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Occurrence and significance of mycotoxins in foods and feeds
Mycotoxicoses in humans or animals are characterized as food or feed related, non-contagious, non-transferable, non-infectious, and non-traceable to microorganisms other than fungi. Clinical symptoms usually subside upon removal of contaminated food or feed. A wide range of commodities can be contaminated with mycotoxins both pre- and post-harvest (CAST, 2003). Aflatoxins (AFTs) are found in maize and peanuts, as well as in tree nuts and dried fruits. OTA is found mainly in cereals, but significant levels of contamination may also occur in wine, coffee, spices and dried fruits. Other products of concern are beans, roasted coffee and cocoa, malt and beer, bread and bakery products, wines and grape juices, spices, poultry meat and kidneys, pig kidneys and pork sausages (Milicevic et al., 2008).

Aflatoxin B1 is the most potent natural carcinogen known and is usually the major aflatoxin produced by toxigenic strains (Squire, 1981).

Aflatoxin is associated with both toxicity and carcinogenicity in human and animal populations. The diseases caused by aflatoxin consumption are loosely called aflatoxicoses. Acute aflatoxicosis results in death; chronic aflatoxicosis results in cancer, immune suppression, and other “slow” pathological conditions. The liver is the primary target organ, with liver damage occurring when poultry, fish, rodents, and nonhuman primates are fed aflatoxin B1.

Finally, it should be mentioned that Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus sojae, species that are widely used in Asian food fermentations such as soy sauce, miso, and sake, are closely related to the aflatoxigenic species A. flavus and A. parasiticus. Although these food fungi have never been shown to produce aflatoxin, they contain homologues of several aflatoxin biosynthesis pathway genes. Deletions and other genetic defects have led to silencing of the aflatoxin pathway in both A. oryzae and A. sojae ( Takahashi et al., 2002).