Known and Emerging Mycotoxins in Small- and Large-Scale Brewed Beer

Terenzio Bertuzzi,Annalisa Mulazzi,Gianluca Donadini,Silvia Rastelli,Amedeo Pietri

doi:10.3390/beverages4020046

Abstract

The occurrence of ochratoxin A (OTA), deoxynivalenol (DON), sterigmatocystin (STC), and citrinin (CIT) was evaluated in samples of small- (SS) and large-scale (LS) brewed beer. The analyses were conducted using HPLC-FLD for OTA, GC-MS for DON, and LC-MS/MS for STC and CIT. During 2017, a total of 83 samples of SS and LS brewed beer (42 and 41, respectively) were sampled; for both types of beer, the most sold beers in Italy were collected. CIT was never detected in any sample, whereas OTA, DON, and STC prevalence was 45.8%, 25.3%, and 27.7%, respectively. The mean and maximum values for OTA, DON, and STC were 0.007 and 0.070; 8.6 and 99; 0.001 and 0.018 µg/kg, respectively. No significant difference was observed between the SS and LS beers. The results of this survey showed a low contamination; the levels found should not represent a serious risk for consumers’ health.

Highlights

Mycotoxins are naturally occurring secondary metabolites of fungi that can be produced on a wide range of agricultural commodities
Considering the most known mycotoxins, numerous surveys have reported the occurrence of ochratoxin A (OTA) and deoxynivalenol (DON) in several beer samples, while zearalenone and aflatoxins were rarely detected
The results showed low values of contamination for each mycotoxin, both for samples of small- (SS) and LS beer; descriptive statistics of the results are reported in

Summary

Introduction

Mycotoxins are naturally occurring secondary metabolites of fungi that can be produced on a wide range of agricultural commodities. In addition to known mycotoxins, for which maximum levels in food are enforced, the so-called, currently unregulated, “emerging mycotoxins”, can frequently occur in agricultural products. Among these toxins, EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) requested data on the presence of sterigmatocystin (STC) and citrinin (CIT) in food [5,6]. EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) requested data on the presence of sterigmatocystin (STC) and citrinin (CIT) in food [5,6] All these mycotoxins have been associated with human and animal diseases; further, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified OTA and STC as possible human carcinogens (class 2B). As a result of too limited or inadequate data, CIT and DON were not classifiable with regard to their carcinogenicity to humans (class 3) [7,8,9]

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