Early warning technologies for mycotoxins in grains and oilseeds: A review

Grains and oilseeds are essential basic foods in human life. However, some of these products are susceptible to contamination by mycotoxins, posing significant threats to economic development and human health. Early warning technologies can help detect potential toxin contamination in agricultural products, enabling timely prevention and control measures to ensure their safety. This article provides a comprehensive review of early warning monitoring technologies for mycotoxins at various stages of fungal contamination. It includes monitoring the fungal bioburden (physicochemical approaches), fungal life activities, biomarkers related to mold toxicity production, toxin content, and risk warning systems. The working principles and applications of these technologies are summarized, and factors affecting their effectiveness and limitations are discussed. This review thoroughly categorizes early warning technologies for mycotoxin contamination risk in grains and oilseeds, along with their corresponding detection indicators. The effectiveness of various detection methods in identifying toxin contamination risks early is evaluated, and the challenges and future research directions for each method are analyzed. To improve the timeliness of practical application of warning technologies, the development trend of early warning should focus on detecting risk indicators before toxin production.