Mycotoxin exposure following an eight-week vegan or meat-rich dietary intervention: a randomized-controlled trial

Mycotoxin exposure in humans has important food safety implications. We analyzed crude and creatinine-adjusted mycotoxin excretion in urine samples obtained from a two-arm, randomized-controlled trial in healthy adults. N = 63 participants were allocated to a vegan diet (VD) or a meat-rich diet (MD) for eight weeks. After the dietary intervention (DI), median deoxynivalenol concentrations were higher in the VD group (7.15 (IQR: 8.10) vs. 2.85 (IQR: 6.04) µg/g in the MD group, p = 0.004) whereas median T-2 toxin concentrations were higher in the MD group (5.15 (IQR: 5.81) vs. 3.44 (IQR: 3.67) µg/g in the VD group, p = 0.047). Higher creatinine-adjusted ochratoxin A (0.45 (IQR: 0.37) vs. 0.20 (IQR: 0.28) µg/g) and zearalenone concentrations (1.34 (IQR: 1.52) vs. 0.49 (IQR: 1.01) µg/g) were observed in the VD group (p = 0.003 and 0.001, respectively). For deoxynivalenol, ochratoxin A and zearalenone, mixed model repeated measures pointed in the same direction. Mycotoxin exposure for vegans differed from omnivores subsequent to an isocaloric DI and requires attention from a food safety perspective.