Survey of Mycotoxin in Brazilian Corn by NIR Spectroscopy-Year 2019

Corn is commonly attacked by fungi and mycotoxins. The negative impacts caused by these toxic metabolites justify the use tools that enable constant monitoring and provide a quick feedback. The natural occurrence of mycotoxins, fumonisins B1+B2 (FUM), Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), Deoxynivalenol (DON) and Zearalenone (ZEN) was investigated through Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) in 3,069 spectra of corn samples from several Brazilian states throughout 2019. FUM was the most prevalent (98.2%) mycotoxin found in this study, followed by AFB1 (20.3%), DON (9.6%) and ZEN (5.9%). The annual average of FUM (B1+B2) was 2,092 μg kg-1 and the average in positive samples was 2,130 μg kg-1, with variations in some periods of the year. The annual mean of AFB1 was low, 1.8 μg kg-1, and the average in positive samples was 8.9 μg kg-1. As well as the prevalence, the concentrations of DON and ZEN were relatively low: 39 and 6 μg kg-1, respectively. These findings show the importance of mycotoxicological monitoring to avoid economic losses and to spare animal health. The use of rapid diagnostic tools, such as NIR, allows decision making in an agile and efficient way.

Keywords: Zea mays L; Aflatoxins; Fumonisins; Online; Monitoring; Risk