Ochratoxin A contamination of the autochthonous dry-cured meat product Slavonski Kulen during a six-month production process

The aim of the study was to investigate OTA contamination of Slavonski Kulen during a six-month production process. Raw meat & spices (n = 7) used with the production and final products with either intact or damaged casings (n = 99) were sampled on the production day 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180, and analysed for OTA presence using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD). No statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed among the intact samples on any above-given production day, the maximal OTA value attributable to raw material contamination thereby being 3.18 mu g/kg. As for the damaged samples, the mean OTA concentration established on the production day 180 was 7.92 +/- 6.50 mu g/kg, while the maximal observed OTA value equalled to 17.0 mu g/kg. The results demonstrated that casing damaging witnessed during a long-term dry-cured meat products' ripening can result in OTA entry from the surface into the product, causing a significant OTA contamination. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.