Industrial and farm detoxification processes for mycotoxins

Treatments that destroy or inactivate mycotoxins, and the effects of food and feed processing on mycotoxin concentrations and distribution are selectively reviewed. Requirements for technologically and economically feasible decontamination processes are outlined. Physical and chemical methods for decontamination of commodities containing mycotoxins that are used in practice (out of numerous experimentally successful procedures) include segregation and sorting of aflatoxin-containing peanuts; addition of adsorbents (sequestrants) to animal feed; and ammoniation of peanut meal, cottonseed, cottonseed meal and corn. Although some normal food and feed processing operations such as heat treatments can partly destroy certain mycotoxins, it is important to note that other processes can cause increases in mycotoxin concentrations in products such as malted barley, bran, corn germ, and spent grains from fermentation.