Advancing Mycotoxin Management ensuring Food Security and Safety for One Health

Fungal secondary metabolites and mycotoxins are major challenges for food safety, public health, livestock productivity, environmental sustainability, and economic development across Africa. Toxigenic fungi contaminate staple crops, food products, and animal feed, generating interconnected risks for humans, animals, and ecosystems. Climate variability, changing agricultural practices, inadequate storage, limited laboratory capacity, and expanding food and feed markets may further influence fungal growth, metabolite production, and exposure patterns. Although research has advanced understanding of fungal ecology, contamination pathways, toxicological effects, and population exposure, important questions remain regarding cumulative and combined exposures, vulnerable groups, regional variation, and the effects of climate change on mycotoxin occurrence. Recent developments in rapid and multi-mycotoxin analysis, predictive modelling, biological and chemical detoxification, digital surveillance, and artificial intelligence offer new opportunities for prevention and control. However, these approaches are not yet consistently validated, affordable, or accessible across African production systems. In alignment with the Fungal Secondary Metabolites and Mycotoxins section of Frontiers in Fungal Biology and the priorities of the 4th African Symposium of Mycotoxicology, further research is needed to connect scientific evidence with practical interventions, effective regulation, producer and consumer practices, and measurable improvements in health and livelihoods.This Research Topic aims to advance an integrated understanding of fungal secondary metabolites and mycotoxin risks in Africa and to promote practical, evidence-based approaches for their management. It will examine how One Health frameworks, climate-informed risk assessment, improved detection, fungal and metabolite biology, detoxification technologies, artificial intelligence, policy, and socioeconomic analysis can be combined to reduce contamination and exposure. It will assess the effectiveness, scalability, affordability, and adoption of interventions across diverse African contexts, while identifying knowledge gaps and supporting harmonised surveillance, regulatory, and risk-communication approaches. It seeks to foster collaboration among researchers, policymakers, industry, farmers, public-health professionals, laboratory specialists, and communities, and to facilitate the exchange of evidence and innovations associated with the 4th African Symposium of Mycotoxicology.Contributions may investigate the occurrence, toxicity, mechanisms of action, exposure pathways, and health effects of mycotoxins and other biologically relevant fungal secondary metabolites. To gather further insights into fungal secondary metabolites, mycotoxin exposure, and control across African food and feed systems, We welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:o Occurrence, diversity, biosynthesis, and toxicological significance of fungal secondary metabolites and mycotoxinso Mycotoxin exposure, health effects, co-exposure, vulnerable populations, and One Health risk assessmento Climate change, environmental drivers, fungal ecology, and prediction of mycotoxin contaminationo Interactions between fungal pathogens, crops, hosts, microbiomes, and agroecosystemso Advances in mycotoxin analysis, including rapid, field-based, portable, and multi-mycotoxin detection methodso Sampling strategies, surveillance systems, data quality, laboratory capacity, and reference materials for food and feed testingo Biological, chemical, physical, microbial, and other detoxification or decontamination strategieso Pre-harvest and post-harvest prevention, improved storage, processing, and value-chain interventionso Efficacy, safety, affordability, scalability, and adoption of mycotoxin mitigation technologieso Artificial intelligence, machine learning, remote sensing, predictive modelling, and digital tools for risk managemento Socioeconomic consequences for farmers, value-chain actors, consumers, livestock producers, and public-health systemso Policy, standards, governance, regulatory harmonisation, enforcement, and trade implicationso Community engagement, risk communication, behavioural interventions, indigenous knowledge, and food-system resilienceo Capacity building, multidisciplinary collaboration, and research priorities emerging from the 4th African Symposium of Mycotoxicology Topic editors: Sheila Okoth, Katherine Munoz, Belinda Janse Van Rensburg Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84580/advancing-mycotoxin-management-ensuring-food-security-and-safety-for-one-health