Exposure to deoxynivalenol, Ht-2 and T-2 toxins by consumption of wheat-based product in southern Brazil

Trichothecenes are a group of mycotoxins found in wheat infected by Fusarium fungi during cultivation. Wheat flour is one of the main vehicles for mycotoxin introduction into the industrial environment, and is raw material of various bakery products, such as pasta, cakes, breads and biscuits. The objective of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of DON, HT-2 and T-2 toxins in Cracker biscuits produced in southern Brazil. For this purpose, the method for simultaneous determination of trichothecenes DON, HT-2 and T-2 toxins was standardized. The determination of trichothecenes A and B was carried out by HPLC-DAD, using ACN: H2O (96:4, v/v) as mobile phase. The recoveries of DON, HT-2 and T-2 toxins in biscuits were 99%, 84%, and 81%, whose matrix effect increased the signal by 14%, 3%, and 10%, respectively. The study showed that 18 of 23 samples were contaminated with DON (378–5295 μg kg−1); of which 22% were above the maximum limit established by Brazilian law. The T-2 and HT-2 toxins were not detected in the samples. Considering the contamination the maximum DON level that can be ingested through the consumption of Cracker biscuits is 0.08 μg kg−1 body weight per day. These results demonstrate the importance in establishing the actual consumption of wheat based products in Brazil, since these products are widely consumed by different age groups of the population.