Application of ozone technology for mycotoxicological decontamination and its effects on the technological properties of corn starch

The presence of mycotoxins is a recurring problem in corn agro-industrial complexes, reflecting a serious safety problem in food production. The ozone gas technology can be an alternative to reduce contamination in corn due to its high oxidizing potential, capable of degrading fungi and mycotoxins. This work aimed to evaluate the effect of ozone on the technological properties of corn starch in the face of zearalenone mycotoxin decontamination. For that, white corn grains were exposed to time (45, 90, and 135 min) and ozone concentration (2 and 10 mg/L) during the starch extraction. At 90 and 135 min of ozone exposure, the zearalenone mycotoxin (137.6 μg/kg) was completely reduced to below the quantification limit at both ozone concentrations. The ozonized starch color was not altered at 90 min, but was altered at 180 min due to a reduction in <i>L</i>* value. The moisture content of ozonized starch was within the standards authorized by the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency, which allows up to 15% of moisture. The starch morphology was affected by ozonization, resulting in rough and fibrous at 135 min and 10 mg/L of ozone. Differential exploratory calorimetry analysis showed that the starch gelatinization temperature was higher at 135 min compared to the other treatments. However, there was not much difference in temperature variation between them to complete gelatinization. Ozone treatment has been shown to be an effective and secure technology to apply in order to decontaminate zearalenone mycotoxin in corn starch.