Co-occurrence of ochratoxin a and aflatoxins in chocolate marketed in Brazil

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThis study investigated the occurrence of aflatoxin B 1 , B 2 , G 1 and G 2 and ochratoxin A in chocolate marketed in Brazil. A hundred and twenty-five samples of powdered, bitter, dark, milk and white chocolate were evaluated for mycotoxins. Ochratoxin A was the most common mycotoxin in the evaluated samples, contaminating 98% of the purchased chocolate. A co-occurrence of aflatoxins was observed in 80% of all samples evaluated. The bitter, dark and powdered chocolate samples had the largest presence of aflatoxins. On average, the highest levels of ochratoxin A were found in powdered, dark and bitter chocolate, respectively: 0.39; 0.34 and 0.31 mg/kg. Bitter, powdered and dark chocolate had the highest aflatoxin content; an average of 0.66, 0.53 and 0.43 mg/kg, respectively. This is the first report of co-occurrence of ochratoxin A and aflatoxins in chocolate. The consumption of chocolate with high levels of cocoa in the formulation has been stimulated due to health benefits attributed to some cocoa components but on the other hand, these high cocoa content products tend to have the highest amount of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A. To guarantee a safe consumption of chocolate, there should be a continuous monitoring of both ochratoxin and aflatoxin and more studies attempting to understand the dynamics involving mycotoxin-producing fungi and mycotoxin production in cocoa need to be carried out with the aim of preventing mycotoxin accumulation in this commodity.

Fungi and Mycotoxin Occurrence in Cocoa

“…The survey carried out on 42 samples of bitter chocolate in Japan [ 34 ] revealed 22 (52%) samples contaminated with mean a fl atoxin B1 concentrations of 0.18 m g/kg and a maximum of 0.6 m g/kg. A fl atoxin contamination was also reported by Copetti et al [ 31 ] when evaluating the co-occurrence of ochratoxin A and a fl atoxins in 125 samples of chocolate marketed in Brazil (powdered and bitter, dark, milk, and white bars, 25 samples each). The analyses revealed the co-occurrence of these two mycotoxins in 80% of the samples, with presence of a fl atoxins at mean levels of 0.53, 0.66, 0.43, 0.08, and 0.01 m g/kg in 96% of powdered, 100% of bitter, 100% of dark, 72% of milk, and 20% of white chocolate samples, respectively.…”

Assessment of Ochratoxin A intake due to consumption of coffee and cocoa derivatives marketed in Abidjan (Cte dIvoire)

“…The results obtained for OTA levels of cocoa powder samples in our study are similar to those reported in the literature. OTA has been detected in 92 to 100% of evaluated cocoa powder, with average levels between 0.18 and 7.8 µg/kg (Gilmour and Lindblom, 2008;Miraglia and Brera, 2002;Turcotte and Scott, 2011;Copetti et al, 2012). The prevalence of OTA reported in the literature for chocolate is also high [60 to 100% in chocolate (0.08 to 0.88 µg/kg)] (Gilmour and Lindblom 2008;Turcotte and Scott, 2011).…”

“…The average was 0.64 ± 0.53 µg/kg for cocoa for export (grade I and II), and that for non-exportable cocoa (under grade) was 1.9 ± 1.9 µg/kg.Several authors reported that cocoa manufacturing operations reduce OTA content. The operations of roasting, shelling, and the addition of additives were identified as operations that may reduce OTA content by 90% (Copetti et al, 2012).…”

Incidence of Mycotoxins in Local and Branded Samples of Chocolates Marketed in Pakistan

“…The authors observed aflatoxins in 80% of the examined samples. A strong relationship was observed between the occurrence of ochratoxigenic fungi and the ochratoxin A content in the chocolate samples [3,13,23]. One hundred and seventy-nine, out of the 300 samples analyzed, were positive for ochratoxin A contamination, representing 60% of the purchased products marketed in Italy [2].…”

“…Moreover, maximum limits of mycotoxins for all food products should be specifically established in the country. Publications are accessible with the mycotoxins contamination of chocolates in different realms [23] but not a single one from Pakistan.…”