MYCOTOXINS IN THE ETIOLOGY OF HUMAN-DISEASE

Approximatively 25% of all food commidities are contaminated by mycotoxins as food spoilage by toxinogenic moulds can be observed on a broad variety of food commodities at different stages of production, processing and storage. Sufficient evidence for a causal relationship between mycotoxins and human cancers has been demonstrated only for certain mycotoxins, as of yet. The pleiora of more than 300 different mycotoxins and the broad spectrum of toxicological effects which might be attributed to mycotoxin exposure may be regarded as potential risk factor to human health.