Journal of Food Processing & Technology

Abstract

A Validated UPLC-MS/MS Multi-mycotoxin Method for Nuts and Cereals for the Official Control in Cyprus within the EU Requirements

Demetris Kafouris, Maria Christofidou, Markela Christodoulou, Eftychia Christou and Eleni Ioannou-Kakouri

The validation of a rapid, reliable and sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of Aflatoxins (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2), Ochratoxin A, Zearalenone, Deoxynivalenol, Fumonisins B1 and B2, T-2 and HT-2 toxins, in nuts (peanuts, pistachio and almonds) and cereals (maize and wheat) is reported. The method was developed and validated to fulfil the requirements of the official control of mycotoxins according to EU legislation. This method is based on a single extraction step using an acetonitrile/ water mixture followed by the analysis of the diluted crude extract using ultra high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The MS/MS detection was carried out using an electro spray-ionization interface (ESI) in positive ion mode. Matrix-matched calibration was used for the quantification of the mycotoxins, because of the absence of further clean up steps that reduce suppression/enhancement matrix effects. The method performance characteristics were determined after spiking blank samples on multiple levels. The mean recoveries of mycotoxins in spiked nuts ranged from 74.4% to 131.7%, while in cereals ranged from 52.8% to 113.9%. Relative standard deviations were lower than 20.4% for all target mycotoxins. Limits of detection and quantification for nuts and cereals ranged 0.08-30.0 and 0.25-99.0 μg/Κg, respectively.