Mycotoxin production in major crops as influenced by growing, harvesting, storage and processing, with emphasis on the achievement of Food Safety Objectives

The concept of Food Safety Objective (FSO) has mostly been applied to understanding the effects of handling and processing on levels of bacterial pathogens in foods, but it is also applicable to the formation and removal of mycotoxins. This paper provides a general overview of how the concept of FSO can be used to understand increases and decreases in mycotoxin levels in foods, on the basis that international regulatory limits are equivalent to an FSO. Detailed information is provided on the ecology of the formation of aflatoxins, fumonisins, ochratoxin A and deoxynivalenol in major commodities. Methods in use to reduce levels of these mycotoxins, to meet an FSO, are then detailed. Each of the major mycotoxin – food combinations is visualised using a novel graphical method.