Chemistry and Toxicology Research Unit Finnish Food Safety Authority

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of fi lamentous fungi. They pose a health risk to humans and animals due to their harmful biological properties and common occurrence in food and feed. Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/ MS) has gained popularity as a feasible analytical technique in the analysis of food contaminants including mycotoxins. In this study, the applicability of the technique was evaluated in multi-residue methods aiming at simultaneous determination of several chemically different mycotoxins produced by fungal genera of Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium and Claviceps. Multi-residue methods were developed for determining mycotoxins from cheese, cereal based agar matrices and grains. A method for selective determination of ergot alkaloids from grains was also devised. The analytical procedures were simple allowing rapid analysis of the mycotoxins of interest. Analytes were extracted from the sample matrices with organic solvents. Minimal sample clean-up was carrie