Mycotoxins: invisible and insidious foodborne toxicants

Foods are life’s artery, providing essential nutrients and energy to people and animals. A major challenge facing the world is keeping the food supply safe and sustainable. Food safety is a complex issue that involves all segments of society: public, government, industry, and academia. Mycotoxins are an often underappreciated threat to food safety.

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by filamentous fungi (moulds) belonging to three main genera: Aspergillus, Fusarium and Penicillium. These fungi can grow on crops and some fruit and vegetables in fields, and can infest food and feed during processing, distribution, and storage. When moulds grow in foods, they often produce mycotoxins. While over 300 mycotoxins have been identified, seven frequently contaminate food and feed, and are subject to regular monitoring and regulations for about 120 countries. These are aflatoxins (AFs), ochratoxin A (OTA), fumonisin B1 (FB1), deoxynivalenol (DON), trichothecene (T-2), zearalenone (ZEN), and patulin.