## 1 Introduction  
In the Mediterranean regions, olives (_Olea europaea_ L.) are strategic food products, highly consumed and marketed. Almost the entire world production of olive oil is concentrated in this area, with Italy, Spain, and Greece being the largest global producers [1]. However, olives are susceptible to microbial attack, making efficient methods for preservation and control crucial to avoid contamination before entering production chains [2]. In particular, olives intended for table olive production are at high risk of contamination by potential toxigenic fungi. These microorganisms can produce toxic compounds that infect the product at different stages of the production cycle [3, 4]. Mycotoxins are among the most toxic biological compounds and risky food contamination sources, becoming increasingly present in foodstuffs, accelerated by climate change [5, 6]. They represent a major problem for both humans and animals, which must be managed promptly to avoid irreparable and untreatable contamination at later stages. Considering that mycotoxins are rather stable by-products of fungal metabolism, they are also resistant to decontamination treatments. For this reason, once produced, they tend to remain in the substrate [7]. Olives can be contaminated by a wide range of fungal species, including toxicen ones. Some species include Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, which produce aflat, and Aspergillus ochraceus and Penicillium verrucosum, which produce ochratoxin A [4; 8; 9; 10; 11] (Figure 1). Aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2 are secondary fungal metabolites that can be toxic for animals and humans due to their carcinogenicity, genotoxicity, and mutagenicity. They have been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as 'carcinogenic to humans' (Group 1). On the other hand, ochratoxin A is a secondary fungal metabolite that is markedly nephrotoxic and has been classified as 'possibly carcinogenic to humans' (Group 2B) [12]. Aflatoxins (AFB, AFG) are stable organic compounds, particularly resistant to degradation and to physical or chemical detoxification systems utilized during food processing [13]. Their toxic action on animals is mainly due to the interaction with the nucleic acids of cells, interfering with protein synthesis and the regulation of gene expression [14]. For these reasons, these mycotoxins have mutagenic and teratogenic characteristics, being considered among the most powerful carcinogens in nature [15]. Several studies have examined the presence of aflat in fresh olives under different storage conditions (rain, humidity, and temperature) using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) [16; 17; 18]. These studies highlighted the simultaneous presence of the toxins, showing increased risks of toxicity and underlining the importance of good control of storage conditions after harvest. Other studies proposed innovative techniques that allow simultaneous purification and enrichment in a single sample extraction step [19]. The processing methods of table olives also play a key role in preserving the product and its composition [20; 21]. Brine is the most widely used conservation method for table olives [22], but yeasts and lactic acid bacteria are also recognized as effective systems against pathogenic microflora generation (aflatoxins and ochratoxins) due to their inhibitory metabolic activity [23; 24; 25]. However, conservation methods can be altered by microorganisms, losing their protective action. For instance, authors utilized the electronic nose to determine changes in brines caused by microorganisms as an alternative to other destructive methods, due to its ability to detect volatile substances. The study demonstrated the capacity of the E-nose to discriminate alterations in brines produced by molds [25].