A validated UPLC-MS/MS multi-mycotoxin method for nuts and cereals: results of the official control in Cyprus within the EU requirements

ABSTRACTThe validation of a rapid, reliable and sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of Aflatoxins, Ochratoxin A, Zearalenone, Deoxynivalenol, Fumonisins, T-2 and HT-2 toxins, in nuts and cereals is reported. This method is based on a single extraction step using an acetonitrile/water mixture followed by the analysis of the diluted crude extract using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. The method performance characteristics were determined after spiking blank samples. The mean recoveries in spiked nuts ranged from 74.4% to 131.7%, while in cereals ranged from 52.8% to 113.9%. Limits of detection and quantification for nuts and cereals ranged 0.08–30.0 and 0.25–99.0 μg/kg, respectively. Validated method was used for monitoring mycotoxins in 120 samples. A total of 97 samples (81%) were contaminated with at least one of these mycotoxins, but only the 3% of the samples exceeded the maximum levels of the EU legislation.