Estimation of dietary intake of ochratoxin A from liquorice confectionery

Food Chem Toxicol. 2009 Aug;47(8):2002-6. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2009.05.009. Epub 2009 May 18.

Abstract

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.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Candy / analysis*
  • Carcinogens / analysis*
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
  • Diet
  • Food Contamination / analysis*
  • Food Contamination / prevention & control
  • Glycyrrhiza / chemistry*
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Ochratoxins / analysis*
  • Risk Assessment
  • Spain

Substances

  • Carcinogens
  • Ochratoxins
  • ochratoxin A