In this study, ten Fusarium toxins were analysed in wheat and maize commodities from Albania. In total, 71 samples of wheat and 45 samples of maize were collected from different producing regions. The analytical procedure consisted of a simple one-step sample extraction followed by the determination of toxins using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Fusarium toxins were found in 23% of the analysed wheat samples and in 78% of maize samples. In maize samples, most often fumonisins B1 (FB1) and B2 (FB2) were found. They were present in 76% of samples. They were detected in all positive samples except in one with concentrations ranging from 59.9 to 16,970 μg/kg. The sum of FB1 and FB2 exceeded the EU maximum permitted level (4000 μg/kg) in 31% of maize samples. In wheat samples, the only detected Fusarium mycotoxin was deoxynivalenol (DON), present in 23% of samples. In one sample with the concentration of 1916 μg/kg, the EU maximum permitted level (1250 μg/kg) was exceeded. This is the first report on the presence of Fusarium toxins in wheat and maize grains cultivated in Albania.

The occurrence of ergot alkaloids in wheat harvested in Albania was investigated. A total of 71 samples of winter wheat collected in 2014 and 2015 were analysed for the 12 most important ergot alkaloids using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. In the harvesting year 2014, 48.6% of samples were contaminated with ergot alkaloids, whereas in 2015 only 19.4% of samples were contaminated. In 2014, the concentrations of total ergot alkaloids ranged from 17.3 to 975.4 μg kg, and in 2015 they ranged from 10.3 to 390.5 μg kg. The samples contained from one to nine ergot alkaloids. The most frequent were ergometrine, ergosine and ergocristine, and the least frequent were ergocryptine, ergocryptinine and ergocorninine.

The presence of four Alternaria toxins in maize and wheat harvested in 2014 and 2015 in Albania was investigated. In total, 45 samples of maize and 71 samples of wheat were collected from the country’s main producing regions. The presence of alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), tenuazonic acid (TeA) and tentoxin (TTX) was studied by an LC-MS/MS method. The incidence of Alternaria toxins in maize was 45.2% in the year 2014 and 7.1% in 2015, and the contamination rate in wheat was 82.9% in 2014 and 86.1% in 2015. Considering maize and wheat samples together, 65.2 and 64.0% of samples were contaminated by Alternaria toxins in the harvesting years 2014 and 2015, respectively. The occurrence rate was much higher in wheat than in maize, but the concentrations were higher in maize. The highest concentration of total Alternaria toxins in maize was 1,283 μg/kg (mean 243.0 μg/kg, median 110.2 μg/kg), while the maximum concentration in wheat was 175.7 μg/kg (mean 29.9 μg/kg, median 16.5 μg/kg). TeA was the major Alternaria mycotoxin detected. It was found in 70 out of 116 samples (60.3%). Chronic exposure of the adult population in Albania to Alternaria toxins through cereal consumption was assessed by the estimated daily intake (EDI) taking into account daily consumption of wheat and maize of 380 and 4.9 g, respectively. The main contribution to chronic dietary exposure was by TeA originating from wheat, with EDIs of 88.6-94.1 ng/kg body weight (bw) per day in 2014 and 152.7-155.5 ng/kg bw per day in 2015. TTX EDIs were 7.8- 34.0 and 10.6-38.7 ng/kg bw per day in 2014 and 2015, respectively. The contribution of AOH and AME originating from wheat was 0-31.7 ng/kg bw per day. The contribution of Alternaria toxins through maize consumption was significantly lower.