| Resumo: | [Excerpt] Due to food quality and safety issues, the increased worldwide commercialisation of Capsicum products has triggered an international alert. Capsicum and derivative-products are substrates with unusual nutritional characteristics for microbial growth. Despite this, the presence of spoilage fungi and the occurrence of mycotoxins in the pepper production chain have been commonly detected. The potential contamination of pepper and pepper-based products with mycotoxins represents a serious risk to consumer health and affects negatively this agribusiness sector. The main aim of this work is to discuss the critical control points, with a focus on mycotoxin contamination, during the production, storage and distribution of Capsicum products from a safety perspective; outlining the important role of ecophysiological factors in mycotoxin biosynthesis in these food commodities and the human health risks caused by the ingestion of peppers contaminated with mycotoxins. [...]
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