Abstract:

Objective To establish a detection method for alternaria toxins in maize flour，investigate the contamination status of alternaria toxins in corn flour in Hebei Province，assess the health risks of dietary exposure to the population，and further provide a basis for food safety supervision. Methods In 2023，a total of 200 commercial cornmeal samples were collected from 11 cities in Hebei Province. The four kinds of alternaria toxins in the samples were detected by using solid phase extraction-isotope dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry，and the contamination status of the four types of alternaria toxins in maize flour was analyzed. The health risk of alternaria toxins was evaluated based on the threshold of toxicological concern（TTC） method. Results The method validation demonstrated linear correlation coefficients all greater than 0.998，with recovery rates ranging from 86% to 104% and relative standard deviations（RSDs） of 2.2%-8.1%. The detection rates of tenuazonic acid（TeA），alternariol monomethyl ether（AME），tentoxin（TEN），and alternariol（AOH） in corn flour were 48.00%，40.00%，15.00%，and 11.00% respectively，with an overall detection rate of 64.00%. The average contents of TeA，AME，TEN，and AOH were 9.560，0.445，0.079，and 0.557 μg/kg，respectively. Dietary exposure levels of four types of alternaria toxins were all below the TTC values. Conclusion The method is applicable for rapid detection of alternaria toxins in cornmeal，and the contamination levels of these toxins in cornmeal from Hebei Province were found to be relatively low，indicating controllable health risks.

Key words: Solid-phase extraction coupled with isotope dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, Maize flour, Alternaria toxins, Dietary exposure assessment