Natural occurrence, analysis, and prevention of mycotoxins in fruits and their processed products.

Mycotoxins are small toxic chemical products formed as the secondary metabolites by fungi that readily contaminate foods with toxins in the field or after harvest. The presence of mycotoxins, such as aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, and patulin, in fruits and their processed products is of high concern for human health due to their properties to induce severe acute and chronic toxicity at low-dose levels. Currently, a broad range of detection techniques used for practical analysis and detection of a wide spectrum of mycotoxins are available. Many analytical methods have been developed for the determination of each group of these mycotoxins in different food matrices, but new methods are still required to achieve higher sensitivity and address other challenges that are posed by these mycotoxins. Effective technologies are needed to reduce or even eliminate the presence of the mycotoxins in fruits and their processed products. Preventive measures aimed at the inhibition of mycotoxin formation in fruits and their processed products are the most effective approach. Detoxification of mycotoxins by different physical, chemical, and biological methods are less effective and sometimes restricted because of concerns of safety, possible losses in nutritional quality of the treated commodities and cost implications. This article reviewed the available information on the major mycotoxins found in foods and feeds, with an emphasis of fruits and their processed products, and the analytical methods used for their determination. Based on the current knowledge, the major strategies to prevent or even eliminate the presence of the mycotoxins in fruits and their processed products were proposed.