An official website of the United States government.
Several species of naturally-occurring toxins are produced by molds and fungi that grow on food.
On this page, find links to articles, research projects, USDA presentations, and external resources containing information about natural toxins.
Featured Resources
Books and Materials on Aflatoxins in the NAL Catalog
National Agricultural Library's (NAL) searchable database for journal citations available to persons interested in information on Aflatoxins.
Research Projects: Natural Toxins
The Food Safety Research Projects Database (RPD) contains information about research projects related to the study of natural toxins.
Research Publications (Food Safety): Natural Toxins
Research publications on natural toxins from peer-reviewed journals.
Meet the Experts
Innovative materials for use in Mycotoxin detection (Introductory Video)
Investigator: Chris Maragos, Ph.D
Date: 2019
Natural Toxins Presentations
ARS-FSIS 2019 Food Safety Meeting
- Molecular and Environmental Factors Controlling Aflatoxin Reduction by Non-Toxigenic Aspergillus Strains [PDF, 62 pages]. Geromy Moore
- Use of Classical and Molecular Technologies for Developing Aflatoxin Resistance in Crops [PDF, 41 pages]. Kanniah Rajasekaran, J Cary, M Gilbert, Burger, Yao, Hruska, R Majumdar
ARS-FSIS 2017 Food Safety Meeting
- Comparative Genomic Analyses of Mycotoxin Production in Fusarium [PDF, 28 pages]. Robert Proctor
- Assessing the Influence of Environmental Factors on the Development and Pathogenicity of Aspergillus flavus [PDF, 34 pages]. Matthew Gilbert
- Aflatoxin Resistance in Food and Feed Crop Plants – Progress and Prospects in Classical and Molecular Approaches [PDF, 48 pages]. Kanniah Rajasekaran
- Regulation of Secondary Metabolism and Development in Aspergillus flavus: From Genes to Metabolites [PDF, 27 pages]. Jeffrey W. Cary
Resources by Type of Natural Toxins
Aflatoxins
A family of toxins produced by fungi that flourish in improperly stored or processed food products.
Ciguatoxins
Spoiled or mishandled seafood eaten by humans which occur from fish that consume dinoflagellates or other toxic elements.
Mycotoxins
Naturally occurring toxins produced by fungi that are found in food.
Patulin
Scombrotoxins
A natural toxin produced from spoiled or mishandled seafood.