MYCOMIX and INFOGEST: a fruitful collaboration
Résumé
Mycotoxins are natural contaminants produced by fungi and its common occurrence in food poses a threat to human health, mainly to vulnerable population groups as children. The MycoMix Project (2013-15) aims to study the occurrence of multiple mycotoxins and toxicity interactions in infant foods and cereals consumed by Portuguese children and try to answer several questions: 1) Are children exposed daily to mycotoxins through food? 2) What are the quality and quantity that characterize this exposure? 3) Can this exposure bring harm to children? In an attempt to elucidate the internal mycotoxin dose that will reach the intestinal tract and can produce toxic effects, several bioavailability studies as well as dissemination activities were performed under collaboration between MYCOMIX and INFOGEST. This fruitful cooperation resulted in: i) two STSMs at laboratories of INFOGEST members: Agroscope (Switzerland) and Norwegian University of Life Sciences (Norway), on models of gastrointestinal digestion (WG2) and effect of food on health (WG3), respectively, ii) 2 publications in peer-reviewed journals and 2 national MSc dissertations using in vitro digestion models, iii) 7 communications in international and national meetings, iv) organization of a WG meeting in Lisbon, v) collaboration in the 1st WG2 technical training session, vi) attendance of 2 PhD students to training school ”Food Digestion and Human Health”, vii) dissemination of the INFOGEST network as well as its standardized in vitro digestion method in national and international meetings promoted by MYCOMIX (http://www.insa.pt/sites/INSA/Portugues/ComInf/Noticias/Paginas/1_SN_PAS.aspx, November 2014; http://www.icfc2015.com/welcome.htm, April 2015) and in one international post-graduation course in Brasil12, and finally, viii) production of 6 videos concerning the in vitro harmonized food digestion method, set up by members of the WG2 of EU-COST Action (www.youtube.com/channel/UCdc-NPx9kTDGyH_kZCgpQWg).