Mycotoxins in food systems: degradation mechanisms for effective non-thermal disinfection

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Relevance. Mycotoxins are a structurally diverse group of predominantly low-molecular-weight compounds produced by molds. Mycotoxin-contaminated food raw materials and products pose a serious threat to food security, as mycotoxins can cause acute or chronic poisoning. Therefore, the search for effective methods of detoxifying food systems from mycotoxins, with the potential for scalability in real production conditions, is of critical importance. However, detoxification of mycotoxins is a multifaceted challenge, requiring a systematic understanding of a range of factors.The objectives of the study are to collect, analyze and systematize scientific data in the field of the main types of pollutants of food raw materials from the class of mycotoxins, their potential danger; disclosure of possible mechanisms of degradation of mycotoxins under the influence of non-thermal factors.Methods. The analytical analysis of scientific publications on the research topic was performed using the Elibrary and Sciencedirect databases for various search queries for 2020–2025.Results. The analysis revealed a vast body of scientific literature demonstrating the high toxicity levels of mycotoxins commonly found in food raw materials and products. Mycotoxins such as aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, ochratoxins, fumonisins, nivalenol, enniatin, T-2, HT-2 and patulin can cause chronic or acute toxicity in animals and humans, including hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, teratogenicity and mutagenicity. The search for effective and scalable methods of decontaminating food systems from mycotoxins has primarily focused on non-thermal methods, with cold plasma treatment recognized as the most promising. A significant number of studies have shown that cold plasma can destroy up to 100% of mycotoxins in contaminated food systems.