Dietary exposure assessment to mycotoxins from traditional meat products in Croatia

Abstract

Mycotoxins may be present in traditional meat products (TMPs) due to production of moulds overgrowing their surface during ripening or due to contaminated spices or meat used in their production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the human exposure to the mycotoxins, including aflatoxins (AFs) B1, B2, G1 and G2 (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2), ochratoxin A (OTA), cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), citrinin (CIT) and sterigmatocystin (STC), which may be present in TMPs, using 288 samples available on the market in relation to the consumption data of Croatian citizens. AFs and CIT weren't detected in any sample, so the exposure to these mycotoxins in TMP can be considered negligible. The determined exposure to STC was 0.011–0.020 ng/kg bw/day far below the exposure of low health concern set by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The determined exposure to CPA was up to 5.75 ng/kg bw/day, but there isn't yet a health-based guideline value (HBGV) for the consumer risk associated with CPA in food. The determined exposure to OTA was 0.043–0.121 ng/kg bw/day, and according to the margin of exposure (MoE) approach, in the case of the upper bound (UB) scenario, for neoplastic effects a low concern was identified in 0.12% of consumers, while for non-neoplastic effects a potential health concern was identified in 4.15% of consumers. Among the TMP categories, dry-fermented sausages contributed the most to consumer exposure for all three mycotoxins detected. Results indicate that mycotoxins presence should be monitored over a longer period of time where different data can be expected in order to observe the trend of human exposure.