Transfer of aflatoxin B1 and fumonisin B1 from naturally contaminated raw materials to beer during an industrial brewing process

• Published in: Food additives & contaminants. Part A, Chemistry, analysis, control, exposure & risk assessment Chemistry, analysis, control, exposure & risk assessment, 2010-10, Vol.27 (10), p.1431-1439
• Main Authors: Pietri, A., Bertuzzi, T., Agosti, B., Donadini, G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aflatoxin B1; Aflatoxin B1 - analysis; Aflatoxins; Beer; Beer - analysis; Beers; Biological and medical sciences; Breweries; Brewing; Carcinogens, Environmental - analysis; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Chromatography, Liquid; Consumers; Fermented food industries; Food additives; Food contamination; Food Contamination - analysis; Food Handling; Food industries; Food toxicology; Fumonisin B1; fumonisin B2; fumonisins; Fumonisins - analysis; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); Hordeum - chemistry; Hordeum vulgare; Italy; liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS); Mass Spectrometry; Mycotoxins; Quality Control; raw materials; Risk assessment; Solubility; Toxins; Zea mays; Zea mays - chemistry
• ISSN: 1944-0049; 1944-0057
• DOI: 10.1080/19440049.2010.489912

The aim of this research was to determine the fate of aflatoxins (AFs) and fumonisins (FBs) naturally occurring in raw materials (maize grit and malted barley) during four industrial brewing processes. The aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) level in raw materials varied from 0.31 to 14.85 µg kg −1 , while the fumonisin B 1 (FB 1 ) level (only in maize grit) varied from 1146 to 3194 µg kg −1 . The concentration in finished beer ranged from 0.0015 to 0.022 µg l −1 for AFB 1 and from 37 to 89 µg l −1 for FB 1 ; the other aflatoxins and fumonisin B 2 were not found in beer samples. The average percentage of toxins recovered in finished beer, referring to the amounts contained in raw materials, were 1.5% ± 0.8% for AFB 1 and 50.7% ± 4.7% for FB 1 . These results were mainly due to the different solubility of the two mycotoxins during the mashing process. If raw materials comply with the limits fixed by European Commission Regulations, the contribution of a moderate daily consumption of beer to AFB 1 and FB 1 intake does not contribute significantly to the exposure of the consumer.