Determination of 22 mycotoxins in wheat grains cultivated in two Moroccan climatic areas by UHPLC-MS/MS

Mycotoxins are toxic metabolites naturally produced by toxigenic fungal species on agricultural products, such as cereals. This work aimed at investigating the co-occurrence of 22 mycotoxins in 248 wheat grain samples collected at preharvest, postharvest, and storage stages. Mycotoxins were determined using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Results showed that wheat from the littoral area showed higher contamination rates (53 %) compared to the continental area (31.5 %). Furthermore, no difference was observed between the contamination of soft and durum wheat. Regarding mycotoxin co-occurrence, 16.4, 6.8, and 6.8 % of soft wheat, and 18.7, 18.7, and 15.6 % of durum wheat were contaminated with 2, 3, and 4 mycotoxins, respectively. Four samples (3 soft and 1 durum) exceeded regulatory limits adopted by Moroccan and European regulations. Wheat contamination by mycotoxins highlighted the need for regular monitoring to reduce the negative impact on the consumers.