Occurrence of fumonisins and strategies for biocontrol in beer production: a systematic review

Beer is one of the most consumed alcoholic beverages in the world and is basically made up of water, barley malt, hops and yeast other components that also be added in production such as adjuncts. Corn is among the most used adjuncts and considered a viable and affordable grain to partially replace barley. However, there is a constant concern about the occurrence of mycotoxins and subsequent contamination in beer processing. Corn can be contaminated by a type of mycotoxin called fumonisins, produced by the fungus Fusarium verticillioides. The relationship between the detection of fumonisins and the use of corn-based adjuncts in beer processing has been described for over 25 years. However, the occurrence and effect on beer processing are less reported in the literature when compared to scientific publications on the relationship between the fungus F. graminearum and its mycotoxins. Given this scenario, the objective of this revision was to develop a Methodi Ordinatio systematic literature review on three subjects: fumonisins occurrence in beer, the contamination effect by F. verticillioides and fumonisins on beer processing and viable biocontrol methods to improve this problem. In total, 22 articles on the occurrence of fumonisins in beer were selected, which showed that countries on the African continent are the ones with the highest levels of mycotoxins contamination. In addition, 17 papers were selected to discuss the effect of contamination by F. verticillioides and fumonisins on beer processing. Together, these works verified the presence of fumonisins in the raw material and in the final product after processing, demonstrating that more measures are needed to restrict the development of fumonisin-producing fungi. Finally, 21 papers were selected on viable biocontrol methods to improve beer processing. Specifically, it has been described that conventional food processing methods are not able to eliminate fumonisins, and biological control methods are more effective as they reduce or eliminate them. Such methods involve physicochemical processes such as adsorption and enzymatic biodegradation.