Abstract

Certain types of fungi make substances, known as 'mycotoxins', that protect them from bacteria and other fungi. If agricultural crops are contaminated by fungi, these substances can end up in foods. The ingestion of mycotoxins by people or animals can be harmful to their health. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) therefore checks whether there are mycotoxins in human foods and animal feeds.

There are many different types of mycotoxins. Dozens of types were assessed earlier to find out whether they form a risk to the public health. However, we do not yet know the foods in which the majority occur, whether they are harmful and, if so, in what quantities. RIVM has therefore drawn up an overview of all the available information on the mycotoxins that may be present in human food and animal feed chains. The organisation has developed a new method for collecting this information and has entered it into a database. The NVWA can use this overview to see, at a glance, what mycotoxins it has to look out for with regard to particular products.

Among other things, the overview contains information about the maximum permitted quantities of mycotoxins in products (maximum limits). The products in which specific mycotoxins occur and the harmful effects they may cause are also included in the overview.

The overview was drawn up using the results of the most recent evaluations carried out by international organisations involved in risk assessments, such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The scientific literature was, furthermore, researched for human and animal food products in which the assessed mycotoxins occur. The mycotoxins that occur in the highest concentrations were listed separately and their effects, where known, were looked up and included in the overview.