Ochratoxin A concentrations in Greek domestic wines and dried vine fruits

Abstract

A survey for the presence of ochratoxin A (OTA) was conducted from 1995 to 1999 on 268 locally produced commercial wines, and on 81 samples of domestic dried vine fruits (currants and sultanas) collected between 1998 and 2000 from sites of primary storage and processing. The OTA concentration in red dry wines (n = 104, median = 0.09 microgram l(-1)) was not significantly different from that for white (n = 118, median = 0.06 microgram l(-1)) and rosé (n = 20, median = 0.08 microgram l(-1)) wines. Eighteen samples of dessert wines (sweet, semi-sweet, semi-dry) and eight samples of retsina wine showed larger OTA concentrations with medians of 0.33 and 0.27 microgram l(-1), respectively. Our data indicate that the geographic region of origin influences OTA contamination for the red dry wines. In fact, a trend of increasing OTA contamination was observed for red wines from northern to southern Greece. Regarding the OTA levels in dried vine fruits, sultanas (n = 27, median = 0.6 microgram kg(-1)) were less contaminated than currants (n = 54, median = 1.3 microgram kg(-1)). Also, sultanas produced in 2000 and currants produced in 1999 showed the lowest incidence of OTA contamination, with medians of 0.3 and 0.9 microgram kg(-1), respectively.

Levels of ochratoxins in Mediterranean red wines

“…These mean and maximum values were ten times lower than the previously described and the medians looked on the same order (Stefanaki, Foufa, Tsatsou-Dritsa & Dais, 2003, Soufleros, Bouloumpasi & Tricard 2003. Stefanaki et al (2003) indicated also, greater OTA levels in the South than in the North of the country, being the greatest levels in the Egeo islands. In this study, there were not samples enough in order to confirm this hypothesis, but the greatest levels obtained were from two wines of this region.…”

Wine Contamination with Ochratoxins: A Review

“…Pietri et al [54] noticed a gradual increase of OTA contamination from North to South Italy that attributed to considerable climatic differences occurring in those latitudes. Something similar was found in Greece by Stefanaki et al [50] who reported a concentration gradient from North to South probably due to high humidity and temperature in Southern regions of the country.…”

“…Sweet wines are frequently contaminated and they often reach high levels of OTA that sometimes exceed the legal regulations [6,49,50,52,58]. This fact could also be related to winemaking techniques, although oenological practices vary widely among the different types of sweet wine [71].…”

Mycotoxin Contamination of Beverages: Occurrence of Patulin in Apple Juice and Ochratoxin A in Coffee, Beer and Wine and Their Control Methods

“…Dessert wines are prone to contamination with OTA as in the case of Spanish wines [147,176,177]. In Greece, more than 66% of wine samples showed detectable OTA levels and both red and sweet wines showed the highest levels [178][179][180]. More than 50% of the samples analyzed in Cyprus and Turkey, respectively, had detectable levels of the toxin [181,182].…”