Introduction: Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a toxic metabolite mainly produced by Aspergillus spp. and Penicillum spp. fungi. Research on the contamination of cereals, complete feeds, and tissues with this mycotoxin has indicated that it can be a toxicological problem impacting animal health and food safety in temperate climes. OTA contamination mainly besets the global pig industry, necessitating the monitoring of feeds and animal tissues. The aim of the study was to present the results of the official monitoring of OTA in animal tissues and feeds in Poland in 2014-2016 and determine the possible correlation between the presence of OTA in different types of samples.
Material and methods: The presence of ochratoxin A was determined using accepted procedures based on liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection after immunoaffinity column clean-up. Determination of OTA was afforded in the range of 0.3 µg/kg to 300 µg/kg in complete feeds and from 0.2 µg/kg to 150 µg/kg in the kidneys, liver, and muscles.
Results: Over the three year span, about 23.5% of the animal tissues samples were contaminated by ochratoxin A. In the 2014 survey, 10% of the sample tissues contained 5-10 µg/kg (only one sample above 10 μg/kg), and in 2015 and 2016, 24% of samples showed levels above the limit of quantification 0.2 μg/kg, while none of the samples exceeded the established provisional action level of 5 μg/kg for animal tissues. The animal feed analysis showed that 9% was contaminated with ochratoxin A above the limit of quantification of 0.3μg/kg. In 2% of feed samples the OTA concentration was greater than 50 μg/kg.
Conclusion: The results confirm the appropriacy of OTA contamination monitoring and help to increase food safety.
Keywords: animal tissues; chromatography; feeds; national monitoring; ochratoxin A.