Fusarium Molds and Their Mycotoxins

An overview is presented covering the occurrence of Fusarium species in raw food and feed materials and the mycotoxins produced by these molds. A study of the literature (reported from 1969 until now) revealed the occurrence of over 60 Fusarium species in these raw materials. It appears that the most reported species occur worldwide and in a large variety of raw food products, such as cereals, vegetables and fruits. These Fusarium species occurring in samples are producers of toxigenic secondary metabolites of which more than 100 have been described. Most of them are referred to as mycotoxins of which trichothecencs (e.g., deoxynivalenol, nivalenol, T‐2 toxin, diacetoxyscirpenol), fumonisins and zearalenones are most frequently reported.