The prevalence and concentration of mycotoxins in rice sourced from markets: A global description

Background The most common mycotoxins found in rice are aflatoxins (AF), fumonisin (FB), ochratoxin (OTA), and deoxynivalenol (DON). Rice is particularly susceptible to mycotoxins contamination due to its high starch content and the fact that it is often stored in warm, humid conditions, which are ideal for fungal growth. Mycotoxins contamination causes health problems in consumers, food safety, food quality issues, and economic losses. Scope and approach This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the prevalence and concentration of mycotoxins in rice from the markets globally. A systematic search was conducted using the Web of Science, and Scopus databases between 1st January 2000 and 31st October 2023. Key findings and conclusion This study showed that the overall prevalence of mycotoxins in rice from the markets was 15% (95% CI: 12–17%). The most prevalent mycotoxins were total aflatoxin (AFT) (56%), beauvericin (37%), aflatoxin B1 (34%), enniatin (27%), and FB (23%). The global overall mycotoxins concentration in rice was 18.70 μg/kg (CI: 10.86–26.54 μg/kg), respectively. The highest mean concentrations were observed for nivalenol (170.13 μg/kg), DON (56.13 μg/kg), fumonisin B1 (50.29 μg/kg), zearalenone (38.55 μg/kg), FB (35.69 μg/kg) and OTA (18.64 μg/kg). The highest prevalence of mycotoxins in rice was observed in Europe (44%), followed by Africa (32%), but the estimated pooled concentration in Europe was relatively low. Overall, the meta-regression results suggested that the prevalence of mycotoxins in rice had decreased over time, but the decrease was not significant for AFT, DON and sterigmatocystin. The results of this study highlight the importance of pre- and post-harvest management practices and improved food safety regulations throughout the food chain to reduce the risk of mycotoxins contamination in rice.