In this study, we investigated a method of extracting the whole agar dish culture to assess the existence and survival of producing fungi of aflatoxins (AFs) in field soil samples. In a control experiment using a known aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus strain with dichlorvos (DV) - coated agar or DV-free agar, no significant difference on the recovery of colony numbers was observed while DV clearly inhibited AFs accumulation. Therefore, a method of extracting the whole dish culture of DV-free agar followed by aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) analysis was applied to assess the survival of aflatoxigenic fungi in soil samples during storage. Soil samples stored at different temperature (4°C, -20°C, and -80°C) and duration (3-12 months) were cultured and analyzed for the accumulation of AFB₁ in triplicate. Each soil sample suspension was cultured on DV-free agar for 7 days at 25°C, and the whole dish culture was extracted by methanol and the amount of AFB₁ was measured. AFB₁ amounts were drastically decreased after the fourth month of storage at all temperatures tested. After the fifth month, AFB₁ amounts of samples stored at 4°C were significantly lower than those stored at -20°C or -80°C, indicating that temperatures below -20°C may be suitable for longer storage of soil samples. This whole dish culture extraction method is easy to handle and will be applicable to estimate the population of aflatoxigenic fungi among various soil samples from different origin or conditions.

  The Philippines is at a high risk of mycotoxin contamination due to environmental conditions, warm and humid tropical climate, that favor the proliferation of mycotoxigenic fungi — potentially leading to mycotoxin contamination and negatively affecting the quantity and quality of agricultural commodities. Over the years, several studies have been conducted to isolate and detect mycotoxigenic fungi and their mycotoxins (aflatoxin, fumonisin, nivalenol, ochratoxin, and zearalenone) present in various Philippine commodities. The country’s interventions in the prevention and reduction of mycotoxins include establishing several codes of practice that serve as a guide to producers, traders, manufacturers, and retailers in the proper production and post-harvest practices of food commodities. This paper aims to give an overview of the status of contamination and control of mycotoxins in the Philippines by consolidating information from previous studies and current data available.

  Aflatoxins are a naturally occurring group of toxins produced by two species of the ubiquitous fungus Aspergillus (A. flavus and parasiticus) when they grow under favourable conditions for toxin formation. They may be contained in everyday food and feed, and they can cause damage to the health of humans and animals. All over the world, national authorized bodies have established regulations to limit the levels of aflatoxins in food and feed. The aim of this study was to determine aflatoxin B1 contamination in different types of chilli, peanut, and related products from the local area. The detection instruments used in this work was HPLC. A total of 350 samples collected from January, 2021 to March, 2022 for various types of chilli, peanut and related products were analyzed in the Laboratory of Small Scale Industries Department. According to FDA guideline of 20 ppb, about 20% of the tested samples were over the guideline value. In this paper, the challenges that we are facing while detection of aflatoxin B1 in various types of chilli, peanut, and related products, including sample preparation, methods, equipment, consumables, manpower, and facilities, will be discussed.

  The state of mycotoxin contamination in domestic feed (herbage, herbage silage, corn, corn silage and rice whole crop silage) in Iwate Prefecture in Japan is yet to be investigated. To achieve this, of 114 samples, five mycotoxins produced by Fusarium spp., namely, nivalenol, deoxynivalenol (DON), T-2 toxin, zearalenone (ZEN), and fumonisin (FUM), were measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS / MS). The highest detection rates were observed for FUM, DON, and ZEN. In particular, the concentrations of DON and ZEN were highest in corn with two samples exceeding the control standard value. However, this was not high enough to immediately affect the health of cows. Although FUM was detected in all feed, the concentration was low. The results of this survey suggest that mycotoxin poisoning is unlikely the cause of livestock becoming ill after being fed domestic feed.

  RNA viruses are frequently found in fungi. A notable feature of these fungal RNA viruses (hereafter referred to as mycoviruses) is that they do not kill the host fungi, but rather coexist with them. Therefore, it has become clear that such mycoviruses can affect not only macro phenotypes such as mycelial growth, spore formation, aerial mycelium formation, and pigmentation of the host fungus, but also other traits such as enzyme production, secondary metabolite production, various stress tolerance, and gene expression. In this mini review, we will focus on the effects of mycoviruses on the production of mycotoxins and other fungal secondary metabolites.

  International Symposium of Mycotoxicology 2022 & International Conference of Mycotoxicology and Food Security 2022 (ISMYCO 2022 & ICM 2022), co-organized by the Japanese Society of Mycotoxicology (JSM), the Association of Mycotoxicology, Thailand (AMT), and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University was held during 6^th Sep. and 9^th Sep., 2022. The symposium was live broadcast from the studio set in Kasetsart University while I stayed onsite to help the operation. Here I report the symposium including the state of the studio.

  “International Symposium of Mycotoxicology 2022 & International Conference of Mycotoxicology and Food Security 2022 (ISMYCO 2022 & ICM 2022)”, was held as an online meeting during 6^th Sep. and 9^th Sep., 2022, and “Asian network meeting” was organized on the first day of the symposium. Speakers from nine Asian countries joined, and provided information concerned with the state of mycotoxin matters in their own countries, and shared opinions on how to keep connections among the Asian countries in order to strengthen their interactions. An overview of the Asian meeting is reported here.