This study assessed, for the first time, the mycotoxicological risks from consumption of complementary foods by infants and young children in Nigeria. Molds belonging to Aspergillus aculeatinus, A. flavus, A. luchuensis, A. tubingensis, A. welwitschiae and Geotrichum candidum were recovered from the complementary foods. Twenty-eight major mycotoxins and derivatives, and another 109 microbial metabolites including chloramphenicol (a bacterial metabolite), were quantified in 137 food samples by LC-MS/MS. Aflatoxins and fumonisins co-contaminated 42% of the cereal- and nut-based food samples, at mean concentrations exceeding the EU limits of 0.1 and 200 μg/kg set for processed baby foods by 300 and six times, respectively. Milk contained mainly beauvericin, chloramphenicol and zearalenone. The trichothecenes, T-2 and HT-2 toxins, were quantified only in infant formula and at levels three times above the EU indicative level of 15 μg/kg for baby food. Chronic exposure estimate to carcinogenic aflatoxin was high causing low margin of exposure (MOE). Exposures to other mycotoxins either exceeded the established reference values by several fold or revealed low MOEs, pointing to important health risks in this highly vulnerable population. The observed mycotoxin mixtures may further increase risks of adverse health outcomes of exposure; this warrants urgent advocacy and regulatory interventions.

Center for Analytical Chemistry Department of Agrobiotechnology Konrad Lorenz Str 20 3430 Tulln Austria

Center for Analytical Chemistry Department of Agrobiotechnology Konrad Lorenz Str 20 3430 Tulln Austria; Department of Applied Chemistry and Ecology Faculty of Food Technology Franje Kuhača 20 Osijek Croatia

Center for Analytical Chemistry Department of Agrobiotechnology Konrad Lorenz Str 20 3430 Tulln Austria; Institute for Global Food Security School of Biological Sciences Queen's University Belfast University Road Belfast BT7 1NN Northern Ireland United Kingdom

Department of Agriculture and Industrial Technology Babcock University Ilishan Remo Ogun State Nigeria

Department of Microbiology Babcock University Ilishan Remo Ogun State Nigeria

Department of Microbiology Babcock University Ilishan Remo Ogun State Nigeria; Center for Analytical Chemistry Department of Agrobiotechnology Konrad Lorenz Str 20 3430 Tulln Austria

Institute for Global Food Security School of Biological Sciences Queen's University Belfast University Road Belfast BT7 1NN Northern Ireland United Kingdom

Microbiology and Environmental Biotechnology Research Group Agricultural Research Council Institute for Soil Climate and Water Arcadia 0001 Pretoria South Africa; Unit for Environmental Science and Management North West University Private Bag x6001 Potchefstroom 2531 South Africa

University of Chemistry and Technology Prague Czech Republic

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