Co-occurrence and exposure assessment of deoxynivalenol and fumonisins from maize and maize-based products in Indonesia

This study was conducted to investigate the co-occurrence of deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisins (FBs) in maize-based food products and their dietary exposure to the Indonesian population. A survey of 45 samples of maize and maize-based-food products collected from markets in Indonesia were analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry after a Quick Easy Cheap Effective Rugged Safe (QuEChERS) extraction and clean-up process. Results revealed that 35.56% of maize food products were found to contain DON and FBs simultaneously. FBs frequently detected in 84.44% of samples and DON was found in 42.22% of the samples with mean positive levels ranging from 0.12 to 264.24 µg/kg (FBs) and 2.62 µg/kg to 122.28 µg/kg (DON). None of the quantifiable samples exceeded the maximum limits established by the European Commission (EC) and National regulation. The highest total means exposure to DON and FBs was found in infants and toddler attaining up to 0.025 and 0.087 µg/kg body weight (bw) per day while 95th percentile (P95) values were 3.8 and 4.4 times higher than the mean exposure. Both for DON and FBs, total mean and P95 exposures of the population did not exceed the provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PMTDI) of 1 µg/kg bw/day for DON and 2 µg/kg bw/day for FBs, respectively. Therefore, the risk assessment indicates that there is no potential risk to health from DON and FBs through maize and maize-based food intake.