Quantitation and stability of fumonisins B1 and B2 in milk

The well-documented presence of fumonisin mycotoxins B1 and B2 (FB1 and FB2) in corn raises the possibility that these toxins are carried over into the milk of animals fed with contaminated feed. The presence of FB1 and FB2 in milk has not been assessed because of the lack of sensitive analytical techniques for this matrix. Two methods, liquid chromatography (LC) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), were adapted for the analysis of milk. The ELISA, produced commercially for screening corn, required no sample preparation and was reproducible but was of low sensitivity [concentration that inhibits color development by 50% (IC50), 1200-1600 ng FB1/mL]. The more sensitive LC method involves serial extraction of milk with methanol-acetone and strong anion exchange followed by derivatization with naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde. Recoveries of 50 ng FB1 and FB2/mL from unpasteurized and unhomogenized milk were 84 and 83%, respectively (limit of detection, 5 ng/mL). Recoveries of FB1 from whole homogenized milk (76%) were slightly lower. Heating milk for 30 min at 62 degrees C, to mimic pasteurization, did not significantly reduce FB1 or FB2 recovery, nor did storing milk for 11 days at 4 degrees C. The LC method was applied to 165 samples of milk, only 1 of which was positive. This finding suggests that exposure of humans to FB1 and FB2 from milk is low.