Survey of Ochratoxin a in Coffee, Dried Grapes and Grape Pekmez Samples in Burdur, Turkey

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence and levels of ochratoxin A (OTA) in coffee (roasted and instant), dried grapes andgrape pekmez samples consumed in Burdur city markets. During 2015, a total of 86 samples including 43 coffee (30 instant coffee and 13roasted coffee), 17 dried grapes and 26 grape pekmez were randomly collected from different markets of Burdur. The occurrence and contamination levels of OTA in the samples were investigated by the competitive enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) method. OTAwas detected in 24 (55 %) coffee samples (13 roasted coffee and 11 instant coffee samples) and in 1 (3 %) grape pekmez samples. The rangeOTA levels were 8.34 and 22.54 µg/kg in coffee samples and 20.48 µg/kg in one grape pekmez sample, respectively. The highest recorded OTAconcentration was 22.54 µg/kg in instant coffee. Furthermore, 13 roasted coffee, 11 instant coffee and 1 grape pekmez samples were contaminated at levels above the Turkish legal limits of 5 µg/kg,10 µg/kg and 2 µg/kg, respectively. In contrast, OTA was not detected in all dried grapesamples. It is concluded that the occurrence of OTA, coffee samples, in particular may be considered as a possible hazard for public health.