International Conference, Mycotoxins on Animal and Human Health, in Rome (December 15th)

The presence of mycotoxins in the agri-food chain is representing a more and more challenging issue for animal and public health. This aspect is based upon the inherent multifaceted implications that these toxic compounds induce. Agronomic, economic, productive, industrial and sanitary issues are, in fact, concerned at the same time.

The worldwide scenario, within this challenging theme of public health is enclosed, originates from several facets regarding primarily the understanding of how to manage a natural cause as source of occurrence of fungal attack and mycotoxin production. It is, in fact, well known that crops are affected by this phenomenon as a result of the occurring climate changes that are expected to create further negative implications in the near future. As known, the more immediate fall-out is the increase of the menace of a further limitation of food availability prejudicing food security firstly and food safety secondly. Since the entire agri-food system is involved in this challenge, any stakeholder in any position and role must deserve the highest attention in encouraging the adoption of preventive actions aimed at minimizing the risk. In this context, the One-Health approach is one of the most promising tools to contribute to improve health and well being through the prevention of risks and the mitigation of effects of crises that originate at the interface between humans, animals and their various environments.

From the above, the full acknowledgment and the resulting implementation of the induced chain of preventive measures, represent the only access key to give a concrete and systematic answer to the fighting of the phenomenon. Therefore, the adoption of Good Agricultural, Storage and Industrial Practices, as well as other relevant preventive measures including the most recent biocontrol activities, together with proper cost- and risk-benefit strategies and accurate policies of risk communication addressed to all the stakeholders constitute the most significant management actions contributing to enhance and ameliorate the consciousness of all parties directly or indirectly involved in the assurance of a safer feeding of the planet, by improving the level of food security and food safety.

The abovementioned topics are only some examples that will be presented in the International Conference co-organized by the Italian Ministry of Health, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS).

 

Venue: Auditorium, Ministry of Health

Date: December 15th, 2017.

Contact info: infomyconference@iss.it

 

Morning Session: Impact of Climate change on mycotoxins global occurrence

Moderators: Carlo Brera, Paola Battilani

 

9.40 Food chain risk assessment for public health protection by the Ministry of Health

Daniela Rodorigo

10.00 General aspects on Mycotoxins and their impact on the agri-food chain

Carlo Brera

10.20 Risk assessment of mycotoxins: the EFSA approach

Katleen Baert

10.40 Coffee break

11.00 Aflatoxin occurrence in climate change scenarios and opportunities from biological

control

Paola Battilani

11.20 Mycotoxins and climate change: a challenge for food security and food safety

Renata Clarke

11.40 Mycotoxins and Sustainability of agri-food production: past, present and future

scenarios

Felicia Wu

12.00 Presence of mycotoxins in feed and food in the EU: An increasing risk for animal

and public health and challenge for risk management

Frans Verstraete

12.20 Risk management of mycotoxin presence in food products: major unsolved points

Giuseppe Ruocco

12.40 Impact of mycotoxins on animal health

Silvio Borrello

Discussion and Conclusion of the morning session

Press conference

13.30 Lunch

 

Afternoon session: The role of biomonitoring data in risk and exposure assessment

of population groups by mycotoxins

Moderators: Barbara De Santis, Paul Turner

 

14.30 The use of biomarkers in the exposure assessment of mycotoxins

Paul Turner

14.50 Toxicity of mycotoxins in foetal and neonatal period

Isabelle Oswald

15.10 BIODAF project: main outputs

Barbara De Santis

15.30 Occupational risk deriving from mycotoxin contaminated environment: an update

Susana Viegas

15.50 The EFSA viewpoint on the use of biomonitoring data

Katleen Baert

Discussion and Conclusion of the afternoon session