Adsorption techniques for mycotoxin mitigation in food: a review

Mycotoxins are fungal secondary metabolites that are often detected in food. This food contamination may pose health risks and harm humans and animals. Therefore, the applicability of methods to eliminate or mitigate contaminants in these matrices has been increasingly investigated worldwide. This paper reviews adsorption as mycotoxin mitigation technology. Adsorption outperforms chemical and biological methods due to its simple design and high removal rates. In addition, applying other mitigation methods may compromise the food's quality, especially when strong solvents or high temperatures are used. This review proves that adsorption is a surface phenomenon involving mass transfer of the adsorbate to the adsorbent and does not interfere with product quality. Besides that, depending on the adsorbent agent, it may have a low impact on the environment, economic advantages, and the possibility of reusing the agent after eliminating or mitigating mycotoxins efficiently. Thus, this review aims to compile information found in the literature on the applicability and efficacy of adsorbents to reduce mycotoxins in many different food matrices.