Investigation of occurence of aflatoxin, ochratoxin a and fumonisin in some organic agricultural products

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of molds that can be produced before or after harvest under certain environmental conditions. Mycotoxins are known to have carcinogenic, teratogenic and mutagenic effect on both humans and animals. Aflatoxins, ochratoxin A and fumonisins are some of the mycotoxins mostly found in food and feed.Organic agricultural products which are grown without synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, veterinary drugs, genetically modified seeds and breeds, preservatives, additives and irradiation are perceived as healthier, more nutritious and safer than conventional foods regarding to growing practices. Consumer concern over food safety increases the demand for organic foods. Organic foods, despite the assumption that they are safe, can also carry risks as conventional foods do. In fact organic crops claimed to be more vulnerable to mold contamination due to non use of effective synthetic fungicides. Although there is no significant scientific evidence to support that thesis, some studies show that organic foods can contain mycotoxins.In this study, a total 235 of organic food samples were analyzed. 159 of organic food samples were analyzed for aflatoxin, 211 of organic food samples were analyzed for ochratoxin A and 225 of organic food samples were analzed for fumonisin. Enumeration of yeast and molds of the samples were conducted with pour plate technique using Dichloran Rose Bengal Chloramphenicol Agar. Contaminations of the organic food samples with mycotoxins were determined with ELISA method. The detection limits of the Total Aflatoxin ELISA kit, Ochratoxin A ELISA kit and Fumonisin ELISA kit were 1,75 ppb, 2,5 ppb and 25 ppb respectively. Results show that 15 percent of the cereal samples, 1,2 percent of dried fruit samples, 20 percent of the molasses samples were contaminated with aflatoxins and they were contaminated with levels above the legal maximum limits. 24,1 percent of the cereal samples, 9,5 percent of the dried fruit samples, 33,3 percent of the molasses samples were contaminated with Ochratoxin A in such levels above the legal maximum limits. None of the contamination levels of the samples contaminated with fumonisins were above the legal maximum levels. Contamination range of aflatoxins in cereals were 0-42,73 ppb, in dried fruits 0-10,47 ppb and in molasses 0-29,3 ppb. Contamination range of Ochratoxin A in cereals, dried fruits and molasses were 0-18,11 ppb; 0-34,35 ppb and 0-25,24 ppb respectively. Contamination range of fumonisins in cereals, dried fruits and molasses were 0-1684 ppb; 0-1816 ppb and 0-1714 ppb respectively. Yeast and mold count of the samples ranged between <10-6,7x10? in cereal samples; <10-3,4x10? in dried fruit samples and <10-2x10² in molasses samples.