Abstract
Fungal metabolites including regulated mycotoxins were identified by a validated LC-MS/MS method in 180 individual Turkish dried figs from 2017 and 2018 harvests. Hand-selected dried figs were subjectively classified based on the extent of fluorescence. Forty-three fungal metabolites including eight EU-regulated mycotoxins were identified and quantified. Figs classified as being uncontaminated mostly did not contain aflatoxins above 1 μg/kg. Despite being “uncontaminated” from an aflatoxin perspective, kojic acid was present in significant quantities with a maximum level of 3750 mg/kg (0.375% w/w) and tenuazonic acid was also found (2 μg/kg to 298 mg/kg) in some figs. Notable in the screening of figs has been the presence of significant amounts of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in figs also containing significant levels of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), which is the first time that AFM1 has been reported as naturally occurring in dried figs.
Highlights
The production of dried figs employs some agricultural practices with a significant risk of fungal infection of the fruit and subsequent mycotoxin contamination
A significant advancement in the identification of fungal metabolites has been achieved by the application of liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS)
Applying LCTOF-MS for mycotoxin analysis, about 50% of 52 individual figs were contaminated with ochratoxin A (OTA), aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2; zearalenone, fumonisin B2 (FB2); and HT-2 toxin
Summary
The production of dried figs employs some agricultural practices with a significant risk of fungal infection of the fruit and subsequent mycotoxin contamination. These high levels are consistent with reports of analysis of 62 Turkish dried figs from the 1985 harvest, where 11 figs contained AFB1 in the range 1000–10,000 μg/kg and one sample had levels exceeding 10,000 μg/kg (Steiner et al 1988).
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