Occurrence and daily intake of ochratoxin A of organic and non-organic rice and rice products

Ochratoxin A (OTA) was extracted from 84 rice samples and rice products by using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and analysed with liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detection. Samples were collected from rice cultivars, local markets and supermarkets; 64 were of non-organic and 20 of organic production. 7.8% of non-organic samples had OTA levels from 4.3 to 27.3 mu g/kg and in 30% of organic samples was detected the presence of this mycotoxin varying from 1.0 to 7.1 mu g/kg. OTA presence was confirmed by methyl-ester derivatization. Rice and rice products labelled with denomination of origin (DO) were not detected OTA due to the fact that its production has implemented food safety measures such as good agricultural practices (GAPs), good manufacturing practices (GMPs), and the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) system. Estimated daily intake of OTA was 0.17 ng/kg b.w./day. This value reflects that the analysed samples have a minimal contribution to toxicological risk. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.