AI and Biotechnology to Combat Aflatoxins: Future Directions for Modern Technologies in Reducing Aflatoxin Risk

Although a decades-old problem in food safety, aflatoxin has largely resisted human control methods. This situation could be mitigated using new technologies that could provide better control all along the food supply chain, for crops frequently infected with the causative fungi Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus, which produce aflatoxin. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) and modern biotechnology could offer, and have offered, a suite of potential solutions to reducing both fungal infection and aflatoxin contamination of foods. In this paper, we describe these technologies, as well as means by which they may be utilized to reduce aflatoxin risk along the food supply chain. We discuss how regulatory frameworks worldwide may be restrictive for biotechnologies in certain parts of the world, but are relatively less stringent for AI at present. To the extent that these technologies can be harnessed and deployed safely to combat the problem of aflatoxins, we encourage research and development in these areas to improve the precision, accuracy, and speed by which to deal with this food safety risk.