Analysis of ochratoxin A, aflatoxin B1 and its biosynthetic precursors in cheese – Method development and market sample screening
2023
Gützkow, Kim Lara | Al Ayoubi, Carine | Soler Vasco, Laura | Rohn, Sascha | Maul, Ronald
The presence of Penicillium and Aspergillus fungi during cheese production may lead to the formation of ochratoxin A, aflatoxins, as well as their partly mutagenic biosynthetic precursors. However, data about the presence of these toxins in final cheese is scarce. In the present study, a quantification method for the toxicologically highly relevant compounds ochratoxin A (OTA), aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), sterigmatocystin (STC), and versicolorin A (VerA) was developed and applied for a market screening of hard, semi-hard, and soft cheese samples. The developed method was based on a QuEChERs approach with dimethylsulfoxide as keeper reagent. This stable isotope dilution assay for OTA, AFB1 and STC achieves high sensitivity (limits of detection: 0.02 μg/kg for AFB1, 0.01 μg/kg for STC and 0.37 μg/kg for OTA). However, in certain hard cheese types, the toxins showed matrix binding effects, leading to reduced recovery rates. When applying the method to market samples, detectable amount of STC in eight out of ten grated hard cheese samples up to 4.99 μg/kg and OTA in three of these samples up to 26.56 μg/kg were revealed. Only three out of the 53 further samples contained detectable amounts of mycotoxin. Thus, it can be assumed that the state of maturation and the process of grating favours the presence of OTA and STC in cheese, based on the market screening of 62 market samples. More comprehensive data are required to draw more detailed conclusions of the parameters determining the susceptibility of certain cheese types for mycotoxin contamination.
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