WRITTEN QUESTION No. 881/99 by Ursula SCHLEICHER Toxic moulds in maize flour and maize products
Date: 1999-04-08
Institutions: European Parliament, SCHLEICHER
Subjects: EU research policy, Germany, cereal product, maize, research programme, toxic substance

C 27 E/22

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

29.1.2000

(2000/C 27 E/024)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0881/99

by Ursula Schleicher (PPE) to the Commission

(8 April 1999)

Subject: Toxic moulds in maize flour and maize products

According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of 3 March 1999, in Germany 13 % of almost 300
samples of maize, semolina, polenta and maize flour which were tested, showed fuminosine contamination
at over 1 000 microgrammes per kilogramme of maize product. Fumonisines are moulds formed from
fusaria, a group of the Ascomycetes, which mainly produce toxins in maize. In horses and pigs even small
quantities of these toxins cause severe illnesses. Studies in South Africa and China indicate that consump-
tion of such contaminated maize can lead to the development of cancers of the liver and the oesophagus
in humans. At present, there is inadequate information about the toxic effects of fuminosines in humans.

1.

Is the Commission aware of this problem?

Does the Commission intend to adopt measures with regard to residue limit values on and in cereals

2.
for these dangerous mould toxins?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(7 May 1999)

Fumonisins, toxins discovered in 1988, are produced by the moulds Fusarium moniliforme (= Fusarium
verticilloides) and Fusarium proliferatum that commonly contaminate maize. They have been found as
natural contaminants in maize and maize-based food and feed from many parts of the world. Many
different types of fumonisins have been identified of which only fumonisin B1 (FB1) and to a lesser extent
fumonisins B2 and B3 are found as natural contaminants in food and feed.

in horses and porcine pulmonary oedema (PPE)

The fumonisins appear to be the causative agents of at least two animal toxicoses: equine leukoencepha-
lomalacia (ELEM)
in pigs. Experimental studies have
revealed that the toxins are able to induce liver and kidney damage in many species. In 1993, the
toxins derived from Fusarium
International agency for research on cancer (IARC) concluded that
moniliforme are possibly carcinogenic to humans (group B2), whereas there is limited evidence for the
carcinogenicity of FB1 and FB2. Studies are in hand to provide further information with respect to
carcinogenic effects.
In addition, epidemiological evidence (correlation studies) has suggested a link
between dietary fumonisin exposure and human oesophageal cancer in some locations with high disease
rates.

The Commission is currently financing a project under the standards, measurements and testing pro-
gramme to identify and validate an analytical method suitable for various maize-based food products.

The Commission acknowledges that there are gaps in the toxicological information available. The scientific
committee for food has been requested to assess the health risk associated with exposure to the different
fusarium toxins in cereals, taking into account the current state of knowledge, to indicate, on the basis of
the current knowledge, which of the Fusarium toxins are of most concern for public health and for which
there is an urgent need for future research or need for measures to reduce the presence of these toxins in
cereals, and to indicate if possible the nature of toxicological studies to elucidate the toxicology of these
toxins.

On the basis of the opinion of the scientific committee for food and other relevant information, the
Commission will consider which measures are appropriate in order to limit, if necessary, the present of
these mycotoxins in food and feed.