Occurrence of ochratoxin A in roasted coffee samples commercialized in Portugal

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin with nephrotoxic, teratogenic, carcinogenic and immunotoxic properties that can frequently be found in ground roasted coffee. The aim of the present study was to assess the presence of ochratoxin A in arabica and robusta ground roasted coffee from several countries, as well as determine the levels of this mycotoxin contamination in roasted coffee commercialized in Portugal. It was also performed a laboratory validation method for the analysis of OTA in coffee using highperformance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FD). Recoveries of OTA from ground roasted coffee spiked samples ranged between 95.5 and 109.8%. The limits of detection and quantification in coffee were 0266 and 0.500 mu g/kg, respectively. The result on OTA contamination indicates that there were slight differences between arabica and robusta coffee samples from different origins. The mean of ochratoxin A contamination detected in the coffee from Portuguese market was 1.84 and 1.45 mu g/kg for roasted and ground roasted coffee, respectively; while, a maximum of 1031 mu g/kg was found. These results demonstrate how important is the purpose of monitoring and evaluation of OTA levels in coffee, since this mycotoxin is widely distributed in food and up to now without successful methodologies to prevent coffee contamination. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.