In the summer of 2017 Dr Jaime Nácher Mestre (Lecturer at Marina Real-EDEM Fundación Escuela de Empresarios-Centro Universitario. and Associate Researcher with the Nutrigenomics and Fish Growth Endocrinology Group-Institute of aquaculture Torre de la Sal, CSIC) used AQUAEXCEL TNA to support two visits to the Institute of Aquaculture to work with the Nutrition Group to develop analytical techniques for important mycotoxins and investigate the degree to which they might be transferred from feed to fish flesh. This is an important question as there has been a substantial increase in the use of terrestrial plant ingredients in farmed fish diets, with potential for new contamination pathways.
The analysis involved the use of Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-MSMS) equipment at the Institute of Aquaculture for the detection of emerging mycotoxins beauvericin and enniatins. The project was successful in developing the necessary analytical methods and reassuringly indicated no detectable transfer of mycotoxins from feed to farmed fish flesh (salmon and sea bream), so no risk for human consumption. The work resulted in a publication in the journal “Food Chemistry”(https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.126773).