[Not Available].

An analytical method for the detection of fusaric acid in wheat and wheat products has been developed as well as employed for the survey of randomly selected samples (n=33). While the application of GC-FID proved to be not sensitive enough for this purpose, the sensitivity and selectivity of GC-MS permitted the quantification of the mycotoxin in 78% of the wheat samples.The measured concentrations ranged from 7 to 570 μg/kg (average value 134 μg/kg). However, clear differences were recognizable regarding the type of sample: While field samples showed 332 μg/kg on an average, cleaned grains designated for human consumption contained averaged 138 μg/kg, and wholemeal products 68 μg/kg.Although the limited number of samples does not permit final conclusions, the toxicological relevance of fusaric acid alone may probably be classified as small. To what extent the well known cumulative effects with deoxynivalenol and fumonisin B1 impair this evaluation has to remain elusive.