# The Role of Fungi in Food Production and Processing
## 2 Understanding the Research Prospects
### Mycotoxins and Food Safety
#### 2.5.4 Fumonisins  
The secondary metabolites that cereal-pathogenic fungi create are called fumonisins. Although certain other _Fusarium_ species may also create them, _Fusarium verticilloides_ and _Fusarium proliferation_ are the principal producers of them (Table 1). The fungus species that has historically been linked to fumonisins is _Fusarium monilforme_; however, due to developments in taxonomy and nomenclature, this term is no longer in use. Fumonisins come in at least 28 different varieties, the majority of which are categorized as the A, B, C, and P series [122]. The B series includes the most prevalent fumonis forms, FB1, FB2, and FB3, with FB1 being the most hazardous form that coexists with FB2 and FB3 [123]. FB2 and FB3, on the other hand, are dehydroxylated derivatives of FB1, which is a diester. Although fumonisins are present in many cereals and cereal products, they are most frequently found in peanuts and grapes, as well as in maize and products derived from it (rice, wheat, barley, corn, rye, oats, and millet) [124]. Every single year, mycotoxins cause enormous financial losses in the agricultural and industrial sectors by infecting 25% of harvested crops. These mycotoxins are not eliminated due to food processing, cooking, roasting, baking or pasteurization as they are stable. A lack of agricultural resources, combined with post-harvest practices such incomplete drying methods, handling protocols, improper packaging materials or methods, and also transportation and storage conditions, increase the risk of fungal growth and fumonisin contamination [125]. The main health risks linked to fumonisins are leukoencephalanalacia, an acute toxic impact in horses, the syndrome of pulmonary edema in pigs, and possible carcinogenic consequences in people, experimental animals, and nephrotoxicity [101]. Consuming fumonisin-contaminated corn is linked to an increased risk of esophageal cancer and neural tube birth abnormalities. The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives has set a provisional maximum tolerated daily intake of 2 ug/kg bw/day for FB1, FB2, and FB3, alone or combination. FB1 is categorized as a \"2B\" carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The European Union set maximum fumonisin limits for human consumption in cereals and cereal-based foods in 2007 (EC N\({}^{\circ}\)1126/2007) [126], but wheat and wheat-based foods have not yet received their own set of regulations [124]. Fumonisins, in contrast to other mycotoxins, are known to be heat stable and to only become affected by temperatures lower than 150-200 \({}^{\circ}\)C when used in food-processing methods such as baking, roasting, frying or extrusion cooking. During heat treatments, FB1 reacts with reducing sugars and forms strong covalent bonds. The degree of toxicity depends on the cooking conditions and the food matrix composition [127]. Wet milling of cereals causes the reduction of fumonisins to some extent, while dry milling of cereals causes a negligible decrease in the content of fumonisins as they are incorporated in the germ and pericarp in higher concentrations than in the endosperm and its derivatives. In order to make the resulting fractions (fiber, gluten, germ, and starch) fit for ingestion by humans and animals, additional industrial milling operations drastically lower the fumonisin level [128]. Still, industrial processing techniques like baking, frying, and extrusion cooking work well to drastically lower the fumonisin levels. Food and feed contamination with fumonisin poses a major risk of global disease outbreaks. Food contamination from fumonisins can be reduced by a variety of methods, including genetic engineering, biochemical, and physical methods [129].