Overview of Fungi and Mycotoxin Contamination in Capsicum Pepper and in Its Derivatives

Capsicum products, such as chilli powder, paprika, sauces, and spice mixes, are consumed worldwide and become very important export products for Asian and Latin-American countries. Increased commercialisation of Capsicum products has triggered an alert, mainly due to the food safety and quality issues of these products, which have been introduced into the international market. Capsicum and derivative-products are substrates with unusual nutritional characteristics for microbial growth. Despite this, the presence of spoilage fungi and the co-occurrence of mycotoxins in the pepper production chain have been commonly detected. The production of pepper and pepper-based products which may be contaminated with mycotoxins represents a serious risk to consumer health, and also impacts negatively on this agribusiness sphere. In this context, the key aim of this work was to review the critical control points, with a focus on mycotoxin contamination, during the production, storage and distribution of Capsicum products from a safety perspective; outlining the important role of ecophysiological factors in stimulating or inhibiting mycotoxin biosynthesis in these food commodities. Moreover, the human health risks caused by the ingestion of peppers contaminated with mycotoxins are discussed.