RRF 031 25: Survey of mycotoxin contamination in oat foods to inform risk analysis and support industry - Final Project Report

For more information visit the research page here: Evaluation and mitigation of mycotoxin contamination across the Scottish cereal supply chain to assess human exposure and inform risk analysis | SEFARI

The European Commission recently introduced maximum levels (ML) for the mycotoxins T-2/HT-2 in cereals and occurrence data are now needed to inform risk assessments on UK and European level. This study surveyed the occurrence of T-2 and HT-2, and co-occurrence with other mycotoxins, in oat-based food products.

From UK purchase data, the most-purchased individual food items for food categories oat biscuits (n=11), granola & muesli (n=10) and oatcakes (n=11) were identified, purchased and analysed for 20 mycotoxins using two different LC-MS/MS approaches.

T-2 and HT-2 were the most prevalent mycotoxins, found in 5/11 and 6/11 oat biscuit samples, 6/10 and 6/10 granola & muesli samples and 10/11 and 10/11 oatcake samples. The modified mycotoxin HT-2-glucoside commonly co-occurred in 10/32 oat food samples, while T-2-glucoside was not detected.

Overall, 3/32 oat food samples were contaminated at levels potentially exceeding the EC maximum levels for T-2+HT-2 and further confirmation by an accredited mycotoxin testing facility would be prudent to inform conclusions.

Future work needs to target farm-level interventions to support growers and reduce mycotoxin contamination in the cereal supply chain.