Occurrence of deoxynivalenol and nivalenol in Spanish corn-based food products

The aim of the present work was to evaluate the occurrence of trichothecenes toxins, deoxynivalenol (DON) and nivalenol (NIV) in samples of corn-based foods (breakfast cereals and snacks) consumed by the Spanish population. A total of 175 commercially available samples were randomly collected during 2005. Trichothecenes were determined by a gas chromatography–electron capture detector. The estimated limit of quantification was 25.4 μg/kg for DON and 15.9 μg/kg for NIV. DON was detected in 22 of the 55 samples of breakfast cereals, in 13 of the 57 samples of baked corn snacks and in 12 of the 63 samples of fried corn snacks. NIV was detected in 6 samples of breakfast cereals and 1 sample of snacks. The median concentrations of DON and NIV found in all samples were 53.9 and 60.2 μg/kg, respectively. The influence of different factors, such as the presence of additional ingredients and the type of commercial brand, on the toxin incidence and content levels were also studied. The values of both mycotoxin intake found in this study are lower than the proposed tolerable daily intake for the respective toxin (1 and 0.7 μg/kg bw/day for DON and NIV, respectively).