Twenty-six participants completed BIOTROP’s 6th National Training on Prevention and Control of Mycotoxin Contamination in Food and Feed Materials on 22 - 25 August 2017 held at the Centre’s headquarter in Bogor.

This training was aimed to enhance the knowledge and skills of researchers, lecturers, and food processing staff in preventing and controlling mycotoxin contamination in food and feed materials, including corn, peanuts, nutmeg and wheat flour.

In the opening ceremony, BIOTROP Director Dr Irdika Mansur emphasized the importance of preventing and controlling food and feed contamination caused by mycotoxin considering the tropical climate that Indonesia has. If such contamination is not addressed properly, he added that human and animal health are at risk and the country’s trade and industry sectors will greatly be affected for not meeting quality standards of global as well as local markets.  

Through classroom lectures and lab exercises, the participants learned about 1) mycotoxin in food; 2) destructive fungi in food and feed and how to control them; 3) fungi isolation, counting and identification methods; 4) fungi identification using molecular biology technique; 5) Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and its implementation in food and feed industries; 6) method and quality assurance for testing of mycotoxins in food and feed materials; 7) mycotoxin testing using fluorometer and liquid chromatography methods; and 8) integrated warehouse pest control and proper phosphine fumigation. These lectures and lab exercises were provided by the following resource persons, namely:  Prof Okky S. Dharmaputra, Ms Santi Ambarwati, M.Si., and Ms Sri Widayanti, M.Si, from BIOTROP as well as Prof Nuri Andarwulan from Institut Pertanian Bogor.

At the last day of the training, the participants in small groups were able to simulate the application of knowledge and skills they gained from the training through analyzing and providing appropriate solutions to a specific food chain problem especially in relation to HACCP. They also turned in individual action plans on how to apply what they have learned from the training in their respective institutions.