Mycotoxins in food and feed: Extraction, analysis and emerging technologies for rapid and on-field detection

Mycotoxins are toxic compounds produced by various moulds, which can affect a variety of crops. Due to their high toxicity and wide diffusion, mycotoxins constitute a severe risk for human health, therefore maximum tolerance levels in food and feed products have been set up all over the world and analytical controls are mandatory for many commodities. Despite validated analytical methods for assessing mycotoxin contamination already existing, a number of papers describing new methods of extraction, identification or measurement appear daily in literature. Nevertheless, the extraction and determination of such contaminants in food and feed is a topic of constant and increasing interest, as also attested by the number of related patents which have been applied for in the last few years. Scientific papers dealing with mycotoxin occurrence, potential risk and determination have recently been reviewed. Nevertheless, the objective of this review is to focus on patent activity rather than on the scientific breakthroughs on this subject. Therefore, the most recent patents regarding the whole analytical protocol to measure mycotoxins in food, starting from 2006 to date are presented and discussed. The possibility of a technology transfer for the various innovations presented is also discussed as are future developments in the field.