Thirty samples of asparagus spears were collected from the fields in Shandong province, China, in July 2004, and were analysed for the occurrence of fumonisins B1 and B2 (FB1 and FB2) by HPLC coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Twenty-four samples (80%) contained fumonisins, ranging from 24 to 670 ng g(-1) (average 123 ng g(-1)) and 17 to 138 ng g(-1)(average 35 ng g(-1)) for FB1 and FB2, respectively. The total amount of fumonisins (FB1 and FB2) in all samples ranged from 47 to 714 ng g(-1) (average 158 ng g(-1)) (based on dry weight). This is the first report on the natural occurrence of FB1 and FB2 in asparagus spears in China.