A Recent Overview of Producers and Important Dietary Sources of Aflatoxins.

Aflatoxins (AFs) are some of the most agriculturally important and harmful mycotoxins. At least 20 AFs have been identified to this date. Aflatoxin B (AFB), the most potent fungal toxin, can cause toxicity in many species, including humans. AFs are produced by 22 species of section , 4 species of section and 2 species section . The most important and well-known AF-producing species of section are , , and . AFs contaminate a wide range of crops (mainly groundnuts, pistachio nuts, dried figs, hazelnuts, spices, almonds, rice, melon seeds, Brazil nuts, and maize). Foods of animal origin (milk and animal tissues) are less likely contributors to human AF exposure. Despite the efforts to mitigate the AF concentrations in foods, and thus enhance food safety, AFs continue to be present, even at high levels. AFs thus remain a current and continuously pressing problem in the world.