Mycotoxins in Food When most people hear the word mold , they immediately think about mold growing in buildings or water-damaged homes. However, there is another potential source of exposure that often gets overlooked: food . Certain molds can naturally grow on crops during the growing process, harvest, storage, or transportation. Some of these molds produce compounds known as mycotoxins , which are toxic substances that may remain present in food even when the mold itself is