Ochratoxin A and Aflatoxins in Liquorice Products
2010
Pietri | Rastelli | Bertuzzi
The occurrence of ochratoxin A (OTA) and aflatoxins (AFs) in liquorice products made in Italy was surveyed. Twenty-eight samples of dried liquorice extract and fifty-four of liquorice confectionery (liquorice content between 2 and 10%) were collected from retail outlets located in northern Italy. After extraction and purification through an immunoaffinity column, OTA and AFs were analysed using both HPLC-FLD and HPLC-MS/MS. OTA occurred in all samples of dried liquorice extract and in 61% of samples of liquorice confectionery, showing very high values for the former (mean 89.6 µg kg-1, maximum value 990.1 µg kg-1), and relatively low levels for the latter (mean 0.96 µg kg-1, maximum value 8.3 µg kg-1). The contribution of dried liquorice extract to OTA intake appears to be non-negligible for children, who are potentially high consumers. AF contamination resulted very low: AFB1 was detected only in 15.8% of samples (maximum value 7.7 µg kg-1, mean 0.38 and 0.41 µg kg-1 for dried liquorice extract and liquorice confectionery, respectively): the other AFs were not detected. To our knowledge, it is the first time that AFB1 has been detected in liquorice extract samples.
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