A Lebanese researcher invents a method to eliminate mycotoxins harmful to human health

Assaf holds a doctorate from the Lebanese and Jesuit universities in chemistry, and has been a professor trained at the Lebanese University’s Faculty of Engineering in the field of petrochemistry since 2013.

Dr. Jean-Claude Assaf, a lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering at the Lebanese University, won the DairyTech Live Demo award on the Food and Agricultural Innovation Day (AFID2022) organized by the Berytech Business Innovation and Incubation Center in Lebanon for entrepreneurs, funded by the European Union. On March 22, 2022.

According to a statement issued by the Lebanese University, Dr. Assaf received the award after demonstrating a machine related to the removal of carcinogenic fungal toxins such as aflatoxin from milk, which was developed in joint cooperation between a team from the university that included Dr. Assaf, Professor Ali Shukr and Professor Ali Atwi, and a team from the Faculty of Sciences, Saint-University of St. Youssef in Beirut included Professor Nicolas Louka and Dr. Andre El Khoury.

Based on previous patents obtained by this team, safe bio-adsorbent materials including bacterial biofilm as well as chitin and processed shrimp shells were used in the design of this machine, and the shrimp is an aquatic animal similar to shrimp.

The innovative method allows to get rid of these toxins by making use of shrimp shells to purify milk, and not to waste large quantities of it in the event that it does not conform to quality specifications. of liquid foods.

Assaf's machine wins awards

Dr. Assaf had previously won first place in the LIRA Awards to support industrial projects in 2018, for his project (a new machine to remove carcinogenic fungi from liquid foods) after obtaining a patent from the Lebanese Ministry of Economy and Trade in this regard. .

Assaf holds a doctorate from the Lebanese and Jesuit universities in chemistry, and has been a trained professor at the Faculty of Engineering at the Lebanese University in the field of petrochemistry since the 2013-2014 academic year, and a doctoral lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering at the Jesuit University.

In previous statements to the university's website, Dr. Assaf stressed the need to pay attention and follow-up to the issue of "food safety" because any danger to it directly threatens our lives.

Assaf pointed out that the goal of his project is to develop a new technology to detoxify liquid foods such as milk, juices, etc., and adds that, based on his patent data, safe bio-absorbent materials including processed shrimp and lobster shells were used to develop his new detoxification machine for mycotoxins.

Why are mycotoxins a concern?

According to a report by the World Health Organization, mycotoxins are toxic compounds produced by some types of molds (fungi) that naturally grow on many foods such as cereals, dried fruits, nuts and spices.

Molds can form either before or after harvest, and during storage. Most mycotoxins are chemically stable and withstand food processing. Several hundred different mycotoxins have been identified, but the most common mycotoxins of concern to human and livestock health include aflatoxins and ochratoxin A. Patulin, fumonsinat, ziaralenone, nivanol, and dioxynivalinol.

Mycotoxins appear in the food chain as a result of mold contamination of crops. Exposure to mycotoxins can occur directly by eating contaminated food, and indirectly through animals fed contaminated feed, especially the milk of these animals.

Some foodborne mycotoxins have direct acute effects, or are associated in food with long-term health effects, including cancer and immunodeficiency. Aflatoxins are among the most toxic mycotoxins, and are produced by some types of molds that grow in soil, juicy plants, hay and grains.

Large doses of aflatoxin can cause severe and potentially life-threatening intoxication (aflatoxin poisoning), usually by damaging the liver. Aflatoxins have also been shown to be genotoxic, meaning they damage DNA, and can cause cancer in animal species. Evidence also suggests that it may cause liver cancer in humans.