| The occurrence of aflatoxins B1 (AFB1), B2 (AFB2 ), G1 (AFG1 ) and G2 (AFG2 ), ochratoxin A (OA) and zearalenone (ZEA) was evaluated in 121 maize-based food samples collected in the commerce of Maringá City, Paraná State, Brazil. The study was carried out between January 2002 and February 2003. Thin-layer chromatographic method was used to determine the mycotoxins. The recovery averages were 106.6%, 109.4%, 106.6%, 109.4%, 101.8% and 101.7% to AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2, OA and ZEA, respectively. Three samples (2.5%) were positive to AFB1 (8 to 59 µg/kg), two (1.7%) to AFB2 (2.4 µg/kg), one (0.8%) to OA (64 µg/kg) and one (0.8%) to ZEA (448 µg/kg). The greater frequency of positive samples and also the highest concentration of AFB1 were found in popcorn... |
