Daily intake estimates of fumonisins in corn-based food products in the population of Parana, Brazil

One hundred (100) samples of corn-based food products were collected between February 2007 and July 2010 to estimate the intake of fumonisins in the state of Paraná, Brazil. The identification of fumonisins was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection and post column o-phthaldialdehyde (OPA) derivatisation. The occurrences of fumonisins B1 (FB1) and B2 (FB2) were 82% and 51%, respectively, with concentrations ranging from 126 to 4348 μg/kg (FB1 + FB2). Among corn-based products, corn meal had a higher prevalence of fumonisin (96.6%), and corn grits had the highest level of contamination (3462 μg/kg for FB1 and 886 μg/kg for FB2). The average probable daily intake (APDI) and maximum probable daily intake (MPDI) estimated for the population of Parana, Brazil, were 120.58 and 256.07 ng/kg body weight/day, respectively, which is lower than the provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PMTDI), 2000 ng/kg body weight/day.