Determination of mycotoxin exposure in Germany using an LC‐MS/MS multibiomarker approach

SCOPE: In this study, the exposure of a German population (n = 101) to mycotoxins was assessed using an LC‐MS/MS urinary multibiomarker approach. Food consumption of the participants was documented with a food frequency questionnaire to correlate mycotoxin exposure with individual nutritional habits. METHODS AND RESULTS: The presence of 23 urinary biomarkers including trichothecenes (deoxynivalenol (DON), DON‐3‐glucuronide (DON‐3‐GlcA), T‐2 toxin, HT‐2 toxin (HT‐2, HT‐2‐toxin‐4‐glucuronide (HT‐2‐GlcA), fumonisins (fumonisin B₁,fumonisin B₂), aflatoxins (aflatoxin B₁, aflatoxin G₂, aflatoxin B₂, aflatoxin M₁), zearalenone and derivatives (zearalanone, α‐zearalenol, β‐zearalenol, zearalenone‐14‐O‐glucuronide, zearalanone‐14‐O‐glucuronide, α‐zearalenol‐14‐O‐glucuronide/β‐zearalenol‐14‐O‐glucuronide), ochratoxin A, ochratoxin alpha, enniatin B and dihydrocitrinone was evaluated using a validated, sensitive “dilute and shoot”‐LC‐MS/MS method applying Scheduled MRMᵀᴹtechnology. Six mycotoxins and urinary metabolites were detected (DON, DON‐3‐GlcA, zearalenone‐14‐O‐glucuronide, T‐2 toxin, enniatin B, and dihydrocitrinone) in 87% of the samples in single‐ or co‐occurence. Only DON and DON‐3‐GlcA were detectable in quantifiable amounts. A provisional mean daily intake of 0.52 μg DON/kg body weight was calculated. No statistical evidence for the correlation of staple food intake and urinary biomarker concentration could be determined. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest a low everyday exposure of the investigated German population to mycotoxins, but reveal peak exposures above the widely accepted tolerable daily intake to DON in parts of the population.