NEW METHODS IN FOOD MYCOLOGY

Moulds are responsible for many cases of food spoilage, and pose a risk to human health due to the production of mycotoxins. As conventional mould detection methods have several disadvantages, a new generation of detection methods based on immunoassays has been developed in the past five years. In this review, the current state of knowledge on the development and applicability of immunoassays for the detection of moulds in food is presented. The main advantages of these immunoassays are their rapidity, accuracy and sensitivity and the fact that the previous presence of moulds can be detected in food products that have been heat treated or filtered during processing.