Source  FOOD CHEMISTRY

Published  AUG 15 2025

DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.144253

IF  9.8

Abstract  Mycotoxin contamination in maize has been a longstanding public concern. This study developed a highperformance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for the analysis of 17 mycotoxins and investigated the contamination characteristics of maize grains from three planting regions in China. The results revealed that a total of 12 mycotoxins were detected, with co-occurrencerates of at least 2, 5, and 10 mycotoxins in maize being 69.9%, 30.1%, and 1.0%, respectively. Risk assessment indicated that deoxynivalenols (DON,15AcDON,3AcDON), fumonisins (FB1,FB2) and zearalenones (ZEN,ZAN,alpha-ZEL,beta-ZEL) posed no potential health risks. However, when the three regions were evaluated individually, the estimated daily intake (EDI) value at P95 exposure level for rural male children accounted for 136.6% of the group Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) for zearalenones in southwest mountainous planting region. Meanwhile, the EDI values (P95) for these three types of mycotoxins in other population groups and regions did not exceeded their respective group TDIs.