Determination of mycotoxins in plant-based beverages using QuEChERS and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

•Mycotoxins are determined using QuEChERS followed by LC-MS/MS.•The method is applied for the first time to analyse different plant-based beverages.•Recovery and matrix effect are similar among the different type of samples analysed.•Some mycotoxins are found in oat, soy and rice beverages.

A method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 11 mycotoxins in plant-based beverage matrices, using a QuEChERS extraction followed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry detection (UHPLC-(ESI)MS/MS). This multi-mycotoxin method was applied to analyse plant-based beverages such as soy, oat and rice.QuEChERS extraction was applied obtaining suitable extraction recoveries between 80 and 91%, and good repeatability and reproducibility values. Method Quantification Limits were between 0.05 μg L−1 (for aflatoxin G1 and aflatoxin B1) and 15 μg L−1 (for deoxynivalenol and fumonisin B2). This is the first time that plant-based beverages have been analysed, and certain mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol, aflatoxin B1, aflatoxin B2, aflatoxin G1, aflatoxin G2, ochratoxin A, T-2 toxin and zearalenone, were found in the analysed samples, and some of them quantified between 0.1 μg L−1 and 19 μg L−1.