Cold Plasma Degradation of Aflatoxin M1 While Maintaining Milk Quality

Aflatoxins (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2) are poisonous mycotoxins that are produced by two common molds, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, in cereal grains and maize. When dairy cows ingest AFB1 toxin through contaminated feed, it is metabolized into carcinogenic AFM1 toxin, and it is transferred in milk. AFM1 contamination of milk poses a significant health risk to consumers, especially in developing countries where AFM1 contamination levels can be 10 to 100 times higher than the Canadian regulations, 0.5 ppb. Current methods of milk processing such as Ultra High Temperature (UHT) heat treatment for pasteurization are unable to reduce AFM1. A promising new approach to degrade AFM1 toxin in milk is high voltage atmospheric cold plasma (HVACP). The goal of this research will be to determine the effect of HVCAP treatment on AFM1 contamination in skim and whole milk as well as the degradation products of AFM1 and their molecular formulas. The degradation products and their chemical formulas will be elucidated using liquid-chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC?TOF-MS). The structures of the reaction products will be further investigated using orbitrap mass spectrometry.

Faculty Supervisor:

Kevin Keener

Student:

Partner:

Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Agriculture and Food; Health and Related Sciences & Technology; Technology

University:

University of Guelph

Program: