ABSTRACT
Food safety in the South American continent and its relation to mycotoxins is a quite broad and diversified subject. This continent varies widely in geographical location, climate, soil, types of agricultural commodities, and cultural habits, to name a few. Differences in economics have led to diverse tolerance levels and differences in the
way that individual countries may regulate foods contaminated with mycotoxins. Several of the countries lack regulations or even minimal monitoring programs. Governments and scientists of major grain-producing countries in South America — Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, are Venezuela — are well aware of the problems associated with some mycotoxins and have the most data published in the literature. Less developed South American countries such as Bolivia, French Guyana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, and Suriname lack resources and funding to monitor levels of mycotoxins in foods. What has convinced South American countries to take mycotoxins seriously is the export of commodities and the use of grains by the meat industries to feed their animals. The reason why South America refuses batches of imported grains is not always due to levels of mycotoxin contamination but often is due to the price of the commodity; therefore, food consumed by the South American populace is not always the safest and could have adverse health effects. Most of the published data report aflatoxin (AFL; AFB
, AFB
,
AFG
, and AFG
) contamination in peanuts and corn and their products, but some staple foods, such as black beans and rice, also are monitored in some of the countries, in addition to wheat, coffee, Brazil nuts, and the presence of aflatoxin M
(AFM
) in milk. Animals exposed to AFL-contaminated feed are another important consideration, as some South American countries have high levels of AFL residues in meat liver and milk products. It is important to emphasize that, due to their high grain production and export, some South American countries have implemented control measures to reduce the levels of AFLs. By implementing training programs, good harvesting practices, and grain-drying procedures, as well as emphasizing the adverse effects on public health, levels of AFLs and toxigenic fungi have decreased quite considerably in recent years.
