Emerging mycotoxins in the food chain: Occurrence, biosynthesis, toxicity, detection, and innovative control measures

Emerging mycotoxins, including sterigmatocystin, fusaproliferin, beauvericin, enniatins and moniliformin pose a significant risk to food safety due to their increasing prevalence, varying toxicities in animal and human, and lack of regulatory control in food and feed. Unfortunately, there are critical gaps in knowledge regarding their biosynthesis, toxicity, detection, and effective control strategies. This review provides an in-dept analysis of the selected emerging mycotoxins throughout the food chain, highlighting their widespread occurrence in various agricultural products. The toxicological effects of these mycotoxins on humans and animals are comprehensively examined. Furthermore, the review highlights advanced detection methods such as mass spectrometry and molecular biosensors in identifying these toxins in agricultural products. Finally, current and innovative control strategies like nanotechnology and enzyme-based detoxification are discussed. This review emphasizes the urgent need for continued research on emerging mycotoxins to develop effective control strategies aimed at protecting public health and ensuring global food safety. • Emerging mycotoxins are increasingly detected in food and feed, yet remain poorly regulated and insufficiently studied. • review comprehensively discusses the occurrence of emerging mycotoxins such as STC, FUS, BEA, ENNs, and MON in food and feed. • It highlights current knowledge on their biosynthesis, detection methods, and toxicological effects in humans and animals. • mitigation strategies, including nanotechnology and enzyme-based detoxification, are explored for improving food safety.