Survey of aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, zearalenone, and sterigmatocystin in some Brazilian foods by using multi-toxin thin-layer chromatographic method.

A previously published method for ochratoxin A was evaluated and proved appropriate for simultaneous determination of aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, sterigmatocystin, and zearalenone, with considerable savings in time and reagent costs. The detection limits were 2, 5, 15, and 55 micrograms/kg, respectively. The recoveries and coefficients of variation obtained with artificially contaminated samples were 91-101% and 0-16% for aflatoxin B1, 98-117% and 0-17% for sterigmatocystin, and 96-107% and 0-17% for zearalenone, respectively. The coefficients of variation for naturally contaminated samples (aflatoxins in rice and ochratoxin A in beans) ranged from 0 to 8%. The method was used to survey 296 samples that included 10 cultivars of dried beans, 8 types of corn products, 3 types of cassava flour, and both polished and parboiled rice between May 1985 and June 1986 in Campinas, Brazil. Only aflatoxin B1 (9 samples, 20-52 micrograms/kg), aflatoxin G1 (4 samples, 18-31 micrograms/kg), and ochratoxin A (5 samples, 32-160 micrograms/kg) were found. The average contamination percentage was 4.7%; beans showed the highest (6.6%) and rice showed the lowest (3.3%) incidence rates. Zearalenone and sterigmatocystin were not detected. Positive samples were confirmed by chemical derivatization, corroborated by development in 3 solvent systems.