Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of moulds that have adverse effects on humans, animals, and crops that result in illnesses and economic losses. Aflatoxins, ochratoxins, trichothecenes, zearelenone, fumonisins are the mycotoxins of greatest agro-economic importance. Mycotoxins are produced by several fungi mainly belonging to the genera: Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium and Alternaria. Some moulds are capable of producing more than one mycotoxin and some mycotoxins are produced by more than one fungal species. Factors affecting the magnitude of toxicity in humans or animals consuming mycotoxin-contaminated foods or feeds respectively, include species, mechanisms/modes of action, metabolism, and defense mechanisms. Because of the effects of mycotoxins, a number of strategies have been developed to help prevent the growth of mycotoxigenic fungi as well as to decontaminate and detoxify mycotoxin contaminated foods and animal feeds: the prevention of mycotoxin contamination, detoxification of mycotoxins present in food and feed, inhibition of mycotoxin absorbtion in the gastrointestinal tract.

Various physical and chemical strategies have been developed, including physical separation, extraction with sorbents, and absorption. The effectiveness of a method in the detoxification of mycotoxins depends on the nature of the food, environmental conditions such as moisture content, temperature, the type of mycotoxin, and the extent of binding between mycotoxin and constituents.