Occurrence of deoxynivalenol and zearalenone in cereals and cereal products from Turkey

Abstract

This report describes concentrations of deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEA) in cereals and derived products collected in Turkey from 2015 to 2018. A total of 240 cereals and cereal products were analysed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array (HPLC-PDA) and fluorescence (HPLC-FLD) detectors. The analytical method performance was satisfactory, with limit of quantification (LOQ) values of 46.90–72.30 μg kg−1, and 3.50–3.70 μg kg−1 for DON and ZEA, respectively. Thirteen wheat (58–1092 μg kg−1), two maize (313–331 μg kg−1), three barley (138–973 μg kg−1), seven paddy rice (136–256 μg kg−1), three wheat flour (92–151 μg kg−1), two biscuits (31.2–71.3 μg kg−1) and only one pasta (49.3 μg kg−1) contained DON, but levels were below the EU maximum level (ML). DON was not detected in bulgur and wheat bread. ZEA was found in two wheat, three maize, eleven paddy rice and two wheat flour with a mean middle bound ZEA level of 1.34, 28.0, 42.9, and 2.66 μg kg−1, respectively. Amongst the samples contaminated with ZEA, only one paddy rice exceeded EU ML of 100 μg kg−1. However, barley, bulgur, wheat bread, pasta and biscuit products did not contain ZEA.