Mycotoxins are produced worldwide by several fungi on a wide range of agricultural commodities and are closely related to human and animal food chains. Examining mycotoxins and their impact from a public health viewpoint, this book provides an overview and introduction to the subject and examines the health, trade and legislation issues involved. Management of mycotoxins is discussed in detail as well as the global problems caused by mycotoxins.

"Mycotoxins are poisonous chemical compounds produced by certain fungi. There are many such compounds, but only a few of them are regularly found in food and animal feedstuffs. Nevertheless, those that do occur in food and feed have great significance in the health of humans and livestock. The effects of some mycotoxins are acute, with symptoms of severe illness appearing very quickly. Other mycotoxins have longer term chronic or cumulative effects on health, including the induction of cancers and immune deficiency. Information about mycotoxins is far from complete, but enough is known to identify them as a serious problem in many parts of the world, causing significant economic losses in addition to their negative health effects. 'The mycotoxin factbook' is aimed at the latest developments to combat the mycotoxin problem. The book contains the peer-reviewed papers of the third conference of the World Mycotoxin Forum. The various chapters focus on mycotoxin food and feed risks in the context of human nutrition and animal feeding. Topics dealt with in 'The mycotoxin factbook' are: - Regulatory issues, international developments and the impact on worldtrade - The latest information on major mycotoxins and emerging problems in the food chain - The impact of mycotoxins in the feed chain - New developments in mycotoxin prevention - Trends in mycotoxin analysis 'The mycotoxin factbook' is a valuable resource for researchers and professionals from the food and feed industry as well as from the scientific community. This book is an ideal supplement to 'Meeting the mycotoxin menace' as published in 2004."