Mycotoxins in cereals and animal feed: EU legislation and the climate risk

What are mycotoxins and why are they a risk?

Mycotoxins are toxic substances naturally produced by fungi of the genera Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium and Claviceps. They are formed as metabolites on cereals and crops, both in the field and during storage, and are among the most common contaminants in the food and feed chain worldwide.

The main groups

The main mycotoxins are aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone, fumonisins, T-2 and HT-2 toxins, patulin and ergot alkaloids. They occur mainly in maize, wheat and barley, but also in other cereals, nuts and dried fruit.

Why mycotoxins are a difficult risk

• Heat-resistant: they do not disappear through cooking, baking or other processing.
• Invisible: they are odourless and tasteless, so contamination cannot be detected without analysis.
• Harmful to health: effects vary per mycotoxin, but can be immunotoxic, carcinogenic or endocrine-disrupting (such as zearalenone, which can have oestrogenic effects) and can affect kidney or liver function (ochratoxin A, aflatoxins).
• Vulnerable groups: young children and pregnant women are considered particularly vulnerable.

A biomonitoring study within the European HBM4EU project found that about 14% of the adult European population is exposed to DON levels that may harm health.

EU legislation: from Regulation 1881/2006 to 2023/915 and recent tightening

Maximum levels in food

Maximum levels for mycotoxins in food were laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 from 2006. Since 25 May 2023, it has been replaced by Regulation (EU) 2023/915, which, in addition to a general prohibition on detoxification, contains the maximum levels for aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, DON, zearalenone, fumonisins and patulin. This basic regulation is regularly amended:

• Regulation (EU) 2024/1022 lowered the maximum levels for DON from 1 July 2024 for, among others, unprocessed cereals, milling products and pasta, and introduced new limits for, among others, maize for popcorn.
• Regulation (EU) 2024/1038, based on EFSA advice, introduced legal maximum levels for the sum of T-2 and HT-2 toxin in unprocessed cereals, cereal products and bakery products for the first time from 1 July 2024. Previously, only indicative levels applied via Recommendation 2013/165/EU.

Animal feed, sampling and analysis

• For animal feed, separate non-binding guidance values apply via Recommendation 2006/576/EC.
• Sampling and analysis must follow fixed protocols: Regulation (EC) No 401/2006 for food and Regulation (EC) No 152/2009 for feed.
• In Belgium, the FASFC maintains its own analysis programme and action limits for mycotoxins in food and feed, which are updated regularly.

Our article on the new Royal Decree on sampling and analyses looks in more detail at how these sampling and analysis rules are applied in practice.

Climate change increases the mycotoxin risk in European-grown cereals

What the EEA briefing expects

A March 2025 briefing by the European Environment Agency (EEA) on mycotoxin exposure in a changing European climate states that climate change is altering the behaviour and spread of fungi, which may increase exposure to mycotoxins. Since the 1980s, Europe has been warming about twice as fast as the global average. The expected developments according to the briefing:

• At +2°C: modelling by Battilani et al. (2012) predicts that aflatoxin contamination of maize will increase further, especially in Southern Europe (Spain, Italy, the Balkans).
• At +5°C: the risk in the south could decrease due to extreme heat, but spread geographically to more northern European countries.
• Medium term (2021-2050): EFSA expects a moderate impact on the DON and zearalenone risk, and a growing presence of the fungus Fusarium graminearum in Central and Northern Europe.

Animal feed is under pressure too

These developments do not only affect human food: animal feed is also exposed to an increasing mycotoxin risk, with possible consequences for animal health and, via the food chain, for the end consumer. Our article on the increasing safety breaches in animal feed describes this broader vulnerability of the feed chain.

Important to note: these are expected, model-based developments based on climate scenarios, not established facts. According to EFSA, the precise impact remains difficult to predict due to the complex interaction of multiple factors.

How do you tackle mycotoxin risks in practice in your quality system?

Most food and feed companies do not employ a mycologist, but that is not necessary either. What does help is to include the mycotoxin risk structurally in your existing risk management.

In purchasing and control

• Make mycotoxins a fixed point of attention in your risk analysis and HACCP plan.
• Request up-to-date certificates of analysis from raw material suppliers (cereals, oilseeds, press cakes).
• Set up a sample-based sampling and analysis programme for incoming raw materials, with a higher control frequency for harvests or regions with an increased risk profile.

In storage and follow-up

• Ensure dry, well-ventilated storage: this limits mould growth after harvest.
• Rotate stocks in time, to reduce the risk of prolonged exposure to humid conditions.
• Use predictive models and early warning systems, such as those developed by research institutes like Wageningen Food Safety Research, to assess the mycotoxin risk per harvest or region.
• Review your specifications and control programme at least once a year, as both European legislation and the underlying climate risk continue to evolve.