Wageningen, The Netherlands
November 29, 2012
A study coordinated by RIKILT Wageningen UR has shown that climate change influences food safety. The study specifically focused on the possible presence of two types of naturally occurring toxins: mycotoxins in grains and biotoxins in shellfish. These two types of toxins were chosen for the study because it was hypothesised that their presence is affected by climate change.
The goal of the study was to estimate the impact of climate change on mycotoxin contamination of grain grown in north-western Europe. Mycotoxins are produced by specific fungi. The study also assesses marine biotoxin contamination of shellfish in the North Sea coastal region. Marine biotoxins are produced by algae and accumulate in shellfish. The researchers combined global and regional climate models with models predicting the presence of mycotoxins and harmful algal blooms.
Climate change will result in an increase in temperature in north-western Europe and more variation in rainfall. Some regions will see more rain, while other regions will become drier. The model results show that as a result of these climate changes, it will be possible to cultivate more wheat and maize in north-western Europe. However, wheat in this region will contain more of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol.
The researchers also predicted an increase in the concentration of algae in the North Sea and the development of harmful algal blooms. However, it is not certain whether this will imply that biotoxin contamination of shellfish will also increase.
In addition, the results show that there are regional differences in north-western Europe and therefore risk managers in food safety need to be alert constantly.
The researchers advise to continue the close monitoring of levels of mycotoxins and marine biotoxins. This is because climate conditions favourable to toxin-producing organisms could result into high-risk situations. It is important that the right data will continually be collected at a European level.
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