The Occurrence and Co-Occurrence of Regulated, Emerging, and Masked Mycotoxins in Rice Bran and Maize from Southeast Asia

Raw feed materials are often contaminated with mycotoxins, and co-occurrence of mycotoxins occurs frequently. A total of 250 samples i.e., rice bran and maize from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand were analysed using state-of-the-art liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for monitoring the occurrence of regulated, emerging, and masked mycotoxins. Seven regulated mycotoxins – aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, fumonisin B1, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, HT-2, and T-2 toxin were detected as well as some emerging mycotoxins, such as beauvericin, enniatin type B, stachybotrylactam, sterigmatocystin, and masked mycotoxins, specifically zearalenone-14-glucoside, and zearalenone-16-glucoside. Aspergillus and Fusarium mycotoxins were the most prevalent compounds identified, especially aflatoxins and fumonisin B1 in 100% and 95% of samples, respectively. Of the emerging toxins, beauvericin and enniatin type B showed high occurrences, with more than 90% of rice bran and maize contaminated, whereas zearalenone-14-glucoside and zearalenone-16-glucoside were found in rice bran in the range of 56–60%. Regulated mycotoxins (DON and ZEN) were the most frequent mycotoxin combination with emerging mycotoxins (BEA and ENN type B) in rice bran and maize. This study indicates that mycotoxin occurrence and co-occurrence are common in raw feed materials, and it is critical to monitor mycotoxin levels in ASEAN’s feedstuffs so that mitigation strategies can be developed and implemented.