Mycotoxins in artisanal beers: An overview of relevant aspects of the raw material, manufacturing steps and regulatory issues involved

A worldwide systematic review, meta‐analysis, and health risk assessment study of mycotoxins in beers

“…Mycotoxins are fungal secondary metabolites, and their production in grains depends on the fungal species, biological factors (susceptibility of the crop), environmental factors (temperature, moisture availability, humidity, mechanical injury, and insect/bird damage), harvesting parameters (crop maturity, temperature, moisture, and handling), storage parameters (structure, conditions, moisture, and temperature), and handling and processing conditions (Neme & Mohammed, 2017). Furthermore, the beer brewing process affects mycotoxins' levels in the final product because the solubility and thermostability of raw material will define the final concentration Schabo et al, 2021). Therefore, a high heterogeneity is expected even using the random-effects model and subgroup analyzes.…”

“…DON and its derivatives also have been detected in wheat, maize, and barley (Haque et al, 2020;Marin et al, 2013). The malting steps favor the production of the mycotoxin Schabo et al, 2020Schabo et al, , 2021 and due to the thermostability (>150 • C) (Bullerman & Bianchini, 2007), OTA, FBs, and DON are not degraded in the mashing stage during the beer brewing process and can be transferred to the final product. Due to the water solubility of FBs and DON, these mycotoxins are present in the wort after the discard of spent grains (Schabo et al, 2021).…”

“…The malting steps favor the production of the mycotoxin Schabo et al, 2020Schabo et al, , 2021 and due to the thermostability (>150 • C) (Bullerman & Bianchini, 2007), OTA, FBs, and DON are not degraded in the mashing stage during the beer brewing process and can be transferred to the final product. Due to the water solubility of FBs and DON, these mycotoxins are present in the wort after the discard of spent grains (Schabo et al, 2021). On the other hand, the lower prevalence of AFs in beer is mainly related to their slight solubility in water (IARC, 2012;Shephard, 2018), remaining in the spent grains discarded after mashing (Gonzalez Pereyra et al, 2011;Inoue et al, 2013).…”

“…The occurrence of mycotoxins in beers has been increasingly reported in mainstream and artisanal beers, even in countries not traditionally known for beer consump-tion (Schabo et al, 2020). Toxigenic strains of Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Penicillium genera are well-known contaminants of cereals used as raw material in malting and beer brewing process Schabo et al, 2021). The presence of toxigenic fungi of these genera, followed by favorable climatic conditions, and poor preand postharvest practices are the main factors responsible for the contamination of grains by mycotoxins (Wokorach et al, 2021).…”

“…Deoxynivalenol (DON), fumonisins (FBs), aflatoxins (AFs), and ochratoxin A (OTA) are the main mycotoxins of safety concern in foods and beverages. FBs and DON are toxic metabolites produced by Fusarium spp., whereas AFs and OTA are produced by Aspergillus and Penicillium (Haque et al, 2020;Schabo et al, 2021). These mycotoxins have carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, immunosuppressive, and endocrine-disrupting effects, among others (Haque et al, 2020;Schabo et al, 2021).…”