Importance of Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium Genera and Contamination Control Strategies

Contamination of plant substrates with micromycetes from the genera Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium is favored by the existence of optimal environmental conditions for their development, with negative consequences on production, animal health and food safety. The development of micromycetes causes a great loss of nutritional value and the production of extremely toxic metabolites - mycotoxins. The situation is very complicated when it is found that there are a multitude of secondary fungal metabolites. There is a problem with global food and feed safety, so we live with a certain degree of risk. Although the research effort has been immense in trying to delineate several aspects of mycromicetes and mycotoxin contamination, many questions remain unanswered. It is essential to carry out several investigative studies on this scourge for consumer safety, therefore the role of each manufacturer, control bodies and regulators should be paramount in the current mycological and mycotoxin situation, in order to obtain favorable results to facilitate the improvement of the quality control system of plant substrates, food and this desideratum can be achieved only through certain control strategies to prevent contamination.