Occurrence of total aflatoxins, ochratoxin A and deoxynivalenol in foodstuffs available on the Lebanese market and their impact on dietary exposure of children and teenagers in Beirut

Abstract

Mycotoxins are fungal metabolites commonly present in food and constituting a potential threat to food safety. Total aflatoxins (AFT), ochratoxin A (OTA) and deoxynivalenol (DON) are among the most widespread mycotoxins. We assessed the occurrence of AFT, OTA and DON in some foodstuffs available on the Lebanese market and evaluated the potential risk to the health of children and teenagers in Beirut from dietary exposure to these mycotoxins. Analytical data on the contamination of raw and processed cereals and cereal-based products, pulses and nuts were collected. The mean levels of AFT, OTA and DON were calculated for each food items. Levels of dietary exposure were obtained by combining food consumption data with the mean mycotoxin levels, adopting a deterministic approach. Intakes were calculated for average and high consumers (75th and 95th percentile) among children and teenagers, and compared with the provisional tolerable daily intake (PTDI) or provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of the respective mycotoxin. The results showed that mycotoxin levels in the food samples were generally below national/European maximum limits. However, high levels of AFT, OTA and DON were found in some samples of nuts, biscuits and bread. The calculated intake for AFT exceeded its respective PTDI in all groups by a factor ranging from 3 to 7. The intakes of OTA and DON were found to be below the threshold of toxicological concern established for these mycotoxins by international expert groups, although the intake of DON in children at the highest percentile (P95) was close to its PTDI. Our study highlights the need to reconsider the maximum permissible levels of total aflatoxins in some foodstuffs and to establish regulatory guidelines regarding OTA and DON. The results also emphasise the need for routine monitoring of the levels of mycotoxin contamination in foodstuffs that are highly consumed by Lebanese children and teenagers, i.e. cereals and cereal-based products.

Keywords:

• mycotoxins
• dietary exposure
• Lebanon
• occurrence
• children and teenagers

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the AUF (Association Universitaire pour la Francophonie) for the grant which supported this work and Faten Saad, Hind Assaf and Mohammad Salman for their contributions.

Notes

Notes

1. Lebanese food standards regulation No. 322/2004 fixing maximum authorised levels of aflatoxins in some of the foodstuffs.

2. Regulation (EC) No. 466/2001 of the European Commission dated 8 March 2001 fixed maximum contamination levels for contaminants in foodstuffs (JOCE du 16/03/2001).

3. Proposal from the European Commission (DG-SANCO) concerning maximum levels for DON ranging from 500 to 2000 ppb in cereals and cereal-based products destined for human consumption.