Ochratoxin in food

Ochratoxin A is the main toxic mycotoxin affect human health and animals. Ochratoxin A is described as one of the major mycotoxins that produced as a result of many fungi species that belong in the genera of Penicillium and Aspergillus (Ozden, Akdeniz, & Alpertunga, 2012). It is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a group 2B. The mycotoxin is categorized into carcinogenic that is associated with animals and result in human carcinogenic, teratogenic, nephrotoxic, and immunosuppressive. The toxicity concerned with ochratoxin A is a severe one since it is categorized among the 20 types of mycotoxins that contaminate food. It occurs mostly in pork products such as ham, bacon, and sausages as well as kidney. It is important to ensure that foods are stored in dry conditions since the presence of water in foods allow growth of fungi.

Ochratoxin A survives in all food processes because it is a very stable molecule. The highest incidence of ochratoxin A contamination occurred in cereal grains but contamination has been lesser in wine, dried fruits, and grapes. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that Ochratoxin A is eliminated in raw materials before food processing. The contamination occurs when the food or raw materials are exposed to water which is one of the favorable environmental conditions for ochratoxin production. Therefore, temperature and availability of water are the two key environmental aspects that influence the production of ochratoxin A. The optimum conditions for the format of ochratoxin A are the temperature of 24°C and 19 to 22% of moisture content. The two fungi producing ochratoxin A vary depending on geographical areas and the foods affected.

Penicillium species require low temperature of about 5°C and low moisture levels to produce ochratoxin A. Ochratoxin A causes chromosomal aberrations, DNA adducts and renal tumors in kidneys. The major effect of nephrotoxicity occurs in the proximal tubule and post proximal nephron, and the effect is described as self-enhancing (Ribeiro, Kupski, Furlong, Freitas, & Fernandes, 2015). Most cases of endemic nephrotoxicity have occurred since the early fifties in northeast Europe. Prevention and control of ochratoxin-related diseases The contamination of foods and feeds has resulted in adverse effects on human and animals health when exposed to it. It is important to develop and implement strategies that will eliminate and prevent the growth of ochratoxin A in feeds and foods. The contamination of food by ochratoxin A is major issue globally since it is a considered as a carcinogenic and nephrotoxic agent that causes kidney illness in humans.

Many control and preventive measures are being developed and implemented to eliminate contamination of feeds and food by ochratoxin A. There a few microorganisms which are proven to control and eliminate the growth of fungi and formation of ochratoxin. The strategy of using microorganism can be termed as a natural control method. It is important for further studies to be carried out investigate the impacts of interactions of microorganisms on the formation of ochratoxin A. Prevention of ochratoxin A contamination of food and ochratoxin A detoxification by microorganisms - A review. Czech Journal of Food Sciences. Massoud, R. Cruz, A. Darani, K. Alpertunga, B. Occurrence of ochratoxin A in cereal-derived food products commonly consumed in Turkey. Food Control, 25(1), 69–74. org/10. j. j.

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