Levels of ochratoxins in Mediterranean red wines

The co-occurrence of ochratoxin A (OTA) and its five analogs (OTB, OTC, MeOTA, MeOTB and EtOTB) in 96 red wine samples from Mediterranean countries has been demonstrated, for the first time, in this study. s detected in 99% of the samples (<LOD – 455 ng L−1). This mycotoxin appeared simultaneously with OTB (2.05–119 ng L−1) in all the samples and in 89.6% of them OTC (<LOD – 31.5 ng L−1) also accompanied both. OTB appears at comparable levels and incidence just like OTA does, and OTC median concentration is approximately 10% of that of OTA. A high statistical association was found between the concentrations of OTA–OTB and OTA–OTC. MeOTA, MeOTB and EtOTB were detected in 62.5, 83.3 and 83.3% of the samples, respectively. In 44.8% of the wines, the 6 ochratoxins appeared simultaneously. was no evidence for ochratoxin A levels being greater in wines from Southern Europe than those described from North Europe. Samples from North Africa presented statistically the highest values for OTA, OTB, OTC and EtOTB.