Development of a multicomponent method for Fusarium toxins using LC-MS/MS and its application during a survey for the content of T-2 toxin and deoxynivalenol in various feed and food samples.

A reliable, sensitive and selective method was developed to determine different Fusarium mycotoxins (trichothecenes Type A and B, zearalenone) simultaneously in cereals and cereal-based samples using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). Sample preparation is based on a standard solvent extraction step followed by two different kinds of solid-phase clean-up procedures: using a multifunctional MycoSep material for trichothecenes and zearalenone. The average recoveries for trichothecenes ranged from 65% for nivalenol (NIV) up to 96% for deoxynivalenol (DON) and 89% for zearalenone (ZON). The limit of quantification varied between 0.02 and 10 ppb for each substance. In addition, a screening survey with 685 samples was carried out to compare contents of T-2 toxin and deoxynivalenol and to investigate potential coherence in contamination pattern.