Are Data from Mycotoxins’ Urinary Biomarkers and Food Surveys Linked? A Review Underneath Risk Assessment

ABSTRACT

Mycotoxins are natural chemical contaminants of foods, posing several health risks to humans. Biomarkers-driven research has been used as a tool for a more accurate characterization of the internal exposure. Whether certain food items are predictors of exposure to mycotoxins constitutes an important aspect for the risk assessment of mycotoxins. Comprehensive human biomonitoring studies linked with food surveys and health studies are of utmost importance, contributing to identify the determinants of exposure. Associations between mycotoxins’ urinary biomarkers and consumption of some food items were reported. This review is focused on the link between mycotoxins’ urinary biomarkers and food consumption.

KEYWORDS:

• Mycotoxins
• Human biomonitoring
• Urinary biomarkers
• Exposure assessment
• Food consumption

Acknowledgments

This research was performed under Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (UID/AMB/50017/2013), through national funds, and the co-funding by the FEDER (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-00763), within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and Compete 2020. Project funded by FCT/MCTES through national funds (PTDC/MED-TOX/28762/2017).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies [POCI-01-0145-FEDER-00763,UID/AMB/50017/2013];Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [PTDC/MED-TOX/28762/2017].