Roquefortine C in blue-veined and soft-ripened Cheeses in the USA

Certain fungi can produce secondary metabolites that are toxic, mycotoxins. Two groups of cheeses where fungi are used for ripening are the blue-veined cheeses (Penicillium roqueforti) and the soft-ripened cheeses (P. camemberti). An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to screen for the mycotoxin roquefortine C (ROQC) in 202 samples of cheeses sold in the United States. Of these 152 were blue-veined cheeses, 46 were soft-ripened cheeses and 4 were other varieties of mould-ripened cheeses. ROQC was not detected in any of the soft-ripened cheeses, at a limit of detection of 1.8 mu g/kg. ROQC was found in 151 of 152 blue-veined cheeses. The maximum level found was 6,630 mu g/kg (median 903 mu g/kg, average of positives 1430 mu g/kg, limit of quantitation 6.9 mu g/kg). These levels are consistent with the levels found previously in blue-veined cheeses in the United Kingdom and Europe, which have generally been considered non-hazardous for human consumption.

Automated summary

Soft-ripened cheeses were found to be free of ROQC mycotoxin, while the majority of blue-veined cheeses contained ROQC, albeit at levels considered non-hazardous for human consumption based on previous studies in the UK and Europe.