Abstract
Brazil is one of the world’s largest corn producers and is a leader in exportation. Due to intense globalization, corn may be commercialized worldwide and the issue concerning the safety of corn-based products has become a topic of widespread international interest. Dietary exposure evaluation is a relevant criterion for mycotoxin risk assessment. Thus, human exposure to fumonisins were assessed for corn grain and its derivatives (endosperm, cornmeal, and grits; n = 320) sampled from one of the large-scale corn processing plants in Brazil. The total probable daily intake (PDI) for fumonisins in Brazil was 96.9 ng kg−1 body weight day−1, which corresponds to 5% of the provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PMTDI) of 2000 ng kg−1 b.w. day−1 for fumonisins. In countries that import Brazilian corn, the total PDI is lower in European countries (from 35.7 to 177 ng kg−1 b.w. day−1) and higher in Angola (1553 ng kg−1 b.w. day−1). Taking into account that dietary exposure in populations in Brazil and importing countries was low, the corn-based products were safe for human consumption regarding fumonisins, even for regions with high corn consumption.
Highlights
Corn is an economically important crop in Brazil and is a relevant staple food in many developing countries due to its nutritional value [1]
Fumonisins are a group of toxic secondary metabolites produced mainly by fungal species Fusarium verticillioides and F. proliferatum, primary corn pathogens that cause disease in all the development stages of the plant and are associated to several toxic effects in humans [4,5,6] and animals [7,8]
160 samples were collected of corn grain (n = 40) and its fractions after the dry-milling process of products destined for human consumption, i.e., endosperm (n = 40), cornmeal (n = 40) and grits (n = 40), totaling 320 samples in two years
Summary
Corn is an economically important crop in Brazil and is a relevant staple food in many developing countries due to its nutritional value [1]. Brazil is the third largest corn producer in the world and produced 97.7 million tons in the 2016/17 crop and exported 30 million tons [2]. Tropical and subtropical climates in Brazil favor corn contamination by a variety of mold species, which can deteriorate grain causing loss in hygienic quality, in addition to mycotoxin production [3]. Fumonisins are a group of toxic secondary metabolites produced mainly by fungal species Fusarium verticillioides and F. proliferatum, primary corn pathogens that cause disease in all the development stages of the plant and are associated to several toxic effects in humans [4,5,6] and animals [7,8]. A total of 28 fumonisin analogues have been isolated and characterized since 1988, but fumonisins B1 (FB1 ) and B2 (FB2 ) occur at a higher frequency in corn [3]
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