Recent Research Reveals Concerns About Unregulated Mycotoxins in Foods Worldwide: Researchers Stress Importance of Monitoring Emerging Unregulated Mycotoxins in Food

A comprehensive systematic review, backed by funding from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), has highlighted significant worries about the presence of unregulated and harmful mycotoxins in foods. This review identified a total of 15 unregulated mycotoxins, occurring in 38 different combinations across 19 food categories on a global scale.

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary byproducts produced by fungi, capable of contaminating a wide array of food commodities. These toxins can infiltrate crops either in the field during fungal infection, or during subsequent stages such as storage, transportation, and food processing. Mycotoxins have been linked to a range of health issues, including immunosuppression, carcinogenicity, endocrine disruption, gastrointestinal disorders, and kidney damage.

In Europe, the European Commission has established distinct maximum limits for mycotoxin exposure in both adults and children through Regulation 915/2023. Nevertheless, despite the existence of hundreds of mycotoxins, only a select few are regulated based on their widespread occurrence and known toxicological effects.

Presently, regulated mycotoxins in the EU encompass aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol, fumonisins, ochratoxin A, zearalenone, and patulin. Furthermore, the European Commission has proposed recommended levels for T-2 and HT-2 toxins in cereals and cereal-based products, as well as for alternariol, alternariol methyl ether, and tenuazonic acid in items such as cereal-based foods for infants, legumes, and tree nuts.

Non-regulated mycotoxins, often referred to as emerging mycotoxins, are increasingly prevalent in food and feed due to environmental factors linked to climate change, such as drought and elevated temperatures. Additionally, numerous in vitro studies suggest that most interactions between co-occurring mycotoxins result in additive or synergistic toxic effects.

For this study, researchers conducted a systematic review of literature published between January 2018 and December 2022. The review focused on recent occurrence data for the most frequently found non-regulated mycotoxins, which had already undergone a preliminary assessment by EFSA. The emphasis was on food categories with the highest dietary exposure at the European level, including cereals, oilseeds, nuts, fruits, vegetables, wine, sauces, coffees, legumes, beans, and potatoes, grouped into 19 categories. This study marks the first effort to quantify the occurrence and co-occurrence of the 15 emerging mycotoxins worldwide.

The majority of the studies centered on the presence of non-regulated mycotoxins in grains and grain-based products, legumes, and infant and children's foods. They discovered a total of 38 different mixtures of these mycotoxins, varying from 2 to 12 mycotoxins.

Given existing data indicating additive or synergistic toxic effects from interactions between these 15 mycotoxins, the researchers emphasize the importance of collecting more data on the co-occurrence of both regulated and non-regulated mycotoxins. This will support multiple chemical risk assessment methods, taking into account group-based toxicity assessments for accurate risk assessment. In summary, gathering quality data, continuous monitoring, scientific collaboration, and consistent risk assessment are critical to mitigating potential health risks posed by emerging mycotoxins.