ABSTRACT
Mycotoxins are metabolites produced by molds that may be found in food and feed of plant and animal origin. Because of their toxicity, mycotoxins constitute a severe risk for human and animal health. Maximum admissible levels of mycotoxins are regulated worldwide and monitoring of their occurrence in several commodities is mandatory. Screening methods for routinely controls and traceability of mycotoxins contamination are based mainly on immunochemical-based techniques. Nevertheless, assessment of mycotoxin exposure made possible by the increased sensitivity and selectivity of modern mass spectrometry instrumentation, like gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) or liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). Chromatographic-based techniques provide sensitive, accurate and selective determination of known mycotoxins, and reveal new mycotoxins and new molecules derivated from the “native” mycotoxins called “modified mycotoxin” that becomes a new challenge.
