Occurrence of fumonisin B1 in maize imported into Taiwan.

Samples of maize imported into Taiwan during 1997-1998 were collected and analyzed for the presence of fumonisin B1 (FB1) using high performance liquid chromatography. Eight (6.8%) of 118 samples were found to contain FB1 (334-1614 microg kg(-1)). The frequency of FB1 found in maize samples imported from Australia was 20%, followed by Thailand (10%), and USA (5.1%). In analyzing the distribution pattern, it was found that 93.2% of the samples had FB1 concentrations below 100 microg kg(-1), and only 3.4% (or four samples) were in excess of 300 microg kg(-1).