Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of fungi and represent a serious problem for human health. Due to growing interest, various aspects have been widely studied by scientific groups. One of these aspects relates to the food industry and associated beer production. Mycotoxins can be present in the basic raw materials for beer production as well as in brewed beer. Problematic mycotoxins that pose a serious risk of toxicity are aflatoxins especially aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), fumonisins (FBs), and zearalenone (ZEN) and its metabolites, deoxynivalenol (DON) including its acetylated forms and also the modified form deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside (DON-3G), T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, and ochratoxin A. The Research Institute of Brewing and Malting has been dealing with the issue of mycotoxins since 2008. This study describes the analysis of the above mycotoxins during 2020-2024 in barley (n = 775), malt (n = 751), and commercially available beers (n = 522) using QuEChERS, immunoaffinity columns, and UPLC-MS/MS. The results showed positive samples of mycotoxins in brewing and malting matrices at the level of micrograms per kilogram (barley, malt) and nanograms per liter for beer. Therefore, it is a residual concentration and the accurate quantitative determination of mycotoxins, correct interpretation of the results in connection with toxicological values, and the maximum permissible levels of mycotoxins play a key role in global food safety and consumer protection.

• Klíčová slova
• Brewing, Immunoaffinity columns, Malting, Mycotoxins, QuEChERS, UPLC-MS/MS,
• MeSH
• ječmen (rod) chemie   mikrobiologie   MeSH
• jedlá semena * chemie   MeSH
• kontaminace potravin * analýza   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mykotoxiny * analýza   MeSH
• pivo * analýza   MeSH
• tandemová hmotnostní spektrometrie MeSH
• vysokoúčinná kapalinová chromatografie MeSH
• zearalenon analýza   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• mykotoxiny * MeSH
• zearalenon MeSH

The use of contaminated raw materials can lead to the transfer of mycotoxins into the final product, including beer. This study describes the use of the commercially available immunoaffinity column 11+Myco MS-PREP® and UPLC-MS/MS for the determination of mycotoxins in pale lager-type beers brewed in Czech Republic and other European countries. The additional aim of the work was to develop, optimize and validate this analytical method. Validation parameters such as linearity, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), precision and accuracy were tested. The calibration curves were linear with correlation coefficients (R2 > 0.99) for all mycotoxins under investigation. The LOD ranged from 0.1 to 50 ng/L and LOQ from 0.4 to 167 ng/L. Recoveries of the selected analytes ranged from 72.2 to 101.1%, and the relative standard deviation under conditions repeatability (RSDr) did not exceed 16.3% for any mycotoxin. The validated procedure was successfully applied for the analysis of mycotoxins in a total of 89 beers from the retail network. The results were also processed using advanced chemometric techniques and compared with similar published studies. The toxicological impact was taken into account.

• Klíčová slova
• 11+Myco MS-PREP®, Beer, Dietary exposure, Immunoaffinity columns, Mycotoxins, UPLC-MS/MS,
• MeSH
• chromatografie kapalinová metody   MeSH
• dietární expozice analýza   MeSH
• mykotoxiny * analýza   MeSH
• pivo analýza   MeSH
• tandemová hmotnostní spektrometrie metody   MeSH
• vysokoúčinná kapalinová chromatografie metody   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• mykotoxiny * MeSH