A great diversity of crops is vulnerable to fungal attack and might be contaminated with mycotoxins. Currently
it is estimated that 25% of the world’s harvest production is contaminated to some level with these
toxins. The presence of fumonisins and deoxynivalenol in corn-based foods, available in Portugal, was
analyzed in order to produce some data that may be useful for hazard characterization. A total of 105
samples were screened, including, corn meal (41), sweet corn (49) and corn flakes (15). None of the 15
samples of corn flakes contained some detectable amount of fumonisins. However, fumonisin B1 (FB1)
and fumonisin B2 (FB2) contamination was found in 100.0% and 70.7% of the corn meal samples, respectively.
Sweet corn samples were positive in 73.4% for FB1, although no FB2 was detected. The highest levels
of fumonisin were found in corn meal (maximum: 1300 lg FB1/kg and 450 lg FB2/kg). The presence of
deoxynivalenol was not detected in any of the analyzed samples. Nevertheless these results indicate the
need to establish, by corn products manufacturers, a continuous monitoring program to prevent and
manage the occurrence of these contaminants.