The Risk of <i>Fusarium</i>and Their Mycotoxins in the Food Chain

Fusarium sp. and mycotoxins of these species pose a major risk to consumer health, agriculture and the food industry. This paper is a worldwide bibliographic study on impact of Fusarium and mycotoxins on the food chain. The factors influencing the development of fungi Fusarium sp., the formation of mycotoxins and their microbiological risk on the food chain must be considered as a whole. For cereals and oilseeds before and after harvest, fungal infections and mycotoxin contamination present serious problems worldwide. This paper is an overview of the factors that include the microbiological risk and impact of Fusarium in the food chain mentioned in national and international studies. The methods and results obtained in this direction internationally are mentioned, such as: infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectrometry and hyperspectral imaging. Also, in review are presented solutions to reduce this impact on the food chain.

The Use and Exchange of Biological Control Agents for Food and Agriculture

The report sets out to summarize the past and current situation regarding the practice of biologicalcontrol inrelationtothe use and exchange of genetic resources relevant for BCAs.It considers the twomain categories of biological control:classical and augmentative.Allowing access to BCAs for use inanother country imposes no risk of liability to the source country.Local scientific knowledge abouthabitats,fauna andflora,can be

Enabling affordances of blockchain in agri-food supply chains:A value-driver framework using Q-methodology

The application of blockchain beyond cryptocurrencies has received increasing attention from industry and scholars alike.Given predicted looming food crises,some of the most impactful deployments of blockchains are likely to concern food supply chains.This study outlined how blockchain adoption can result in positive affordances in the food supply chain.Using Q-methodology,this study explored the current status of the agri-food supply chain and how blockchain technology could be useful in addressing existing challenges.This theorization leads to the proposition of the 3TIC value-driver framework for determining the enabling affordances of blockchain that would increase shared value for stakeholders.First,we propose a framework based on the most promising features of blockchain technology to overcome current challenges in the agri-food industry.Our value-driver framework is driven by the Q-study findings of respondents closely associated with the agri-food supply chain.This framework can provide supply chain stakeholders with a clear perception of blockchain affordances and serve as a guideline for utilizing appropriate features of technology that match organizations’capabilities,core competencies,goals,and limitations.Therefore,it could assist top-level decision-makers in systematically evaluating parts of the organization to focus on and improve the infrastructure for successful blockchain implementation along the agri-food supply chain.We conclude by noting certain significant challenges that must be carefully addressed to successfully adopt blockchain technology.

Study and comparison of various image edge detection techniques used in quality inspection and evaluation of agricultural and food products by computer vision

Edges characterize boundaries and are therefore a problem of fundamental importance in quality assessment of agricultural and food products.Since edge detection is in the forefront of computer vision system for detection of vegetables,fruits and food grains needs to quality inspection and evaluation,it is crucial to have a good understanding of edge detection algorithms.In this paper the comparative analysis of various image edge detection techniques is presented.The software is developed using MATLAB 7.6.It has been shown that the Canny’s edge detection algorithm performs better than all operators(i.e.LoG,Robert,Prewitt and Sobel)under almost all scenarios.

Assessment of Soil Erosion and Climate Variability on Kerio Valley Basin, Kenya

This study was aimed at assessing soil erosion, climate variation and how climate has affected both the agro climatic and agro-ological zones of Kerio Valley basin. The basin faces challenges especially soil loss, due to the massive degradation that takes place in Kerio valley. Due to the increase in rainfall recently experienced in the area, most of the top soil has been carried away leading to excessive degradation of the valley, causing soil loss in the basin and subsequent deposition of the sediments in Lake Kamnarok which is an oxbow lake posing it to the threat of extinction. All these aforementioned factors, i.e. soil erosion, climate variation and land degradation have contributed to reduction of water storage capacity of the Lake. The main objective of this study was to assess the effects of soil erosion, climate variation on the basin and climate effect on agro-climatic and agro-ecological zones of the basin. Agro-climatic zones show how climate variability shapes agricultural landscape of an area while agro-ological zones show how agriculture affects the ecology of the basin. This includes the reduction of the lake size that has led to the disruption of the ecology of Lake Kamnarok and its environs, the major implications being the lake size reduction as the lake is proved to be a home for reptiles especially crocodiles. All these factors were finally assessed to determine their effect on water reduction capacity of Lake Kamnarok. The results depicted that the major factors that have caused changes in the basin and the Lake include heavy rainfall that has resulted in soil erosion and subsequent land degradation. These factors have eventually affected the agroclimatic and agroecological zones of the basin. This study integrated the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) to assess the areas with massive degradation and to quantify the amount of soil loss using Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model. It was concluded that the main factor that caused the changes in the agroclimatic and the agroecological zones was soil erosion which was influenced by climatic factors, i.e. rainfall and temperature.

Blockchain: A new safeguard for agri-foods

Blockchain implementation in agriculture has begun.Blockchain is recognized as an emerging technology in the agri-foods industry which may provide an efficient and robust mechanism for enhancing food traceability and a transparent and reliable way to validate quality,safety,and sustainability,of agri-foods.However,the technology is in its nascency,therefore,this review was written to foster discussion and encourage the application of blockchain technology,especially in the agri-food industry.In this review,the working principle of blockchain for data recording and tracking is briefly described.The collaborationmodels for the current blockchain applications on agri-foods are summarized.Furthermore,the specific utilization of blockchain to enhance safety and quality of agri-foods is discussed in four aspects:enhance the data transparency,realize data traceability,improve the food safety and quality monitoring,and reduce the cost of financial transactions.A case study on aWalmart pork traceability system has been provided to demonstrate how blockchain may be used to enhance the food traceability.Finally,challenges and future trends of blockchain technology in agri-foods concerning data/cost management,data security,and data integration are discussed.Blockchain technology reveals a promising approach to foster a future of agri-foods system in a way that is safer,healthier,more sustainable,and reliable.

A perspective of the engineering applications of carbon-based selenium-containing materials

Carbon-based selenium-containing materials are novel materials just being invented recently.Owing to the low cost and bio-compatible features of carbon and selenium,these materials are practical.The unique chemical-and bio-activities of selenium endow them wide range of applications in catalysis,environment-protection,fertilizer and biocide development etc.Recent progresses in this field are summarized and prospected from the engineering application viewpoint in this mini-review.

Cadmium in soybeans and the relevance to human exposure

Introduction Cadmium is considered a human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer（IARC,1993）and the US National Toxicology Program（NTP,1997）.Cadmium contamination of food crops is a persistent issue for both the agricultural industry as well as consumers.This is an issue for agriculture because cadmium can be present in soils naturally or as a result of industrial processes and can contaminate foods that are consumed by humans.Industrial