ISSUE FOCUS FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE May 2025 35 MANAGING THE HEALTH RISKS OF EMERGING MYCOTOXINS Josep Garcia-Sirera Category Specialist Toxin Binders Agrimprove "In recent years, advances in analytical techniques and food safety monitoring have led to a growing body of research focused on emerging mycotoxins (EMs)—a group of lesser-known fungal metabolites. These EMs can negatively affect animal health and performance, even at low concentrations, especially when co-occurring. There is an urgent need for cumulative risk assessments and effective mitigation strategies to manage the health risks associated with simultaneous exposure to multiple mycotoxins." Fumonisins (FUMs), deoxynivalenol (DON), aflatoxins (AFs), zearalenone (ZEN), T-2/ HT-2 toxins, and ochratoxins (OTs) remain the most significant mycotoxins from a food and feed safety perspective. This is largely due to their widespread presence in agricultural products, their well-documented toxic effects on both human and animal health, and their strict regulation across many regions of the world. In recent years, advances in analytical techniques and food safety monitoring have led to a growing body of research focused on emerging mycotoxins (EMs)—a group of lesser-known fungal metabolites. The term ‘emerging mycotoxins’ was first introduced in 2008 to describe compounds such as fusaproliferin (FP), beauvericin (BEA), enniatins (ENNs), and moniliformin (MON), all produced by Fusarium species. Today, EMs are broadly defined as mycotoxins that are not routinely tested for or regulated, yet they are increasingly detected in food and feed samples. Although once considered of minor importance, EMs are now being found in high concentrations and at notable frequencies in cereals, cereal-based products, fruits, animal feed, and both processed and raw foods. Their frequent co-occurrence with regulated mycotoxins has raised growing concerns regarding their potential health risks and the need for broader surveillance and risk assessment. PREVALENCE OF EMERGING MYCOTOXINS The emerging mycotoxins most frequently detected worldwide include: fusaric acid (FUS), enniatins (ENNs), culmorin, apicidin, butenolide, fusaproliferin, alternaria toxins, aurofusarin, emodin, nivalenol (NIV), beauvericin (BEA), diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS), patulin (PAT), moniliformin (MON), and sterigmatocystin (STG). These EMs are generally not regulated, nor are they routinely included in mycotoxin monitoring programs. Nevertheless, large-scale surveys show that
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