Food Poisoning
Fungi growing and reproducing in grains or other foods produce toxic metabolic byproducts. Poisoning in humans and animals from consuming such toxic substances is called fungal food poisoning. Poisoning mainly occurs through contaminated food, and ordinary cooking methods cannot destroy the fungal toxins. The growth and toxin production of fungi require specific temperatures and humidity, so poisoning often has distinct seasonality and regional characteristics.
Foods that cause fungal food poisoning—this is essential emergency knowledge. Fungal food poisoning is caused by the consumption of moldy food. Food poisoning often occurs in our daily lives. Below are the foods that can cause fungal food poisoning:

Foods That Cause Fungal Food Poisoning
1. Aflatoxin Poisoning: Primarily caused by Aspergillus flavus, as well as some other Aspergillus and Penicillium species that contain aflatoxins. These fungi mainly infest grains and oilseeds such as peanuts, corn, rice, and wheat. Acute poisoning mainly causes damage to the liver and kidneys, loss of appetite, jaundice, and death within about a week. Chronic poisoning in animal tests can lead to liver cancer and kidney cancer.
2. Yellowed Rice Poisoning: Mainly seen in rice, but can also occur in wheat and corn. The characteristic is that the rice turns yellow, caused by Penicillium species (such as toxic penicillium, citrinum, and islandicum). Acute poisoning manifests as symptoms like nerve paralysis, respiratory distress, and convulsions, which can lead to death due to respiratory paralysis. Chronic poisoning can cause hemolytic anemia and may be carcinogenic.
3. Grayed Rice Poisoning: The rice appears grayish-brown and is caused by Fusarium semi-tectum. It mainly shows gastrointestinal symptoms.
4. Fusarium Toxin Poisoning: Wheat turns red. Acute poisoning has an incubation period of 10 minutes to 36 hours, with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and dizziness, which disappear quickly.
5. Moldy Sweet Potato Residue Powder Poisoning: Caused by Aspergillus flavus, Citrinum, Niger, and other molds. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, facial flushing, skin hemorrhages, low fever, abdominal distension without diarrhea, dizziness, weakness, and loss of reflexes. In the end, pupils dilate, heart rate slows, and death occurs due to respiratory and circulatory failure.
Fungal Food Poisoning
6. Stinky Rice Noodles Poisoning: Occurs mainly in northeastern provinces of China (moldy corn flour poisoning occurs in northwestern China). It is currently believed to be caused by toxic fungi (Fusarium and Penicillium genera). Poisoning symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, dizziness, headache, lethargy, coffee-colored vomit, and mucous or bloody stools. Two to three days after onset, the liver enlarges, jaundice and proteinuria appear. Severe cases may experience mania, convulsions, coma, worsening jaundice, systemic bleeding, lowered blood pressure, and death due to liver and kidney failure.
7. Moldy Corn Poisoning: Caused by Fusarium and Penicillium genera, mainly showing gastrointestinal symptoms.
8. Food Poisoning Leukopenia: First reported in the Soviet Union, caused by Fusarium. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, increased respiration. Severe cases may experience convulsions or die from heart failure. Mild cases enter a deterioration phase after a 3–8 day static period, with decreased white blood cells, reduced neutrophils, and gastrointestinal ulcers and bleeding.
9. Black Grape Cluster Mold Poisoning: After poisoning, symptoms begin with salivation and mucosal congestion, then enter a static phase with leukopenia, followed by a rise in body temperature, diarrhea, dehydration, mucosal necrosis, and bleeding. Severe cases quickly develop neurological symptoms and may die within 72 hours.
10. Moldy Sugarcane Poisoning: The main pathogens detected are Fusarium moniliforme and Arthrinium spp. Their toxins can irritate the gastrointestinal mucosa and damage cranial nerves. The incubation period is 15 minutes to 7 hours, with most cases occurring 2–5 hours after consumption. Initial symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, sweating, followed by headache, dizziness, mania, convulsions, coma, delirium, and aphasia. Main signs include nystagmus, upward gaze, neck resistance, hyperactive tendon reflexes, and positive pathological reflexes. Routine and biochemical cerebrospinal fluid tests show no abnormalities. A small number of children may have sequelae after the acute phase, mainly manifested as extrapyramidal nerve damage.

Symptoms of Fungal Food Poisoning
Currently, research on fungal poisoning is still in its early stages, and understanding is limited. It is known that one type of fungus can produce several toxins, and different fungi can produce the same toxins. Therefore, fungal food poisoning often presents with similar symptoms. Generally, acute fungal food poisoning has a short incubation period, initially causing gastrointestinal symptoms such as upper abdominal discomfort, nausea, vomiting, bloating, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, and occasional diarrhea (more prominent in Fusarium poisoning). Later, depending on the effects of various fungal toxins, damage to the liver, kidneys, nervous system, blood, and other systems occurs, leading to corresponding symptoms such as liver enlargement, tenderness, abnormal liver function, jaundice (common in Aspergillus flavus and islandicum poisoning), proteinuria, hematuria, and even reduced or absent urination (more likely in Penicillium islandicum poisoning). Some fungal toxins (such as those from black grape cluster mold and islandicum) cause neutropenia or deficiency and thrombocytopenia, leading to bleeding. Some fungal poisonings (such as from Patulin and Aspergillus oryzae) are prone to neurological symptoms, including dizziness, headache, dullness, restlessness, motor dysfunction, and even convulsions, coma, paralysis, etc. Most patients die from liver or kidney failure or central nervous system paralysis, with mortality rates as high as 40%–70%. Chronic fungal food poisoning, besides causing damage to the liver, kidneys, and blood cells, can also lead to cancer from certain types of fungi.

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