Evaluates the risks to human health posed by the consumption of food contaminated with ochratoxins, trichothecenes, or ergot. Health effects possibly linked to these mycotoxins range from gastrointestinal disturbances and throat irritation to gangrene, nephropathy, and tumours of the renal pelvis and ureters. Evaluations are based on a critical review of well over 700 investigations, many of which were published during the past decade. The three mycotoxins selected for review are considered in separate monographs. Each summarizes available data on the natural occurrence of the mycotoxin, food sources most commonly contaminated, experimental toxicity, and diseases or symptoms observed in humans. The monograph on ochratoxins concentrates on the strength of evidence linking ochratoxin A to human nephropathy, including Balkan endemic nephropathy, and tumours of the urinary system, concluding that a causal relationship cannot be established in the absence of data defining an etiological role for this mycotoxin. The monograph devoted to trichothecenes concentrates on investigations of deoxynivalenol and nivalenol as the trichothecenes most commonly found in food and animal feed. The evaluation of risks to human health draws upon two large outbreaks, in China and India, of trichothecene-related disease involving digestive disorders and throat irritation. The report found no evidence of human cancer caused by trichothecenes. The final monograph evaluates recent data on the toxicity of ergot when ingested as a food contaminant. Apart from alerting the scientific community to the continuing importance of ergotism as a cause of morbidity and mortality, the monograph also points out important differences in the clinical symptoms observed in Asian and African outbreaks.

eng with summaries in fre and spa.

WHODOC

WHO monograph

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