Invited Presenter

Kaliramesh Siliveru
1. Department of Grain and Food Science, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
Corresponding Author: Kaliramesh Siliveru, kaliramesh@ksu.edu

Siliveru, Kaliramesh

kaliramesh@ksu.edu

The ongoing contamination of cereal grains by Aspergillus and Fusarium species poses a significant food safety risk, as these fungi are highly resistant to standard decontamination techniques and produce harmful mycotoxins. This study investigated pulsed light (PL) treatment as a means to inactivate fungi and reduce mycotoxins in wheat kernels inoculated with Aspergillus flavus (ATCC 15548) or Fusarium graminearum (ATCC 46779) (~7 log CFU/g). Two approaches were compared: grains stored at 5°C, 15°C, or 30°C for 5 days before PL treatment, and grains treated with PL (0.018–0.037 J/cm²) immediately after inoculation, then stored for 5 days at the same temperatures. PL at an effective fluence of 0.037 J/cm² resulted in over 5-log reductions in fungal counts for both fungi across both treatment methods. Pre-existing mycotoxins in wheat kernels were notably harder to eliminate than those in kernels treated with pulsed light prior to incubation. When pulsed light was applied to kernels already containing toxins, reductions reached up to 75% for deoxynivalenol (DON) and 90% for aflatoxin B1. Nonetheless, higher residual mycotoxin levels were observed at 30°C, underscoring the influence of storage temperature on toxin persistence and overall reduction efficiency.

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