Ochratoxin A – Toxicological Aspects

Abstract

European and national public authorities are introducing increasingly high standards to ensure that health risks, induced by contaminated food, is prevented and considerable reduced. This is olso the objective for the agribusiness and the distributors; they are the responsibility to guarantee that food is safe. Preventing the risks of contamination by bacteria, pesticides, chemicals, mycotoxins, etc. in food products is a major challenge for all stakeholders in agrifood supply chains. Cases of food poisoning have always hit the headlines and can have very serious economic consequences. Aflatoxins, fumonisins, trichotecenes, zearalenones and ochratoxins belonging to the mycotoxins group are responsible for extremely serious human pathologies. Ochratoxin A, or OTA, produced by fungi of the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium, is acknowledged to be responsible for certain kidney pathologies in pigs and is suspected of causing some human kidney pathologies. It has been shown in rats that OTA has carcinogenic and immunotoxic properties. Because OTA has a long biological cycle, remaining in the bloodstream and contaminating the meat from animals having ingested it, just as it can contaminate mother's milk.