Occurrence of total aflatoxins, ochratoxin A and deoxynivalenol in foodstuffs available on the Lebanese market and their impact on dietary exposure of children and teenagers in Beirut

Abstract

Mycotoxins are fungal metabolites commonly present in food and constituting a potential threat to food safety. Total aflatoxins (AFT), ochratoxin A (OTA) and deoxynivalenol (DON) are among the most widespread mycotoxins. We assessed the occurrence of AFT, OTA and DON in some foodstuffs available on the Lebanese market and evaluated the potential risk to the health of children and teenagers in Beirut from dietary exposure to these mycotoxins. Analytical data on the contamination of raw and processed cereals and cereal-based products, pulses and nuts were collected. The mean levels of AFT, OTA and DON were calculated for each food items. Levels of dietary exposure were obtained by combining food consumption data with the mean mycotoxin levels, adopting a deterministic approach. Intakes were calculated for average and high consumers (75th and 95th percentile) among children and teenagers, and compared with the provisional tolerable daily intake (PTDI) or provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of the respective mycotoxin. The results showed that mycotoxin levels in the food samples were generally below national/European maximum limits. However, high levels of AFT, OTA and DON were found in some samples of nuts, biscuits and bread. The calculated intake for AFT exceeded its respective PTDI in all groups by a factor ranging from 3 to 7. The intakes of OTA and DON were found to be below the threshold of toxicological concern established for these mycotoxins by international expert groups, although the intake of DON in children at the highest percentile (P95) was close to its PTDI. Our study highlights the need to reconsider the maximum permissible levels of total aflatoxins in some foodstuffs and to establish regulatory guidelines regarding OTA and DON. The results also emphasise the need for routine monitoring of the levels of mycotoxin contamination in foodstuffs that are highly consumed by Lebanese children and teenagers, i.e. cereals and cereal-based products.

Cumulative health risk assessment of co-occurring mycotoxins of deoxynivalenol and its acetyl derivatives in wheat and maize: Case study, Shanghai, China

“…Several studies have been performed to evaluate the health risks of DON, 3-ADON and 15-ADON, as single compounds in isolation (Sirot et al, 2013;Soubra et al, 2009). However, compounds in a mixture can work synergistically and cause effects greater than the individual components.…”

Antifungal and antiaflatoxigenic activities of some plant extracts

“…Thus, foods contaminated with these *Corresponding author. E-mail: aamahmoud@ksu.edu.sa or hekemdar@yahoo.com toxigenic fungi and presence of aflatoxins is a major concern which has received world wide attention due to their deleterious effect on human and animal health as well as their importance in international food trade (Mishra and Das, 2003;Soubra et al, 2009).…”

Effect of dietary aflatoxin B 1 on growth, fecundity and tissue accumulation in gibel carp during the stage of gonad development

“…In recent years, studies focusing on AFT contamination in foodstuffs, mainly cereals, nuts, and spices, have been reported in many countries, especially those in Asia and Africa (Bankole et al, 2010;Ding et al, 2012;Ok et al, 2007;Soubra et al, 2009). …”