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M. A. SLAYNE, Natural Toxicants & Surveillance Branch, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food, Ergon House (Rm207), 17 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3JR, United Kingdom

Mycotoxins are natural contaminants of foods with safety implications. Therefore it is in the best interest of consumers that mycotoxins are studied and levels in food controlled to protect human safety.

The UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food (MAFF) has conducted surveys on mycotoxins in food for many years. Results have been regularly considered by expert committees on toxicology and food safety and recommendations made where safety concerns have been identified.

In 1993, following a food scare on patulin in freshly pressed apple juice, a Code of Practice was introduced for industry to reduce patulin levels to below 50mg/kg. For such a relatively localised industry, an effective voluntary Code of Practice can be achievable. However, where contamination affects global industries, it is less easy to introduce improved working practices. In such cases, it can be necessary to introduce regulation, such as for aflatoxins.

Aflatoxins are the most toxic mycotoxins, most notably aflatoxin B₁, a potent carcinogen in laboratory animals and possible genotoxic human carcinogen. In 1992, the UK introduced regulations to protect consumers from aflatoxins. These were superceded by European Commission (EC) regulations, implemented in the UK on 30 June 1999. The new regulations offer broader consumer protection. They set limits for B₁ and total aflatoxins in groundnuts, nuts, dried fruit, cereals and aflatoxin M₁ in milk. Routine monitoring is carried out at UK ports and by local authorities to ensure compliance with these regulations. In addition, the UK carries out regular surveys of raw materials and retail foods. Results are published with brand name information to raise awareness of contamination issues and inform consumer choice.

EC regulations on ochratoxin A (OA) in certain foods are being proposed in response to safety concerns. MAFF has conducted surveys over the past twenty years which have indicated how much UK consumers are exposed to OA in the diet. The resulting information was used to inform discussions on regulatory limits to protect consumers in the UK and European Union (EU). Integration of results from retail and dietary surveys and food consumption data has generated estimates of OA exposure for UK consumers. The main dietary sources of OA for the average UK consumer are cereals (60%) and dried vine fruits (12%). A survey of human exposure to OA in UK whole diets indicated that diets were well within a tolerable level of 5 ng/kg.bw/day recommended by the EC Scientific Committee for Food (SCF). The UK supports regulatory limits for major dietary sources of OA and encourages industry to use voluntary measures to reduce OA in commodities prone to contamination.

Other mycotoxins under increasing scrutiny in the UK and EU include trichothecenes. Where scientific evidence shows that these or any other mycotoxins in food pose unacceptable safety risks action will be taken to reduce levels to protect the consumer.