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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Analysis of fumonisins in corn-based food by liquid chromatography with fluorescence and mass spectrometry detectors

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Abstract The presented procedure involves an extraction with methanol–water, centrifugation and cleanup with immunoaffinity columns. A comparison study between fluorescence detector, mass spectrometry, and tandem mass spectrometry with a triple quadrupole (QqQ) analyzer using an electrospray ionisation interface for the determination of fumonisin B1 and B2 in corn-based products has been performed. Limits of quantification obtained by the three detectors were lower than the maximum levels established by European Commission. Liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry provides higher sensitivity (12 μg kg−1for fumonisins B1 and B2) when compared to mass spectrometry (40 μg kg−1for both fumonisins), and fluorescence detection (20 μg kg−1 for fumonisin B1 and 15 μg kg−1 for B2), and also showed to be more precise. At 150 and 250 μg kg−1 spiking levels, the recovery rates for fumonisin B1 and B2 in corn products varied from 79% to 102%, with a relative standard deviation ranging from 9% to 17%. A critical assessment including advantages and drawbacks of each technique is presented. A total of 41 organic and non-organic corn-based food samples from Valencia markets were analyzed. Seven samples were contaminated with levels ranging from 68 μg kg−1 to 922 μg kg−1of fumonisin B1 and 42 μg kg−1 to 640 μg kg−1of fumonisin B2. Only one sample exceeded the maximum level for the sum of fumonisin B1 and B2, proposed for corn products in a recent EU regulation. The contamination frequency of organic corn samples (40%) was higher than non-organic ones (3.7%), and contained higher levels of fumonisin B1 and B2.