Jenna GibsonAdvanced Science Writing

Brief #4 - Moldy Grains

EDIT THIS, LOCATED IN BFC

An African farmer looks over his yield. Most of the sorghum looks healthy, but there are

a few grains that are blackened and moldy. He can’t sell those grains, but he needs to get as

much money as possible for his product. So he sells all the good grain and saves the moldy ones

for his family to eat.

He didn’t have much choice – he needed the money from his yield. But this decision

could make his children sick and could, in the long run, cost the family their lives.

Moldy grains release poisonous chemicals called aflatoxins. Aflatoxins in the body target

organs, especially the liver. High enough levels of the toxins can cause cancer or liver

malfunction. In small doses, the chemicals can attack the immune system, leaving people more

open to other infections, said John Leslie, a primary investigator for INTSORMIL based at

Kansas State University.

Mold can cause problems even for people who don’t directly eat contaminated grains.

Some of the toxin-producing fungi in moldy grains, if eaten by animals, can be passed on. So a

cow that ate unsanitary grain could have contaminated meat and milk that could make people

sick, according to an article by Christian Abnet, a researcher with the National Cancer Institute.

And, the article said, new mothers can pass on these toxins to infants through their breast milk.

Mold is particularly a problem in Africa because of the climate. According to researchers

at The Ohio State University, aflatoxin-producing mold commonly grows in places where

daytime temperatures are greater than 90 degrees Fahrenheit, where humidity is above 80 percent

or where plants are particularly stressed by insects or drought.

Luckily, Leslie said, dangerous mold affects sorghum and millet less than other grains

like corn. In one of his studies, Leslie measured how many grains in a sample had more than 20

parts per billion, which is the international cutoff for acceptable levels. He found 74 percent of

corn grains were unacceptable, whereas 13 percent of sorghum grains and none of the millet

grains were too moldy. Scientists are not really sure why mold affects some kinds of grains more

than others, Leslie said.

“It’s potentially a really important thing because it means in general for food safety

sorghum and millet are better choices,” he said. “Effectively it looks like sorghum is a healthier

diet than maize in terms of toxin production.”

Scientists may not know why mold attacks maize more than other grains, but they do

know that in African climates, reducing mold exposure and educating farmers is essential to

preventing mold-related health problems.

One problem in this area is that some agricultural development agencies have been trying

to introduce short-season maizes into drier areas in Africa to try to help food shortage problems.

But the more maize becomes a food staple, the more likely people are going to expose

themselves to moldy grains, Leslie said. This is a big focus for INTSORMIL researchers, he said

– to convince others to use sorghum and millet rather than maize.

“We’ve been trying to tell the aid agencies that it’s not a good idea to encourage this,” he

said.

“And we’ve been trying to find evidence to document that.”

Farmers know how to identify and separate moldy grains from good ones, Leslie said,

and by avoiding the blatantly moldy grains, farmers can reduce their toxin exposure by 90 to 95

percent. But this isn’t practical – many farmers are going to continue selling all their good grain

despite the warnings because they need the money. So INTSORMIL researchers like Leslie are

focusing on decreasing plants’ susceptibility to mold and reducing the reliance of maize.

“The general gist is that sorghum and millet is preferable to maize because maize poses

such a health risk in these hot dry areas,” Leslie said. “That should be the main message that

comes through.”