Contents of Fusarium toxins in Finnish and imported grains and feeds.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the levels of trichothecenes in representative samples of Finnish and imported cereals and feeds from the 1987 and 1988 crops. Trichothecene concentrations were determined in samples as trimethylsilylether derivatives by a gas chromatograph equipped with a mass selective detector (GC-MSD) using selected ion monitoring (SIM) which proved to be a reliable and sufficiently sensitive technique. Representative samples of Finnish and imported oats, wheat, barley, rye, maize gluten, soy granules, rapeseed, turnip rapeseed, fish meal, poultry feed and pig feed were analysed employing 19-nortestosterone as an internal standard. Almost all grain and feed samples contained deoxynivalenol (DON) from 7 to 300 micrograms/kg and smaller amounts (13-120 micrograms/kg) of 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3-AcDON). The most toxic trichothecenes, T-2, HT-2 toxins and nivalenol (NIV) and also zeralenone (ZEN) were found at low concentrations in some samples. Six lots of oats containing 1.3-2.6 mg/kg of DON and 0.2-0.6 mg/kg of 3-AcDON were found in the Finnish grain samples. Silo samples of almost all imported grains contained DON but at levels below 50 micrograms/kg. Imported grains contained no other trichothecenes. DON, 3-AcDON and ZEN were found in imported feedstuffs at low concentrations.