Evaluation of mycotoxins and their estimated daily intake in popcorn and cornflakes using LC-MS techniques

The occurrence of 11 mycotoxins in samples of popcorn and cornflakes was evaluated by liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), using dynamic multiple reaction monitoring. This quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe (QuEChERS) method was modified and provided good analytical results (recoveries ranged from 79 to 119%, RSDs <21% and LOQs below the established maximum level). Popcorn samples were contaminated with fumonisins, aflatoxin B1, neosolaniol and T-2 toxin, with mean concentrations of 592, 10.2 and 10.2 μg kg−1, respectively, while cornflake samples were contaminated with only T-2 (mean 11.2 μg kg−1). The co-occurrence of fumonisin B1+ aflatoxin B1 was observed in 52% of popcorn samples and was not observed in cornflake samples. The estimated intake for the Brazilian population of total fumonisins and T-2 toxin for popcorn as the upper bound approach were 0.0051 and 0.00004 μg kg −1 bw day −1, respectively, and for the 99th percentile were 0.1943 and 0.0014 μg kg −1 bw day −1, respectively, suggesting a low risk of ingestion. However heavy consumers may be exposed to a potential risk due to fumonisins (upper bound of 4.6 μg kg−1 bw day−1).