Co-occurrence of Deoxynivalenol and Zearalenone in Cereals and their Products

Deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN) are naturally occurring toxins produced by Fusar- ium species, which may grow on cereals. The aims of this study were to determine the incidence and contamination levels of DON and ZEN in cereal products. Seventy samples of cereal products were randomly selected from retail outlets during 2005 and 2006. DON and ZEN were analyzed by using high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence and UV-detector, respectively. Detection limits were 4.4 µg kg -1 for DON and 3.4 µg kg -1 for ZEN. DON and ZEN were detected in 37 and 17, respectively, of the 70 samples, but the levels found were very low. In particular, out of 70 samples, 12 samples of corn and barley were co-contaminated with DON and ZEN, with levels ranging from 5.6 to 1842.3 µg kg -1 for DON and 12.1 to 174.9 µg kg -1 for ZEN, respectively. However, DON and ZEN were not detected in breakfast cereals and wheat flour. The highest level was found in dried corn kernel samples that confirmed by LC-MS. This study show that DON and ZEN co-contaminate with low levels in cereal products.