Preventive measures reducing superficial mycobiotic contamination of grain.
Search for the preventive measures reducing the accumulation of mycotoxin producers in food raw material was carried out. Active ventilation was used; the impact of the electro-chemically activated air (ozone) and electro-chemically activated water (anolyte) on the micromycetes prevailing in grain raw material for food (GRMF) was determined. The GRMF was dried by active ventilation using the ozone-air mixture. Ozone (concentration 1250 ppb) disinfects the surface of the raw material and creates conditions unfavourable for the increase of mycobiotic contamination in drying upper layers of the grain mound. Within 8 days the contamination of GRMF in a mound decreased by 50%, while in its lower layers - more than 3 times. Ventilation of the mound with the above-mentioned concentration of the ozone-air mixture has ceased the active functioning of Fusarium avenaceum, F. graminearum, F. poae, F. solani, F. tricinctum F. sporotrichioides micromycetes and has considerably retarded the development of Alternaria alternata and other fungi. Anolyte (0.05% of chlorine concentration) reduced the mycobiotic contamination of GRMF by almost 2.5 times. The optimal treatment duration is from 0.5 to 1 hour. The optimal technical parameters, allowing the use of these measures for the preparation of grain food safety technologies, were elaborated; they are designed for more efficient protection of human health against micromycetes and their toxic metabolites, which are abundantly produced and released into the environment.