Determination and Comprehensive Risk Assessment of Dietary Exposure to Ochratoxin A on Fermented Teas

Abstract

A specialized method for ochratoxin A (OTA) determination on fermented teas was developed and validated using ultraperformance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Methodology results showed that recovery, relative standard deviation, accuracy, and precision were qualified. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.32 and 0.96 μg/ kg, respectively. Two of 158 collected samples were screened for OTA contamination. Comprehensive risk assessment based on OTA contaminations of this study and other peer-reviewed publications was performed. The highest hazard quotient (HQ) value (8.86 × 10 −2 ) and the highest 1/MoE value (8.61 × 10 −5 ) in probabilistic assessment were equally below the recommended nonneoplastic and neoplastic thresholds, indicating no health risks. However, the HQ and 1/MoE values of the 95th percentiles in 20− 39 and ≥50 years of age were close to thresholds of 1.0 and 1.0 × 10 −4 , respectively. Under the extreme case, there were only a few scenarios (e.g., 40−49 years of age) of HQ values below the non-neoplastic threshold, but the 1/MoE value of each group exceeded the neoplastic threshold. This is the first extensive risk assessment on OTA from fermented teas worldwide, but the sample size is still limited, and a large number of samples is encouraged in a future study for a more accurate assessment.

Suppressed DNA base pair stacking assembly of gold nanoparticles in an alcoholic solvent for enhanced ochratoxin A detection in Baijiu

“…High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), as a sensitive and well-established method, is currently widely adopted for OTA detection, while this approach requires the use of expensive equipment under the operation of a well-trained technician in a laboratory. 8 This makes the conventional approach time-consuming and cost-ineffective. Recently, some innovative methods have emerged with the rapid development of nanotechnology.…”

Dietary assessment of ochratoxin A in Chinese dark tea and inhibitory effects of tea polyphenols on ochratoxigenic Aspergillus niger

“…Despite the risk of mycotoxin contamination in dark tea, studies by Cui et al (2020) , Ye et al (2020) , and Yan et al (2021) show that the consumption of dark tea does not pose a significant health risk to consumers. Yan et al (2021) assessed neoplastic risk based on the results of the Malir study (OTA level of 250 μg/kg; Malir et al, 2014 ), and only consumers with moderate and heavy tea consumption had maximal HQ values close to 1 or ≥1, indicating a potential neoplastic risk. However, the results of the study used a very extreme scenario.…”

“…Numerous studies ( Haas et al, 2013 ; Liu et al, 2016 , 2017 ; Mo et al, 2016 ; Ye et al, 2020 ) regarding OTA determination in dark tea have been conducted, the concentrations ranging from 0.22 to 94.7 μg/kg, but a larger number and more representative samples of dark tea should be investigated. Risk assessment of OTA in dark tea has been carried out in some studies ( Ye et al, 2020 ; Yan et al, 2021 ), and the results showed that there is no observed risk concern to consumers as the hazard quotient (HQ) was below 1.0. In addition, large amounts of tea consumption data are urgently required to generate a more accurate assessment.…”

Mycotoxins in Tea ((Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze)): Contamination and Dietary Exposure Profiling in the Chinese Population

“…In recent years, there has been progress in the quantitative detection of mycotoxins in tea [ 5 , 6 , 12 , 22 ]. Many scholars have also focused on risk assessments of AFs and OTA in dark tea [ 23 , 24 ], AFs in black tea [ 25 ], and AFs and ZEN in green tea, black tea, and even herbal teas [ 26 ]. However, there are limited studies on the risk assessment of multiple mycotoxins involved in tea ( Camelia Sinensis L.) [ 27 , 28 , 29 ] compared to herbal teas [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ].…”