Ochratoxin A (OTA) is nephrotoxic, hepatotoxic, immunotoxic, neurotoxic, reprotoxic, teratogenic, and carcinogenic (group 2B), being characterized by species and sex differences in sensitivity. Despite the fact that OTA is in some aspects a controversial topic, OTA is the most powerful renal carcinogen. The aim of this study was to make a small survey concerning OTA content in black tea, fruit tea, and ground roasted coffee, and to assess OTA transfer into beverages. OTA content was measured using a validated and accredited HPLC-FLD method with a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.35 ng/g. The OTA amount ranged from LOQ up to 250 ng/g in black tea and up to 104 ng/g in fruit tea. Black tea and fruit tea, naturally contaminated, were used to prepare tea infusions. The transfer from black tea to the infusion was 34.8% ± 1.3% and from fruit tea 4.1% ± 0.2%. Ground roasted coffee naturally contaminated at 0.92 ng/g was used to prepare seven kinds of coffee beverages. Depending on the type of process used, OTA transfer into coffee ranged from 22.3% to 66.1%. OTA intakes from fruit and black tea or coffee represent a non-negligible human source.

Department Bioprocess and Microbial Systems Laboratory Chemical Engineering INP ENSA Toulouse University of Toulouse UMR 5503 CNRS INPT UPS 31320 Auzeville Tolosane France

Department of Biology Faculty of Science University of Hradec Kralove 50003 Hradec Kralove Czech Republic

Ecole des mines d'Ales 6 av de Clavieres 30100 Ales Cedex France

National Reference Center for Microfungi and Mycotoxins in Food Chains Center of Health Nutrition and Food in Brno National Institute of Public Health Prague 61242 Brno Czech Republic

National Reference Laboratory for Biomarkers of Mycotoxins and Mycotoxins in Food Institute of Public Health in Usti nad Labem Regional Branch Hradec Kralove 50002 Hradec Kralove Czech Republic

See more in PubMed

Esquivel P., Jiménez V.M. Functional properties of coffee and coffee by-products. Food Res. Int. 2012;46:488–495. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2011.05.028. DOI

Bisht S., Sisodia S.S. Coffea arabica: A wonder gift to medical science. J. Nat. Pharmaceut. 2010;1:58–65. doi: 10.4103/2229-5119.73595. DOI

Farah A. Paquin, p. Speciality and Functional Beverages. Woodhead Publishing Limited, UK-CRC Press; Cambrige, UK: 2009. Coffee as a speciality and functional beverage; pp. 370–395.

Vignoli J.A., Bassoli D.G., Benassi M.T. Antioxidant activity, polyphenols, caffeine and melanoidins in soluble coffee: The influence of processing conditions and raw material. Food Chem. 2011;124:863–868. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2010.07.008. DOI

Pan M.H., Lai Ch.S., Wang H., Loc Ch.Y., Hod Ch.T., Li S. Black tea in chemo-prevention of cancer and other human diseases. Food Sci. Hum. Wellness. 2013;2:12–21. doi: 10.1016/j.fshw.2013.03.004. DOI

Farah A., Donagelo C.M. Phenolic compounds in coffee. Brazil J. Plant Physiol. 2006;18:23–26. doi: 10.1590/S1677-04202006000100003. DOI

Meletis C.D. Coffee—Functional food and medicinal herb. Alter. Compl. Ther. 2006;12:7–13. doi: 10.1089/act.2006.12.7. DOI

Pfohl-Leszkowicz A., Manderville R.A. Ochratoxin A: An overview on toxicity and carcinogenicity in animals and humans. Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 2007;51:61–99. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.200600137. PubMed DOI

Pfohl-Leszkowicz A., Manderville R.A. An update on direct genotoxicity as a molecular mechanism of ochratoxin A carcinogenicity. Chem. Res. Toxicol. 2012;25:252–262. doi: 10.1021/tx200430f. PubMed DOI

Malir F., Ostry V., Novotna E. Toxicity of the mycotoxin ochratoxin A in the light of recent data. Toxin Rev. 2013;32:19–33. doi: 10.3109/15569543.2013.782504. DOI

Jørgensen K. Survey of pork, poultry, coffee, beer and pulses for ochratoxin A. Food Addit. Contam. 1998;15:550–554. doi: 10.1080/02652039809374680. PubMed DOI

Santos L., Marin S., Sanchis V., Ramos A.J. Screening of mycotoxin multicontamination in medicinal and aromatic herbs sampled in Spain. J. Sci. Food Agric. 2009;89:1802–1807. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.3647. DOI

Van der Merwe K.J., Steyn P.S., Fourie L., Scott De B., Theron L.L. Ochratoxin A, a toxic metabolite produced by Aspergillus ochraceus Wilh. Nature. 1965;205:1112–1113. doi: 10.1038/2051112a0. PubMed DOI

Abarca M.L., Bragulat M.R., Castella G., Cabañes F.J. Ochratoxin A production by strains of Aspergillus niger var niger. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 1994;60:2650–2652. PubMed PMC

Mantle P.G., Chow A.M. Ochratoxin formation in Aspergillus ochraceus with particular reference to spoilage of coffee. Int. J. Food Microbiol. 2000;56:105–109. doi: 10.1016/S0168-1605(00)00278-6. PubMed DOI

Samson R.A., Frisvad J.C. Penicillium subgenus Penicillium: New taxonomic schemes and mycotoxins and other extrolites. Stud. Mycol. 2004;49:1–260.

Tozlovanu M., Pfohl-Leszkowicz A. Ochratoxin A in roasted coffee purchased in french super market. Transfer in coffee beverage: Comparison of several methods. Toxins. 2010;2:1928–1949. doi: 10.3390/toxins2081928. PubMed DOI PMC

Skarkova J., Ostry V., Malir F., Roubal T. The determination of ultra-trace amounts of ochratoxin A in foodstuffs by HPLC method. Anal. Lett. 2013;46:1495–1504. doi: 10.1080/00032719.2013.771266. DOI

Ostry V., Malir F., Ruprich J. Producers and important dietary sources of ochratoxin A and citrinin. Toxins. 2013;5:1574–1586. doi: 10.3390/toxins5091574. PubMed DOI PMC

Gil-Serna J., Vázquez C., Sandino F.G., Valle A.M., González-Jaén M.T., Patiño B. Evaluation of growth and ochratoxin A production by Aspergillus stenii and Aspergillus westerdijkiae in green-coffee based medium under different environmental conditions. Food Res. Int. 2014;61:127–131. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2014.01.058. DOI

Taniwaki M.M.H., Teixeira A.A., Teixeira A.A.R., Copetti M.V., Iamanaka B.T. Ochratoxigenic fungi and ochratoxin A in defective coffee beans. Food Res. Int. 2014;61:161–166. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2013.12.032. DOI

Pitt J.I. Biology and ecology of toxigenic Penicillium species. In: DeVries J.W., Truckseess M.W., Jackson L.S., editors. Mycotoxins and Food Safety. Kluwer Academic, Plenum Publishers; New York, NY, USA: 2002. pp. 29–41. PubMed

Petzinger E., Ziegler K. Ochratoxin A from a toxicological perspective. J. Vet. Pharmacol. Ther. 2000;23:91–98. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2885.2000.00244.x. PubMed DOI

Abdel-Hafez A.I.I., El-Maghraby O.M.O. Fungal flora and aflatoxin associated with cocoa, broasted coffee and tea powders in Egypt. Crypt. Mycol. 1992;13:31–45.

Aziz N.H., Youssef Y.A., El-Fouly M.Z., Moussa L.A. Contamination of some common medicinal plant samples and species by fungi and their mycotoxins. Bot. Bull. Acad. Sin. 1998;39:279–285.

Halt M. Moulds and mycotoxins in herb tea and medicinal plants. Eur J. Epidemiol. 1998;14:269–274. doi: 10.1023/A:1007498613538. PubMed DOI

Elshafie A.E., Al-Lawatia T., Al-Bahry S. Fungi associated with black tea and tea quality in the Sultanate of Oman. Mycopathologia. 1999;145:89–93. doi: 10.1023/A:1007034729467. PubMed DOI

Ostry V., Ruprich J., Skarkova J., Prochazkova I., Kubatova A. Occurrence of the toxigenic fungi (Producers of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A) in foodstuffs in the Czech Republic 1999–2000. Mycotox. Res. 2001;17A:188–192. doi: 10.1007/BF03036433. PubMed DOI

Ostry V., Ruprich J., Skarkova J., Prochazkova I., Kubatova A. MYCOMON—Monitoring project of toxigenic fungi in food in years 1999–2000. Mycotox. Res. 2002;18A:193–197. doi: 10.1007/BF02946094. PubMed DOI

Rezacova V., Kubatova A. Saprobic microfungi in tea based on Camellia sinensis and on other dried herbs. Czech Mycol. 2005;57:79–89.

Abd El-Atya A.M., Choia J.-H., Musfiqur R.M.D., Kim S.-W., Tosun A., Shima J.-H. Residues and contaminants in tea and tea infusions. Food Addit. Contam. 2014 doi: 10.1080/19440049.2014.958575. PubMed DOI

Tournas V.H., Katsoudas E.J. Microbiological quality of various medicinal herbal teas and coffee substitutes. Microbiol. Insights. 2008;1:47–55.

Storari M., Dennert F.G., Bigler L., Gessler C., Broggini G.A.L. Isolation of mycotoxins producing black Aspergilli in herbal teas available on the Swiss market. Food Control. 2012;12:157–161. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2012.01.026. DOI

Haas D., Pfeifer B., Reiterich Ch., Partenheimer R., Reck B., Buzina W. Identification and quantification of fungi and mycotoxins from Pu-erh tea. Int. J. Food Microbiol. 2013;166:316–322. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2013.07.024. PubMed DOI

Levi C.P., Trenk H.L., Mohr H.K. Study of the occurrence of Ochratoxin A in green coffee beans. J. AOAC. 1974;57:866–870. PubMed

Micco C., Grossi M., Miraglia M., Brera C. A study of the contamination by ochratoxin A in green coffee and roasted coffee beans. Food Addit. Contam. 1989;6:333–339. doi: 10.1080/02652038909373788. PubMed DOI

Van der Stegen G., Jorissen U., Pittet A., Saccon M., Steines W., Vincenzi M., Winkler M., Zapp J., Schlatter C. Screening of European coffee final products for occurrence of ochratoxin A. Food Addit. Contam. 1997;14:211–216. doi: 10.1080/02652039709374518. PubMed DOI

Nakajima M., Tsubouchi H., Miyabe M., Ueno Y. Survey of aflatoxin B1 and ochratoxin A in commercial green coffee beans by high-performance liquid chromatography linked with immunoaffinity chromatography. Food Agric. Immunol. 1997;9:77–83. doi: 10.1080/09540109709354938. DOI

Trucksess M., Giler J., Young K., White K.D., Page S.W. Determination and survey of ochratoxin A in wheat, barley and coffee 1997. J. AOAC Int. 1999;82:85–89. PubMed

Romani S., Sacchetti G., Chaves C.C., Pinnavaia G.G., Dalla M. Screening on the occurrence of ochratoxin A in green coffee beans of different origins and types. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2000;48:3616–3619. doi: 10.1021/jf990783b. PubMed DOI

Miraglia M., Brera C. Report on Tasks for Scientific Cooperation. European Commission, Directorate-General Health and Consumer Protection; Brussels, Belgium: 2002. Assessment of dietary intake of ochratoxin A by the population of EU Member States; pp. 1–153.

Taniwaki M.H., Pitt J.I., Teixeira A.A., Iamanaka B.T. The source of ochratoxin A in Brazilian coffee and its formation in relation to processing methods. Int. J. Food Microbiol. 2003;82:173–179. doi: 10.1016/S0168-1605(02)00310-0. PubMed DOI

Martins M.L., Martins H.M., Gimeno A. Incidence of microflora and of ochratoxin A in green coffee beans (Coffea arabica) Food Addit. Contam. 2003;20:1127–1131. doi: 10.1080/02652030310001620405. PubMed DOI

Drunday V., Pacin A. Occurrence of Ochratoxin A in coffee beans, ground roasted coffee and soluble coffee and method validation. Food Control. 2013;30:675–678.

Patel S., Hazel C.M., Winterton A.G.M., Gleadle A.E. Survey of ochratoxin A in UK retail coffees. Food Addit. Contam. 1997;14:217–222. doi: 10.1080/02652039709374519. PubMed DOI

Burdaspal P.A., Legarda T.M. Ochratoxin A in roasted and soluble coffee marketed in Spain. Alimentaria. 1998;296:31–35.

Coronel M.B., Marin S., Cano G., Ramos A.J., Sanchis V. Ochratoxin A in Spanish retail ground roasted coffee: Occurrence and assessment of the exposure in Catalonia. Food Control. 2011;22:414–419. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2010.09.012. DOI

Galarce-Bustos O., Alvarado M., Vega M., Aranda M. Occurrence of ochratoxin A in roasted and instant coffees in Chilean market. Food Control. 2014;46:102–107. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2014.05.014. DOI

Paterson R.R.M., Lima N., Taniwaki M.H. Coffee, mycotoxins and climate change. Food Res. Int. 2014;61:1–15. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2014.03.037. DOI

Iamanaka B.T., Teixeira A.A., Teixeira A.R.R., Copetti M.V., Bragagnolo N., Taniwaki M.H. Reprint of “The mycobiota of coffee beans and its influence on the coffee beverage”. Food Res. Int. 2014;61:33–38. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2014.05.023. DOI

Castellanos-Onorio O., Gonzalez-Rios O., Guyot B., Fontana T.A., Guiraud J.P., Schorr-Galindo S., Durand N., Suárez-Quiroz M. Effect of two different roasting techniques on the Ochratoxin A (OTA) reduction in coffee beans (Coffea arabica) Food Control. 2011;22:1184–1188. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2011.01.014. DOI

Rezende E.F., Borges J.G., Cirillo M.A., Prado G., Paiva L.C., Batista L.R. Ochratoxigenic fungi associated with green coffee beans (Coffea arabica L.) in conventional and organic cultivation in Brazil. Brazil. J. Microbiol. 2013;44:377–384. doi: 10.1590/S1517-83822013000200006. PubMed DOI PMC

Studer-Rohr I., Dietrich D.R., Schlatter J., Schlatter C. The occurrence of ochratoxin A in coffee. Food Chem. Toxicol. 1995;33:341–355. doi: 10.1016/0278-6915(94)00150-M. PubMed DOI

Perez de Obamos A., Gonzalez-Penas E., Lopez de Cerain A. Influence of roasting and brew preparation on the ochratoxin A content in coffee infusion. Food Addit. Contam. 2005;22:463–471. doi: 10.1080/02652030500090042. PubMed DOI

Santini A., Ferracane R., Mikusova P., Eged S., Srobarova A., Meca G., Mańes J., Ritieni A. Influence of different coffee drink preparations on ochratoxin A content and evaluation of the antioxidant activity and caffeine variations. Food Control. 2011;22:1240–1245. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2011.01.024. DOI

Krug H.P. Cafés Duros, III. Relação entre a porcentagem de microrganismos e qualidade do café. Revista do Instituto do Café. 1940;27:1827–1831. (In Portuguese)

Krug H.P. Cafés Duros, IV. Relação entre zonas, qualidade de café e porcentagem de microrganismos. Revista do Instituto do Café. 1941;16:288–295. (In Portuguese)

Carvalho V.D., Chalfoun S.M. Aspectos qualitativos do café. Informe Agropecuário. 1985;11:79–92.

Pardo E., Marin S., Ramos A.J., Sanchis V. Occurrence of ochratoxigenic fungi and ochratoxin A in green coffee from different origins. Food Sci Technol. Int. 2004;10:45–49. doi: 10.1177/1082013204041509. DOI

Frisvad J.C., Thrane U., Samson R.A., Pitt J.I. Important mycotoxins and the fungi which produce them. Adv. Food Mycol. 2006;571:3–31. PubMed

Schmidt-Heydt M., Bode H., Raupp F., Geisen R. Influence of light on ochratoxin biosynthesis by Penicillium. Mycotox. Res. 2010;26:1–8. doi: 10.1007/s12550-009-0034-y. PubMed DOI

La Pera L., Avellone G., Lo Turco V., Di Bella G., Agozzino P., Dugo G. Influence of roasting and different brewing processes on the Ochratoxin A content in coffee determined by high-performance liquid chromatogramy fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) Food Addit. Contam. 2008;25:1257–1263. doi: 10.1080/02652030802112627. PubMed DOI

Statistical methods for use in proficiency testing by interlaboratory comparisons. [(accessed on 12 December 2014)]. Available online: http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=56125.

Belitz H.D., Grosch W., Schieberle P. Food Chem. Springer; Heidelberg, Germany: 2011. Chapter 21.

Perrone D., Farah A., Donangelo C.M. Influence of coffee roasting on the incorporation of phenolic compounds into melanoidins and their relationship with antioxidant activity of the brew. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2012;60:4265–4275. doi: 10.1021/jf205388x. PubMed DOI

Mills Ch.E., Oruna-Concha M.J., Mottram D.S., Gibson G.R., Spencer J.P.E. The effect of processing on chlorogenic acid content of commercially available coffee. Food Chem. 2013;141:3335–3340. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.06.014. PubMed DOI

Ostry V., Skarkova J., Malir F. Ochratoxin A—health risk assessment for selected population groups in the Czech Republic. Internal Grant Agency (IGA) of the Ministry of Health (MH) of the Czech Republic; Prague, Czech Republic: 2014. pp. 1–37. (In Czech)

Kuiper-Goodman T., Hilts C., Billiard S.M., Kiparissis Y., Richard I.D.K., Hayward S. Health risk assessment of ochratoxin A for all age-sex strata in a market economy. Food Addit. Contam. 2010;27:212–240. doi: 10.1080/02652030903013278. PubMed DOI PMC

Dohnal V., Dvorak V., Malir F., Ostry V., Roubal T. A comparison of ELISA and HPLC methods for determination of Ochratoxin A in human blood serum in the Czech Republic. Food Chem. Toxicol. 2013;62:427–431. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2013.09.010. PubMed DOI

Caporaso N., Genovese A., Canela M.D., Civitella A., Sacchi R. Neapolitan coffee brew chemical analysis in comparison to espresso, moka and American brews. Food Res. Int. 2014;61:152–160. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2014.01.020. DOI

Odello L., Odello C. Espresso Italiano Tasting. Centro Studi Assaggiatori Soc. Coop.; Brescia, Italy: 2009.

Zimmerli B., Dick R. Determination of ochratoxin A at the ppt level in human blood, serum, milk and some foodstuffs by high, performance liquid chromatography with enhanced fluorescence detection and immunoaffinity column cleanup: Methodology and Swiss data. J. Chromatogr. B. 1995;666:85–99. doi: 10.1016/0378-4347(94)00569-Q. PubMed DOI

Entwisle A.C., Williams A.C., Mann P.J., Russell J., Slack P.T., Gilbert J. Combined phenyl silane and immunoaffinity column clean-up with liquid chromatography for determination of ochratoxin A in roasted coffee: Collaborative study. J. AOAC Int. 2001;84:444–450. PubMed

Creppy E.E., Castegnaro M., Grosse Y., Meriaux J., Manier C., Moncharmont P., Waller C. Etude De L’ochratoxicose Humaine Dans Trois Regions de France. Alsace, Aquitaine et Region Rhone-Alpes. In: Creppy E.E., Castegnaro M., Dirheimer G., editors. Human Ochratoxicosis and Its Pathologies. John Libbey Eurotext; Montrouge, France: 1993. pp. 147–158.

Investigation of Ochratoxin A and Citrinin Occurrence in Medicinal Herbal Products from the Czech Market

Occurrence of ochratoxin A in Astragalus propinquus root and its transfer to decoction

Ochratoxin A: 50 Years of Research

Ochratoxin A Dietary Exposure of Ten Population Groups in the Czech Republic: Comparison with Data over the World