The main filamentous fungi producers of mycotoxins are Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., and Fusarium spp. Their effect can provoke a broad range of toxic properties including carcinogenicity and neurotoxicity, as well as reproductive and developmental toxicities. Ochratoxin A (OTA) is produced by Aspergillus and Penicillium spp. The purpose of this review was to evaluate the risk assessment of OTA in alcoholic drinks (beer and wine) by compiling the results obtained from studies and reviews related to the presence of OTA in these two drinks from southern European countries in the period 2005-2013 and comparing those results with the legislation available in the European Union.

The purposes of this review are to study potential biomarkers of exposure for ochratoxin A (OTA) in biological fluids (blood, urine and breast milk) for the period 2005-14, calculate the estimated daily intake (EDI) of OTA by using database consumption for the Spanish population, and, finally, to correlate OTA levels detected in blood and EDI values calculated from food products. The values of OTA detected in potential biomarkers of exposure for blood, breast milk and urine ranged from 0.15 to 18.0, from 0.002 to 13.1, and from 0.013 to 0.2 ng ml(-1), respectively. The calculated EDI for OTA in plasma ranged from 0.15 to 26 ng kg(-1) bw day(-1), higher than that obtained in urine (0.017-0.4 ng kg(-1) bw day(-1)). All these values are correlated with the range of EDI for OTA calculated from food products: 0.0001-25.2 ng kg(-1) bw day(-1).