Mycotoxins Quantification in the Food System: Is there Any Contribution from Electrochemical Biosensors?

Mycotoxins are organic compounds produced by fungi as secondary metabolites. The presence of mycotoxins in foods and feed not only affects economy but also represents a health hazard for humans and animals and constitutes a risk for international trade. Thus, adverse effects of mycotoxins have been described. Food and feed storage under high temperatures and moisture levels favors the growth of filamentous fungi responsible for the production of mycotoxins. Agricultural products, particularly a wide variety of grains in both, the field and during storage, are the main source of mycotoxin production in the food chain. Contact to mycotoxins can produce acute and chronic effects which span from death to serious injurious effects on central nervous, pulmonary, and cardiovascular systems. Mycotoxins attracted worldwide interest during last year’s because of the important economic losses related to their impact on human health, animal production and both domestic and international commerce [1].