Naturally occurring toxicant contamination of foods with mycotoxins is unavoidable and unpredictable and poses a unique challenge to food safety. Aflatoxins are toxic mold metabolites produced by toxigenic strains of Aspergillus species. Primary commodities susceptible to aflatoxin contamination include nuts and animal-derived foods. Tree nuts (almonds, pistachios, and walnuts) are an exceptionally valuable crop, especially in Iran. The product can be contaminated with aflatoxins, with the former being of special concern because of the strict regulatory levels applied by the European Community (EC). Natural, consumer-acceptable control methods/procedures are therefore required to conform to such limits.

Risks associated with aflatoxin-contaminated foods can be reduced through the use of specific processing and decontamination procedures.

It is concluded that continued efforts are needed to: Identify and quantify human/animal exposure; estimate health risks and make defensible risk‐benefit judgments; develop sampling plans based on experimental observation; arrive at agreed regulatory levels based on legitimate sampling plans, analytical capabilities and economic considerations; develop procedures for disposal of contaminated lots; and develop plant varieties resistant to fungal invasion.

Research carried out in different regions and provinces of Iran has shown many genera and species of toxigenic fungi, and aflatoxins have been found in different types of food, air, and equipment. Contaminated warehouses are an important route for the entrance of mycotoxins into human tissues, and thus certain management activities are important in order to decrease mycotoxin levels in foodstuffs. Based on the levels of nuts consumption in Iran, many control processes are aimed at decreasing mycotoxin production in nuts such as pistachios and using safe products. Farm-management and food-storage practices are effective at decreasing food-processing times, and these efforts can prevent or minimize toxin formation in agriculture, industry, and food-product manufacturing in order to improve human and animal health. The routine detection of mycotoxins in food and food products for human and animal consumption should be performed as early as possible, before these toxins enter human or animal bodies.