Ochratoxin A contamination of coffee batches from Kenya in relation to cultivation methods and  post-harvest processing treatments.
This study set out to assess the relative importance of sound and unsound beans in a batch of coffee with regard to ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination. Initially, unsound beans were found to account for 95% of contamination in a batch of coffee, whatever the methods used for post-harvest processing. It was also found that beans displaying traces of attacks by Colletotrichum kahawae were the greatest contributors to OTA contamination. In a second stage, the study compared the contamination of sound beans with that of beans attacked by Colletotrichum kahawae. On average, beans attacked by Colletotrichum kahawae had a statistically higher OTA content than sound beans (18.0 microg kg(-1) as opposed to 1.2 microg kg(-1)). In addition, the average OTA content in unsound beans varied depending on growing conditions.
Duris
Daniel
D
CIRAD, UMR QualiSud, F-34398 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
Mburu
Joseph K
JK
Durand
Noël
N
Clarke
Renata
R
Frank
John M
JM
Guyot
Bernard
B
D003069:Coffee / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000382:microbiology*; D020231:Colletotrichum / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D007887:Fabaceae / Q000382:microbiology; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods; D007630:Kenya; D009793:Ochratoxins / Q000032:analysis*; D027861:Prunus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology
D003069:Coffee; D009793:Ochratoxins; C025589:ochratoxin A