Four-year surveillance for ochratoxin a and fumonisins in retail foods in Japan.
Between 2004 and 2007 we examined foods from Japanese retail shops for contamination with ochratoxin A (OTA) and fumonisins B(1), B(2), and B(3). A total of 1,358 samples of 27 different products were examined for OTA, and 831 samples of 16 different products were examined for fumonisins. The limits of quantification ranged from 0.01 to 0.5 microg/kg for OTA and 2 to 10 microg/kg for the fumonisins. OTA was detected in amounts higher than limits of quantification in wheat flour, pasta, oatmeal, rye, buckwheat flour and dried buckwheat noodles, raisins, wine, beer, coffee beans and coffee products, chocolate, cocoa, and coriander. OTA was found in more than 90% of the samples of instant coffee and cocoa, and the highest concentration of OTA, 12.5 microg/kg, was detected in raisins. The concentration of OTA in oatmeal, rye, raisins, wine, and roasted coffee beans varied remarkably from year to year. Fumonisins were detected in frozen and canned corn, popcorn grain, corn grits, cornflakes, corn soups, corn snacks, beer, soybeans, millet, and asparagus. The highest concentrations of fumonisins B(1), B(2), and B(3) were detected in corn grits (1,670, 597, and 281 microg/kg, respectively). All of the samples of corn grits were contaminated with fumonisins, and more than 80% of the samples of popcorn grain and corn snacks contained fumonisins. OTA and fumonisins were detected in several food products in Japan; however, although Japan has not set regulatory levels for these mycotoxins, their concentrations were relatively low.
Food and Agricultural Materials Inspection Center, Sendai Regional Center, 1-3-15, Gorin, Miyagino-ku, Sendai 983-0842, Japan. kouji_aoyama@nm.famic.go.jp
Koji
K
Aoyama
Masahiro
M
Nakajima
Setsuko
S
Tabata
Eiichi
E
Ishikuro
Toshitsugu
T
Tanaka
Hiroko
H
Norizuki
Yoshinori
Y
Itoh
Kazuhiro
K
Fujita
Shigemi
S
Kai
Toru
T
Tsutsumi
Masanori
M
Takahashi
Hiroki
H
Tanaka
Seiichiro
S
Iizuka
Motoki
M
Ogiso
Mamoru
M
Maeda
Shigeaki
S
Yamaguchi
Kei-Ichi
K
Sugiyama
Yoshiko
Y
Sugita-Konishi
Susumu
S
Kumagai
D001515:Beer / Q000032:analysis; D002099:Cacao / Q000737:chemistry; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000737:chemistry; D005504:Food Analysis; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D037341:Fumonisins / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D009183:Mycotoxins / Q000032:analysis*; D009793:Ochratoxins / Q000032:analysis*; D018570:Risk Assessment
D037341:Fumonisins; D009183:Mycotoxins; D009793:Ochratoxins; C025589:ochratoxin A