PLPA 200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Mycotoxin, Peanut Butter, Vomitoxin
4 Apr 2016
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Document Summary
The major issue for this week is mycotoxins. So far you have learned that plant pathogens can affect our food supply by lowering crop yields or reducing food quality. In some cases, however, plant pathogens can directly affect humans through the chemicals they produce. Chemicals produced by fungi that are harmful to humans and other animals are called mycotoxins. Mycotoxins can be present in our food without us knowing it because many of them are colorless, odorless and tasteless, yet the presence of these substances can make those who consume them very ill. Mycotoxins can get into the food that we eat when fungal pathogens colonize the plants while they are growing in the eld, or colonization can begin in storage, after the crop has been harvested. Over 300 different mycotoxins have been identi ed, and they are most commonly found in grains, nuts, and other types of seed crops.
