Occurrence of toxigenic fungi and mycotoxins in workplaces and human biomonitoring of mycotoxins in exposed workers: a systematic review

Abstract

Mycotoxins are toxic metabolites naturally produced by some fungi species, which cause severe health effects in humans and animals. Although contaminated foods are major routes of human exposure to mycotoxins, occupational exposure may be significant in certain environments contaminated with toxigenic fungi and mycotoxin. This review provides an overview on the occurrence of toxigenic fungi and mycotoxins in workplaces, including recent data on biomarkers used for human biomonitoring of mycotoxins in exposed workers. Feed mill workers had the greatest occupational exposure to mycotoxins, especially aflatoxins, stressing the need for preventive measures to avoid health risks in agricultural-related workplaces.

Keywords:

• Occupational exposure
• mycotoxins
• human biomonitoring
• working environments
• biomarkers

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest relevant to this study.

Additional information

Funding

The authors thank the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), grant # 2019/00990–7, for the financial support and fellowship.