Ochratoxin A in dried figs, raisings, apricots, dates on Iranian retail market

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is among the most important mycotoxins, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies it as possibly carcinogenic to humans (group 2B). A total of 121 samples of dried fruits from the central zone of Iran were analyzed for OTA by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. The recovery percentages of OTA in spiked dried fruit samples at concentrations of 5, 10 and 20 ng/g were found to be 84.9%, 89.3% and 90.4% as mean, respectively. OTA was found in 20.7% of the analyzed samples by average concentration of 6.7 ± 3.9 ng/g. The incidence rates of OTA contamination in dried fig, raising, apricots, and date samples were 10.4%, 44.7%, 6.7% and 10.0%, respectively. The concentrations of OTA in 7.9% of contaminated dried raising samples and 2.1% of dried fig samples were higher than maximum tolerance limit accepted by European Union (10 ng/g). This value reflects that the analyzed samples have a minimal contribution to toxicological risk. To our best knowledge, the present study is the first report of the presence of OTA by ELISA in dried fruit samples in Iran.