Analysis of sugars and mycotoxin contents in commercial fermented vinegars

This study investigated the levels of sugars and mycotoxins in 41 commercially available fermented vinegars. The validity of the analytical methods was confirmed through evaluation of the limits of detection, limits of quantification, linearity, and recovery rates for both sugars and mycotoxins. The sugar content of the fermented vinegar products showed large differences by region. Among the sugars, glucose and fructose were high predominant. In contrast, sucrose, lactose and maltose were present in smaller amounts, while raffinose and rhamnose were not detected. Among the fermented vinegars, apple vinegar showed a total sugar content that was 5.7 times higher than brown rice vinegar and 7.1 times higher than persimmon vinegar. Regarding mycotoxins, none of the 41 fermented vinegar samples showed detectable levels of aflatoxins B1 · B2 · G1 · G2, ochratoxin A, fumonisin B2, deoxynivalenol and zearalenone. However, fumonisin B1 was detected at a trace level of 1.84±0.03 μg/kg in one apple vinegar sample (V15), which is significantly lower than the maximum limit specified in the Korean Food Code. Therefore, this study provides important data on the sugar and mycotoxin contents of fermented vinegar distributed commercially in Korea.