Multi-mycotoxin exposure assessment in UK children using urinary biomarkers – a pilot survey.

Cereal foods are commonly contaminated with multiple mycotoxins resulting in frequent human mycotoxin exposure. Children are at risk of high-level exposure due to their high cereal intake relative to body weight. Hence this study aims to assess multi-mycotoxin exposure in UK children using urinary biomarkers. Spot urines (n=21) were analysed for multi-mycotoxins (deoxynivalenol, DON; nivalenol, NIV; ochratoxin A, OTA; zearalenone, ZEN; α- zearalenol, α-ZEL; β-zearalenol, β-ZEL; T-2 toxin, T-2; HT-2 toxin, HT-2; aflatoxin B1 and M1, AFB1, AFM1) using liquid chromatography-coupled tandem mass spectrometry. Urine samples frequently contained DON (13.10±12.69 ng/mL), NIV (0.36±0.16 ng/mL), OTA (0.05±0.02 ng/mL) and ZEN (0.09±0.07 ng/mL). Some (1-3) samples contained T-2, HT-2, α-ZEL and β-ZEL, but not aflatoxins. Dietary mycotoxin estimation showed that children were frequently exposed to levels exceeding the tolerable daily intake (52% and 95% of cases for DON and OTA). This demonstrates that UK children are...