Concentrations and exposure estimates of deoxynivalenol in wheat products from Argentina

The aim of this work was to determine deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination in wheat-based food products in Argentina and to estimate DON exposure. The numbers of samples were determined according to a developed sampling plan. A total of 156 samples of different wheat products were randomly collected from food markets in Lujan, Argentina, and analyzed for DON by gas chromatography. DON contamination ranged 7-271 ng g-1 for French bread, 5-149 ng g-1 for Vienna bread, 11-85 ng g-1 for crackers, 8-85 ng g-1 for pizza, and was 79 ng g-1 for noodles. The maximum contribution to DON intake was 7% of the PMTDI for French bread; the minimum was less than 1% for noodles. Assuming all groups had eaten all sampled foods and summing all groups' intake contribution, the highest estimate DON exposure would only be 14% (for the 18-24-year old men group) of the DON daily dietary intake.