Technology Solutions for a Safer Global Food Supply

Secure Food Solutions, Inc. (SFS) is developing solutions to detect and remove dangerous pathogens that threaten global food supply chains.

Mini Aflatoxin Sorter to Remove Dangerous Carcinogen from Food Supply

As part of its social impact efforts SFS is also developing a simple and affordable UV-based imaging device for farm families in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) to screen household lots of maize and remove kernels contaminated with aflatoxin, a dangerous fungal carcinogen from toxigenic mold species of Aspergillus. Contamination in maize, peanuts and cassava – staple food crops across SSA - is a serious food safety and public health risk.

Aflatoxin has been linked to up to 35% of childhood stunting (a critical malnutrition indicator) in SSA. Aflatoxin exposure in mothers during pregnancy has shown a strong effect on growth of the infant in the first year of life. Studies suggest that dietary aflatoxin exposure in SSA may be linked to up to 22 M cases of childhood stunting and 440,000 deaths of children under 5 each year (15% of total child mortality), and about $22 B per year in lost future GDP.

There is no cheap and easy way for small-scale farm households in SSA to remove maize kernels contaminated with aflatoxin, putting millions of families and their children in the grave predicament every day of having to choose between hunger and consumption of contaminated and dangerous grain.