Clinical Microbiology and Mycotoxins

Co-occurrence and Co-exposure

The advanced ecology of mould growth and plant toxin production will produce mixtures of mycotoxins in foods and feeds, espesially in cereals. The co-occurrence of mycotoxins will have an effect on both the extent of mycotoxin production and the toxicity of the contaminated material Thousands of mycotoxins exist; more than 300 secondary metabolites have been identified while only around 30 have true toxic properties presenting significant food safety challenges. Mycotoxin exposure is almost always accidental whereas with mushrooms improper identification and ingestion causing mushroom poisoning is commonly the case