Preface

Foodborne illnesses are a worldwide issue. Many different mycotoxins have been identified, but the most commonly observed include aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, patulin, fumonisins, zearalenone, and nivalenol/deoxynivalenol. Mycotoxins can cause several adverse health effects in living organisms including immunodeficiency and cancer. This book provides information about foodborne mycotoxins, their toxicities, new determination methods, prevention strategies, and regulations. It also describes different food safety strategies, risk assessment, and recent detection techniques such as biosensors and nanoparticles.

Food safety is increasingly viewed as an essential global public health issue. Many countries have collaborated with the World Health Organization (WHO) in order to improve their food safety systems and have updated their national legislation. The WHO encourages national authorities to evaluate accurately the levels of mycotoxins in foodstuff on their market and comply with both national and international maximum levels, conditions, and legislation. Governments play critical roles in protecting the food supply. However, many countries do not have sufficient equipment to respond to existing and emerging food safety problems. In addition, there is limited information available to fully evaluate food safety problems and issues. In this respect, national experiences and knowledge have to be shared.

> **Dr. Suna Sabuncuoglu** Associate Professor, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Toxicology, Hacettepe University, Sıhhiye, Ankara, Turkey

**1**

**Chapter 1**

and Food Safety

food-borne disease outbreak [1, 2].

field or during storage [6, 7].

international trade [7].

dence for transparent decision-making [3].

nate food raw materials and enter the food chain [4].

*Suna Sabuncuoğlu*

**1. Introduction**

Introductory Chapter: Mycotoxins

Food-borne illnesses are prevalent in all parts of the world, and the toll in terms of human life and suffering is enormous. Contaminated food contributes to 1.5 billion cases of diarrhea in children each year, resulting in more than 3 million premature deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Food safety is used as a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent food-borne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a similar illnesses resulting from the ingestion of a common food is known as a

Food safety issues can have very different political implications. Understanding the potential for the application of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis processes in countries with challenges on data availability, limited processes for stakeholder input to decision-making, and so on, is an important foundation for the development of FAO guidance for food safety decision-making using best available evi-

Recent research has increased the awareness of chemical residues and natural contaminants in food. At the same time, consumer concerns about food safety have also grown. At a national and international level, this has resulted in more stringent imposition of new, legislative limits for a range of mycotoxins which can contami-

Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxins produced by microfungi that are capable of causing disease and death in living organisms. The fungi grow on a variety of different foodstuffs including cereals, nuts, spices, dried fruits, apples and coffee beans, often under warm and humid conditions [5, 6]. It is generally known that cereals, peanuts, spices, coffee, and herbal teas can be contaminated with mycotoxins. Various cereal and crops have potential fungal attack either in the

The adverse effect of molds and fungi was known already in ancient times. In the Middle Ages, outbreaks of ergotism caused by ergot alkaloids from *Claviceps purpurea* reached epidemic proportions, mutilating and killing many people in Europe. Some mycotoxicoses have disappeared due to more rigorous hygiene measures such as citreoviridin-related malignant acute cardiac beriberi and alimentary toxic aleukia. General interest in mycotoxins increased in 1960 when a feed-related mycotoxicosis called turkey X disease, which was caused by aflatoxins, appeared in farm animals in England. Subsequently, it was found that aflatoxins are hepatocarcinogens in animals and humans, and this stimulated research on mycotoxins.

Mycotoxins have attracted worldwide attention because these have been recognized as a major economic problem due to the significant economic losses associated with their impact on human health, animal productivity, and domestic and
