Trichothecenes in breakfast cereals from the Spanish retail market

► 148 Breakfast cereal foods from Spanish market have been examined for trichothecenes. ► Mycotoxins occurred at low concentrations, with DON being the most frequent toxin. ► The highest mean content of DON was detected in wheat-made samples. ► This is the first report of detection Fusarenon-X in Spanish foods. ► Levels detected confirms a chronic intake of mycotoxins. Deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV), 3-acetyl-DON (3-AcDON), 15-acetyl-DON (15-AcDON) and fusarenone X (Fus-X) were analysed in 148 breakfast cereal samples collected from the Spanish retail market. The samples were taken from the products most commonly consumed by the Spanish population. Major ingredients included corn, wheat and rice, alone or mixed. The trichothecenes were extracted with acetonitrile:water (84:16, v/v). The extracts were cleaned by means of Mycosep 227 columns. For analysis gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) after derivatisation to trimethylsilyl ethers was utilised. Mean recovery values, obtained from different matrices of cereal samples spiked with trichothecenes ranged from 69% to 110% with relative standard deviation lower than 10%. The estimated limits of detection and quantification, calculated at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3:1 and of 6:1, respectively, were between 8.90 and 14.7μg/kg, and between 15.2 and 23.6μg/kg, respectively. DON was the most frequently detected mycotoxin and was usually present at the highest concentration. NIV and Fus-X were detected in 4 and 2 samples, respectively; 3- and 15-AcDON were not detected. The calculated dietary intake was compared to tolerable daily intake (TDI) values. The survey demonstrated a regular occurrence of low levels of trichothecenes in breakfast cereals on the Spanish market.