OCHRATOXIN A LEVELS IN FOOD AND BEVERAGE SAMPLES FROM TURKEY

Abstract

The current work reports the ochratoxin A (OTA) levels in 23 food (bread, dried fruit, pulse) and beverage (black tea, coffee) products commonly consumed in Turkey determined with ELISA. OTA levels in kidney bean, haricot bean, and red lentil samples from Turkey were investigated for the first time in this study. The highest OTA levels were detected in instant coffee (158.9 mu g kg(-1)), black tea (139.5 mu g kg(-1)), and filter coffee (118.4 mu g kg(-1)) samples. Of the tested samples, 78.27% exceeded legal limits of OTA. These results support the existing knowledge that food and beverages should be regularly and effectively controlled to protect human health.