Occurrence of ochratoxin A in wheat flour factories in Ahvaz city, Iran

Cereals are prone to fungal infection during growth, harvesting, transportation, and/or storage. As a result, cereals such as wheat grains and wheat-derived products may be contaminated with mycotoxins leading to acute and chronic health exposure. The current study investigated the presence of the mycotoxins: ochratoxin A (OTA), ochratoxin B (OTB), T-2, and HT-2 toxins in samples of wheat grains (n = 50), wheat flour (n = 50), and bread (n = 37) from the main mills in Lebanon using LC-MS/MS. Accuracy ranged from 98–100%, recoveries from 93–105%, and intraday and interday precision were 5–7% and 9–12%, respectively. The tested wheat grains, wheat flour, and bread samples did not contain detectable levels of T-2 and HT-2 toxins and OTB. Four wheat flour samples (8% of flour samples) showed positive OTA levels ranging from 0.6–3.4 μg·kg−1 with an arithmetic mean of 1.9 ± 0.2 μg·kg−1. Only one sample contained an OTA concentration greater than the limit set by the European Union (3 μg·kg−1) for wheat-derived products. This study suggests that mycotoxin contamination of wheat grains, wheat flour, and bread in Lebanon is currently not a serious public health concern. However, surveillance strategies and monitoring programs must be routinely implemented to ensure minimal mycotoxin contamination of wheat-based products.

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Detection of Five Mycotoxins in Different Food Matrices in the Malaysian Market by Using Validated Liquid Chromatography Electrospray Ionization Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry

Toxins ◽

10.3390/toxins11040196 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 196 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Ali Alsharif ◽

Yeun-Mun Choo ◽

Guan-Huat Tan

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Liquid Chromatography ◽

Ochratoxin A ◽

Wheat Flour ◽

Food Samples ◽

Food Contaminants ◽

Relative Standard ◽

Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass ◽

Food Matrices

Mycotoxins are common food contaminants which cause poisoning and severe health risks to humans and animals. The present study applied chemometric approach in liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) optimization for simultaneous determination of mycotoxins, i.e., aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2, and ochratoxin A. The validated quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS)-LC-MS/MS method was used to study the occurrence of mycotoxins in 120 food matrices. The recovery ranges from 81.94% to 101.67% with relative standard deviation (RSD) lesser than 11%. Through the developed method, aflatoxins were detected in raisin, pistachio, peanut, wheat flour, spice, and chili samples with concentration ranges from 0.45 to 16.93 µg/kg. Trace concentration of ochratoxin A was found in wheat flour and peanut samples which ranged from 1.2 to 3.53 µg/kg. Some of the tested food samples contained mycotoxins of above the European legal maximum limit.

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Changes in ochratoxin A and type B trichothecenes contained in wheat flour during dough fermentation and bread-baking

Food Additives & Contaminants Part A ◽

10.1080/02652030902788938 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 26 (6) ◽

pp. 896-906 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

F.M. Valle-Algarra ◽

E.M. Mateo ◽

Á. Medina ◽

F. Mateo ◽

J.V. Gimeno-Adelantado ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ochratoxin A ◽

Wheat Flour ◽

Type B

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Ochratoxin A contamination of cereal grains and coffee in Hungary in the year 2001

Acta Veterinaria Hungarica ◽

10.1556/avet.50.2002.2.7 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 50 (2) ◽

pp. 177-188 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

B. Fazekas ◽

A. K. Tar ◽

Melinda Zomborszky-Kovács

Keyword(s):

Ochratoxin A ◽

Wheat Flour ◽

High Performance ◽

Limit Of Detection ◽

Storage Period ◽

Storage Conditions ◽

Cereal Grains ◽

Animal Origin ◽

Human Consumption ◽

High Prevalence

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a nephrotoxic and carcinogenic mycotoxin, a secondary metabolite produced by mould fungi belonging to several Aspergillus and Penicillium species. It is formed during the storage of cereal grains and other plant-derived products. OTA ingested by humans and animals with the food or feed may exert deleterious effects on health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ochratoxin contamination of the most important potential sources of OTA. The OTA content of cereal samples for human consumption (36 baking wheat, 16 wheat flour and 6 maize coarse meal samples) and feed grain samples (30 feeding wheat, 32 feeding maize and 20 feeding barley samples) collected in the mid-phase or at the end of the storage period and of 50 commercial coffee samples was determined. The analyses were performed by immunoaffinity column - high-performance liquid chromatography (IAC-HPLC). The limit of detection of the method was 0.1 ng/g. Of the wheat samples intended for human consumption, 8.3% contained OTA at 0.29 ng/g on the average (OTA ranges: 0.12-0.5 ng/g; Table 2). The OTA contamination of wheat flour and maize meal samples for human consumption was similar to that of the baking wheat samples. OTA contamination was found in 26.7% of the feeding wheat, 15.6% of the feeding maize and 35% of the feeding barley samples. The average values and the ranges of OTA levels found in the above samples were 12.2 and 0.3-62.8 ng/g, 4.9 and 1.9-8.3 ng/g, and 72 and 0.14-212 ng/g, respectively (Table 3). Sixty-six percent of the coffee samples were contaminated with OA (average level: 0.57 ng/g, ranges: 0.17-1.3 ng/g; Table 4). OTA contamination of baking wheat samples was found to be relatively low, presumably as a result of the favourable weather at harvest and the optimal storage conditions. Calculations made on the basis of the obtained results show that the daily OTA intake of an adult human from edible cereals is only 6.7 ng, while the amount taken up with coffee is 4.1 ng daily. The high prevalence and high levels of OTA contamination in feed grains can be explained by the unfavourable storage conditions, and this finding suggests that OA-related health problems may arise in animals, and that foods of animal origin may be contaminated with this mycotoxin.

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Determination of aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol, ochratoxin A and zearalenone in organic wheat flour under different storage conditions

International Journal of Food Science & Technology ◽

10.1111/ijfs.15042 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Loredana Annunziata ◽

Maria Schirone ◽

Pierina Visciano ◽

Guido Campana ◽

Maria Rosaria De Massis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ochratoxin A ◽

Wheat Flour ◽

Storage Conditions

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Four-Year Surveillance for Ochratoxin A and Fumonisins in Retail Foods in Japan

Journal of Food Protection ◽

10.4315/0362-028x-73.2.344 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 73 (2) ◽

pp. 344-352 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

KOJI AOYAMA ◽

MASAHIRO NAKAJIMA ◽

SETSUKO TABATA ◽

EIICHI ISHIKURO ◽

TOSHITSUGU TANAKA ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ochratoxin A ◽

Wheat Flour ◽

Food Products ◽

Roasted Coffee ◽

Instant Coffee ◽

Coffee Beans ◽

Canned Corn ◽

Corn Snacks ◽

Roasted Coffee Beans ◽

Buckwheat Flour

Between 2004 and 2007 we examined foods from Japanese retail shops for contamination with ochratoxin A (OTA) and fumonisins B1,B2, and B3. A total of 1,358 samples of 27 different products were examined for OTA, and 831 samples of 16 different products were examined for fumonisins. The limits of quantification ranged from 0.01 to 0.5 μg/kg for OTA and 2 to 10 μg/kg for the fumonisins. OTA was detected in amounts higher than limits of quantification in wheat flour, pasta, oatmeal, rye, buckwheat flour and dried buckwheat noodles, raisins, wine, beer, coffee beans and coffee products, chocolate, cocoa, and coriander. OTA was found in more than 90% of the samples of instant coffee and cocoa, and the highest concentration of OTA, 12.5 μg/kg, was detected in raisins. The concentration of OTA in oatmeal, rye, raisins, wine, and roasted coffee beans varied remarkably from year to year. Fumonisins were detected in frozen and canned corn, popcorn grain, corn grits, cornflakes, corn soups, corn snacks, beer, soybeans, millet, and asparagus. The highest concentrations of fumonisins B1, B2, and B3 were detected in corn grits (1,670, 597, and 281 μg/kg, respectively). All of the samples of corn grits were contaminated with fumonisins, and more than 80% of the samples of popcorn grain and corn snacks contained fumonisins. OTA and fumonisins were detected in several food products in Japan; however, although Japan has not set regulatory levels for these mycotoxins, their concentrations were relatively low.

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