Occurrence of Aspergillus and Penicillium Species, Accumulation of Fungal Secondary Metabolites, and qPCR Detection of Potential Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus Species in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Seeds from Different Farming Systems

The European chickpea market raises concerns about health risks for consumers due to contamination by mycotoxins. Contamination levels can vary depending on the farming system, and rapid and reliable screening tools are desirable. In this study, marketed chick- pea seed samples from organic and non-organic farming systems were analyzed for fungal and mycotoxin contamination. Aspergillus and Penicillium were the most frequently identi- fied mycotoxigenic genera. Significant differences in...