Food Exposomics and Chromatographic Strategies for Multi-Mycotoxin Detection in the Food Chain

Growing concern over the health effects of chemical exposure has intensified interest in exposomics, an approach that examines the totality of environmental exposures throughout life. Among the major exposure routes, food represents a critical source of chemical hazards, particularly mycotoxins, which are toxic fungal metabolites commonly found in cereals, nuts, fruits, spices, coffee, and animal-derived products. Climate change, global food trade, and the frequent co-occurrence of multiple mycotoxins are further increasing the complexity of food contamination and exposure assessment. Traditional risk assessment methods often fail to capture the combined effects of chemical mixtures and real-world co-exposure scenarios. In this context, advanced chromatographic and mass spectrometric techniques have become essential tools for food exposomics. Multi-mycotoxin “mega-methods,” combining high-resolution chromatography with sensitive detection platforms, enable simultaneous screening and quantification of regulated, emerging, masked, and modified mycotoxins across diverse food matrices and biological samples. These analytical approaches support both external exposome studies, focused on contaminated foods and environmental sources, and internal exposome investigations, involving biomarkers of exposure in biological fluids and tissues.