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A method for determining ochratoxin A in milk has been elaborated in which the sample was subjected to a liquid-liquid extraction step and then purified on a silica gel column packed in a Pasteur pipet. The purified samples were analyzed by ion-pair liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The detection and quantitation limits for determination of ochratoxin A in cow’s milk were 10 and 40 ng ochratoxin A/L milk, respectively. The same limits were valid for the analysis of human milk. A total of 36 cow’s milk and 40 human milk samples were analyzed. All samples were collected in Sweden. Ochratoxin A was found in 5 (14%) of the cow’s milk samples (range 10-40 ng/mL) and in 23 (58%) of the human milk samples (range 10-40 ng/L). Blood samples were collected from the mothers who gave milk samples. A total of 39 samples were analyzed. All blood samples contained ochratoxin A in concentrations exceeding the quantitation limit (60 ng/L blood). The mean concentration of ochratoxin A in the samples was 167 ng/L blood (range 90-940 ng/L). The concentration of ochratoxin A in human milk was ≤0.1 of that in the human blood.

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A dose-dependent transfer of ochratoxin A into the milk of lactating rats was found after a single oral dose of ochratoxin A, given in the dose levels of 10, 50, and 250-micrograms ochratoxin A/kg body weight by gastric intubation. The milk/blood concentration ratio of ochratoxin A at 24 and 72 h was 0.4 and 0.7, respectively. A linear relationship was found between the concentration of ochratoxin A in the dam's milk and in the blood of the pups at 72 h, as well as in the dam's milk and in the kidneys of the pups. The pup blood/milk concentration ratio of ochratoxin A was approximately 6. At 72 h the sucklings had higher levels of ochratoxin A than their dams in both blood and kidneys. The results show that the concentration of ochratoxin A in milk can be used as an indicator of the continuously administered dose to the suckling.

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