Survey of mycotoxins in milling oats dedicated for food purposes between 2013 and 2019 by LC-MS/MS

Although the common oat (Avena sativa L.) is well known for its nutritional benefits, it carries the risk of contamination with mycotoxins due to its susceptibility to the growth of various fungi. The procurement of milling oats for food could become more difficult in the coming harvest years due to limited availability, specific quality requirements and the avoidance of mycotoxin contamination. In light of ongoing discussions in the European Commission on regulatory limits for certain mycotoxins including their modified forms, the purpose of this study was to improve the database on their occurrence in milling oats. In particular, we provide data on the predominantly occurring trichothecenes such as deoxynivalenol and its acetylated and modified derivatives (e.g. 3-acetyl-deoxynivalenol, 15-acetyl-deoxynivalenol and deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside) as well as on T-2 and HT-2 toxins. Additionally, the following mycotoxins were analysed: zearalenone, nivalenol, diacetoxyscirpenol, fusarenon-X, ochratoxin A, sterigmatocystin and aflatoxins B-1, B-2, G(1) and G(2). Oat samples, (n = 281) pre-selected for their physical properties and DON-content to be less than 1750 mu g/kg from 11 European provenances, were analysed for 16 different mycotoxins by LC-MS/MS. Samples were collected from the years of harvest 2013 to 2019. High incidence rates above the limit of quantification of either 5 mu g/kg for T-2 and HT-2 toxins or 10 mu g/kg for deoxynivalenol were found (98.1, 94.7 and 91.4%, respectively). The mean concentration of the sum of T-2 and HT-2 toxins was 149 mu g/kg. The highest level was found in an Irish sample containing 1290 mu g/kg for the sum of T-2 and HT-2 toxins. The mean deoxynivalenol concentration was 289 mu g/kg, while the highest level was 1414 mu g/kg in a Swedish sample. Besides nivalenol other mycotoxins were only present in trace concentrations or not detected.

Automated summary

Common oat may be contaminated with mycotoxins due to its susceptibility to various fungi, which could pose a challenge in the procurement of milling oats for food production. This study focused on improving the database on mycotoxin occurrence in European milling oats, with trichothecenes, T-2, and HT-2 toxins being the most prevalent contaminants found in the samples.