Analysis of Alternaria toxins
EU publishes monitoring recommendations for certain foods
Update as of January 2023. In April 2022, the European Commission published a recommendation on monitoring the presence of Alternaria toxins in food. The Recommendation (EU) 2022/553[1] lists indicative levels for alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME) and tenuazonic acid (TEA) in certain foods, based on the available data in the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) database.
Foods with indicative levels for Alternaria toxins
Member states, in close cooperation with the food business operators, should monitor the Alternaria toxins in foods listed in the table.
Food |
Indicative level* (EU) [µg/kg] |
||
AOH |
AME |
TEA |
|
| Processed tomato products | 10 | 5 | 500 |
| Paprika powder | - | - | 10000 |
| Sesame seeds | 30 | 30 | 100 |
| Sunflower seeds | 30 | 30 | 1000 |
| Sunflower oil | 10 | 10 | 100 |
| Tree nuts | - | - | 100 |
| Dried figs | - | - | 1000 |
| Cereal based food for infants and young children | 2 | 2 | 500 |
* The indicative levels are not food safety levels
Limits of quantification for monitoring
The following determination limits (LOQ, limits of quantification) apply to the monitoring:
|
AOH, AME: |
max. 2 µg/kg each for processed cereal-based food |
|
TEA: |
max. 20 µg/kg for all foods |
Our experts offer you the analysis of various Alternaria toxins in all relevant food matrices. The limits of determination based on the recommendation are complied with our analysis.
Occurrence and spreading of Alternaria toxins
Alternaria toxins belong to the group of mycotoxins and are naturally produced by certain fungi of the Alternaria genus (black fungi). Alternaria species are found throughout the environment, especially in the soil. The fungi are typical for the field fungal flora and are part of the natural microbiological growth on crops. High relative humidity in the summertime may lead to proliferation of the fungi, resulting in a higher risk of contamination with Alternaria toxins.
More than 50 species belong to the Alternaria genus, which may produce toxins and secondary metabolites in a varying scope. Only a small part of them occur in food. These include Alternariol, Alternariol monomethylether, Altenuene, Tenauzonic acid and Tentoxin. Because of their ubiquitous distribution, though, these toxins may be found in many foods. They can be present in cereals, vegetables (tomatoes, carrots, potatoes), fruits such as apples and grapes, and oilseeds such as sunflower seed, canola and olives.
Toxicological evaluation of Alternaria toxins
Alternaria toxins produce numerous secondary metabolites, but only a few of them have been chemically characterised in more detail, are relevant in food and have been classified as toxicologically relevant for humans and animals. Depending on the substance, they can have cytotoxic, teratogenic, fetotoxic, mutagenic, antiviral and antibacterial effects. Moreover, Alternaria spores are amongst the most frequent in- and outdoor allergens and known to be the main cause for asthma in children.
Since relatively few toxicity data are available on Alternaria toxins, but the structures are known, EFSA established the so-called "threshold of toxicological concern (TCC)" for relevant Alternaria toxins in 2011 in the course of a risk assessment[2]. For Alternaria toxins, alternariol and alternariol monomethyl ether the TTC value is 2.5 ng/kg b.w. per day, the TTC value for tenuazonic acid is 1.5 µg/kg b.w. per day.
Analysis of Alternaria toxins
Our experts from the Competence Centre for Mycotoxins & Biotoxins of Eurofins Food & Feed Testing laboratories in Germany have long-term experience in the analysis of the full mycotoxin spectrum relevant for food. They offer a method for the quantitative determination of the Alternaria toxins AOH, AME, TEA, TEN and ALT. The applied LC-MS/MS method is suitable to clearly identify and quantify Alternaria toxins even in very low concentration ranges. It is applicable for juices (apple, pear, grape, tomato, carrot), tomato and carrot products, grapes and wine, as well as for cereals, cereal products and oilseeds. In addition, we offer a method for the analysis in oils.
Contact us
Do you have questions about the analysis of Alternaria toxins? Please contact your personal account manager or our expert Carina Kellner.
Relevant sources:
[1] Commission Recommendation (EU) 2022/553 of 5 April 2022 on monitoring the presence of Alternaria toxins in food
[2] EFSA Scientific Opinion on the risks for animal and public health related to the presence of Alternaria toxins in feed and food (EFSA Journal 2011;9(10):2407)
