Study of co-occurrence of mycotoxins in cocoa beans in Brazil by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)

In this study, 135 samples of cocoa beans collected in the Amazon and Atlantic Forest regions of Brazil were analysed to evaluate the possible co-occurrence of 34 mycotoxins. The results indicate that 42% of the cocoa samples exhibited quantifiable levels for 11 mycotoxins: aflatoxins (AFs) B-1, B-2 and G(1); ochratoxin A; citrinin; cyclopiazonic acid; tenuazonic acid; paxilline; sterigmatocystin; zearalenone and fumonisin B-2. Of the samples, 18% exhibited the co-occurrence of up to six mycotoxins. No toxins belonging to the groups of trichothecenes or ergot alkaloids were detected. Contingency analysis of the incidence of mycotoxins did not show significant differences between the two regions evaluated. Seven samples were contaminated with AFs, while only one contained ochratoxin A above 10 & mu;g kg(-1). The accuracy of the method was evaluated by proficiency testing for ochratoxin A, where satisfactory Z-scores were obtained.

Automated summary

In this study, 135 cocoa bean samples from the Amazon and Atlantic Forest regions in Brazil were analyzed for the presence of 34 mycotoxins. The results showed that 42% of the cocoa samples contained quantifiable levels of 11 mycotoxins. The co-occurrence of up to six mycotoxins was observed in 18% of the samples, while no trichothecenes or ergot alkaloids were detected.