Study on ochratoxin A in cereal-derived products from Spain

A study on ochratoxin A (OTA) in cereal-derived products was carried out. Cereal-based baby foods, breakfast cereals and beers were analyzed for mycotoxin OTA using an in-house developed high-performance liquid-chromatographic method. OTA was detected in 19 of the 21 samples of breakfast cereals (limit of detection 0.066 mu g/kg), in 14 of the 20 samples of cereal-based baby foods (limit of detection 0.035 mu g/kg) and in 24 of the 31 samples of beer (limit of detection 0.012 mu g/l). The mean concentrations of OTA found were the following: 0.265 mu g/kg in breakfast cereals, 0.187 mu g/kg in cereal-based baby food and 0.044 mu g/l in beer. The influence of different factors, such as the fibre content in breakfast cereals, type of cereals used in cereal-based baby food and alcohol content in beer, on the OTA levels was studied. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.