Occurrence of Ochratoxin A in breakfast cereals and sweet snacks in Italy: dietary exposure assessment.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Ochratoxin A, a toxic fungal secondary metabolite, is well known as a nephrotoxic, hepatotoxic, embryotoxic, teratogenic and immunotoxic agent, classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as "possibly carcinogenic to humans". OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine the occurrence of ochratoxin A in breakfast cereals and sweet snacks in order to estimate the dietary exposure of the Italian population, considering the widespread use of these products for all ages, and in particular for children and teenagers. METHODS: Ochratoxin A was detected by ELISA technique. The calculation of the estimated exposure was performed by a deterministic approach. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The percentages of contaminated samples tested were 8% for breakfast cereals and 51% for sweet snacks with a range of contamination from 0.5 to 2.1 ng/g. The mean estimated daily intake, depending on age categories, ranged from 2.9% to 8.6% of the latest provisional tolerable daily intake recommended by the European Food Safety Authority (17 ng/kg bw/d) calculated on the total diet. Children and teenagers result to be higher in exposure per kg body weight compared to adults. CONCLUSION: The estimate of ochratoxin A exposure levels calculated in the study does not represent a great concern for public health because they are not associated with a significant cancer risk.