Determination of mycotoxin contamination in wheat and peanut products using a multi-mycotoxin UPLC-MS/MS analytical method and sorting as a mycotoxin mitigation strategy in wheat grains

This thesis presents the development of an analytical method for the simultaneous detection of numerous mycotoxins in wheat and peanuts. Applied to wheat harvested in Belgium in 2023 and 2024, it has provided recent occurrence data in Belgium, improved understanding of the influence of varieties and climatic conditions on contamination, and highlighted the significant presence of emerging mycotoxins in Belgian wheat. The study also evaluated different sorting techniques to reduce certain mycotoxins in contaminated wheat batches. Finally, the method was extended to peanuts and peanut products from Benin in order to identify the most frequently encountered mycotoxins and critical production stages.