Exposure assessment and risk characterization of mycotoxins in cereal-based infant foods traded in São Paulo, Brazil.

This study aimed to conduct an exposure assessment of mycotoxins in cereal-based infant foods (N = 94) commercially available in the cities of Ribeirão Preto and Pirassununga, state of São Paulo, Brazil, and to characterize the associated risk to children up to 3 years of age. Five sampling procedures were conducted between 2023 and 2025, and samples were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. Among all analyzed products, 75 samples (80%) had quantifiable levels for at least one mycotoxin, with 53, 47, 41, 8, 8 and 6% of samples containing zearalenone (ZEN), fumonisins (FBs, sum of FB1 and FB2), deoxynivalenol (DON), aflatoxins (AFs, sum of AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2), ochratoxin A (OTA) and T-2 toxin, respectively. The co-occurrence of 2-5 types of mycotoxins was observed in 63 samples (67%). The highest levels of FBs, DON, ZEN, AFs and OTA were found in corn-based cereals (4670 μg/kg), multiple grain-based cereals (1265 μg/kg), wheat-based cereals (39.66 μg/kg) and rice-based cereals (22.10 μg/kg and 32.9 μg/kg), respectively. Middle-bound margin of exposure (MoEMB) values <10,000 were observed for AFs in all cereal-based products, and for OTA in rice- and wheat-based cereals, indicating potential health risks to children of all ages. Middle-bound hazard quotient (HQMB) values >1, indicating a potential health risk, were observed only for FBs, whereas HQMB values for DON, ZEN, and T-2 toxin remained <1 across all cereal-based infant foods. Results of this trial indicate high exposure levels of children to dietary AFs, OTA and FBs in the study area, reinforcing the need for stringent control measures to prevent mycotoxin contamination of infant foods in Brazil.