T. Gutema et al., Occurrence of fumonisins and moniliformin in corn and corn-based food products of US origin, J FOOD PROT, 63(12), 2000, pp. 1732-1737
Food-grade corn and corn-based food products intended for human consumption
were analyzed for the incidence and levels of fumonisin B-1 (FB1), fumonis
in B-2 (FB2), moniliformin, and Fusarium molds. A total of 100 food-grade c
ommercial corn samples were obtained from two corn processing companies at
five different locations in the United States. Seventy-one percent of the s
amples contained FB1 with concentrations ranging from 43 to 1,642 mug/kg. N
one of the samples contained FB2. Fifty percent of the samples contained mo
niliformin with concentrations ranging from 26 to 774 mug/kg. All samples w
ere infected by Fusarium molds, and the infection rates ranged from 8 to 88
%. Thirty-four samples of corn-based food products were purchased from supe
rmarkets in Arizona, California, Nebraska, and Ohio. Sixty-five percent of
the samples contained FB1, ranging in concentrations from 28 to 2,679 mug/k
g. FB2 was detected in 29% of the samples with concentrations ranging from
30 to 797 mug/kg. Sixty-eight percent of the samples contained moniliformin
with concentrations ranging from 31 to 858 mug/kg. Sixty-two percent of th
e samples contained viable Fusarium mold propagules ranging from 9.5 x 10(1
) to 5.5 x 10(5)/g. The simultaneous occurrence of FB1 and moniliformin was
observed in 34% of corn samples and 53% of corn-based food products. This
study has shown co-occurrence of fumonisins and moniliformin in food-grade
corn and corn-based foods that indicates a risk of simultaneous exposure of
consumers to both toxins.