Mycotoxins are a group of compounds produced by various fungi and excreted into the matrices on which they grow, often food intended for human consumption or animal feed. The high toxicity and carcinogenicity of these compounds and their ability to cause various pathological conditions has led to widespread screening of foods and feeds potentially polluted with them. Maximum permissible levels in different matrices have also been established for some toxins. As these are quite low, analytical methods for determination of mycotoxins have to be both sensitive and specific. In addition, an appropriate sample preparation and pre-concentration method is needed to isolate analytes from rather complicated samples. In this article, an overview of methods for analysis and sample preparation published in the last ten years is given for the most often encountered mycotoxins in different samples, mainly in food. Special emphasis is on liquid chromatography with fluorescence and mass spectrometric detection, while in the field of sample preparation various solid-phase extraction approaches are discussed. However, an overview of other analytical and sample preparation methods less often used is also given. Finally, different matrices where mycotoxins have to be determined are discussed with the emphasis on their specific characteristics important for the analysis (human food and beverages, animal feed, biological samples, environmental samples). Various issues important for accurate qualitative and quantitative analyses are critically discussed: sampling and choice of representative sample, sample preparation and possible bias associated with it, specificity of the analytical method and critical evaluation of results.

Wastewater is major source of contaminants originating from the production, usage, and disposal of plastic materials. Due to their poor biodegradability of these contaminants in municipal wastewater treatment plants, additional advanced oxidation processes such as electrochemical treatments have been developed to improve the standard biological treatment. Here we review the applications of electrochemical treatments of wastewater for the removal of the following plastic contaminants: bisphenol A, phthalic acid esters, and benzotriazoles. We present the effectiveness of treatment in terms of contaminant removal and mineralization; the identification of transformation products; toxicity assessment; and process energy requirements. In the present review, we have focused on the applications of electrochemical treatments of wastewater for the removal of three important groups of contaminants originating mainly from plastics: bisphenol A, phthalic acid esters, and benzotriazoles. The review focuses on the research of electrochemical treatments for these contaminants from the last five years. The papers are assessed from the point of i) effectiveness of treatment in terms of contaminant removal and mineralization; ii) identification of transformation products; iii) toxicity assessment; iv) processes’ energy requirements. Electrochemical treatments were confirmed to be a viable option for the removal of selected contaminants from wastewater.