Aflatoxins in Maize from Serbia and Croatia: Implications of Climate Change

Jelka Pleadin; Jovana Kos; Bojana Radić; Ana Vulić; Nina Kudumija; Radmila Radović; Elizabet Janić Hajnal; Anamarija Mandić; Mislav Anić

doi:10.3390/foods12030548

Aflatoxins in Maize from Serbia and Croatia: Implications of Climate Change

Foods. 2023 Jan 26;12(3):548. doi: 10.3390/foods12030548.

Authors

Jelka Pleadin¹, Jovana Kos², Bojana Radić², Ana Vulić¹, Nina Kudumija¹, Radmila Radović², Elizabet Janić Hajnal², Anamarija Mandić², Mislav Anić³

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory for Analytical Chemistry, Croatian Veterinary Institute, Savska Cesta 143, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
² Institute of Food Technology, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar Cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia.
³ Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service, Ravnice 48, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.

Abstract

Aflatoxins (AFs) represent the most important mycotoxin group, whose presence in food and feed poses significant global health and economic issues. The occurrence of AFs in maize is a burning problem worldwide, mainly attributed to droughts. In recent years, Serbia and Croatia faced climate changes followed by a warming trend. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to estimate the influence of weather on AFs occurrence in maize from Serbia and Croatia in the 2018-2021 period. The results indicate that hot and dry weather witnessed in the year 2021 resulted in the highest prevalence of AFs in maize samples in both Serbia (84%) and Croatia (40%). In maize harvested in 2018-2020, AFs occurred in less than, or around, 10% of Serbian and 20% of Croatian samples. In order to conduct a comprehensive study on the implications of climate change for the occurrence of AFs in maize grown in these two countries, the results of available studies performed in the last thirteen years were searched for and discussed.

Keywords: Croatia; Serbia; aflatoxins; climate change; maize.

Grants and funding

This paper is a result of the research funded by The Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia (451-03-68/2022-14/20022), and Croatian Veterinary Institute in Zagreb.