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.
Keywords: HT-2 toxin; beer; deoxynivalenol; mycotoxins; occurrence; ochratoxin A; risk assessment.