Introduction
In the present day, biological toxins are a continuous threat to human health. Such a treat is biological warfare, weaponizing deadly pathogens. However, the main threat at the moment of human health by biological toxins is in the agricultural industry as each step of the production chain is all susceptible to contamination.This article will be focusing on how the World Health Organization ensures the safety of our daily produce.
How Toxic are Biotoxins?
The cause of foodborne diseases is usually microorganisms: organisms including fungi, bacteria, and viruses. An example of this is the E.coli bacteria which produces a toxin called Shiga Toxin. Shiga Toxins main machinery is to disrupt the target’s cell cellular machinery. It can achieve this by releasing a toxin into the cytosol of the cell, causing mass damage to the regulatory system of the cell. However, the main target is the cell's ribosome, the destruction of these ribosomes is disastrous for the cell, as it can no longer undergo protein synthesis. The halt of protein synthesis will lead to the intestinal cells being inflamed, causing abdominal discomfort: the most common symptom of E.coli. If the infection is severe enough it can damage blood cells, that will result in kidney failure and possibly death. Biotoxins are not to be underestimated, consuming contaminated food can ultimately lead to organ failure and possibly death.
Biological Toxin detection
So how do we ensure food safety? The main method of ensuring the safety of our food is through testing. The culturing technique and immunoassays are the most common and effective way of testing. Culturing technique is where a swab is placed on an agar plate, amplifying any bacteria that is detected on the food. Curating specific agar plates where the bacteria can grow is a good way to detect specific classes of bacteria that may pose a threat to human safety. Next is immunoassays, where a well is coated with a specific type of particle called an antigen. This antigen will act as an “anchor” for specific enzymes or proteins that are produced from the bacteria or fungi. The final part of the immunoassay is to add a detector for the previous step, without the present enzyme from the bacteria no color will be produced. They are reliable due to how both methods are able to detect the smallest traces of pathogenic DNA. Ensuring the safety and the integrity of the food we eat.
References
“FAQ: E. Coli: Good, Bad, & Deadly.” National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Jan. 1970,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK562895/#:~:text=EHEC%3A%20.
Clark, Graeme C., et al. “Friends or Foes? Emerging Impacts of Biological Toxins.” Trends in Biochemical Sciences, vol. 365–379, no. 4, 1 Apr. 2019, doi:10.1016/j.tibs.2018.12.004.
Alahi, Eshrat E., and Subhas Mukhopadhyay. “Detection Methodologies for Pathogen and Toxins: A Review.” Sensors, vol. 1885, no. 8, 16 Aug. 2017, doi:10.3390/s17081885.
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