Mycotoxins’ Contamination in Food and Feeds: A Review

Fungi are the most resistant microorganisms distributed worldwide in different foods and feedstuffs.They produce Mycotoxins as their secondary and toxic metabolites for humans and animals, and they are carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, and immunosuppressive.According to Mycotoxins structures, their risk for health is different.Therefore, aflatoxins, ochratoxins A, zearalenone, fumonisins, patulinand, and trichothecenes are recognized as the most hazardous for health.Climate changes during recent years have caused increasing mycotoxins contaminations.Since these secondary metabolites cause chronic and acute diseases, different standards exist to eliminate them in foodstuffs worldwide.The toxicity of mycotoxins and their maximum permitted in foods is different.Because of their toxicity feature, many scientists are studying to find better options for mycotoxin detection and reduction in foods and feeds.Up to now, HPLC (High performance liquid chromatography) coupled with fluorescence derivatization and MS/MS (Mass spectroscopy) is the most successful method for mycotoxin detection.There are different ways to reduce these contaminants, but in countries that have considerable rainfall besides temperature, which helps to grow molds and produce mycotoxins significantly.