Human Exposure Assessment To Mycotoxins: Global Study In Catalonia (Spain)

Exposure to mycotoxins in food is a widely recognized health risk, which is receiving increasing attention. In the present paper we show the design and the main results of the first study in order to assess the occurrence of the most important mycotoxins in Catalonia (North East part of Spain), and the exposure of its population to these important food contaminants. To reach these objectives, first the levels of mycotoxins were determined in the most susceptible to contamination and most commonly consumed commodities in this region, mainly cereal-based food, baby food, dried fruits, species, apple-based food and dairy products. On the other hand, dietary intake was assessed in all population groups in order to characterize and quantify their exposure to the mycotoxins. Analyzed mycotoxins were the aflatoxins (AF) B-1, B-2, G(1), G(2) and M-1, deoxynivalenol (DON), fumonisins (FBs) B-1 and B-2, ochratoxin A (OTA), patulin (PAT), T-2 and HT-2 toxin and zearalenone (ZEA). In total, 3,447 samples were purchased during 2008 and 2009 in six hypermarkets and supermarkets from the twelve main cities of Catalonia, representative of 72 % of the population. The samples were pooled in order to obtain analytical samples (n = 1,690), to determine and quantify, from one to eleven out of the total of mycotoxins cited before. These were extracted, purified and determined following validated methods which included clean-up procedures using immunoaffinity columns (IAC), and determination by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array or fluorescence detection, or gas chromatography with electrochemical or mass detection, depending on case. Food diet intake of the related foods was assessed through a specific Food Frequency Questionnaire developed for Catalonian population. 79 elders, 720 adults, 236 teenagers, 68 infants, 166 baby parents, 56 ethnic individuals and 70 celiac sufferers were interviewed during 2008 and 2009. Special attention was focused in two special groups: ethnic and celiac, who were thoroughly studied taken into account their specific dietary habits. Populations exposure to the mycotoxins was assessed through the combination of contamination data with consumption data by means of deterministic methodology. Furthermore, such exposure to OTA and FBs was also checked though the respective urine and blood biomarkers. The results showed that the occurrence of the studied mycotoxins in Catalonia was low and, in general, results also showed that the concentration levels found were below the respective safety levels established by the European Commission. The most significant mycotoxins in the Catalonian market were OTA and DON, which were widely found in species and cereal- based food, respectively. Population exposure assessment studies showed that non health risk derived from mycotoxins through the consumption of the studied food products should be expected for the Catalonian population agreeing to what has been observed in other European countries. However, special attention should be focused on babies, children and several ethnic groups who seem to be the most exposed people.