Ochratoxin A in Cow’s Milk Collected from Cattle Farms of Golestan Province

ABSTRACT       Background and Objective: Ochratoxin is a fungal toxin produced by Penicillium verrucosum and some Aspergillus species. Ochratoxin is usually found in grains, cereal products and also animal feed of livestock. The aim of this study was to measure the level of Ochratoxin in pasteurized milk samples of Golestan Province, Iran.       Methods: Overall, 38 milk samples were collected from East and West of the Golestan province in accordance with standards 326 and 419 of the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran. The level of Ochratoxin was measured by ELISA method.       Results: The mean level of Ochratoxin A in 20 raw milk samples collected from the West of the Province was 3.32 ± 3.76 ng/ml. The mean level of Ochratoxin A in 18 raw milk samples collected from the East was 6.02 ± 4.42 ng/ml. Ochratoxin A levels in most samples were higher than the limits established by the European standards.       Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, Ochratoxin level of 84.2% and 52.6% of the samples from the West and East of the province are higher than the allowed limits (2 ng/ml), respectively.