MICROBIOLOGICAL SAFETY OF FOODSTUFFS: RISKS OF POISONING BY MOLD FUNGI TOXINS

Abstract

Today, worldwide, much attention is paid to food safety and quality. Consumption of food of plant and animal origin contaminated with mold fungi is a threat to human health and can cause serious illnesses. Despite the fact that in recent years the knowledge in the field of studying the mycotoxins of mold fungi both in Ukraine and around the world has expanded significantly, the problem of their more detailed study remains relevant. The aim of the article was to study the particular characteristics and properties of individual mold fungi of different genera, which affect most types of agricultural products, food products of plant and animal origin and are a threat to human health because they can cause serious diseases. Permissible levels of mycotoxins of mold fungi in food products are revealed, which determine their safety for consumption. It has been found that the same species of mold fungi can produce several types of mycotoxins and several fungi can produce the same mycotoxin. The activeness of mycotoxins in different strains of the same species of mold may differ, and the toxic component, which is manifested in the inhibition of nucleic acids and protein compounds synthesis, may be acutely toxic, weakly toxic or even non-toxic. The problem of mycotoxins is becoming increasingly important in Ukraine and in the world, because their contamination of food products is growing and is a serious threat to human safety. It is concluded that the efforts of scientists should be aimed at finding effective ways to process food in order to destroy their mycotoxins, because with modern technology it is possible only to partially reduce their number.