Mycotoxin Management in Agriculture: a Review

This review was done to highlight of the worldwide contamination of foods and feeds with mycotoxins as a significant problem. Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of moulds that have adverse effects on humans, animals, and crops that result in illnesses and and direct economic losses in crop yield and stored agricultural products. Aflatoxins, ochratoxins, trichothecenes, zearelenone, fumonisins, tremorgenic toxins, and ergot alkaloids are the mycotoxins of greatest agro-economic importance. Some moulds are capable of producing more than one mycotoxin and some mycotoxins are produced by more than one fungal species. Often more than one mycotoxin is found on a contaminated substrate. Factors influencing the presence of mycotoxins in foods or feeds include environmental conditions related to storage that can be controlled. Other extrinsic factors such as climate or intrinsic factors such as fungal strain specificity, strain variation, and instability of toxigenic properties are more difficult to control. The challenges in mycotoxin management are enormous due to the frequency, the complexity and variability in occurrence with several aspects make the management and control of mycotoxins difficult. Monitoring or surveillance of mycotoxin levels in crops and products is an important management tactic and it can be implemented at both pre-harvest and post-harvest stages.