Mushroom farming has become important globally due to its nutritional, economic and environmental value. The economic threat to productivity and food safety caused by contamination of filamentous microfungi is not effectively dealt with for the long term. This essay presents a useful, thematic synthesis of the kinds of microfungal contaminants, where do these come from, how are they infecting the cultivated edible mushrooms and how they could be controlled sustainably especially post-harvest and integrated management. The authors performed a methodological narrative literature review based on thematic analysis framework using main scientific databases on fungal contaminants, their contamination pathways and respective management methods. The results were thematically categorized into systems of cultivation, diversity of pathogen and pathogenic mechanisms, detection methods and controls. The results show that Trichoderma, Aspergillus, Penicillium and Cladobotryum are common economic contaminants. Contamination at key points can occur during spawns, casing, and after-harvest handling and storage due to poor hygiene, insufficient sterilization as well as environmental condition. These fungi slow the growth of mushroom mycelia by growing at a faster rate, enzyme degradation and/or mycotoxin production, which is an important risk for food safety and human health which isn’t very much thought-of actively. The research points out that there has been no objective quantification of risk from mycotoxins and no harmonized, in situ detection of contaminated mushrooms. An Integrated Disease Management (IDM) approach comprising of preventive, physical, biological and minimal chemical interventions is recommended for effective and sustainable management of disease-causing insect pest. Future studies should place special emphasis on creating real-time molecular diagnostics, effective and environmentally safe biocontrol agents, and eco-friendly environmental control systems to protect the safety and sustainability of global mushroom production.
