A total of 205 cornflake samples collected in Belgian retail stores during 2003-2004 were surveyedfor the natural occurrence of fumonisin B
1 (FB
1), B
2 (FB
2), and B
3 (FB
3). These cornflake samples,originating from conventional as well as from organic production, were analyzed using an intralaboratory-validated LC-MS/MS method. Additionally, 90 cornflake samples were subjected to rapidscreening using a flow-through enzyme immunoassay method to demonstrate the practicability of ascreening test coupled to a validated confirmatory LC-MS/MS method for the management of foodsafety risks. FB
1 concentrations ranged from not detected (nd) [LOD (FB
1) = 20
g/kg] to 464
g/kgwith mean and median concentrations of respectively 104 ± 113 and 54
g/kg. For FB
2 and FB
3, theconcentration ranges varied respectively from nd [LOD (FB
2) = 7.5
g/kg] to 43
g/kg and from nd[LOD (FB
3) = 12.5
g/kg] to 90
g/kg. Mean concentrations for FB
2 and FB
3 were respectively 12 ±8 and 21 ± 15
g/kg, while the median concentration was 11
g/kg for FB
2 and 19
g/kg for FB
3.From the statistical tests (
2 and ANOVA model III), it could be concluded that the agricultural practicedid not have any significant effect on the fumonisin concentrations but that the variation betweendifferent batches was significant (
p < 0.0001).Keywords: Fumonisins, cornflakes, rapid field test, LC-MS/MS, conventional/organic food