----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal study finds toxins in baby food
Experts differ on whether to alter youngsters' diets
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, June 06, 2003
Health Canada scientists have found that most cereal-based baby foods,
usually the first solid meals given to infants, regularly contain
multiple mycotoxins, potentially harmful moulds more often associated
with sick
building syndrome.
The department's Bureau of Chemical Safety is in the midst of a health
hazard assessment of the findings of the study of infant cereals that
tested 363 products -- including cereal mixes, teething biscuits and creamed
corn -- bought in stores across Canada.
The tests even found ergot alkaloids, the fungus from which the
hallucinogen LSD is derived.
"They are still examining the results in more detail but [Health
Canada
officials] did indicate to me that there is nothing that represents
anything alarming from a health and safety standpoint in the data,"
said Margot
Geduld, Health Canada spokeswoman.
"There is no reason for any recommended dietary changes based on
the data
at this point in time," she said.
Scientists, however, caution that mycotoxins have been linked to poor
growth and development and suppressed immune systems in small children
and should be eliminated from food at every avenue.
Mycotoxins are fungi and moulds that naturally grow on most grains.
"An accurate prediction of the possible health impact of individual
mycotoxins in infant foods is difficult; possible additive or synergistic
effects of multiple mycotoxins make the task far more complex," the
study
by Health Canada's scientists concludes. "The importance of using
all
measures aimed at minimizing the presence of mycotoxins in these foods
is
evident."
Mycotoxin specialists said much research still needs to be done on the
health effects of the toxins. "You don't want to put weaning children
on
to food that have mycotoxins in them, wherever possible. You want to avoid
that," said Dr. Kitty Cardwell, national program leader of plant
pathology for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Cardwell said the reason scientists began to measure mycotoxins in
foods was "because many of them are pretty strong cancer-causing
agents.
As long as we know about them, we try to remove them from our diet."
Dr. J. David Miller, professor of chemistry at Carleton University in
Ottawa and former head of the mycotoxin program at Agriculture Canada,
said the extensive testing and evaluation of baby food by Health Canada
is
important because mycotoxins cannot be eliminated from the grain supply.
"We are worried about these toxins in food, for sure," said
Dr. Miller, a
leading expert on mycotoxins. "It is one of the things that is really
important to monitor for because, unlike bacterial food poisoning, which...
makes you really sick today, they have long-term effects from chronic
exposure.
"It is one of the reasons why Health Canada and the [U.S. Food and
Drug
Administration] are pretty scrupulous about keeping their finger on these
things."
The study, headed by Gary Lombaert, the natural toxins specialist for
Health Canada, is the largest of its kind. The commercial products were
bought at grocery stores from every major Canadian city from 1997 to 1999
to ensure a wide net was cast.
"The survey clearly demonstrated the regular presence of low levels
of
mycotoxins in cereal-based infant foods. In addition, many samples
contained multiple mycotoxins," says the study, published last week
in Food
Additives and Contaminants, a scientific journal.
Mr. Lombaert said, however, that while the number of products found to
contain the mycotoxins was high, the levels of the toxins were fairly
low. A prime tenet of toxicology is that it is the dose that makes the
poison.
The study found soy-based cereals were most likely to contain the various
toxins tested for, while rice-based cereals contained the least
contamination by a wide margin.
Soy cereals regularly contained four mycotoxins and all samples contained
at least one of the toxins. Mr. Lombaert said this is likely due to the
presence of some corn in most soy-based cereals. More than 70% of
multi-grain cereals contained at least one of the toxins, also likely
attributable to corn.
Almost 60% of the barley-based products tested were found to contain
a
toxin, and 56% were found to contain ergot alkaloids, the fungus
associated with LSD. Only one sample of rice product was found to contains
toxins.
Most wheat-based teething biscuits -- 74% of the 24 samples -- also contain
a
mycotoxin.
