7 Carcinogen Role of Food by Mycotoxins and Knowledge Gap Margherita Ferrante, Salvatore Sciacca and Gea Oliveri Conti University of Catania, Department “G.F. Ingrassia” Hygiene and Public Health, Italy 1. Introduction In today’s world health and safety are among the basic human needs. Ensuring food safety has been a major focus of international and national action over the last decades. Both, microbiological and chemical risks are of concern. The “World Health Organization” (WHO) has identified as significant sources of food-borne diseases contamination of food and feed by mycotoxins (toxic metabolites of molds) and the contamination of fishery products by phycotoxins (toxins produced by algae). Despite public health and prevention managers have paid particular attention to mycotoxins, in several areas of the world they are still an important food safety issue (Fig 1). Fig. 1. Notifications for food and feed in 2005 (from EU rapid alert system, by European Commission 2006). Mycotoxins can cause diseases in humans, crops and animals that have led many Countries to establish limits on mycotoxins in food and feed to safeguard people’s health, as well as the economical interests of producers and traders. www.intechopen.com