the age-related consumers did not exceed the regulatory threshold (0.25 μg/kg), that for infants (0.10 μg/kg(bw)-d) and toddlers (0.04 μg/kg(bw)-d) were the highest. However, the 95th percentile exposures for all the age-related consumers exceeded the threshold at different intensities, while the infants (31.60 μg/kg(bw)-d) and toddlers (13.11 μg/ kg(bw)-d) exposures were significantly (HQ>1) alarming. Control measures are urgently warranted to address this public health concern.

Author Biographies

Prof. Isaac Williams Ofosu, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Prof. Isaac W. Ofosu is an Associate Professor of Food Systems Chemistry, Toxicology and Risks at KNUST, with over 20 years of teaching and research experience. His main focus is on food contaminants and their health risks, having published 17 papers and supervised 33 theses on this topic. He teaches seven postgraduate courses and belong to several professional associations. Prof. Ofosu obtained his PhD in Food Science and Technology from KNUST in 2018. He has participated in various academic activities, such as exhibitions, conferences, reviews, and evaluations, including visiting ISA Lille, France, under the Erasmus+ program.

Ms. Naa Kwarley-Aba Quartey, KNUST

Ms. Naa Kwarley-Aba Quartey is a PhD candidate with research interest in Food Systems Chemistry, Toxicology and Risks Studies at the Department of Food Science and Technology, KNUST. Her research interest also spans Food Safety, and Food-borne hazards and Epidemiology. She is an early career researcher, and part of the team that won the 6^thCycle of the KNUST Research Fund (KReF) grant for Multidisciplinary Research.

Prof. William Otoo Ellis, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Prof. William O. Ellis is a Professor of Food Toxicology, Mycotoxin and Epidemiology at the Department of Food Science and Technology, KNUST with over 30 years of teaching and research experience. He obtained his PhD from McGill University in 1993. His research interest also focuses on Applied Food Microbiology and Quality Assurance, Food Product Development, and Packaging. He has supervised numerous undergraduate projects and over 75 postgraduate dissertations on these topics. Prof. Ellis has worked on several national and internationally funded projects with grants from several institutions including USAID, IDRC, NIH, UNESCO, IFAD, DfID, World Bank, African Academy of Sciences and the Mastercard foundation. He currently has approximately 250 scholarly publications including peer reviewed journal articles; refereed conference publications; technical reports; book chapters and manuals.

Dr. (Mrs.) Gloria Mathanda Ankar-Brewoo, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Dr. (Mrs.) Gloria M. Ankar-Brewoo obtained her PhD in Food Science and Technology from KNUST in 2017. She is currently a Senior Lecturer at KNUST in the Department of Food Science with research focus in Food Microbiology, Food Packaging, Chemical Food Safety, Food Analysis and Food Service. She has participated in various academic activities, such as conferences, evaluations and exhibitions. In her over 15 years of teaching and research, Dr. (Mrs.) Ankar-Brewoo has supervised many undergraduate and postgraduate project work and theses, and has over 20 peer-reviewed published scientific articles to her credit.

Dr. Herman Erick Lutterodt, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Dr. Herman E. Lutterodt holds a PhD from University of Maryland and is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Food Science and Technology, KNUST. His research focus is in Nutraceutical and Functional Food Chemistry, with particular emphasis on the utilization of agro-waste materials in functional food development. Dr Lutterodt’s current research includes developing functional food products from local underutilized crops and edible insects to address food and nutrition insecurity. He also has expertise in designing, installing, and evaluating food quality management systems; serving as a consultant assisting food companies implement food safety systems certifications like ISO 22000, FSSC 22000, HACCP, and etc. Dr. Lutterodt has published over 45 peer-reviewed scientific articles and two book chapters.