Occurrence of Aflatoxins in Fermented Food Products

Aflatoxins are very toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi. Fermented foods are considered major sources of aflatoxin contamination. Consumption of fermented food contaminated with high amounts of aflatoxins often results in serious health complications. Chronic exposure to aflatoxins from fermented foods affects 4.5 billion persons living in developing countries. Most traditional fermented foods worldwide are produced at varying scales, and food safety risk management and risk assessment are conducted primarily by governments. From a food processing point of view, major risk factors include contaminated raw materials, lack of pasteurization, and poorly controlled natural fermentation. Prior risk assessment has established safety regulations and standards for traditional fermented foods. This chapter presents an overview of major aflatoxins as well as current methods used to control aflatoxin contamination in fermented foods.