Dietary exposure to mycotoxins and health risk assessment in the second French total diet study

Mycotoxins are produced in plants by micro-fungi species, and naturally contaminated the food chain. In the second French total diet study (TDS), mycotoxins were analyzed in 577 food samples collected in mainland France to be representative of the population diet and prepared 〈〈as consumed〉〉. Highest mean concentrations were found in wheat and cereal-based products (bread, breakfast cereals, pasta, pastries, pizzas and savoury pastries…). Exposure of adult and child populations was assessed by combining national consumption data with analytical results, using lowerbound (LB) and upperbound (UB) assumptions for left-censorship management. Individual exposures were compared with available health-based guidance values (HBGV). Only the exposure to deoxynivalenol (DON) and its acetylated derivatives was found to significantly exceed the HBGV in LB in adults (0.5% [0.1; 0.8]) and children (5% [4; 6]). HBGV was exceeded in UB only for T-2 and HT-2 toxins by, respectively, 0.2% [0.02; 0.05] and 4% [3; 5] of adults, and 11% [9; 12] and 35% [32; 37] of children. Although the exposures assessed were generally lower than the previous French TDS, the results indicated a health concern for trichothecenes and a need to reduce dietary exposure as well as analytical limits.