Occurrence of ochratoxin A in Rioja Alavesa wines

Abstract: In this survey the influence of the geographical location and the kind of wine in the concentration of ochratoxin A (OTA) was studied. Forty percent of the Spanish wine market belongs to the Rioja Qualified Designation of Origen (DOCa Rioja) wines, which are already worldwide known. A total of 100 wines from the Rioja Alavesa (RA) production area of the DOCa Rioja were analysed, using immunoaffinity column clean-up and high-performance liquid-chromatography with fluorimetric detection (detection limit 0.002μg/l). The presence of OTA was greater in wines produced in low rainfall and high temperature regions. The geographical location and kind of wine did not seem to have influence on the OTA concentration. The mean OTA concentration of RA wines was 0.035μg/l and its contribution to mean daily OTA intake could be considered negligible, representing a 0.07% of the latest tolerable weekly intake (TWI) established in 2006 by EFSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]