Cereals and cereal-based products are primary sources of nutrition across the world. However, contamination of these foods with aflatoxins (AFs), secondary metabolites produced by several fungal species, has raised serious concerns. AF generation in innate substrates is influenced by several parameters, including the substrate type, fungus species, moisture content, minerals, humidity, temperature, and physical injury to the kernels. Consumption of AF-contaminated cereals and cereal-based products can lead to both acute and chronic health issues related to physical and mental maturity, reproduction, and the nervous system. Therefore, the precise detection methods, detoxification, and management strategies of AFs in cereal and cereal-based products are crucial for food safety as well as consumer health. Hence, this review provides a brief overview of the occurrence, chemical characteristics, biosynthetic processes, health hazards, and detection techniques of AFs, along with a focus on detoxification and management strategies that could be implemented for food safety and security.

Quality determines the shelf life as well as selling price of fresh fruit or vegetable and therefore, quality monitoring and testing of fresh commodities have paramount importance in their postharvest handling and supply chain management. Most of the methods used to assess fruits and vegetables quality are destructive in nature. Now-a-days, various mechanical, optical, electromagnetic, and dynamic non-destructive methods are gaining importance due to ease in operations, faster turn over and reliability. Some of the non-destructive techniques (NDT) are currently being used in laboratories, research institutions and food packaging and processing industries, whereas, some methods are still at developmental stage. Various NDT with respect to their principle and applications such as impact test, electronic nose, time-resolved reflectance spectrometry (TSR), near infrared spectroscopy (NIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X-Ray, ultra sonic, acoustic impulse response method, electrical conductivity methods etc., are discussed in this review.

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by fungi that infect a wide range of foods worldwide. Nivalenol (NIV), a type B trichothecene produced by numerous Fusarium species, has the ability to infect a variety of foods both in the field and during post-harvest handling and management. NIV is frequently found in cereal and cereal-based goods, and its strong cytotoxicity poses major concerns for both human and animal health. To address these issues, this review briefly overviews the sources, occurrence, chemistry and biosynthesis of NIV. Additionally, a brief overview of several sophisticated detection and management techniques is included, along with the implications of processing and environmental factors on the formation of NIV. This review’s main goal is to offer trustworthy and current information on NIV as a mycotoxin concern in foods, with potential mitigation measures to assure food safety and security.

Seaweeds are microalgae growing in coastal regions and resistant to salinity. Seaweeds are rich resources of natural nutrients some of which cannot be obtained from terrestrial plants. Bioactive compounds of seaweeds such as sulphated polysaccharides, peptides, minerals, phlorotannins, carotenoids and sulfolipids have proven health benefits against various diseases. Traditionally, seaweeds are used as folk medicine for treating diseases like goiter, wounds, burns, rashes, inflammation, diabetes and also gaining attention of pharmaceutical industries due to their anti-cancer, anti-aging, anti-angiogenesis, anti-bacterial, anti-viral and antioxidant properties. Seaweeds polysaccharides have wide applications in foods as well as in pharmaceutical industry due to their bio-chemical properties such as stabilizer, emulsifier and gelling property. In food industry, seaweed polysaccharides are used as a functional ingredient in many products such as frozen foods, ice-cream, jam, jelly, beverages etc. Several commercial food preparations from seaweeds are also available in the market such as sea salt, nori snack wasabi, pink rock salt, seaweed thins toasted coconuts, crunchy seaweed chips, raw unroasted seaweed under different brand names. The present review is a compilation of nutritional, pharmacological and food properties of seaweeds along with its potential towards development of functional foods.