Natural occurrence of fumonisin B₁ in dried figs as an unexpected hazard

Occurrence of fumonisin B₁ (FB₁) in dried figs was determined using liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection after extraction with methanol-water and clean-up. One hundred and fifty five dried fig samples were taken while the figs were drying in 7 different districts in the Aegean Region in 2003 and 2004. FB₁ contamination were determined in 86 of 115 samples at detectable levels. Average FB₁ level was 0.369 and 0.466 in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Overall mean for FB₁ was calculated as 0.315 μg/g; overall median was 0.080 μg/g. The FB₁ content of positive samples ranged from 0.046 and 3.649 μg/g, while only 9.6% of the samples contained FB₁ above 1 μg/g. FB₁ contamination in the dried fig samples in 2004 (79.6%) was higher than in 2003 (71.8%). Selcuk (0.565 μg/g) was ranked first among means; however the highest incidences of FB₁ contamination was determined in dried figs from Incirliova (84.6%). This is the first report of occurrence of FB₁ in dried figs.