Aflatoxin contamination in maize: occurrence and health implications in Latin America

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
N. Ponce-García ◽  
N. Palacios-Rojas ◽  
S. O. Serna-Saldivar ◽  
S. García-Lara

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, mycotoxicoses constitute the second most pressing food safety problem worldwide, with most cases occurring in developing countries. Maize (Zea mays L.), the main staple for many Latin Americans, is one of the best suitable substrates for mycotoxigenic Aspergillus fungi. Aflatoxins (AFs) produced primarily by Aspergillus flavus, are of significant concern, especially in developing countries. While AFs production occurs mainly in warmer, tropical, and subtropical environments, recent evidence suggests that global climate change favours their presence in regions with little or no awareness of this issue. AFs interfere with metabolic processes, causing cancer and other health disorders resulting in health hazards and even death. The setting of national acceptable regulatory levels of AFs is necessary for Latin American countries. Unfortunately, no estimates of the economic impact of AFs in this region are currently available nor the cost of regulatory programs designed to reduce health risks to animals and humans. This review explores relevant data about incidence of AFs in maize produced in the region and the adverse effects of the consumption of contaminated foods and the associated health consequences for Latin American consumers. Regulations aimed to mitigate AFs exposure to consumers are also reviewed and identified gaps for researchers and actors of the maize value chain are also proposed.

Author(s):  
Alberto Ochoa Zezzatti ◽  
Juan Luis Hernandez Arellano ◽  
Gilberto Rivera ◽  
Daniel Azpeitia ◽  
Luis Fernando Maldonado

SIDA (Intelligent Food Distribution System, for its acronym in Spanish) is a proposed tool for the distribution of food that can be personalized depending on the medical characteristics of each patient. The target of the tool is to provide foods that contain higher nutrients in the diet set by a hospital. A model of decision trees was based on data from the organization of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and used for decision making in the simulated three basic foods based on the diet of Latin American countries typically integrated by rice, potatoes, and lentils from the parameters of fat, energy, and protein, respectively, that contains every type of food.


Author(s):  
Rafail R. Mukhametzyanov ◽  
◽  
Ana Isabel Fedorchuk Mac-Eachen ◽  
Gulnara K. Dzhancharova ◽  
Nikolay G. Platonovskiy ◽  
...  

The orientation of a part of the population of economically developed countries to a healthy diet, the spread of ideas of vegetarianism, concern for the environment, and relatively higher incomes contributed to an increase in demand for fruits, berries and nuts of tropical and subtropical origin. Some of them, in particular bananas, oranges, tangerines, lemons, have become common food products and practically everyday consumption for the majority of the population of developed countries in the last quarter of the 20th century. In the future, some other types of fresh fruit and berry products from the tropics and subtropics (for example, pineapple, kiwi, avocado) gradually, due to increased production and international trade, also became more economically available to the ordinary consumer. Based on the analysis of statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for 1961-2019, the article shows a number of trends in international trade (for exports) of major tropical fruits are reflected, with a deeper look at the participation of Latin American countries in this process. It was revealed that some states of this region, such as Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Honduras, Peru, Brazil, Chile, occupy significant positions in the supply of bananas, pineapple, avocado, mango, papaya to the world market. Currently, Russia is one of the largest countries in the world in terms of imports of fruit and berry products, therefore, the issue of its participation as a subject of demand in the world tropical fruit market is raised.


Author(s):  
Ariel R. Soto Caro

This chapter presents an empirical discussion about the relationship of agricultural industry and innovation in emerging economies. Then, a general revision of the innovation, agronomy and public policies associated will be reviewed. This chapter is immersed in the Chilean case. The author justifies that Chile can be a representative case because it is a country that wishes to become a world power in agro-food, but has very low investment in innovation. Besides, it has very low participation of agricultural innovative firms in the market. After the background is presented, innovation and development will be reviewed; subsequently, innovation in developing countries will be discussed, concluding with agro-innovation in Latin-American countries, especially in Chile.


2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Heikes

Missionaries from Latin American countries make up a small but powerful part of the global mission movement. With advantages drawn from their countries' weaker economies, their own cultural and historic background, and their familiarity with migrant work, Latin Americans could soon prove invaluable in areas “resistant” to Western missionaries. Yet if this dynamic force is to reach its full potential, the Latin American church must address problems such as deficiencies of financial and pastoral support, and lack of adequate, culturally appropriate training programs.


1982 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 633-634
Author(s):  
D. G. Wentzel ◽  
L. Houziaux ◽  
M. Rigutti ◽  
W. Buscombe ◽  
C. Iwaniszewska ◽  
...  

The projects of this Commission are increasingly aimed at the astronomically developing countries. The projects are:International Schools for Young Astronomers. These are the highest-priority activity of the Commission. They last three weeks, have typically 25 to 35 participants, cover a range of astronomical topics with emphasis on practical training, and are funded by the IAU, UNESCO, and local sources. This report covers three schools: i) La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain, September 1979, participants from Spain, Portugal, Canary Islands and five Latin American countries, ii) Hvar, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia, September – October 1980, participants from Balkan and Mediterranean countries, iii) Helwan Observatory, Cairo, Egypt, participants from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Nigeria, Tanzania, Greece, Portugal, Hungary, China.


2015 ◽  
pp. 17-18
Author(s):  
Iván F. Pacheco

While some industrialized countries face a surplus of PhDs in many fields of knowledge, developing countries face the opposite problem.  This might be a great opportunity for Latin American countries to attract talent.  However, most countries do not have a clear policy for the recruitment of faculty abroad and, when they do, it is mostly focused on recovering their own expatriates from their work abroad.


2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
GARDAR ARNASON ◽  
ANTON VAN NIEKERK

Prematurely born children who have underdeveloped lungs may suffer a potentially fatal condition called respiratory distress syndrome. A U.S. company developed a drug, called Surfaxin, to treat such poorly functioning lungs. A placebo-controlled study was planned in four Latin American countries (Mexico, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru). At the time, in 2001, four treatments were already on the market, although not available to the research populations used in the study. This case is usually discussed as part of the standard of care debate or offered as an example of exploitation. However, what concerns us in this case is rather the choice given to the parents of a prematurely born child under these circumstances: “You can give consent for your child's participation in this study. Half of the babies enrolled will receive sham air and are as likely to die as if they had not enrolled. The other half will receive an active treatment and are more likely to survive.” The parents can vastly increase their baby's chances of survival by participating in the study. Can the consent be voluntary? Do the parents have any meaningful choice?


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Karp ◽  
Matías Gatto ◽  
María Victoria Batto ◽  
Sol Ferrero ◽  
Gustavo Helguera

In the last decade, the expiration of patents protecting therapeutic monoclonal antibodies opened an opportunity for the development and approval of biosimilar versions of these drugs. The complexity of these biologic molecules required the imposition of strict regulations to establish robust comparability with the antibody of reference in physicochemical, analytical, biological and, when deemed necessary, clinical data. Accordingly, this period coincides with the updating of the requirements and guidelines for the manufacture and approval of biologics in Latin American countries by their respective regulatory agencies. Although the term “biosimilar” does not appear in the official regulatory provisions in most of the countries, it is of general use in Latin America, and several biosimilars of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies were approved based on comparative quality, nonclinical and clinical data that demonstrate similarity to a licensed biological reference registered before in a Regulatory Health Authority of reference. Here, we provide an overview of how the complexities of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies shaped the regulatory landscape of similar biologics, the current status of biosimilar monoclonal antibodies in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, México, Paraguay, Perú and Uruguay and their potential to reduce the cost of antibody therapies in this region.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-30
Author(s):  
Oscar F. Bernal Pedraza

This theoretical framework is intended to serve as guide to research on national Mathematical Olympiads in Latin America. Research with the goal to elucidate critical factors involved in the existence and results obtained by Latin American teams in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) and other international contests, may find a stepping stone in this framework and the references cited in it. From the way local committees see themselves and their indicators for success. to the feedback subsumed in the IMO results, different comparable metrics for success must be developed to understand the specific challenges faced by these organizations and the goals set by themselves and the educational communities in their own countries. As for Latin American countries the IMO is not the only competition they attend or their single metric for success, reference to the IMO is provided as the evolving opportunity leading to the creation of local olympiad committees, the committees this framework presents as an opportunity for research and understanding of the search for talent in developing countries. As a way of closing the document, a few questions are proposed, offering both quantitative and qualitative research areas and with the possibility to reach findings helpful for those organizations, for the school students in their respective countries, and for similar organizations in other countries.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-269
Author(s):  
Julio César Hernández ◽  
Wilfredo Toledo

Remittances are an important source of external resources for developing countries.  These transfers may increase the levels of consumption and capital formation in these economies. This paper examines the economic impact of international remittances on different import categories.  A panel VAR was estimated using data from eight Latin-American economies during the 1991 to 2004 period. The impulse response functions show that remittances increase imports of capital, consumption, and intermediate goods.  It was also found that the accelerator is a plausible transmission mechanism from this type of income to investment.


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