Worldwide regulations for mycotoxins in 1994

Abstract

Since the discovery of the aflatoxins in the 1960s, regulations have been established in many countries to protect the consumer from harmful effects of mycotoxins that may contaminate foodstuffs. Various factors play a role in the decision-making process of setting limits for mycotoxins. These include scientific factors such as availability of survey data, toxicological data, analytical methodology, and knowledge about the distribution of mycotoxins in contaminated commodities. Economical and political factors such as commercial interests and sufficiency of food supply have their impact as well. International enquiries on existing mycotoxin regulation in foodstuffs and animal feedstuffs have been carried out several times in the 1980s and details about tolerances, legal bases, responsible authorities, official protocols of analysis and sampling have been published. The most recent enquiry is currently taking place as part of a contract with the Food and Agriculture Organization. At least 77 countries now have regulations for mycotoxins. An overview is presented of the tentative results of this enquiry, including frequency distributions of existing tolerances for aflatoxins and current trends.

Analytical methods for determination of mycotoxins: A review

“…International enquiries on existing mycotoxin legislation in foodstuffs and animal feeding stuffs have been carried out several times in the 1980s and 1990s and details on tolerances, legal bases, responsible authorities, official protocols of analysis and sampling have been published. From this update it appears that at least 77 countries now have specific regulations for mycotoxins, 13 countries are known to have no specific regulations, whereas no data are available for about 50 countries, many of them in Africa [37][38][39][40]. These regulations however require accurate and suitable methods of detection and quantification.…”

Fumonisins in Maize: Can We Reduce Their Occurrence?

“…More than 70 countries are known to regulate mycotoxins in human foods and animal feeds (58). Regulated mycotoxins include aflatoxins in maize, peanuts, cottonseed, and milk; deoxynivalenol and other trichothecines in maize and wheat; ochratoxins in grains; patulin in apple juice; and FB 1 in maize.…”

Description of a Distinctive Aflatoxin-Producing Strain of Aspergillus nomius that Produces Submerged Sclerotia

“…Aflatoxins are the mycotoxins most widely regulated by governments with the tolerances set extremely low [31]. Among the species of fungi in Aspergillus section Flavi that produce these potent carcinogens, Aspergillus flavus Link and A. parasiticus Speare are typically the most common, while A. nomius Kurtzman et al is only occasionally detected.…”