Short communication Thermal treatments and their effects on the fumonisin B 1 level in rice Tania Aparecida Becker-Algeri a, * , Renata Heidtmann-Bemvenuti a , Helen Cristina dos Santos Hackbart a , Eliana Badiale-Furlong b a Post Grauate Program in Engineering and Science of Food, Department of Food Chemistry, Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG), Rua Engenheiro Alfredo Huck, n  475, Bairro Vila Santa Tereza, Rio Grande, RS, CEP: 96201460, Brazil b Department of Food Chemistry, Laboratory of Food Science and Mycotoxins, Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG), Rua Engenheiro Alfredo Huck, n  475, Bairro Vila Santa Tereza, Rio Grande, RS, CEP: 96201460, Brazil article info Article history: Received 13 December 2012 Received in revised form 8 May 2013 Accepted 14 May 2013 Keywords: Fumonisin B 1 UPLC-FL Thermal treatment Reduction Rice abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dry and hydrothermal treatment on FB 1 level in polished, parboiled and whole grain rice collected in Brazilian market. The effect of thermal treatment on FB 1 level was carry out by applying conventional cooking, autoclaving and dry heat treatment. Con- ventional hydrothermal treatment (cooking) reduced the initial natural contamination by 80%. However, no significant reduction was obtained by autoclaving. Dry heat treatment produced the reduction (70%), at temperatures range from 150 to 200  C. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Rice contamination by Fusarium mycotoxins has been studied extensively in many parts of the world, in particular, zearalenone (ZEA), deoxynivalenol (DON) (Dors, Bierhals & Badiale-Furlong, 2011; Heidtmann-Bemvenuti et al., 2012) and nivalenol (NIV) (Tanaka, Kobayashi, Nagata, & Manabe, 2004), as well as emerging toxins such as enniatins (ENs) (ENA, ENA 1 , ENB and ENB 1 ), beau- vericin (BEA), fusaproliferin (FUS) (Meca et al., 2010; Serrano et al., 2012; Sifou et al., 2011) and the fumonisins (FB 1 , FB 2 and FB 3 ) (Hoeltz et al., 2009; Kushiro et al., 2008). Fumonisins stand out from this group, principally due to the risk these metabolic toxins pose to humans when ingested (IARC, 2002; Serrano et al., 2012). Fumonisins comprise a group of toxins that are structurally related to sphingosine produced by Fusarium moniliforme and others (Cirillo et al., 2003; Turner, Nikiema, & Wild, 1999). It is among the most important, in terms of food security and con- sumption, and in light of their toxicity to humans, the International Agency for Research in Cancer (IARC) classified FB 1 , derived from F.verticillioide, in Group 2 e a possible carcinogen (IARC, 2002; Kushiro et al., 2008) and in 2001 the Expert Committee on Food Additives FAO/OMS established a tolerable daily limit of 2 mg/kg p.c./day (FAO, 2001). From the 28 structural analogs identified, fumonisin B 1 (FB 1 ) is the most abundant naturally occurring and it is found in the highest concentrations followed by FB 2 and FB 3 (Kushiro et al., 2008; Rheeder, Marasas & Vismer, 2002). Studies have shown that FB 1 is heat stable, including at boiling point (Bullerman & Bianchini, 2007). In canned and baked products, for example, the authors observed significant reduction in contamination when samples were exposed to temperatures of 121 and 218  C, respectively (Castelo, Summer, & Bullerman, 1998). These reports were restricted to corn and corn products, until now, no studies related to the thermal stability of fumonisin B 1 con- taminants in rice have been done. Considering the manner in which rice is consumed cooked with salt, vegetable oil and water at temperatures of approximately 100  C and the possible occurrence of FB 1 in rice, this study eval- uated on the effect of thermal treatments on naturally contami- nated and fortified rice samples with this mycotoxins. 2. Material and methods 2.1. Standard and reagents Standard solution of Fumonisin B 1 (1 mg), acquired from Sigma Chemical Company, (Israel, 2011) was dissolved in a acetonitrile: Abbreviations: %R, percent recovery; %Red., percentage reduction; AFB 1 ,afla- toxin B 1 ; FB 1 , Fumonisin B 1 ; UPLC-FL, ultra high performance liquid chromatog- raphy with fluorescence detector; LOD, limit of detection; LOQ, limit of quantification. * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ55 45 9816 4048; fax: þ55 53 32338745. E-mail address: taniabecker86@yahoo.com.br (T.A. Becker-Algeri). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Food Control journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodcont 0956-7135/$ e see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2013.05.016 Food Control 34 (2013) 488e493