Emerging Food Safety Issues Associated with Mycotoxins

Dear Colleagues,

Fungi are ubiquitous, and the formation of mycotoxins is not restricted to any component of the human food or animal feed supply chains. The level of contamination varies depending on location and reflects agronomic practices, climate and storage conditions, and an array of physical, chemical, and biological factors. Globally, mycotoxins have significant human and animal health, economic, and international trade implications. This has important consequences in both developed and developing countries. In developing countries, the primary concern with mycotoxin contamination is human health, and the impact on animal health and production is the second major concern. By contrast, in developed economies, additional costs to the producer and/or the consumer to meet the economic burden of regulating food and feed supply are the major mycotoxin concern, followed by the impact on animal health and production. Mycotoxins, once formed, are usually very stable chemically and will persist through food and beverage manufacture. Mycotoxins present a major analytical challenge due to the range of chemical compounds that they represent and the array of food and feed matrices in which they are found. There are a number of areas of mycotoxin analysis that require further study and refinement, including commodity sampling techniques, conjugated toxin determination, and field screening of commodities, especially cereal grains. Analysis is essential for determining the occurrence and extent of mycotoxin contamination, for risk analysis, confirming the diagnosis of mycotoxicosis and for monitoring mycotoxins in traded commodities and for evaluating mitigation strategies. Moreover, suitable biomarkers are also required for exposure and mitigation monitoring. The body of knowledge on all aspects of mycotoxicology is growing rapidly, but gaps remain. This presents both challenges and opportunities for those who keep our food supply safe from mycotoxin contamination. This challenge will be ongoing as mycotoxins are naturally occurring compounds and the risk of occurrence will be aggravated by climate change and social upheaval. Meeting these emerging food safety issues will provide many economic benefits through less contaminated crops and improved health of both humans and animals. In this Topic, papers describing the occurrence, analysis, and mitigation of mycotoxins in food, beverages, and animal feed would be most welcome. Papers on implications for health along with papers covering global mycotoxin topics pertinent to maintaining a secure and safe food supply are invited.

Prof. Dr. Wayne L. Bryden
Prof. Dr. Naresh Magan
Topic Editors