Fate of Aflatoxins and Fumonisins During Gluten-Free Pasta Processing: Untargeted ¹³C-Labelling LC-HRMS Based...

Based on previous experience and current knowledge, it is assumed that mycotoxins contaminating raw materials could be degraded or modified due to exposure to thermal and mechanical conditions during food processing, potentially resulting in degradation and/or conversion products. Nowadays, most of the information on the novel degradation products of mycotoxins is still missing; the identification and characterization of their structure and their toxicity potential is of high interest for risk assessment strategies. In the present study, the fate of aflatoxins and fumonisins during the production of gluten-free pasta made from maize flour was investigated. Gluten-free pasta was produced from both spiked dough and naturally contaminated flour, processed under pilot plant conditions that mimic the industrial conditions, resulting in a technologically feasible product. Possible degradation products of the spiked mycotoxins were identified using an untargeted stable isotope labelling liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry approach. No degradation product of aflatoxin B₁ was detected above the detection limit of the experimental setup, and only one possible degradation product of fumonisin B₁ or B₂ at very low levels was found. The results may suggest the stability of these mycotoxins under the production conditions of gluten-free pasta.