Aspergillus flavus is a toxigenic fungal colonizer of fruits and cereals and may produce one of the most important mycotoxins from a food safety perspective, aflatoxins. Therefore, its growth and mycotoxin production should be effectively avoided to protect consumers’ health. Among the safe and green antifungal strategies that can be applied in the field, biocontrol is a recent and emerging strategy that needs to be explored. Yeasts are normally good biocontrol candidates to minimize mold-related hazards and their modes of action are numerous, one of them being the production of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). To this end, the influence of VOCs produced by Hanseniaspora opuntiae L479 and Hanseniaspora uvarum L793 on growth, expression of the regulatory gene of the aflatoxin pathway (aflR) and mycotoxin production by A. flavus for 21 days was assessed. The results showed that both yeasts, despite producing different kinds of VOCs, had a similar effect on inhibiting growth, mycotoxin biosynthetic gene expression and phenotypic toxin production overall at the mid-incubation period when their synthesis was the greatest. Based on the results, both yeast strains, H. opuntiae L479 and H. uvarum L793, are potentially suitable as a biopreservative agents for inhibiting the growth of A. flavus and reducing aflatoxin accumulation.

Dried fig is susceptible to infection by Aspergillus flavus, the major producer of the carcinogenic mycotoxins. This fruit may be contaminated by the fungus throughout the entire chain production, especially during natural sun-drying, post-harvest, industrial processing, storage, and fruit retailing. Correct management of such critical stages is necessary to prevent mould growth and mycotoxin accumulation, with temperature being one of the main factors associated with these problems. The effect of different temperatures (5, 16, 25, 30, and 37 °C) related to dried-fig processing on growth, one of the regulatory genes of aflatoxin pathway (aflR) and mycotoxin production by A. flavus, was assessed. Firstly, growth and aflatoxin production of 11 A. flavus strains were checked before selecting two strains (M30 and M144) for in-depth studies. Findings showed that there were enormous differences in aflatoxin amounts and related-gene expression between the two selected strains. Based on the results, mild temperatures, and changes in temperature during drying and storage of dried figs should be avoided. Drying should be conducted at temperatures >30 °C and close to 37 °C, while industry processing, storage, and retailing of dried figs are advisable to perform at refrigeration temperatures (<10 °C) to avoid mycotoxin production.