Natural occurrence of fumonisin B1 in dried figs as an unexpected hazard.

Occurrence of fumonisin B(1) (FB(1)) in dried figs was determined using liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection after extraction with methanol-water and clean-up. One hundred and fifty five dried fig samples were taken while the figs were drying in 7 different districts in the Aegean Region in 2003 and 2004. FB(1) contamination were determined in 86 of 115 samples at detectable levels. Average FB(1) level was 0.369 and 0.466 in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Overall mean for FB(1) was calculated as 0.315 microg/g; overall median was 0.080 microg/g. The FB(1) content of positive samples ranged from 0.046 and 3.649 microg/g, while only 9.6% of the samples contained FB(1) above 1 microg/g. FB(1) contamination in the dried fig samples in 2004 (79.6%) was higher than in 2003 (71.8%). Selcuk (0.565 microg/g) was ranked first among means; however the highest incidences of FB(1) contamination was determined in dried figs from Incirliova (84.6%). This is the first report of occurrence of FB(1) in dried figs.