LAUSR

The presence of mycotoxins in 82 samples of Peruvian purple maize was determined by LC-MS/MS methods. Samples were collected from local commercial establishments in Peru from December 2015 to March 2016, and from March 2017 to April 2017. Aflatoxins (AF) (64.6%) and fumonisins (FB) (63.4%) were the most common mycotoxins, with average values of 2.1 (1-17) and 2,586 (125-27,490) μg/kg, respectively. Zearalenone (ZEA) was identified in a single sample at 24.4 μg/kg. Co-occurrence of AF and FB was confirmed in 45.1% of the samples (n=37), which presented significant (P<0.05) Spearman correlation (ρ=0.59) between these mycotoxins. Co-occurrence of AF, FB and ZEA was found in one sample and ZEA was found in one sample. Ochratoxin A, deoxynivalenol, nivalenol, fusarenone X, diacetoxyscirpenol, 3-acetyldeoxinivalenol, HT-2 toxin and T-2 toxin were not detected. Water activity (Aw) of these samples exceeded 0.73; there was no correlation between Aw and the levels of mycotoxins. This is the first study to evaluate the occurrence of mycotoxins in Peruvian purple maize, and it ascertained that this variety may pose a risk to public health. Therefore, there is a need to control this grain supply chain in order to determine the factors involved in the presence of these toxins, and to establish regulatory limits or guidelines for maximum tolerated levels.