The concept of Food Safety Objective (FSO) has mostly been applied to understanding the effects of
handling and processing on levels of bacterial pathogens in foods, but it is also applicable to the
formation and removal of mycotoxins. This paper provides a general overview of how the concept of FSO
can be used to understand increases and decreases in mycotoxin levels in foods, on the basis that
international regulatory limits are equivalent to an FSO. Detailed information is provided on the ecology
of the formation of aflatoxins, fumonisins, ochratoxin A and deoxynivalenol in major commodities.
Methods in use to reduce levels of these mycotoxins, to meet an FSO, are then detailed. Each of the major
mycotoxin e food combinations is visualised using a novel graphical method.