May 1999   Volume V, No. 1

A special issue of Journal of Chromatography A, Vol. 815, no. 1, CHROMATOGRAPHY OF MYCOTOXINS, was published in July 1998 (Guest Editor, P.M. Scott, Ottawa, Canada.) It provides a good selection of reviews and specific applications of chromatography in the analysis of foods and other biological materials for mycotoxins. Both clean-up and determination procedures are included. Contents include: 1) TLC of mycotoxins and comparison with other chromatographic methods. Review. (L.Lin et al.); 2) Interaction between cyclodextrins and aflatoxins Q1, M1, and P1. Fluorescence and chromatographic studies (Franco et al.); 3) Chromatographic determination of the fumonisin mycotoxins (Shephard et al.); 4) Improved fluorometric and chromatographic methods for the quantification of fumonisins B1, B2, and B3 (Duncan et al.); 5) Performance of modern sample preparation techniques in the analysis of Fusarium mycotoxins in cereals (Krska); 6) Direct analysis of several Fusarium toxins in cereals by capillary GC/MS (Y. Onji et al.); 7) Use of various clean-up procedures for the analysis of ochratoxin A in cereals (Solfrizzo et al.); 8) Chromatographic methods for the determination of ochratoxin A in animal and human tissues and fluids. Review. (Valenta); 9) Natural occurrence of alternariol and alternariol methyl ether in Spanish apple juice concentrates (Delgado et al.); 10) Incidence of patulin in apple juice concentrates produced in Turkey (Goekmen et al.); 11) Instrumental methods for determination of nonmacrocyclic trichothecenes in cereals, foodstuffs, and cultures. Review. (Langseth and Rundberget); 12) Determination of eight trichothecenes by GC/MS after sample clean-up by a two-stage solid-phase extraction (Schollenberger et al.); 13) Determination of zearalenone in corn by means of immunoaffinity clean-up and HPLC with fluorescence detection (Visconti and Pascale); 14) New, sensitive HPLC method for the determination of slaframine in plasma and milk (Imerman and Stahr); and 15) Rapid analysis of ergovaline in ovine plasma using HPLC with flurometric detection (Jaussaud et al.).

An interlaboratory comparison (sponsored by the EU Standards, Measurements and Testing Program) was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of an IM-MUNOAFFINITY COLUMN CLEAN-UP HPLC METHOD FOR THE DETERMINATION OF AFLATOXIN B1 AND TOTAL AFLATOXINS at proposed European regulatory limits. The method, involving extraction with methanol/water or methanol/water/hexane, immunoaffinity clean-up, and reverse-phase HPLC detection (fluorometric) with post column derivatization (bromination) was tested by 16 laboratories from 16 European countries on dried figs, paprika, peanut butter, and pistachios.

The method showed acceptable within-laboratory and between-laboratory precision for all four matrices, as evidenced by HORRAT ratios, at the low levels of determination for both total aflatoxins and aflatoxin B1. The EUR Report 18649 EN (EC BCR information–chemical analysis: IMMUNOAFFINITY COLUMN CLEAN-UP WITH LIQUID CHROMAGRAPHY USING POST-COLUMN BROMINATION FOR THE DETERMINATION OF AFLATOXINS IN PEANUT BUTTER, PISTACHIOS, DRIED FIGS, AND PAPRIKA), prepared by J. Stroka and E. Anklam, can be requested from the Office of Official Publications of the European Communities, L-2985 Luxembourg or directly from E. Anklam, European Commission, JRC Ispra, Italy. Fax: +39-03-32-78-5930. E-Mail: elke.anklam@jrc.it.

The EUR Report 17523–Reports on tasks for Scientific Cooperation (SCOOP Task 3.2.2) ASSESSMENT OF DIETARY INTAKE OF OCHRATOXIN A BY THE POPULATION OF EU MEMBER has been published. 13 countries participated in the SCOOP Task. 8 countries gave an estimate of mean dietary intake for an average adult based on food occurrence and consumption data, and these ranged from 0.7 to 4.6 ng/kg bw per day, with a mean of means of 1.8 ng/kg bw per day. 5 countries gave an estimate of mean intake based on human blood plasma data, and these ranged from 0.2 to 2.4 ng/kg bw per day, with a mean of means of 0.9 ng/kg bw per day. The intake estimates based on the two different methods are in the same order of magnitude, indicating that the main sources of ochratoxin A intake are known. The main contributors to the dietary intake of ochratoxin A seemed to be cereals and cereal products. Other possible contributors to the intake of ochratoxin A were coffee, beer, pork, products containing pig blood/plasma, pulses, and spices. More recently other sources of ochratoxin A have been identified including wine, grape-juice, and vine fruit. The Report (EUR 17523) is available at the cost of 7 Euro from the Office of Official Publications of the EC, L-2985 Luxembourg.

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