NIFA Funded Research on Chemicals, Mycotoxins, and Nanoparticles in Foods

2. NIFA Funded Research on Chemicals, Mycotoxins, and Nanoparticles in Foods Jodi P. Williams, PhD National Program Leader, Food Safety IRAC Workshop on Chemical Food Safety Risk Assessment FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, College Park, MD June 14th 2012

5. Award Statistics  30 awards > $4.6M

7. www.cris.nifa.usda.gov – Search by Accession Number

8. AFRI Foundational Program Nanotechnology &Reducing Allergens and improving food quality

9. Impact of the Physicochemical Properties of Engineered Nanomaterials on their Cellular Uptake and Potential Toxicity in the Gastrointestinal Tract Environment Dutta, P.K.; Rathman, J.; Waldman, J.; The Ohio State University, Columbus, and Chihae Yang, FDA (2010-05267) • Nanomaterials are increasingly incorporated into food ingredients • Researchers at Ohio State University are proposing that engineered nanoparticles are modified by the environment of the gastro-intestinal(GI) tract. • Evaluate the size, composition, surface charge, crystallinity, and surface chemistry/physics of particles after modification affect their interactions with intestinal epithelial cells, influencing particle toxicity, bioavailability and tissue distribution.

10. Influence of Nanoparticle Characteristics on Fate, Bioavailability, and Toxicity of Food-Grade Nanoemulsions, Xiao, H.; McClements, D. J.; Decker, E. A. University of Massachusetts Amherst (2010-05266) • Develop nanoemulsions with beta-carotene encapsulated within. • Quantification of the factors impacting the bioavailability of beta-carotene in simulated gastrointestinal conditions. • Determine the bioavailability and safety of beta-carotene-nanoemulsions in Mongolian gerbils.

11. Post Harvest Processing of Peanut and Wheat Products to Reduce Inherent Allergens; Ahmedna, M; North Carolina A&T State University

12. AFRI Food safety challenge area

13. Risk Assessment And Intervention Strategies For The Emerging Food Safety Threat Of Ochratoxin • PD = Dr. Dojin Ryu Institution: Texas Woman's University • Aspergillusare ubiquitous & toxigenic fungi that produce ochratoxin A (OTA), a possible human carcinogen. • OTA has been found in a wide variety of agricultural commodities including cereal grains, nuts, dried fruits, spices, meat, milk, & many processed foods. • Currently, no regulation for OTA in food has been set in the U.S.

14. Risk Assessment And Intervention Strategies For The Emerging Food Safety Threat Of OchratoxinPD = Dr. DojinRyu Institution: Texas Woman's University

15. Nanoparticle Contamination of Agricultural Crop Species • PD = Dr. Jason White, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) • Nanomaterials (NM) are being incorporated into pesticides and fertilizers. • NM impacts on agricultural plants and potential trophic transfer is unknown. • This project will quantitatively characterize the effects of NMs on crops, focusing on processes relevant to human risk. The research team has hypothesized that agricultural crops accumulate and are physiologically impacted by NMs in a toxicologically significant fashion with regard to subsequent human exposure.

16. Nanoparticle Contamination of Agricultural Crop SpeciesPD = Jason White, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES)

17. Development of Rapid and Versatile Detection Systems for the Detection of Toxins and • Chemicals on Fresh Produce and Nuts • PD = Theodore Labuza; University of Minnesota • Develop two detection systems based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and nanoparticle (NP) aggregation assays • Can be used for routine, in-the-field detection of toxins and chemicals on fresh produce and nuts. • Toxins and chemicals of interest include commercially available pesticides, herbicides, cyanide, Shiga toxin and many others.

18. Development of Rapid and Versatile Detection Systems for the Detection of Toxins and Chemicals on Fresh Produce and NutsPD = Theodore Labuza; University of Minnesota

19. ACQUISITION OF A LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY TO • ENHANCE RESEARCH ON TOXINS IN FRESH FOOD CROPS • (Equipment Grant) • PD = Simsek, Senay; Institution: North Dakota State University • A LCMS system, will be used for the analysis of toxins and other chemicals from fresh crops. • The instrumentation and data generated also will be incorporated into the education and training of students.

20. Formula Funds/Competitive Funds NIfsi & Hatch

21. Helping Childbearing Women Make Informed Decisions Regarding Seafood Consumption

22. Education Programs Higher education challenge grant

23. Advancing Food Allergy Education for Hospitality Management and /or Dietetics Students using Storytelling; Kwon, J.; Kansas State University

24. SBIR

25. Sequential Injection Enzymatic Assay for Melamine Detection in Food

26. Rapid Detection of Mycotoxins

27. Program Contacts • AFRI Programs – Jodi Williams (jwilliams@nifa.usda.gov) , Isabel Walls (iwalls@nifa.usda.gov), Jeanette Thurston, (jthurston@nifa.usda.gov), Ram Rao (rrao@nifa.usda.gov) • Nanotechnology Programs – Hongda Chen hchen@nifa.usda.gov • Small Business Innovation Research Programs – Jodi Williams