Contamination of maize with deoxynivalenol and zearalenone in Croatia

This study of incidence of deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEA) was performed on the maize (Zea mays) harvested in Croatia after a growth period characterized with extremely high rainfall and low temperatures. A total of 40 maize samples were collected during harvesting in October 2010 at different maize fields located in the north, central and eastern part of Croatia. Determination of DON and ZEA concentrations was done by simultaneous use of two methods, ELISA/TLC and ELISA/HPLC, for DON and ZEA, respectively. The DON was detected in 85% samples with the maximum concentration of 17.92 mg/kg, while ZEA was detected in 87.5% samples with the maximum concentration of 5.11 mg/kg. Detected high concentrations of DON and ZEA in our research could be explained with the high humidity and significantly low temperatures in the period of growth that might have lead to increased contamination of maize with Fusarium moulds and production of its secondary metabolites. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.