Abstract

Ochratoxin a residue in grape juice concentrate

Author(s): Ali Mohamadi Sani

Grape juice concentrate (GJC) is evaporated, concentrated and shelf-life extended formof grape syrup. Since ancient times, evaporated grape syrup has been traditionally produced in most Iranian regions by using varieties of grapes.As GJC is generally produced fromthe year-end harvest of poor quality, ochratoxin has been a concern in this product. As there has been no research to evaluate the OTA in GJC so the aim of this study was to investigate this mycotoxin in GJC samples in Khorasan province in north eastern of Iran. For this purpose, 20 GJC sampleswere collected fromretail stores of 9 cities in Khorasan province. Samples were analyzed for OTA content by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique. Results showed that 12 GJC samples (60%) contained detectable amounts of OTAby average concentration of 0.6±0.71 ppb which is lower than EU standards (2 ppb). The highest and lowest concentration of OTA in the samples was 0.24 and 1.74 ppb, so OTApoisoning has not been a concern in the GJC samples.