Aflazero

Overall category

ITALY

Food safety

www.aflazero.com

Aflazero has developed a post-harvest ozone-based treatment technology which eliminates 98% of aflatoxin contamination in grains and other crops.

Technologies that can eliminate aflatoxin contamination in cereals and other crops greatly contributes to food security. This provides more contractual power to the people and Governments within the beneficial area. Food independence and sovereignty are very powerful measures through which cooperators can leverage food diplomacy.

Innovation:This solution is highly effective in removing and destroying aflatoxin, a mycotoxin that seriously affects human health. As estimated by the Center for Disease Control in the USA, over 4.5 billion people in the developing world are exposed to aflatoxins, which causes cancer, stunting and lowered immunity to disease. Aflazero technology does not generate toxic residues in the treated commodities and preserves the crops’ nutritional value and palatability. The finished product is perfectly suitable for human consumption and export. A small (0.5-ton) plant has been tested over the last two years in order to improve the rate and efficacy of the post-harvest treatment process. Currently the technology is under testing at the Italian National Research Council – Institute of Science of Food Production (CNR-ISPA) in Bari, Italy.

Impact: Producing aflatoxin-free commodities has massive health implications on consumers in the DCs due to the large consumption of cereals and other crops affected by this mycotoxin. Aflatoxin, and specifically the B1 form, is recognized by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as one of the most naturally occurring toxic and carcinogenic substances you can find in nature. FAO estimates that 25% of world food crops are affected by aflatoxin causing several losses in African countries’ export earnings. In Europe, the aflatoxin limit is set at 2 parts per billion (ppb) for adults and 0.1 ppb for infants and young children. While, in East and West Africa hundreds of millions of people are exposed to unsafe levels of aflatoxin since many staple crops are contaminated by 50 to 1.000 times more than the acceptable levels of aflatoxin. At the moment, Aflazero is carrying on commercial negotiations with potential partners in Kenya and Nigeria for the realization of a 120 ton/day pilot plant.

Mr. Luca Alinovi, Aflazero CEO awarded by H.E. Mr. Eric Tonye Aworabhi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Italy