baron von lotsov
10-03-2008, 05:10 PM
Here is a little something I picked up today.
As for not getting any "nasties" in it. British farmers and millers have to operate to some very high standards and as such the chances of having any rogue elements in your daily loaf of bread are slim to none, compared to organic grain that is high in mycotoxins and usually contaminated with ergot, a poisonous fungal infection of grain. So forgive me if I don't take Mr Whitley up on his offer of sharing his loaves of bread. I think I'll distil mine and make some alcohol instead.
Phil , Norwich, Norfolk
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7284011.stm
Mycotoxin (from the Greek μύκης (mykes, mukos) "fungus") is a toxin produced by an organism of the fungus kingdom, which includes mushrooms, molds and yeasts. Most fungi are aerobic (use oxygen). Fungi are found almost everywhere in extremely small quantities because of their spores, and are most commonly microscopically small. They consume organic matter, wherever humidity and temperature are sufficient.
Where conditions are right, fungi proliferate into colonies and mycotoxin levels become high. Toxins vary greatly in their severity. Some fungi produce severe toxins only at specific levels of moisture, temperature or oxygen in the air. Some toxins are lethal, some cause identifiable diseases or health problems, some weaken the immune system without producing symptoms specific to that toxin, some act as allergens or irritants, and some have no known effect on humans. Some mycotoxins generally have more negative impacts on farm animal populations than on humans. Some mycotoxins are harmful to other micro-organisms such as other fungi or even bacteria; penicillin is one example.
Mycotoxins can appear in the food chain as a result of fungal infection of crops, either by being eaten directly by humans, or by being used as livestock feed. Mycotoxins greatly resist decomposition or being broken down in digestion, so they remain in the food chain in meat and dairy products. Even temperature treatments, such as cooking and freezing, do not destroy mycotoxins.
Buildings are another source of mycotoxins. Public concern over mycotoxins increased following multi-million dollar toxic mold settlements in the 1990s. The negative health effects of mycotoxins are a function of the concentration, the duration of exposure and the subject's sensitivities. The concentrations experienced in a normal home, office or school are often too low to trigger a health response in occupants.
Food-based mycotoxins were studied extensively worldwide throughout the 20th century. In Europe, statutory levels of a range of mycotoxins permitted in food and animal feed are set by a range of European directives and Commission regulations.
Various wild mushrooms also contain an assortment of mycotoxins that can cause noteworthy health problems for humans who eat wild mushrooms without first properly identifying the specimens as safe edibles, in such cases sometimes causing mild to catastrophic mushroom poisoning. The bulk of this article, however, is about mycotoxins that are found in fungi other than mushrooms.
Mycotoxin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This might explain the New Ager's allergies to wheat. It is quite prolific in this Tavistock colony that I live in.
As for not getting any "nasties" in it. British farmers and millers have to operate to some very high standards and as such the chances of having any rogue elements in your daily loaf of bread are slim to none, compared to organic grain that is high in mycotoxins and usually contaminated with ergot, a poisonous fungal infection of grain. So forgive me if I don't take Mr Whitley up on his offer of sharing his loaves of bread. I think I'll distil mine and make some alcohol instead.
Phil , Norwich, Norfolk
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7284011.stm
Mycotoxin (from the Greek μύκης (mykes, mukos) "fungus") is a toxin produced by an organism of the fungus kingdom, which includes mushrooms, molds and yeasts. Most fungi are aerobic (use oxygen). Fungi are found almost everywhere in extremely small quantities because of their spores, and are most commonly microscopically small. They consume organic matter, wherever humidity and temperature are sufficient.
Where conditions are right, fungi proliferate into colonies and mycotoxin levels become high. Toxins vary greatly in their severity. Some fungi produce severe toxins only at specific levels of moisture, temperature or oxygen in the air. Some toxins are lethal, some cause identifiable diseases or health problems, some weaken the immune system without producing symptoms specific to that toxin, some act as allergens or irritants, and some have no known effect on humans. Some mycotoxins generally have more negative impacts on farm animal populations than on humans. Some mycotoxins are harmful to other micro-organisms such as other fungi or even bacteria; penicillin is one example.
Mycotoxins can appear in the food chain as a result of fungal infection of crops, either by being eaten directly by humans, or by being used as livestock feed. Mycotoxins greatly resist decomposition or being broken down in digestion, so they remain in the food chain in meat and dairy products. Even temperature treatments, such as cooking and freezing, do not destroy mycotoxins.
Buildings are another source of mycotoxins. Public concern over mycotoxins increased following multi-million dollar toxic mold settlements in the 1990s. The negative health effects of mycotoxins are a function of the concentration, the duration of exposure and the subject's sensitivities. The concentrations experienced in a normal home, office or school are often too low to trigger a health response in occupants.
Food-based mycotoxins were studied extensively worldwide throughout the 20th century. In Europe, statutory levels of a range of mycotoxins permitted in food and animal feed are set by a range of European directives and Commission regulations.
Various wild mushrooms also contain an assortment of mycotoxins that can cause noteworthy health problems for humans who eat wild mushrooms without first properly identifying the specimens as safe edibles, in such cases sometimes causing mild to catastrophic mushroom poisoning. The bulk of this article, however, is about mycotoxins that are found in fungi other than mushrooms.
Mycotoxin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This might explain the New Ager's allergies to wheat. It is quite prolific in this Tavistock colony that I live in.