An overview on the major mycotoxins in food products: characteristics, toxicity, and analysis

Mycotoxins are potentially hazardous secondary metabolites produced by filamentous fungi (molds). These small molecular weight compounds (often less than 1 000 Da) are found in nature and are almost unavoidable. They can infiltrate our food chain either directly or indirectly through contaminated plant-based food components or toxigenic fungal development on food. Mycotoxins can build up in ripening corn, cereals, soybeans, sorghum, peanuts, and other food and feed crops in the field and during transportation. Humans and animals can get sick from eating mycotoxin-contaminated food or feed, which can result in acute or chronic poisoning. In addition to worries regarding direct consumption of mycotoxin-contaminated foods and feeds, the public is concerned about the possibility of ingesting mycotoxin residues or metabolites in animal-derived food products such as meat, milk, or eggs. Three fungal genera dominate mycotoxin production: Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Penicillium. Although more than 300 mycotoxins have been found, only six of them (aflatoxins, trichothecenes, zearalenone, fumonisins, ochratoxins, and patulin) are consistently detected in food, posing unpredictability and continuous food safety issues worldwide. This article focused on some of them, which are typically found in foods that have been contaminated by one or more of these mycotoxins.