The World Health Organization estimates that Kenyans consume 171 grams of maize per person daily, or approximately 62 kilograms per person per year. Like many types of grains, nuts, and dried fruits, maize can serve as a host for molds that produce toxins. In an article published at JYI this week, Kaiming Tan of the Department of Environmental Toxicology at the University of California Davis discusses possible environmental and societal contributions that lead to Kenya’s most severe outbreak of acute aflatoxicosis in 2004.