Mycotoxins in brewing and malting: is every sample contaminated with mycotoxins?

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.