A review of mycotoxins in food and feed products in Portugal and estimation of probable daily intakes

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by filamentous fungi that occur naturally in agricultural commodities worldwide. Aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, patulin, fumonisins, zearalenone, trichothecenes and ergot alkaloids are presently the most important for food and feed safety. These compounds are produced by several species that belong to the Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium and Claviceps genera and can be carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, cytotoxic, neurotoxic, nephrotoxic, estrogenic and immunosuppressant. Human and animal exposure to mycotoxins is generally assessed by taking into account data on the occurrence of mycotoxins in food and feed as well as data on the consumption patterns of the concerned population. This evaluation is crucial to support measures to reduce consumer exposure to mycotoxins. This work reviews the occurrence and levels of mycotoxins in Portuguese food and feed to provide a global overview of this issue in Portugal. With the information collected, the exposure of the Portuguese population to those mycotoxins is assessed, and the estimated dietary intakes are presented.Lu ıs Abrunhosa, H ector Morales, C elia Soares, and Thalita Calado received support through grants SFRH/BPD/43922/ 2008, SFRH/BPD/38011/2007, SFRH/BD/37264/2007 and SFRH/BD/79364/2011, respectively, from the Fundac¸ ao para ~ a Ciencia e Tecnologia ^ –FCT, Portugal

Determination of Aflatoxin B1 in Medical Herbs: Interlaboratory Study

A method was developed for the determination of aflatoxin B1 in medical herbs (senna pods, botanical name Cassia angustifolia; devil's claw, botanical name Harahophytum procumbens; and ginger roots, botanical name Zingiber oficinale). The method, which was tested in a mini-collaborative study by 4 laboratories, is based on an immunoaffinity cleanup followed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography separation and fluorescence detection after post-column derivatization. It allows the quantitation of aflatoxin B1 at levels lower than 2 ng/g. A second extractanct (acetone-water) was tested and compared to the proposed methanol-water extractant. Several post-column derivatization options (electrochemically generated bromine, photochmical reaction, and chemical bromination) as well as different integration modes (height versus area) were also investigated. No differences were found depending on the choice of derivatization system or the signal integration mode used. The method was tested for 3 different matrixes: senna pods, ginger root, and devil's claw. Performance characteristics were established from the results of the study and resulted in HorRat values ranging from 0.12 to 0.75 with mean recoveries from 78 to 92% for the extraction with methanol-water and HorRat values ranging from 0.10-1.03 with mean recoveries from 98 to 103% for the extraction with acetone-water. As a result, the method, with all tested variations, was found to be fit-for-purpose for the determination of aflatoxin B1 in medical herbs at levels of 1µg/kg and above.JRC.D.8-Food safety and qualit

Developments in mycotoxin analysis: an update for 2010-2011

This review highlights developments in mycotoxin analysis and sampling over a period between mid-2010 and mid-2011. It covers the major mycotoxins: aflatoxins, Alternaria toxins, ergot alkaloids, fumonisins, ochratoxin, patulin, trichothecenes, and zearalenone. Analytical methods for mycotoxins continue to be developed and published. Despite much interest in immunochemical methods and in the rapid development of LC-MS methodology, more conventional methods, sometimes linked to novel clean-up protocols, have also been the subject of research publications over the above period. Occurrence of mycotoxins falls outside the main focus of this review; however, where relevant to analytical method development, this has been mentioned

Developments in mycotoxin analysis: an update for 2011-2012

This review highlights developments in mycotoxin analysis and sampling over a period between mid-2011 and mid-2012. It covers the major mycotoxins aflatoxins, Alternaria toxins, ergot alkaloids, fumonisins, ochratoxin, patulin, trichothecenes, and zearalenone. A section on mycotoxins in botanicals and spices is also included. Methods for mycotoxin determination continue to be developed using a wide range of analytical systems ranging from rapid immunochemical-based methods to the latest advances in tandem mass spectrometry. This review follows the format of previous reviews in this series (i.e. sections on individual mycotoxins), but due to the rapid spread and developments in the field of multimycotoxin methods by LC-MS/MS, a separate section has been devoted to advances in this area of research

Developments in mycotoxin analysis: an update for 2009-2010

This review highlights developments in mycotoxin analysis and sampling over a period between mid-2009 and mid-2010. It covers the major mycotoxins aflatoxins, Alternaria toxins, ergot alkaloids, fumonisins, ochratoxin, patulin, trichothecenes, and zearalenone. New and improved methods for mycotoxins continue to be published. Immunological-based method developments continue to be of wide interest in a broad range of formats. Multimycotoxin determination by LC-MS/MS is now being targeted at the specific ranges of mycotoxins and matrices of interest or concern to the individual laboratory. Although falling outside the main emphasis of the review, some aspects of natural occurrence have been mentioned, especially if linked to novel method development

Developments in Mycotoxin Analysis: An update for 2012-2013

This review highlights developments in mycotoxin analysis and sampling over a period between mid-2012 and mid-2013. It covers the major mycotoxins: aflatoxins, Alternaria toxins, ergot alkaloids, fumonisins, ochratoxin, patulin, trichothecenes and zearalenone. A wide range of analytical methods for mycotoxin determination in food and feed were developed last year, in particular immunochemical methods and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) based methods. After a chapter on sampling and sample preparation, due to the rapid spread and developments in the field of LC-MS/MS multimycotoxin methods, a separate section has been devoted to this area of research. It is followed by a chapter on mycotoxins in botanicals and spices, before continuing with the format of previous reviews in this series with dedicated chapters on method developments for the individual mycotoxins.JRC.D.5-Standards for Food Bioscienc