Ochratoxin A in conventional and organic cereal derivatives: a survey of the Italian market, 2001–02

Abstract

Ochratoxin A is a mycotoxin produced mainly by Penicillium verrucosum and Aspergillus ochraceus. Although typically considered a cereal contaminant, it has also been detected in dried fruit, nuts, meat and derivatives. To estimate the quantity of ochratoxin A that might be ingested by Italian consumers from these foods, 211 cereal derivatives (flours and bakery products) were analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Products were from conventional and organic agriculture and from integrated pest management agriculture. All commercial flours and derivatives examined contained ochratoxin A at concentrations very much below the legal limit (3 microg kg(-1)): the highest value, 0.816 microg kg(-1), was detected in a sample of spelt whole flour from organic agriculture. In many samples, the ochratoxin content was below the limit of detection; only rarely did values exceed 0.5 microg kg(-1). In baby foods, four samples were above the particularly restrictive Italian legal limit of 0.5 microg kg(-1). Although some significant differences were found between samples from conventional and organic agriculture when some product categories were examined (namely, baby foods as semolina and rice creams), no important difference was found between the two types of agricultural practice when all types of cereal derivatives were considered together.

Ochratoxin A Detection by HPLC-FL in Processed Baby Foods

“…This analytical evidence is not comparable with others data in the literature concerning the occurrence of OTA in pasta and semolina [25,[38][39][40], because the reported cases concerning exclusively food proposed for adults. However, OTA concentrations detected in these studies were usually below 2 µg/kg, except for only one pasta sample analysed in Germany with a very high level of OTA (29.8 µg/kg) [41].…”

“…There are many studies on OTA levels in infant formulae and baby foods [23][24][25][26][27][28][29], but there are few data on the occurrence of OTA in pasta and bread consumed by children in Italy.…”

Nutritional quality and safety of organic food. A review

“…When a comparison was made, lower levels of contamination were found in organic ones (Usleber et al, 2000). No marked differences in OTA levels were found in cereal derivatives in Italy (Biffi et al, 2004) or in cereal-based baby food (Beretta et al, 2002). Two studies have observed lower levels of aflatoxin in organic milks compared with conventional ones (Gravert et al, 1989;Frank Hansen, 1990), whereas another one found some high levels in organic milk (Ghidini et al, 2005).…”

Organic Food: Buying More Safety or Just Peace of Mind? A Critical Review of the Literature

“…Given that they constitute a major health hazard, their relative presence in food produced organically or conventionally has been the subject of several studies. From a review of the evidence, however, it cannot be concluded that either type of farming leads to increased risk of mycotoxin contamination; to facilitate processing by the reader, the main findings are summarized in Table 5 Birzele et al, 2002;Marx et al, 1995;Schollenberger et al, 1999;Beretta et al, 2002;Czerwiecki et al, 2002;Doll et al, 2002;Jorgensen and Jacobsen, 2002;Schollenberger et al, 2002Schollenberger et al, , 2005Lucke et al, 2003;Biffi et al, 2004). The majority of available studies have been carried out in cereals and cereal-based products, as these crops are more susceptible to fungal attack than others.…”