Occurrence of fumonisin B1 in maize imported into Taiwan

Samples of maize imported into Taiwan during 1997–1998 were collected and analyzed for the presence of fumonisin B1 (FB1) using high performance liquid chromatography. Eight (6.8%) of 118 samples were found to contain FB1 (334–1614 μg kg−1). The frequency of FB1 found in maize samples imported from Australia was 20%, followed by Thailand (10%), and USA (5.1%). In analyzing the distribution pattern, it was found that 93.2% of the samples had FB1 concentrations below 100 μg kg−1, and only 3.4% (or four samples) were in excess of 300 μg kg−1.