Estimation of dietary intake of ochratoxin A from liquorice confectionery.
Ochratoxin A (OTA) was analyzed from 44 liquorice confectionery samples using immunoaffinity cleanup and liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detection. The presence of OTA was confirmed by methyl-ester derivatization. Liquorice confectionery samples were purchased from different retail outlets and supermarkets in Spain during 2007-2008, 16 of hard candies and 28 of soft candies. The incidence of OTA varied between 75% and 39% and mean ranged from 2.96 to 0.34 microg/kg for hard and soft candies, respectively. Assuming a total mean value of 1.29 microg OTA/kg sweet and a consumption of about 1.2g liquorice sweets per day, an OTA weekly uptake of 11 ng was obtained, or, based on a total body weight of 30 kg for a child consuming these sweets regularly, a weekly intake of 0.37 ng/kg body weight. This corresponds to 0.31% of the tolerable weekly intake (TWI) established by the European Food Safety Authority based of toxicological studies. Risk assessment in a worst case scenario (children high consumers and maximum content of OTA) represented 8.94% TWI by liquorice confectionery alone.
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Veterinary Faculty, University of Zaragoza, c/Miguel Servet 177, E-50013 Zaragoza, Spain.
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D002182:Candy / Q000032:analysis*; D002273:Carcinogens / Q000032:analysis*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004032:Diet; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006035:Glycyrrhiza / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009793:Ochratoxins / Q000032:analysis*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013030:Spain
D002273:Carcinogens; D009793:Ochratoxins; C025589:ochratoxin A