Ochratoxin A in instant coffee in Italy

The occurrence of ochratoxin A (OTA) in instant coffee from different brands and types was assessed. Thesurvey covered 44 soluble coffees, 10 of which were decaffeinated, and 6 coffee products; the sampleswere collected in supermarkets and retail stores of Italy in 2011. The OTA was extracted, cleaned-up byimmunoaffinity columns, and detected by HPLC-fluorescence detection. The detection and quantificationlimits were 0.05 and 0.2 mg/kg, respectively. Recovery, from samples spiked at levels of 0.5, 3.0, and6.0 mg/kg, was 86.0 7.1%, 91.0 4.2%, and 91.7 5.9% respectively. Forty-eight samples (96%) containedOTA at levels ranging from 0.32 to 6.40 mg/kg, always below the European legal limit. The high frequencyof OTA occurrence in the instant coffee samples demonstrates the importance of an effective control ofthis product by government authorities and industries.