Hazard Characterization: Re-evaluating Global Safety Limits for Significant Mycotoxins

Understanding the actual health risk of mycotoxins requires more than simply measuring their presence in grain; it demands a precise characterization of the hazards they pose at realistic exposure levels. A comprehensive review by authors František Malíř, Darina Picková, Jakub Toman, Yann Grosse, and Vladimír Ostrý, published in Mycotoxin Research (DOI: 10.1007/s12550-023-00478-2), updates the current status of hazard characterization for major mycotoxins, specifically focusing on the regulatory frameworks within the European Union and the scientific methodologies used by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

For producers and industry professionals, the practical value of this research lies in its clarification of how safety thresholds like the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) and the Margin of Exposure (MOE) are established. These metrics are not arbitrary but are derived from rigorous toxicological studies that account for both acute and chronic effects. The study highlights that mycotoxins such as aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, and various Fusarium toxins (deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, and fumonisins) remain the most significant threats to the food and feed supply chain due to their high prevalence and stability against standard processing techniques. For the producer, this reinforces the necessity of pre-harvest management and strict storage controls, as current industrial decontamination methods often fail to eliminate these stable metabolites once they have formed.

From an academic and technical perspective, the most compelling debate point raised is the shift toward the "Margin of Exposure" approach for mycotoxins with genotoxic or carcinogenic properties. This method moves away from traditional "safe" thresholds to a risk-ranking system that prioritizes hazards based on the severity of the threat at low exposure levels. The review critically examines how animal study data is extrapolated to humans, a process that continues to be a central topic of debate regarding safety factors and the biological relevance of different animal models. Furthermore, the reality of co-occurrence—where multiple mycotoxins are present in a single sample—poses a significant challenge to current regulations, which largely treat toxins in isolation rather than considering their synergistic or additive toxic effects.