[Determination of deoxynivalenol and nivalenol in cereals at the microgram/kilogram range]

A method is described for the determination of Deoxynivalenol (DON) and Nivalenol (NV). A liquid chromatographic clean-up step is followed by silylation of the extract and the trimethylsilylether are determined by gas-chromatography-mass-spectrometry (GC-MS), monitoring the characteristic ions in the negative chemical ionisation mode. 71% of 42 food-samples were contaminated with DON and 38% with NV. The highest contamination detected was 2000 micrograms/kg DON and 120 micrograms/kg NV in a wheat bran sample. Deoxynivalenol and Nivalenol in concentrations of 10 micrograms/kg can be detected easily by this method.