Analysis of 113 Mycotoxins and Plant Toxins in Wheat, Soy and Pea Protein Concentrates from the German Market Reveals, i.a., a High Prevalence of Alterperylenol in Wheat Gluten

Wheat, soy and pea protein isolates used for the production of plant-based meat alternatives were analyzed for 87 mycotoxins and 26 plant toxins by means of a validated QuEChERS-based LC-MS/MS multi-method. For wheat gluten, the results revealed the presence of Alternaria toxins, deoxynivalenol, enniatins, ergot alkaloids and ochratoxin A (OTA). For soy protein, beauvericin, enniatin B and OTA were the most frequently detected mycotoxins, while for pea protein, OTA was the most frequently detected mycotoxin. From plant toxins, the tropane alkaloids atropine and scopolamine were detected in wheat gluten and soy protein. The emerging Alternaria toxin alterperylenol was reported for the first time in wheat gluten (85% of samples). OTA was present at high levels in all three matrices (exceeding the EU maximum level in one wheat gluten sample). Ergot alkaloids were found in 95% of wheat gluten samples, but none exceeded the ML. The highest co-occurrence of different toxins was observed in wheat gluten (median: 22, max: 27 toxins/sample), followed by soy protein (median: five, max: nine toxins/sample) and pea protein (median: one, max: five toxins/sample).