Natural occurrence of fumonisin B2 in red wine from Italy

The potential risk of exposure to fumonisin B2 (FB2) in the grape-wine chain has recently been revealed after a report of Aspergillus niger in grapes and its ability to produce FB2 and FB4. The occurrence of these two fumonisins in wine was investigated by LC/MS/MS in 51 market samples (45 red, five white and one rose wine) produced in various Italian regions. Nine samples of red wine were found to be contaminated by fumonisin B2 at levels ranging from 0.4 to 2.4 ng/ml, while FB4 was not detected in any of the tested samples. This is the first report on the natural occurrence of FB2 in wine, indicating that, although at low levels, there is a potential risk of FB2 exposure for the wine-consumer.