Some mold found in Brazilian food has the genes to make a harmful toxin called ochratoxin — about 1 in 30 of these molds could make it, but not another toxin, suggesting a small risky group we should watch.

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Pro

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Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

5

Community contributions welcome

5

Data on the presence or absence of genes encoding essential proteins for ochratoxin and fumonisin biosynthesis in Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus welwitschiae

Cross-Sectional Study

In Vitro

2016 Jun

The study found that 3.5% of the black mold strains from Brazilian foods have the genes needed to make one toxin (ochratoxin) but not the gene for another, which matches the claim exactly.

Contradicting (0)

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Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Data on the presence or absence of genes encoding essential proteins for ochratoxin and fumonisin biosynthesis in Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus welwitschiae

Score: 5

DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2016.03.016

Similar Assertions

About 1 in 6 mold strains found in Brazilian food can potentially make two different harmful toxins, based on their genes.

5

0

89%

About a third of certain mold strains found in Brazilian food don’t have the genes needed to make two harmful toxins, which means they probably don’t produce them.

5

0

87%

A lot of mold found in Brazilian food has the gene needed to make a toxin called fumonisin — about 7 out of 10 samples — and sometimes it also has genes for another toxin, which means these molds could potentially produce harmful substances.

5

0

81%

More than half of the black mold strains found in Brazilian food have a gene that could let them make a harmful toxin, but they're missing other genes—so they might only be able to make one type of that toxin.

5

0

76%

When this mold eats certain sugars like sucrose, glucose, or arabinose, it turns on genes that help make a toxin, and two of those genes become over three times more active than when it's eating something else.

6

0

75%