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What are mycotoxins?

Mycotoxins are toxic (harmful) substances produced by certain moulds (filamentous fungi). Scientists first became aware of them in the early 1960s with the outbreak of turkey X disease in England. About 100.000 turkeys were killed because peanut meal in their feed was heavily contaminated with Aspergillus flavus , a mould producing mycotoxins.
Other moulds that produce mycotoxins include Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium .
Different moulds produce different mycotoxins. More than 400 mycotoxins have now been identified and their number continues to grow.