Mycotoxins survey of 2021 harvested corn from Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Croatia

MYCOTOXIN SURVEY OF 2021 HARVESTED CORN from different regions of Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia

Jog Raj*, Hunor Farkaš, Zdenka Jakovčević, Robert Čepela and Marko Vasiljević PATENT CO, DOO., Vlade Ćetkovića 1A, 24 211, Mišićevo, Serbia *Corresponding author: jog.raj@patent-co.com

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The aim of the present study was to screen corn samples received from different regions of Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia between September and November 2021 to determine their level of contamination with mycotoxins.

In this survey, 200 samples were analysed for multiple mycotoxins. The corn samples were all analysed by LC-MS/ MS triple quadrupole (Agilent 6460 series) using a multimycotoxin method for quantification of all mycotoxins present.

These included Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), B2, G1 and G2, Ochratoxin A (OTA), Zearalenone (ZEN), Deoxynivalenol (DON), Fumonisin B1 and B2 (FB1 and FB2), T-2 and HT-2 toxins that are all regulated in the EU in feed by EU Directives 2002/32/EC, 2006/576/EC, and 2013/165/EU. The results of this survey per country are presented as follows.

Part 1: Mycotoxins results per country (Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Croatia) Part 2: Mycotoxins results for Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia combined Conclusions

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MYCOTOXIN RESULTS PER COUNTRY

SERBIA

In 2021, 17 % of the corn samples from Serbia were not contaminated with mycotoxins whereas 83% samples were found to contain one or more than one mycotoxin (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Number of mycotoxins per corn sample from Serbia.

17 5

< LOQ 1 Mycotoxin

78

>1 Mycotoxin

DON, with an average of 215 ppb, ZEN with 40 ppb, AFB1 with 14 ppb, T-2 with 47 ppb, FB1 with 4700 ppb, FB2 with 1722 ppb and HT-2 with an average of 61 ppb were detected in 2021 harvested corn samples from different regions of Serbia.

FB1 was the most predominant mycotoxin as it was detected in 79% of the tested samples followed by AFB1 in 20 % of the corn samples (Table 1).

Table 1. Mycotoxin contamination levels (ppb) in corn samples from Serbia in 2021.

AFB1

OTA

ZEN

DON

FB1

FB2

HT-2

T-2

Average (ppb)

14

5

40

215

4700

1722

61

47

Maximum of positives (ppb)

101

5

47

379

28781

15479

114

86

Median (ppb)

5

5

42

167

2884

823

59

42

% of positives

20

1

3

3

79

73

7

5

In the corn harvested from Serbia in 2021, 83% of the samples were contaminated with one or more than one mycotoxin and fumonisins were the most prevalent mycotoxins detected in these samples using LC-MS/MS.

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BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA In 2021, 27 % of the corn samples from Bosnia & Herzegovina were not contaminated with mycotoxins whereas 73% samples were found to contain one or more than one mycotoxin (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Number of mycotoxins per corn sample from Bosnia & Herzegovina.

27 < LOQ 1 Mycotoxin 55

18

>1 Mycotoxin

DON, with an average of 328 ppb, ZEN with 110 ppb, AFB1 with 24 ppb, FB1 with 3112 ppb, FB2 with 2047 ppb and HT-2 with an average of 22 ppb were detected in the corn samples.

FB1 was detected in 68% of the samples followed by DON/ HT-2 in 14% and AFB1 in 9% of corn samples from different regions of Bosnia & Herzegovina (Table 2).

Table 2. Mycotoxin contamination levels (ppb) in corn samples from Bosnia & Herzegovina in 2021.

AFB1

ZEN

DON

FB1

FB2

HT-2

Average (ppb)

24

110

328

3112

2047

22

Maximum of positives (ppb)

47

110

798

17196

11286

31

Median (ppb)

24

110

97

934

350

23

% of positives

9

5

14

68

55

14

In the corn harvested from Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2021, 73% of the samples contained one or more than one mycotoxin (co-occurrence) and fumonisins were the most dominant mycotoxins detected using LC-MS/MS.

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CROATIA In 2021, 2% of the corn samples from Croatia were not contaminated with mycotoxins, whereas 98% of the samples were found to contain one or more than one mycotoxin (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Number of mycotoxins per corn sample from Croatia.

2 6

< LOQ 1 Mycotoxin 92

>1 Mycotoxin

DON, with an average of 292 ppb, ZEN with 451ppb, AFB1 with 31 ppb, T-2 with 74 ppb, FB1 with 2442 ppb, FB2 with 1088 ppb and HT-2 with an average of 141 ppb were detected in corn samples received from different regions of Croatia.

FB1 was the most dominant mycotoxin as it was detected in 98% of the samples (Table 3).

Table 3. Mycotoxin contamination levels (ppb) in corn samples from Croatia in 2021.

AFB1

ZEN

DON

FB1

FB2

HT-2

T-2

Average (ppb)

31

451

292

2442

1088

141

74

Maximum of positives (ppb)

59

2060

1066

13114

6618

965

166

Median (ppb)

32

117

173

1724

678

52

57

% of positives

8

24

39

98

88

29

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In the corn harvested from Croatia in 2021, 98% of the samples were contaminated with one or more than one mycotoxin and fumonisins were the most prevalent mycotoxins detected using LC-MS/MS.

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MYCOTOXINS RESULTS FOR SERBIA, BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA, AND CROATIA COMBINED In 2021, 12% of the corn samples from Serbia, Bosnia& Herzegovina, and Croatia were not contaminated with mycotoxins, whereas 88% of the samples were found to contain one or more than one mycotoxin (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Mycotoxins per sample detected in corn from Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Croatia.

12 8 < LOQ 1 Mycotoxin 80

>1 Mycotoxin

DON, with an average of 287 ppb, ZEN with 353 ppb, AFB1 with 18 ppb, T-2 with 62 ppb, FB1 with 3769 ppb, FB2 with 1539 ppb and HT-2 with an average of 103 ppb were detected in 2021 harvested corn samples from different regions of Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Croatia (Table 4).

FB1 was the most predominant mycotoxin as it was detected in 83% of the tested samples followed by AFB1 and DON in 15% of the corn samples.

Tabla 4. Mycotoxin contamination levels (ppb) in corn samples from Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Croatia in 2021.

AFB1

OTA

ZEN

DON

FB1

FB2

HT-2

T-2

Average (ppb)

18

5

353

287

3769

1539

103

62

Maximum of positives (ppb)

101

5

2060

1066

28781

15479

965

166

Median (ppb)

6

5

84

167

2374

744

47

42

% of positives

15

1

9

15

83

75

14

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In corn harvested from Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Croatia in 2021, 88% of the samples were contaminated with one or more than one mycotoxin and fumonisins were the most prevalent mycotoxins detected in these samples using LC-MS/MS.

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CONCLUSIONS In the 2021 survey of corn samples from Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Croatia, fumonisins were the predominant mycotoxins present and most of the samples (88%) were contaminated with one or more than one mycotoxin.

The co-occurrence of more than one mycotoxin can lead to additive or synergistic effects when fed to sensitive animal species (e.g., swine and poultry amongst others).

This suggests that technologies are required for controlling mixtures of such contaminants in feedstuffs predominantly based on corn to minimize impacts on animal development.

It would be interesting to superimpose these trends onto regional and global climate information including temperature, episodes of rainfall and drought stress to examine whether these patterns will continue or whether they may change in the short and medium term.

This would be beneficial in the development of appropriate minimization strategies under changing climate regimes in the next 4-5 years.

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