Survey on Ochratoxin A Occurrence in Cured Meat Products in The Netherlands

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a toxic metabolite produced by fungi, that can be present on various food products, cereals and plant-derived (raw) feed (materials). It was demonstrated that OTA has toxic effects after consumption by both animals and humans. Therefore, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that contribution to human exposure of OTA from (processed) meats should not be ignored. The objective of this study was to assess the occurrence of OTA; thus, data on OTA in cured meats were collected. An in-house validated analytical method using methanol extraction, clean-up with an immunoaffinity columns and LC-MS/MS detection was applied. Quantification was done through the external calibration of standards in solvent using ¹³C₂₀ OTA internal standard, with a reporting limit of 0.2 µg/kg and LOQ of 0.04 µg/kg. A total of 50 cured meat products were obtained from Dutch supermarkets. OTA was detected at or above the reporting limit in four samples of cured ham (range 0.30 µg/kg to 79.8 µg/kg) and two samples of sausages (0.2 µg/kg and 0.41 µg/kg). Overall, OTA was detected in twenty samples, and it was concluded that OTA occurred above the LOQ in 40% of cured meats analyzed.