Application of an LC-MS/MS based multi-mycotoxin method for the semi-quantitative determination of mycotoxins occurring in different types of food infected by moulds

An existing LC-MS/MS method for multi-mycotoxin determination was extended by further 19 analytes and was applied for a semi-quantitative screening of 87 mouldy food samples from private households, including bread, fruits, vegetables, cheeses, nuts and jam. In the 247 investigated sub-samples, 49 different analytes were identified, some of which were never reported before to occur in naturally contaminated food. Enniatins and ergot alkaloids occurred in all samples of (dark) bread/pastries at low mu g/kg-levels. From the remaining analytes, chanoclavine, emodin, mycophenolic acid and roquefortine C were found most frequently. Regulated mycotoxins occurred less often, but the corresponding concentrations exceeded the regulatory limits up to a factor of 1000 in case of patulin. Moreover, considerable mycotoxin concentrations were observed in some sub-samples taken from non-mouldy spots of the investigated samples. Thus, it was concluded that it is not safe to remove the mouldy part and consume the remainder. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.