Fate of mycotoxins in two popular traditional cereal-based beverages (kunu-zaki and pito) from rural Nigeria

Mycotoxins frequently contaminate cereals and their fermented products, however, the carry-over profiles and concentrations of mycotoxins in the final product depend on the processing techniques employed. Therefore, the fate of mycotoxins in two popularly consumed Nigerian cereal-based beverages, kunu-zaki and pito, were studied using the raw cereals, their malted forms and the final drinks. Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric analysis revealed 24 and 33 fungal metabolites in kunu-zaki and pito respectively, and their cereal inputs. Among the metabolites were 12 mycotoxins (alternariol, alternariolmethylether, beauvericin, deoxynivalenol, enniatin A and B, fumonisin B1 (FB1), FB2 and FB3, fusaproliferin, moniliformin and zearalenone). Mycotoxin levels were higher in the maize-based kunu-zaki (