Abstract

Background: Consumption of wheat in Chile is one of the highest levels of the Southern Cone, mainly through bread and pastries which are made with wheat flour. In Chile, the domestic production is not enough to fill the requirements of the country, thus imported wheat flour is entered, being Argentina and Holland the main sources. Both countries are affected by fusariosis that could be linked with the production of trichothecenes like Deoxynivalenol (DON) [1] Aim: Determine the presence and quantify the quantity of DON in wheat flour consumed in Chile and determine if exist an association between the presence of DON and the wheat flour source (domestic v/s imported). Material and Methods: Analyses were performed in 33 samples from the national program of wheat flour fortification, 24 from domestic production, and 9 imported from Holland and Argentina. The extraction method used for DON was based in the use of multifunctional columns. The quantification of DON was performed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detection [2]. To determine if statistical association exist, Fisher’s exact test was performed. Results and Discussion: From 33 analyzed samples, 7 were positive for DON, and in all cases, the values founded were below the allowed limit for this mycotoxin according to European Union regulation for this matrix [3] in a range of 37 to 640 ppb. From the 7 positive samples, 5 of them were imported. Fisher’s exact test gives a p value of 0.017 in a bilateral approach. Conclusion: There is statistical evidence of association between the origin and having a positive outcome in the sample studied. Deoxynivalenol don’t have allowed limits in the Chilean legislation, this reflects the need to consider include on it. References: [1] RESNIK, S. L. et al. 1997. Natural occurrence of deoxynivalenol in wheat, wheat flour and bakery products in Argentina. Food Additives and Contaminants, 14(4), P. 327-331 [2] SUGITA-KONISHI et.al. 2006. Validation of an HPLC analytical method coupled to a multifunctional clean-up column for the determination of Deoxynivalenol. Mycopathologia 161, P:239-243 [3] Commission Regulation (EC) Nº 1126/2007 September 28th.