A risk assessment of dietary exposure to ochratoxin A for the Polish population.

Highlights • Occurrence of ochratoxin A (OTA) in the selected food products as studied by HPLC. • In this study 473 food products have been tested for content of ochratoxin A. • Monitoring and evaluation of OTA levels in food products should be advisable. Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the content of ochratoxin A (OTA) using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in selected food products, in the aspect of consumer health hazards. In the study 473 samples of food products, available on the Silesia market in Poland, were analyzed. For the determination of ochratoxin A in food, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection was used. Almost 22% of the samples were contaminated with ochratoxin A. The highest concentration of OTA was determined in raisins (34.0 μg/kg), which exceeds the permissible level 3.5 times. In one of the analyzed rye flour samples ochratoxin A was determined at level 19.5 μg/kg, where the maximum level is 3 μg/kg. For the general population, there is a risk of exposure to ochratoxin A from food, which justifies the need to monitor the quality of products for mycotoxin contamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]