Viability of Commercially Available Rapid Test Strips for Mycotoxin Analysis Compared to Chromatographic Methods

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced primarily by molds of the genera Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Penicillium. These widespread food and feed contaminants can cause significant risks to human and animal health. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of reference chromatographic methods (high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with either fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) or tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS)) with two commercially available rapid tests from two manufacturers. To that end, 90 randomly selected grain samples (barley n = 10, wheat n = 21, triticale n = 10, maize n = 49) collected in 2025 were analyzed for deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEN), ochratoxin A (OTA), and the sum of T-2 and HT-2 toxins. None of the samples exceeded the maximum levels established by the European Union (EU); however, widespread contamination with one or more mycotoxins was observed. Results showed that although rapid test strips offer advantages such as low cost, short analysis time, and operational simplicity, their considerably higher limits of detection and quantification values make them unsuitable for advanced laboratory analysis. Therefore, HPLC-FLD and HPLC-MS/MS remain the gold-standard methods for reliable, sensitive, and precise mycotoxin determination.