International Commission on Food Mycology
Fungal spoilage of products manufactured by the food and beverage industry imposes significant annual global revenue losses. Mould spoilage can also be a food safety issue due to the production of mycotoxins by these moulds. To prevent mould spoilage, it is essential that the associated mycobiota be adequately isolated and accurately identified.On the other hand fungi have been used for centuries to ferment food and beverages demonstrating the benefial impact for human society.
The main fungal groups associated with spoilage are the xerophilic, heat-resistant, preservative-resistant, anaerobic and psychrophilic fungi.
To assess mould spoilage, the appropriate methodology and media must be used. While classic mycological detection methods can detect a broad range of fungi using well validated protocols, they are time consuming and results can take days or even weeks. New molecular detection methods are faster but require good DNA isolation techniques, expensive equipment and may detect viable and non-viable fungi that probably will not spoil a specific product.
Although there is no complete and easy method for the detection of fungi in food it is important to be aware of the limitation of the methodology. More research is needed on the development of methods of detection and identification that are both faster and highly sensitive. The International Commission on Food Mycology serves food microbiologists as a platform where results of research are presented and discussed
Programme 2025
Sunday 6 July 2025
18.30 Get together and dinner at Hotel Biltsche Hoek, de Bilt, the Netherlands.
Monday 7 July 2025
Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Utrecht
08.45 Bus from Hotel Biltsche Hoek to Westerdijk Institute.
08.30 – 09.30 Registration
09.30 Welcome; Jos Houbraken & Rob Samson
9.45 Rob Samson, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, the Netherlands.
The International Commission on Food mycology (ICFM). Past, present and future.
Session 1. Food Spoilage Reduction – Preservatives. Chair Emilia Rico.
10.05 Jan Dijksterhuis, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, the Netherlands
Rethinking used and novel strategies to prevent food spoilage.
10.25 Frank Segers, Corbion, the Netherlands
The combined impact of organic acids and modified atmosphere on fungi resistant to modified atmosphere packaging.
10.45 Mélanie Cadoret, Univ Brest, France
Impact of UV and/or biocides on the inactivation of Aspergillus brasiliensis ATCC 16404.
11.05 Break
11.35 Alex Grum-Grzhimaylo, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, the Netherlands
Genetic basis and evolution of resistance to the polyene preservative natamycin.
11.55 Petter Melin, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Sweden
Practical use of weak acid preservatives in meat-analogues and other products.
12.15 Roya Choupannejad, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, the Netherlands
Natural antimicrobials for enhanced food bio-preservation.
12.35 Siavash Atashgahi, AB Mauri, the Netherlands.
Natural preservation of bakery products.
13.00 Lunch at plaza (until 13.50 h).
Session 2. Mycotoxin Contamination and Exposure Risk in Food. Chair Paul Dyer.
13.50 Ana-Rosa Ballester, Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology, Spain
Deciphering ochratoxin A biosynthesis and degradation in Aspergillus niger: functional insights from halogenase and ochratoxinase mutants.
14.10 Andika Sidar, Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia
Mycotoxins on Indonesian agricultural commodities: Challenges and mitigation approaches.
14.30 Angel Medina-Vaya, Cranfield University, UK
Towards climate change resilient biocontrol to avoid OTA contamination in Robusta coffee production.
14.50 Monika Coton, Univ Brest, France
How to evaluate mycotoxin exposure due to mouldy foods at the consumer level. A case study on Alternaria mycotoxins in tomatoes.
15.10 Break
15.30 Myrsini Kakagianni, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Agriculture Sciences, University of Thessaly, 43100, Karditsa, Greece – [online]
Probabilistic assessment of deoxynivalenol (DON) exposure from pita bread consumption: A Greek population study.
15.50 Paula Cristina Azevedo Rodrigues, Instituto Politécnico de Braganca, Portugal
Toxigenic fungi from Mozambican maize, peanuts and rice: what is the associated risk?
16.10 Sylvia Kalli, Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands
Expanding the mycotoxin horizon: Analytical approaches for fungal metabolites in lupins and forage grasses.
16.30 Sofia Noemi Chulze, CONICET-UNRC, Argentina
An increasing risk driven by climate change: Aflatoxins and the urgent need for biocontrol.
16.50 Poster session
18.00 Dinner at Biltsche Hoek Hotel (bus leaves at 17:45 h).
Tuesday 8 July 2025
Session 3. Food Spoilage Reduction – Biocontrol and Processing. Chair Endang S. Rahayu.
9.00 Maodo Malick Cissé, Cheikh Ahmadoul University of Touba, Senegal [online]
Evaluation of the antagonistic activity of indigenous Trichoderma species against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, the fungal pathogen causing mango anthracnose in Senegal.
9.20 Emilia Rico, BCN Research Laboratories, USA
Heat-resistant moulds (HRM) spoilage of thermal-processed beverages: has anything changed in the last 35 years?
9.40 Muhammad Ahmed Ihsan, University of Malta, Malta
Antifungal properties of lactic acid bacteria isolated from Maltese sheep milk and cheese.
10.00 Alicia Rodríguez, University of Extremadura, Spain
Discovering the effect of two antagonistic yeasts on metabolites involved in aflatoxin biosynthesis of Aspergillus flavus in a dried fig-based medium.
10.20 Break
11.00 Diana Sousa, CEB - Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal [online]
Comparative heat activation and inactivation of Talaromyces trachyspermus ascospores inside and outside ascocarps.
11.20 Miloslava Kavková, Dairy Research Institute Ltd., Czech Republic
The antifungal activity of lactobacilli against spoilage fungi in milk, bakery and vegetable matrices.
Session 4. Fungi for Alternative Proteins and Food Fermentation. Chair Sofia Chulze.
11.40 Alex James Pate, University of Nottingham, UK
Meddling with mycoprotein - novel strain development of Fusarium venenatum.
12.00 Eleni Kollia, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Mycological fermentation of plant-based substrates for blue cheese analogue production.
12.20 Asaph Kuria, University of Nottingham, UK
Unravelling the enzymatic dynamics of mould-ripened Camembert and Brie cheese.
12.40 Emmanuel Coton, Univ Brest, France
Metabolite profile variability in Penicillium roqueforti populations: a footprint of ecological niche specialisation and domestication.
13.00 Lunch at plaza (until 13.50 h).
Session 5. Ecological Insights into Fungal Communities and Mycotoxin Formation in Food. Chair Vasilis Valdramidis.
13.50 Maria Laura Ramirez, Instituto de Investigación en Micología y Micotoxicología, Argentina [online]
Aspergillus section Nigri and ochratoxin A accumulation in raisins: A comparative study of drying systems.
14.10 Andrea Patriarca, Cranfield University, UK
Ecophysiology of Alternaria strains from tomato producing AAL toxins.
14.30 Marta Taniwaki, Food Technology Institute (ITAL), Brazil.
Beyond the flavor: Assessing the risks and rewards of Brazilian artisanal cheese.
14.50 Júlia Marquès, Veterinary Faculty, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
Competitiveness study among black aspergilli strains.
15.10 Break
15.40 Mahshid Saedi, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, the Netherlands
Exploring the mycobiota and mycotoxin contamination in traditional Iranian foods.
16.00 Marie Belair, Univ Brest, France
Ecological niche shapes fungal communities from vine to wine and impacts FMA detection in wine.
16.20 Su-lin Hedén (Leong), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
Mycotoxin production by Penicillium species during refrigerated storage of plant-based analogues of cheese, fraiche and pâté.
17.00 ICFM commission board meeting (only for ICFM committee members).
17.15 Bus from Westerdijk Institute to Utrecht centre.
18.15 Dinner at Stadskasteel Oudaen restaurant Utrecht centre (Oudegracht 99, 3511 AE Utrecht).
22.00 Bus from Utrecht centre (pickup point, statue of Saint Willibrord at the Janskerkhof in Utrecht) to Biltsche Hoek Hotel.
Wednesday 9 July 2025
Session 6. Guidelines and New Insights in the Identification of Mycotoxigenic Fungi. Chair Su-lin Hedén (Leong).
09.00 Nazik Hussain, Institute of Plant Sciences University of Sindh Jamshoro, Pakistan [online]
Morphological and molecular characterisation of Alternaria alternata from tomato Lycopersicon esculentum fruit
09.20 Jens Christian Frisvad, DTU - Bioengineering, Denmark
Chemistry and morphology are excellent for separating Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus flavus, but difficult to achieve using genome sequencing.
9.40 Jos Houbraken, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, the Netherlands
An update on Aspergillus, Penicillium and Talaromyces taxonomy.
10.00 Ya Bin Zhou, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, the Netherlands
Barcoding Aspergillus, Penicillium and Talaromyces strains from the CBS biobank.
10.20 Ioanna Pyrri, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Penicillium section Brevicompacta: new insights in taxonomy.
10.40 Break
Session 7. Methodology Development. Chair Angel Medina Vaya.
11.10 Laura García Calvo, Nofima AS, Norway
Whole Genome Sequencing of Penicillium spoilage mould from food producers.
11.30 Kaitlyn Parra, Veterinary Faculty, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
Development of a droplet digital PCR assay for population study of ochratoxigenic and non-ochratoxigenic Aspergillus carbonarius strains.
11.50 Manuela Zadravec, Croatian Veterinary Institute, Croatia
Challenges in sample preparation of Alternaria, Cladosporium and Fusarium species for MALDI TOF analyses.
12.10 María A. Pavicich, Ghent University, Belgium
Hyperspectral imaging for early fungal detection and prediction of mycotoxins in apples.
12.30 Closing of the workshop
13.00 Lunch
Poster presentations
Alberto Martín, University of Extremadura, Spain
Study of Alternaria alternata on tomato agar by VOCs, mycotoxin and metabolomic analysis.
Bruna Sepúlveda, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal [online]
Isolation of filamentous fungi from beans, maize and peanuts from Cuanza Sul, Angola.
Dana Tančinová, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovakia
Ability of selected plant essential oils to inhibit cyclopiazonic acid production by Penicillium commune strains.
Elettra Berni, Stazione Sperimentale per l’Industria delle Conserve Alimentari-Fondazione di Ricerca – SSICA, Italy
Influence of reduced water activity on Monascus ruber heat- and sorbate-resistance.
Frank Segers, Corbion, the Netherlands
Predictive modeling for bread spoilage prevention: simplifying complex data.
Inês Mendonça, National Institute for Agrarian and Veterinary Research, Portugal [online]
Effectiveness of encapsulated lemon thyme and prince herb essential oils against Stemphylium vesicarium and Alternaria spp. isolated from Portuguese “Rocha” pear orchards.
Linda Mezule, Riga Technical University, Latvia
Enzymes from wood-decaying fungi as tools for waste hydrolysis.
Santiago Ruiz-Moyano, Universidad de Extremadura, Spain
Optimization of a HPLC-fluorescence method for quantification of fumonisins FB1 and FB2 in food matrices and synthetic culture media.
Simas Borkertas, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Lithuania
Fungal strains of industrial food by-products fermentation and its techniques for mycelium and food production.
Teresa Vale Dias, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal [online]
Fungal ecology along the production line of Portuguese goat cheese.
Zuzana Barboráková, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovakia
Ochratoxin A producers in green coffee beans.