Can mycotoxins be destroyed by heating or by cooking the product?
Most moulds are heat-sensitive and are destroyed by pasteurisation. Some kinds of mould however are resistant to heat. These are found mostly in fruit, fruit products or raw materials derived from fruit (e.g. pectin) and need temperatures of 100 degrees or higher to be destroyed. Although this heat treatment works well for the mould itself, many mycotoxins are not, or are only partly, broken down by pasteurisation or sterilisation.
