Stability of fumonisins at different storage periods and temperatures in gamma-irradiated maize

The effect of gamma-irradiation on fumonisin B-1 (FB1) and fumonisin B-2 (FB2) occurring in maize materials has been investigated together with the stability of fumonisins in gamma-irradiated maize stored at different temperatures (-18 to +40 degrees C) for different periods (2, 4, 13 and 26 weeks). Fifteen kGy gamma-irradiation was required to sterilize efficiently maize flour. This process caused a decrease in fumonisin content of about 20%. The stability studies showed that fumonisins are stable in gamma-irradiated maize for at least 6 months at 25 degrees C or at least 4 weeks at 40 degrees C. These data indicate that gamma-irradiation is an appropriate technique for obtaining sterilized maize materials to be used for intercomparison studies on analytical procedures for the measurement of the fumonisin content.