Ochratoxin A in cereals and cereal products.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) was determined in cereals and in a large variety of cereal products (flour, bread, breadroll, pasta, other cereal-based foods) and in a variety of pulses. The detection limit for OTA was 0.01 pg/kg, except for rice and pasta (0.1 μg/kg). A total of 2374 samples were analysed, 68.6 % were found to contain OTA. However, only 1.4 % of the samples contained OTA at levels exceeding 3 μg/kg. The median values for the different groups of foods were between 0.011 μg/kg and 0.165 μg/kg. The mean OTA values for each type of cereal and cereal products were calculated, which constitute a part of a data base to determine the total OTA intake by the German consumer through all types of food.