Mycotoxins and their consequences in aquaculture: A review

Fish consumption has been increasing worldwide, mainly due to the availability, access and price in relation to other kinds of meat consumption, such as beef, pork, and poultry. Consequently, some concerns begin to emerge, primarily regarding the quality of fish available in the market. Residues could be present in any product of animal origin causing economic losses and putting into a risk human and animal health. Food contamination by mycotoxins is a risk to human and animal health, and it is responsible for significant economic losses. It's very difficult to prove that a disease is a mycotoxicosis, and even when mycotoxins are detected, it is not easy to show that they are the etiological agents in veterinary pathology or human health problem. In spite of inevitable and widespread, the presence of mycotoxins in feeds of fish cannot be neglected, as revealed by the sight of many researches, field outbreaks reported and pathologies related to mycotoxins, mainly because the toxic effects and safety levels of mycotoxins in the different species of fish are superficially still known. Setting mycotoxin regulations is a complex activity, which involves interested parties and several factors, both of a scientific and socio-economic nature may influence the establishment of mycotoxin limits and regulations. The first limits for mycotoxins were set in the late 1960s for the aflatoxins and by the end of 2003, several countries had developed specific limits for mycotoxins in foodstuffs and feedstuffs, and the number continues to grow, however the residual tolerable of mycotoxins in the fish is still non-existent.