Effects of Processing on Zearalenone

Zearalenone (ZEN), a common contaminant of all major cereal grains worldwide, is produced by some plant pathogenic molds including Fusarium graminearum and F. culmorum. The biological activity of this mycotoxin is mainly attributed to its estrogenic activity that modulates/disrupts endocrine function in animals and possibly humans. Efforts have been made to reduce the level of ZEN by various chemical, physical, and biological processing methods. Some chemical treatments were shown to be effective in reducing zearalenone content in artificially or naturally contaminated foods. During physical processing, the fate of ZEN depended on its distribution in the food matrix and its chemical properties such as heat stability and solubility. For example, wet milling of contaminated corn resulted in starch that was essentially toxin-free. In contrast, animal feed fractions such as bran and germ, by-products of the wet milling process, tended to concentrate ZEN. Extrusion cooking, a complex process where food is subjected to heat, high pressures and shear stress, reduced ZEN levels in food as well as its estrogenic activity. Fermentation of foods with bacteria and yeast resulted in reduction in ZEN levels. However, fermentation can result in the conversion of ZEN to more potent derivatives such as cc-zearalenol. Further efforts are needed to identify effective methods for removing/detoxifying ZEN in foods.