A review of recent innovative strategies for controlling mycotoxins in foods

Sustainable Strategies to Counteract Mycotoxins Contamination and Cowpea Weevil in Chickpea Seeds during Post-Harvest

“…The increasing occurrence of food/feed contaminants worldwide poses a huge threat to human and animal health. One of the major contaminants are mycotoxins, which annually cause enormous economic losses in the food industry and animal husbandry [ 1 , 2 ]. These low molecular weight metabolites produced by filamentous fungi (belonging to the phylum Ascomycota) contaminate various categories of foods and feeds [ 3 ].…”

“…Different physical, chemical and biological factors affect fungal colonization and mycotoxins production. Physical factors include environmental conditions such as temperature, relative humidity, pH, water activity, nutrients, insect infestation and other associated factors, which at specific rates are known to favor the growth of many types of fungi and the production of mycotoxins [ 2 ]. Biological factors are mainly related to the interactions between the colonizing toxic fungal species and the host, thus including features such as fungal species, strain specificity, levels of inoculation, the nature of the substrate, strain variation, the instability of fungal toxic properties, and insect damage [ 11 ].…”

“…Nevertheless, their practical application in food/feed matrices is limited, since the degradation process under conditions of large-scale production is much more complex, and the experiments at lab-scale might not always reflect practices in industrial processing [ 1 ]. Possible reasons for this are that the degradation process can be easily affected by multiple factors such as temperature, relative humidity, pH, water activity, nutrients, insect infestation and types of contamination [ 2 ]. The relevance of studying naturally contaminated samples is consistent with the actual distribution conditions of mycotoxins in the field and/or in grains.…”

“…Similarly, the use of a controlled or modified atmosphere by using a very high nitrogen (N 2 ) concentration is a valid alternative to chemical fumigation to control mycotoxigenic fungi contamination and pest challenge post-harvest [ 23 ]. Its effects on different stored products (such as wheat, maize, corn and rye) are well documented [ 2 , 24 ]. In particular, a N 2 -controlled atmosphere can control fungal growth and proliferation by improving the quality of stored products [ 25 ].…”

Essential Oils Land Footprint: A Sustainability Meta-Analysis of Essential Oils Biopesticides

“…Essential oils have been occupying a pivotal role on the development of sustainable biocides, including applications as antibacterial [19], antifungal [20], and pesticide agents [21]. Among them their use as pesticides present numerous and diverse targets including preharvest [22], and postharvest pests relating to the aspects of food security and safety [21], special purpose pesticides [11], and disease vectors relating to public health issues that torture earths tropical to temperate zones [23].…”