Deoxynivalenol (DON), a frequent contaminant of flour, can be partially degraded by baking. It is not clear: (i) How the choice of processing parameter (i.e., ingredients, leavening, and baking conditions) affects DON degradation and thus (ii) how much DON can be degraded during the large-scale industrial production of bakery products. Crackers, biscuits, and bread were produced from naturally contaminated flour using different processing conditions. DON degradation during baking was quantified with the most accurate analytical methodology available for this Fusarium toxin, which is based on liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Depending on the processing conditions, 0-21%, 4-16%, and 2-5% DON were degraded during the production of crackers, biscuits, and bread, respectively. A higher NaHCO3 concentration, baking time, and baking temperature caused higher DON degradation. NH4HCO3, yeast, vinegar, and sucrose concentration as well as leavening time did not enhance DON degradation. In vitro cell viability assays confirmed that the major degradation product isoDON is considerably less toxic than DON. This proves for the first time that large-scale industrial baking results in partial detoxification of DON, which can be enhanced by process management.
Keywords: LC-MS/MS; decontamination; design of experiment; detoxification; food processing; mass spectrometry; mycotoxins; thermal degradation; trichothecenes.