Risk assessment of deoxynivalenol in food: concentration limits, exposure and effects.

The mycotoxin, deoxynivalenol (DON), is produced world-wide by the Fusarium genus in different cereal crops. We derived a provisional TDI of 1.1 microg/kg body weight (bw) and proposed a concentration limit of 129 microg DON/kg wheat based on this TDI and a high wheat consumption of children. In the period September 1998-January 2000, the average DON concentration in wheat was 446 microg/kg (n = 219) in The Netherlands. During this period, the dietary intake of DON exceeded the provisional TDI, especially in children. Eighty percent of the one-year-olds showed a DON intake above the provisional TDI and 20% of these children exceeded twice the provisional TDI. Our probabilistic effect assessment shows that at these exposure levels, health effects may occur. Suppressive effects on body weights and relative liver weight were estimated at 2.2 and 2.7%. However, the large confidence intervals around these estimates indicated that the magnitudes of these effects are uncertain.