Distribution of <i>Aspergillus</i> Fungi and Recent Aflatoxin Reports, Health Risks, and Advances in Developments of Biological Mitigation Strategies in China

Abstract

Aflatoxins (AFs) are secondary metabolites that represent serious threats to human and animal health. They are mainly produced by strains of the saprophytic fungus Aspergillus flavus, which are abundantly distributed across agricultural commodities. AF contamination is receiving increasing attention by researchers, food producers, and policy makers in China, and several interesting review papers have been published, that mainly focused on occurrences of AFs in agricultural commodities in China. The goal of this review is to provide a wider scale and up-to-date overview of AF occurrences in different agricultural products and of the distribution of A. flavus across different food and feed categories and in Chinese traditional herbal medicines in China, for the period 2000–2020. We also highlight the health impacts of chronic dietary AF exposure, the recent advances in biological AF mitigation strategies in China, and recent Chinese AF standards.

Keywords

• aflatoxins
• <i>Aspergillus flavus</i>
• occurrence
• atoxigenic strains
• biocontrol
• China