MYCOTOXIN REGULATIONS - AN UPDATE

Within the European Union (EU), there is an urgent need for harmonizat ion of authorized mycotoxin maximum levels in food to efficiently prot ect consumers while avoiding unjustified penalization of producers. In this contribution, an attempt is made to present the current state of the discussions on maximum tolerated levels for aflatoxins, ochratoxi n A and patulin in food, and to point out the need for validation and harmonization of statistical tools for sampling plans and analytical m ethods used to detect these mycotoxins.