ABSTRACT
Mycotoxin contamination threatens the safety of food systems globally. Developed countries have instituted monitoring mechanisms that, while costly, largely protect consumers from mycotoxins’ deleterious health outcomes. Low- and middle- income countries, especially those in the global south, lack resources to comprehensively regulate mycotoxins, and outbreaks of prominent mycotoxins (e.g. aflatoxin, fumonisin, and deoxynivalenol) have been documented. Low-input and rain-fed agriculture in smallholder farming systems is susceptible to mycotoxin contamination, and these systems continue to contribute significantly to both formal and informal markets. Despite these challenges, growing awareness of mycotoxins and novel monitoring and detection technologies offer hope for mycotoxin surveillance in low-resource settings.
This chapter explores the state of mycotoxin surveillance in these areas and proposes an adaptable mycotoxin surveillance framework that accommodates smallholder farming systems and informal markets. This framework aims to incorporate interdisciplinary streams of information to model mycotoxin risk regionally. These predictions would discriminate between areas at risk of multiple years of chronic mycotoxin exposure versus those at acute risk of a mycotoxin outbreak. Responses would be adjusted accordingly and would include significant community leadership. Ultimately, this framework could help guide national and regional food safety efforts to sustainably monitor and mitigate mycotoxins.
