This study investigated the surface-to-interior mycotoxin contamination of the regional speciality meat product 'slavonski kulen' that occurred during a 12-month period and identified moulds present on its surface during the final production stage. In total, 15 pieces of slavonski kulen were produced and sampled at production months 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 (three samples per piece). Concentrations of aflatoxin B (AFB) and ochratoxin A (OTA) were determined using the ELISA method, while the identification of moulds made use of both traditional and molecular methods. A 12-month-long production of dry-fermented sausages under controlled conditions that did not include product cleaning at any point caused significant mycotoxin contamination, with determined mean AFB and OTA concentrations of 11.79 ± 2.34 and 16.13 ± 3.32 µg kg, respectively. Significantly higher mycotoxin levels were observed in the external layers of the products in comparison with their interior and, even more so, central parts. In total, five Penicillium species (P. polonicum, P. terrigenum, P. solitum, P. jugoslavicum and P. corylophilum) and two Aspergillus species (A. versicolor and A. sydowii) were isolated. Moulds responsible for the production of AFB and OTA in the later production stages had probably been overgrown by non-toxicogenic moulds, so that the former did not last until the end of the sausages' production process and were therefore not identified.
In this study, the levels of aflatoxin B (AFB), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEN), deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisins (FUM) in unprocessed cereals (n = 189) and cereal-based products (n = 61) were determined using validated ELISA methods. All samples originated from either conventional or organic production corresponded to the 2015 harvest in Croatia. Based on the mean mycotoxin concentrations, the risk for the consumer to exceed the tolerable daily intake (TDI) for these toxins by the consumption of both types of cereals and cereal-based products was assessed. Mycotoxin contamination of organic cereals and organic cereal-based products was not significantly different (p > 0.05). Given that the exposure assessment resulted in a small fraction of the TDI (maximum: DON, 12% of TDI), the levels of the investigated mycotoxins in both types of cereals and cereal-based products from the 2015 harvest did not pose a human health hazard.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.