Risk characterization and quantification of mycotoxins and their producing fungi in sugarcane juice: A neglected problem in a widely-consumed traditional beverage

Sugarcane juice is a traditional drink consumed on a daily basis in Egypt. The current work was conducted to (1) evaluate the multi-mycotoxin contamination in sugarcane juice, (2) identify the profiles of the mycotoxigenic fungi, and (3) assess the risk of mycotoxin exposure among the adult population. Sugarcane juice samples (n = 89) were randomly collected in two seasons from Egypt. Quantification of 13 mycotoxins was done through a validated LC-MS/MS method. The isolated fungal species were identified using the morphological and molecular approaches and a risk assessment was performed using @Risk software. In general, 63% (n = 56) of the samples were contaminated with aflatoxin B-1 (AFB(1)) and fumonisin B-1 (FB1). Juice collected during winter had a contamination range of 0.1-3 mu g L-1 for AFBI and 2.8-57.9 mu g L-1 for FB1, while samples from the summer season had a contamination range of 0.3-1.3 mu g L-1 for AFB(1) only. A multiple locus characterization showed the presence of Aspergillus, especially A. novoparasiticus, and Penicillium species. A remarkable difference in the levels of juice consumption was observed between the two seasons and between male and female consumer groups. However, the exposure levels using the probabilistic approach were not alarming.