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The fungal species isolated from Korean cereals (barley, polished barley, wheat, rye, and malt) were Alternaria spp., Aspergillus spp., Chaetomium spp., Drechslera spp., Epicoccum sp., Fusarium spp., and Penicillium spp., etc. The number of Fusarium strains isolated was 36, and their ability to produce Fusarium mycotoxins on rice was tested. Nivalenol (NIV) was produced by Fusarium graminearum (7 of 9 isolates), Fusarium oxysporum (3 of 10 isolates), and Fusarium spp. (7 of 15 isolates). Of 15 isolates of Fusarium spp., 6 formed deoxynivalenol (DON). Fusarenon-X and 3-acetyl-DON were produced by most NIV- and DON-forming isolates, respectively. Zearalenone was produced by 3 isolates of F. graminearum, 1 isolate of Fusarium equiseti, and 11 isolates of Fusarium spp. T-2 toxin was not produced by any Fusarium isolates. The highest concentrations of mycotoxins produced by Fusarium isolates were 77.4 (NIV), 5.3 (DON), 138.3 (fusarenon-X), 40.6 (3-acetyl-DON), and 23.2 (zearalenone) micrograms/g.

Fifty-one samples of cereals from the 1984 harvest from Korea were analyzed for nivalenol (NIV), fusarenon-X (FX), deoxynivalenol (DON) and 3-acetyl-DON by gas chromatography (GC) utilizing a 63Ni electron capture detector (ECD), and were quantitated for zearalenone (ZEN) by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a fluorescence detector (FD). Trichothecenes and ZEN in the positive samples were confirmed by GC-mass spectrometry (MS). Out of 51 samples, 51, 46 and 42 were positive for NIV, DON and ZEN, respectively, and one malt sample was heavily contaminated with NIV (2675 ng/g) and DON (246 ng/g), and one wheat sample was heavily contaminated with NIV (3169 ng/g). Neither FX nor 3-acetyl-DON was detected in any of the samples. The data reported here indicates that Korean cereals harvested in 1984 are simultaneously contaminated with NIV, DON and ZEN, and the incidences and levels are similar to those observed in the cereals harvested in 1983.