Multi-mycotoxin screening of food grain produced in Russia in 2018

Accumulation and analysis of data concerning mycotoxins in food grain, their co-occurrence and concentration are essential for health risk analysis and management. Mycotoxins were analyzed in 162 samples of food wheat, barley, maize, oat and rye harvested in seven Federal Districts: Central, Volga, Urals, Siberian, Far Eastern, Southern and Northern Caucasus in 2018. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry was used to detect 28analytes: regulated mycotoxins (deoxynivalenol (DON), T-2 toxin (T-2), zearalenone (ZEA), fumonisins B1 and B2 (FB1 and FB2), aflatoxin B1 (AFL B1), ochratoxin A (OTA), their derivatives (3- and 15-Acetyl-DON, nivalenol (NIV), fusarenone X (FUSX), HT-2 toxin (HT-2), T-2 triol, neosolaniol (NEOS), α- and β-zearalenol (α- and β-ZEL), aflatoxins B2, G1, G2 (AFL B2, G1, G2), sterigmatocystin (STC); Alternaria mycotoxins (tentoxin (TE), altenuene (ALT), alternariol (AOH), its methyl ether (AME)), citrinin (CIT), citreoviridin (CTV), mycophenolic (MPA) and cyclopiazonic (CPA) acids. Most wheat samples from Central, Volga, Urals and Siberian Federal Districts were positive for Alternaria toxins, while deoxynivalenol (DON) was discovered in the wheat from the Krasnodar region. ZEA, T-2 and HT-2, OTA, CIT and MPA were present in wheat samples also. FB1 or FB1 + FB2 and DON (DON or DON + 15-AcDON) prevailed in corn from the Southern and the Northern Caucasus regions. MPA and NEOS were detected in a third of studied corn samples, while Alternaria toxins were absent. Barley from the South of Russia was mostly contaminated with T-2 and HT-2 alongside FB1. Like wheat, most barley samples from Central, Volga, Urals and Siberian Federal Districts were positive for Alternaria toxins. The occurrence of Alternaria toxins in rye and oat samples was high regardless of region of origin. T-2 and HT-2, NEOS and CIT were detected in these samples also. However, DON was not found in any sample of barley, rye, or wheat. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to report CTV in food grain of wheat, barley and corn from Russia. Thus, the detected mycotoxins pattern of food grain proved to depend on the crop and the grain origin. The results correlate well with reported data on fungal contamination of cereals and mycotoxins found in feed. High OTA occurrence (7.4 % of all samples) with 45 % positives over maximum level should be noted concerning safety assurance.