Fumonisins (FB1+FB2) and deoxynivalenol (DON) are mycotoxins produced by Fusarium species that might be present in maize and maize products. Knowledge on their occurrence in nixtamalized maize from Mexico together with an accompanying risk assessment are scarce, while nixtamalized maize is an important food in Mexico. This study presents the occurrence of FB1 + FB2 and DON in nixtamalized maize samples collected in Mexico City and analyses their distribution and resulting estimated daily intake for Mexican consumers by a probabilistic approach using a two-dimensional Monte-Carlo simulation. The results obtained reveal that for FB1 + FB2, 47% of the Mexican men and 30% of the Mexican women might exceed the provisional tolerable daily intake (PMTDI) of 2 µg/kg bw/day for fumonisins and for DON, 9% of men and 5% of women would be exceeding the PMTDI of 1 µg/kg bw/day, corresponding to the high consumers. The results raise a flag for risk managers in Mexico, to consider regulations and interventions that lower mycotoxin levels in nixtamalized maize for human consumption.
Keywords: Mexico; deoxynivalenol; exposure assessment; fumonisins; nixtamalized maize; risk assessment.