Occurrence and Risk Assessment of Mycotoxins through Polish Beer Consumption

Poland is one of Europe’s leading producers and exporters of beer. The study, herein, describes the measurement of ochratoxin A, deoxynivalenol, nivalenol, T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, diacetoxyscirpenol, and zearalenone levels in 69 Polish beers. Analytical methodologies based on high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and fluorescence detection were developed, validated, and used to perform the above determinations. The most prevalent mycotoxins were deoxynivalenol (96%), ochratoxin A (93%), and HT-2 toxin (74%), respectively. Three quarters of the samples contained at least three analytes. The mean ochratoxin A concentration was 0.057 (SD 0.065) ng/mL, and in four beer samples its level exceeded 0.2 ng/mL, a value postulated in the literature to be the maximum limit. Deoxynivalenol was found at a maximum level of 56.2 ng/mL, and its mean concentration was 17.1 (SD 9.0) ng/mL. An evaluation of the estimated daily intake (EDI) of mycotoxins from beer in different European populations was made using food-consumption data prepared by WHO. Based on the mean ochratoxin A concentration in beers, the EDI represented 0.8–1.1% of the tolerable daily intake (TDI), while in a worst-case scenario (maximum concentration) it reached 5.0–7.5% of TDI. For deoxynivalenol, the EDI was in the range of 4.1–6.0% of TDI, whereas, based on maximum values, it reached the level of 14–21% of TDI. There were no significant differences between “scenarios” in the HT-2 case (mean—5.0–7.5% of TDI; maximum—6.5–9.7% of TDI) due to the fact that its concentration was near the limit of quantification (LOQ) value taken for calculation. The significance of these results are discussed, herein.