Getting up to speed on mycotoxins in Africa: Is optic sorting the solution?

Apr8

This post is cross-posted from Agrilinks.

Combating mycotoxin contamination is a major frontier in the agricultural development sector. While mycotoxins (a category of toxic fungal metabolites) occur on many crops in many countries, the associated health burden is more visible in Sub-Saharan Africa. If you’re not feeling up-to-speed on mycotoxins in Africa, I highly recommend watching the presentation below by Dr. Rebecca Nelson, Professor of Plant Science at Cornell University. To download the slides used in the presentation click here.

 

In a 35-minute narrated PowerPoint, Dr. Nelson highlights a number of recent studies examining mycotoxin prevalence in Kenya and the key factors that can influence mold growth and human exposure. Much of the research was conducted via local hammer mills in Kenya, which seem to be ideal sites for researching and managing mycotoxins. In her conclusions, Dr. Nelson proposes broadly-applicable steps that can be taken by consumers, farmers, traders/millers, and policy actors to tackle the mycotoxin problem going forward.

Here are three of my major takeaways from Dr. Nelson’s presentation:

Maize that is sold to market is often more contaminated than maize that a farmer keeps for her family. A study found that among a sample of households in Kenya, maize that the families kept for their own consumption had a 20% chance of exceeding the legal limit for aflatoxin (a notorious mycotoxin). Maize for sale, on the other hand, had a 40% chance of being over the legal limit for aflatoxin. Why such a stark difference? The discrepancy could be due to the particular maize varieties in question: a survey of 100 Kenyan farmers showed a tendency to keep the local varieties of maize (perhaps better-adapted to resist mycotoxins) for own-consumption, and sell the large-grain hybrids. Or, it could be that people simply take better care of maize that they are planning to keep: 50% of farmers surveyed admitted that they took less care in drying and storage for the maize they intended to sell. Another study showed that contamination was higher at mills than in storage, perhaps because farmers selectively sell older maize that will sooner reach its spoilage point.

The human eye can’t discern if maize is contaminated by aflatoxin, but a specialized optical sorting machine can. The fungus that produces aflatoxin can worm its way into the center of a maize kernel, making it undetectable by the eyes of a farmer sorting her crop. Mechanized spectral grain sorting is being tested as a potential way to identify and remove contaminated kernels. An optical sorting machine uses an LED array and sensor to take a spectral image of each kernel, detects specific wavelengths associated with contamination, and jettisons contaminated kernels into a reject pile. In one study, toxic samples were rejected at a rate of 0-25%, while clean samples were rejected at maximum rate of 1%. Hopefully, further studies and technology advances will allow for a higher rejection rate of contaminated kernels.

Hammer mill shops are practical places to enact mycotoxin awareness and reduction programs. Kenyan householders often visit neighborhood hammer mill shops to grind small quantities of maize. These local mills are good places to educate both maize producers and consumers about various mycotoxin mitigation methods. Many mills already have screened tables allowing people to pick out rotten kernels, which are discarded or go to livestock. This type of hand sorting is effective at reducing levels of some types of mycotoxins produced by visible molds, but not at reducing aflatoxin. If mechanized spectral grain sorting were paired with hammer mills, householders could walk away with a cleaner batch of maize to feed their families.

Overall, I am impressed with the quality and creativity of the research performed by the Nelson Lab and its partners. Further economic studies and cost-benefit analyses will help researchers determine the feasibility of optical grain sorting at the local grain mill level.

For more on mycotoxins, check out these resources:

Lessons learned from my recent international travel fiasco

Mar17

I just returned from a whirlwind work trip to the beautiful country of Nepal. While my experience in Nepal was extraordinary in every way, my experience getting there was…not. Here are some lessons learned from three tiresome days filled with lengthy flights, long lines, delays, and lost luggage:

Demand all of your boarding passes at the beginning of your trip

My outbound itinerary consisted of three legs:

  • Dulles->JFK
  • JFK->Abu Dhabi
  • Abu Dhabi->Kathmandu

When I checked in at Dulles, I was given my boarding passes for the first two legs, but not the third. The attendant at the check-in counter told me that I would need to get my third boarding pass at the airport in Abu Dhabi. “No problem,” I thought. “That’s just how things are done. I have a four-hour layover, so it will be fine.” Not so. Due to fog issues, there were massive delays and glacially-paced queues at the Abu Dhabi airport. My travel companions and I seemingly had no shot at getting our boarding passes in time. By the time we actually found an airport official to help us, still an hour before our flight, our seats had been given away to stand-by passengers because we hadn’t checked in. Of course, employees at the Abu Dhabi airport were confused as to why we didn’t already have our boarding passes in the first place, and said we could have gotten them at the initial Dulles check-in. Sigh. We wound up being re-booked on another flight to Kathmandu the next day, spending the night at a hotel in Abu Dhabi, and arriving a day later than planned.

Take a carry-on

While the two colleagues with whom I was traveling took carry-on suitcases, I decided to check my bag. “My last international trip went so smoothly,” I thought. “There won’t be any problems.” I must have forgotten to knock on wood, because my suitcase did indeed get lost somewhere along the line. I arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday, and didn’t hear any news about my bag until Tuesday afternoon (it was found, hooray!). Due to my schedule, I wasn’t able to pick it up until Wednesday. Thank goodness my colleague was able to loan me some work-appropriate shoes in the interim. In the future, I am planning to bring only a carry-on suitcase on international trips, especially for trips that are less than two weeks in warmer climates. This brings me to my next tip…

Pack lightly

I have a tendency to overpack, as I suspect most travelers do. But being without my suitcase reminded me how little I actually need on a trip. For five days, I lived a blissfully simple existence, with zero clothing choices and only the most basic of toiletries. On future trips, I intend to pack a very simple wardrobe with easily-washable items and no frills.

If your luggage is delayed, be sure to get a WorldTracer ID number

When your bag doesn’t show up at baggage claim, you are required to fill out a passenger property form to report it. The attendant should provide you with a 10-digit WorldTracer file reference number that you can use to track your bag. For whatever reason, the person I was working with did not write the number on my form, and I had to call United Airlines later to request it.

Take photos of all of your boarding passes and bag tags

I’ve gotten in the habit of snapping quick photos of all necessary travel documents with my cell phone. You never know when you might lose one of those tiny pieces of paper…or be asked to provide one to an airline staff member and not get it back.

Remember your travel power adapter

Invest in a worldwide power adapter and keep it on you. You never know when you might need to charge your cell phone and not be able to find the right kind of outlet. I completely forgot that I needed a travel adapter and had to borrow from others.

Build in an extra vacation day at the END of a work trip

My original itinerary had me arriving in Kathmandu with a day to spare before my conference, during which I had planned to explore and enjoy the city. However, due to my travel delays, I arrived a day later than planned. Thank goodness I had that extra day built in, or else I might have missed the first day of my meeting. However, from now on I am going to build in any vacation days at the end, rather than the beginning, of my work trips, to ensure I don’t miss out on the opportunity for some free time in a new place. I also think that one is more prepared (and less jet-lagged) at the end of the trip for doing some relaxing and exploring.

Despite my travel troubles, it was all worth it for this view of the Himalayas from my airplane window:

IMG_4565

Do you have any rules of thumb to make sure your international travel experiences run smoothly?

Ambergris: The most fascinating / bizarre / expensive substance you’ve never heard of

Feb5

AmbergrisQ. What costs up to $10,000 per pound, comes from the intestines of a sperm whale, and looks like an ordinary rock?

A. Why, ambergris, of course!

Ambergris is a waxy substance that is produced by whales when they’re having digestive troubles (likely after swallowing hard and pointy squid beaks). Supposedly, only about 1% of sperm whales can make it. After passing from the whale, it bobs in the ocean for decades and hardens, eventually washing up on a beach to be found by ambergris hunters or very, very lucky beachgoers. It is mostly used as an ingredient in perfumes, due to its unique scent and ability to affix scents to human skin.

Here are some descriptions of the scent of ambergris:

  • “It’s beyond comprehension how beautiful it is. It’s transformative. There’s a shimmering quality to it. It reflects light with its smell. It’s like an olfactory gemstone.” – Mandy Aftel, perfumer
  • “…reminiscent of tobacco, Brazil nuts, a fern copse, or the wood in old churches.” – Eric Spitznagel
  • “My brain swims. All at once, I smell: old cow dung; the lumps of wet, rotting wood that I have kicked along the beach; tobacco, drying seaweed…. And, beneath it all, something indescribably elemental. It is a mixture of the low and the high. The unavoidable and the unobtainable.” – Chris Kemp
  • “The problem with trying to describe the smell of ambergris is that it really only smells like ambergris.” – Chris Kemp

Well, heck, I really want to smell the stuff now!

Because of its rarity and desirability, ambergris is an extremely valuable, recession-proof commodity. These qualities also mean that its trade is shrouded in secrecy and controversy. In the United States, possessing ambergris has been illegal since 1973, because sperm whales are protected by the Endangered Species Act. International trade appears to be legal, and perfumeries in France will gladly buy up any supply they can find.

I just purchased this book on my Kindle and look forward to reading it. My one worry is that, after completing the book, I will be so fixated on the idea of smelling pure ambergris that I will have to quit my job and embark on a global quest to find it.

Cinnamon Overload!

Jan20

Thanksgiving-to-Christmas is the season of cinnamon. Over the holidays, I found myself eating the delicious spice in copious amounts, both as an ingredient in my own cooking and as an addition to seemingly every holiday treat that I was offered. Cinnamon was sprinkled in or on my oatmeal, pancakes, smoothies, sweet potatoes, squash dishes, soups, chili, desserts, mulled wine, and coffee. So I asked myself, is it possible to go overboard with cinnamon consumption?

According to the European Union, the answer is YES. But, it depends on which type of cinnamon you’re talking about. Here’s what you need to know:

  • Cinnamon, as we know it in the U.S., may be derived from the bark of one of four species of Cinnamomum (a genus of tree). One of those four – Cinnamomum verum – is “true cinnamon.” The other three are referred to as “cassia.” The visual difference is pretty obvious in stick form (see image below). This blog post contains a nice explanation of the differences.
  • In the United States, we primarily consume cassia. We prefer the stronger flavor. No rule requires it to be labeled separately, so the cinnamon you pick up in the grocery store is in all likelihood the cassia variety – even the fancy-looking Korintje cinnamon I just purchased from Whole Foods.
  • Cassia cinnamon has a high coumarin content, while true cinnamon does not. Coumarin is moderately toxic to the human liver. Most people are not at risk from the amount they consume, but a small number of highly sensitive individuals, and children who eat lots of cinnamon in kid-friendly products, may be at risk for liver damage.

  • The U.S. FDA prohibits coumarin from being added to foods, but does not regulate cassia cinnamon usage in the food industry.
  • The European Union however, has set a guideline for maximum coumarin content in baked goods of 50 mg/kg of dough in seasonal foods, and 15 mg/kg in everyday items.

Cinnamon was in the news recently because the Danish cinnamon roll – which usually contains copious amounts of cinnamon (exceeding EU’s allowed amount of coumarin) – was at risk of being banned near the holidays. The head of the Danish Baker’s Association dramatically lamented “the end of the cinnamon roll as we know it.” Here are a couple of articles on the matter:

What do I make of all this? I don’t think the average American needs to worry about coumarin poisoning from cinnamon, unless they are eating at Cinnabon daily. However, this information serves as another reminder to consume everything in moderation – as delicious as cinnamon is, it may not be wise to consume it in the amounts we do during the holidays. I am also wary of the use of high doses as a supplement. Cinnamon is linked with numerous health claims – anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties; ability to lower blood sugar and cholesterol; etc. – but solid research seems minimal. It would be prudent to ensure supplement capsules contain “true cinnamon” and to keep cassia consumption at moderate levels.

Personally, I’m going to keep my cinnamon consumption to less than a teaspoon a day – just a couple of shakes will do! How much cinnamon do you typically consume?

Antibiotics in animal agriculture – what’s the latest?

Dec27

Back in my days working with the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), I was highly tuned in to the issue of antibiotic use in animal agriculture. In short, the majority of antibiotics produced in the United States are used for livestock, and not just as a treatment for sick animals, but as a low-dose feed additive to help them gain weight. In 2007, I helped organize two Hill briefings on the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA), which sought to ban non-therapeutic use of medically important antibiotics in raising animals for food. PAMTA was reintroduced by Louise Slaughter (the resident microbiologist in Congress) in May 2013 and holds the support of over 450 organizations, including the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization, and the National Academy of Sciences. Basically, everyone in the medical field agrees that antibiotic resistance is a major public health issue and that overuse of key antibiotics in livestock contributes to a loss of effectiveness for human use.

I haven’t kept very close track of the issue in recent years, but I was happy to see it gaining traction in the latter half of 2013. Even moreso, I was thrilled that my friend and Tufts Friedman School classmate Dawn Undurraga had the opportunity to appear in an “Animal Antibiotic Debate” on the daytime talk show The Doctors. Dawn also co-authored an Environmental Working Group report titled Superbugs Invade American Supermarkets, which demonstrates unsettling levels of antibiotic-resistance bacteria in supermarket meat.

DawnDrs

While watching the video of this debate, I was surprised to hear Dawn’s opponent, Dr. Scott Hurd, say that the “growth promotion” use of antibiotics on the farm will “soon disappear.” That would certainly be a good thing – except that his statement was most likely based on the voluntary industry guidance that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released on December 11, covering the use of antibiotics in livestock feed and water. The guidance document asks pharmaceutical companies to remove growth promotion indications – such as “increased rate of weight gain” or “improved feed efficiency” – as allowable uses on the labels of animal drugs. However, it also contains this disclaimer up front:

FDA’s guidance documents, including this guidance, do not establish legally enforceable responsibilities. Instead, guidances describe the FDA’s current thinking on a topic and should be viewed only as recommendations, unless specific regulatory or statutory requirements are cited.

In other words, the livestock and pharmaceutical industries have no legal incentive to comply (although many companies have already indicated that they will take the voluntary measures). Some groups are worried that FDA’s guidance document will ultimately make the situation worse, as it will serve as a diversion from PAMTA and other legal action on the issue. It may also encourage a shift in the way antibiotic use is tracked – low-dose feed additives previously used for growth promotion might get reported as being used for illness prevention instead. I am doubtful that FDA’s guidance will result in a significant decrease in antibiotic use on livestock farms. Industry doesn’t seem worried about this guidance, but I believe that we would see vast industry push-back if a binding law was passed to truly limit low-dose antibiotics in animal feed/water.

Antibiotic resistance is very scary and needs to be addressed head-on. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a report in September that clearly implicated animal antibiotic use as a main driver in the spread of resistance. See this infographic from the report:

CDC couldn’t put it more plainly: Antibiotics should only be used to treat infections. Constant, low-dose administration for growth promotion or disease prevention in animals needs to cease. How will the stakeholders proceed in 2014?

Further reading:

Soup-er Simple: Smooth curried broccoli-cauliflower soup

Dec8

My very favorite thing to whip up in the kitchen is a soothing pot of soup.  Soup is a great culinary canvas for people with any level of skill in the kitchen, from teens just learning to cook from scratch to professional chefs that want to impress their customers. Best of all, soups and stews provide a large amount of satisfying food without crazy amounts of effort or money. Once you master the basic rules of soup, it’s easy to create your own concoctions from whatever ingredients in your fridge are calling out to be used.

I value simplicity, and am guessing that my readers do, too. Hence, I am starting up a series of posts on my blog titled “Soup-er Simple” (pun-tacular!). I’ll post some basic tips for readers who are interested in becoming soup aficionados, and easy recipes for those who just want a quick meal idea. My goal is to create and post recipes that are very much no-fuss – not too many ingredients, no precise measurements, minimal clean-up, etc.

First up – a recipe that I came up with last weekend when I was in need of a quick, filling, and healthy lunch. I had a bag of cut broccoli and cauliflower florets that I did not feel like steaming. So I made them into an incredibly simple soup! An immersion blender makes this one extra easy.

Smooth curried broccoli-cauliflower soup

Vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free. Recipe makes about 4 servings; just double it for more!

Ingredients
1 small or medium onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 bag of pre-washed broccoli and cauliflower
1 small potato, chopped/diced
handful of cashews (raw or roasted)
curry powder
olive oil (~2 tbsp)
salt

Cook time: 20 minutes

In a large stainless steel soup pot, sautee the onion and carrot with some olive oil and a solid pinch of salt until tender. Add about 1 tablespoon of curry powder and stir for about 30 seconds until it’s “toasted.” Next, toss in the chopped potato, broccoli/cauliflower florets, and cashews. Add water until the ingredients are just covered. Bring the pot to a boil, then cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until all ingredients are tender. Use an immersion blender or regular blender to blend the soup to a moderately smooth consistency. Add salt, pepper, and additional curry powder to taste.

This makes a great lunch or appetizer for a dinner party!

BroccoliSoup1   BroccoliSoup2

The Basics: Food Safety vs Food Security

Dec6

My career has focused on issues of both food safety and food security – two concepts that sound extremely similar but are actually quite different. My family members often get them mixed up and can’t remember which is which, so I thought I’d lay out the definitions to help clarify. I’ll be discussing topics within both disciplines on my blog, so best to get the basics out of the way!

Food Safety

The discipline of food safety deals with the proper handling, preparation, and storage of food with the goal of preventing foodborne illness. Foodborne illness (aka “food poisoning”) may be caused by bacteria, viruses, molds, parasites, heavy metals, or contaminants that make our food unsafe to eat. You’ve probably heard of some of the most common foodborne pathogens: Salmonella, E. coli, Norovirus, etc. Food safety standards and processes are very important all along the supply chain from the farm to your table. When a food company discovers that one of its products is unsafe, it may recall that item. Unfortunately, minor food safety incidents are ubiquitous – we’ve all experienced the tummy aches or worse – but standards and inspections are in place in the United States to guard against major issues. Of course, fresh food can never be 100% insulated from pathogens, and so the consumer needs be conscious of some basic safety rules such as proper cooking, storage, and reheating temperatures.

The heading of food safety also includes food defense, which is the protection of our food supply from criminal or terrorist interference.

Food safety resources:

  • FoodSafety.gov – A U.S. federal government site that contains recall information, food poisoning basics, and tips on how to keep your food safe.
  • Food Safety News – A robust online newspaper covering the latest news and views from the food safety beat.
  • Codex Alimentarius – International food safety standards that influence trade.

Fight BAC graphic from the Partnership for Food Safety Education

Food Security

Food security is more closely aligned with what you may think of when you hear the word “hunger.” If you or your household are food secure, you have a consistent, adequate supply of safe and nutritious food for an active lifestyle. If you are food insecure, then you have a limited or uncertain ability to acquire the food you need to be healthy and active.

Food security is generally seen as having four dimensions:

  • Availability – Adequate supply of foodstuffs to meet the population’s needs
  • Access – Ability to purchase/acquire food when needed
  • Utilization – Knowledge of how to prepare and consume food to enhance nutrition and reduce food safety risk
  • Stability – Consistency of the other three dimensions over time

Improving food security is not just a matter of providing food aid to the poor (in the form of actual food or money to purchase food), although this type of aid is very important in times of famine or disaster. International development organizations, governments, and non-profits need to work together to establish good policies, markets, and supply systems that allow all people to produce and/or purchase the food they need. Food security is intimately linked with issues of economic growth, nutrition, and natural resource management, among others.

Although many people think of hunger and food insecurity as problems that reside in developing countries, they are real problems in the United States as well. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 14.5 percent of American households were food insecure at least some time during the year in 2012.

Once you know the term food security, you will start seeing it frequently. With the Earth’s population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, it seems like everyone is talking about global food security and how to feed the world (which is fantastic!).

Food security resources:

Habiba Tukhtaeva shows off the vegetables she grew in her family’s kitchen garden with support from Feed the Future.

So how are food safety and food security related? You can’t have true food security without food safety – after all, contaminated or unsafe food is certainly not adequate for a healthy and active lifestyle free from hunger. Poor food safety measures can affect the availability of food, since spoiled/unsafe foods should be removed from the supply chain.

After writing this post, I asked my husband how he would describe the difference between food safety and food security. He responded: “Food safety pertains to making sure my food won’t kill me and food security pertains to whether I have enough of it.” Not too bad, hubby! 🙂

A new blog begins

Dec1

For years, I’ve been wanting to start a public blog to highlight and discuss topics that I find interesting and important. While I have maintained several private/personal blogs off-and-on since high school, and contributed or managed other websites, I’ve struggled to get my own public blog up and running. Twitter has proven an excellent tool for resource sharing and open commentary, but alas, 140 characters doesn’t always allow you to say what you need to say. So what has been stopping me from pulling the trigger on creating a robust, public blog/website? Here are a few of the mental roadblocks I’ve run into:

Topic

My first and most stymieing problem was the fact that I am interested in way too many things. I know that blogs tend to be more successful when they have a narrow focus and develop credibility within a particular subject or style. While I am not looking to become an internet sensation, I would like to maintain a site that has some degree of a following. After all, it’s the comments, shares, and overall engagement that keep bloggers motivated. (If I weren’t looking for engagement, I would just write in my trusty Moleskine.) But my greater question is, can my blog be useful and interesting to people other than myself if it covers multiple topics, from agriculture to music, from journal articles to travel stories?

Site Name / URL

This is a dilemma I’ve wrestled with for ages. Do I need to come up with a catchy name for my blog? And does the URL need to be identical to the site name? It’s near-impossible to define myself or my writing in a single pun or catchphrase. However, after many trips to the thesaurus, I’ve come up with a name that I think rings nicely – Macropath. I’ll explain the thought behind the name in a future post. Of course, Macropath.com is unavailable, so I’m going to stick with a URL I’ve owned for years – juliemac.net.

Theme

WordPress has hundreds of themes to choose from, and frequently adds new options. For the moment I’ve settled on “Bouquet,” but I will forever be on the lookout for the perfect theme that is both attractive and flexible.

Branding

Colors…”feel”… logo… consistent branding… Do I need to worry about any of that? Nah, I’ll save it for later.

Time

I’m a 21st century, career-oriented, active woman trying to maintain my hobbies, health, and relationships.  So when am I supposed to find time to write blog posts? My goal at the outset is to publish one to two posts a week, but if I falter on this schedule, is the endeavor simply futile?

After months of stalling, I finally come to a startlingly obvious realization: it is far better to start building and writing something – anything – than to waste time agonizing over the particulars. If I decide to make massive changes to my blog in the future, so be it. At least I’ll have a blog to make changes to. I’m not ready to declare myself an expert on a particular topic, and I don’t want to put up a jazzy, overly-designed front. Thus, I will let my blog unfold naturally from the competing interests, joys, and priorities that swarm my brain, and see where it takes me. Let the experiment begin!

Have you struggled with similar questions when starting a personal blog or website? If so, let me know in the comments!