Mycotoxins and Toxic Fungus in Food: Prevention and Sustainable Management Techniques

Most of the mycotoxin contamination of foods is caused by a few of the prevalent mycotoxigenic fungus such, Aspergillus, Alternaria, Fusarium, and Penicillium spp. They seriously jeopardise the quality and safety of food. Due to their toxicity, aflatoxins, ochratoxins, fumonisins, and other mycotoxins are known to raise questions about food safety. Many serious health problems such as carcinogenicity, toxicity, nephrotoxicity, neurotoxicity, hepatotoxicity and many more are associated with these toxins in both humans and animals. The risk of fungal growth and mycotoxin production is further increased by the environmental conditions like high temperature and humidity. Other factors such as pH, fungal strain, and substrates also affect the fungal contaminations and productions of mycotoxins in food. The mycotoxin contamination is controlled by an integrated approach that initiates in the field preceding the planting and continues throughout the food chain. Adoption of the good practices such as good harvest practices, suitable drying measures and safe storage practices help minimize contamination at every step in order to deliver the safe products. Since mycotoxin compounds are extremely persistent, contamination in food is unavoidable. However, there are a number of physical, chemical, and biological strategies that can be used to help reduce contamination. In addition to ensuring that the standards are upheld, the regulations serve to keep food markets free from highly contaminated products. Following control management measures to prevent mycotoxigenic fungus from contaminating food and feed is crucial for ensuring food safety.