G. Vonderstegen et al., SCREENING OF EUROPEAN COFFEE FINAL PRODUCTS FOR OCCURRENCE OF OCHRATOXIN-A (OTA), Food additives and contaminants, 14(3), 1997, pp. 211-216
Samples (633) of final coffee products were drawn from the markets of
different European countries relative to the market share of each prod
uct type and brand. These samples were analysed in a cooperative actio
n with nine different laboratories. With low limits of detection (mean
detection limit approximate to 0.5 ng/g) no OTA was found in over hal
f of the samples (334 negatives). In the remaining samples occurrence
of OTA at a rather low level was seen. Only four samples (all instants
) exceeded a level of 10 ng/g, whereas for both instants, and roast an
d grounds (R & G), over three-quarters of the samples were in the rang
e from non; detectable to 1 ng/g. The overall mean for all R & Gs was
0.8 ng/g and for all instant 1.3 ng/g (for samples in which no OTA was
detected, half of the detection limit was included in this calculatio
n). In the brewing methods frequently used in Europe the OTA is essent
ially fully extracted. Consumption of four cups of coffee per day (app
roximate to 24 g R & G or approximate to 8 g instant coffee) contribut
es on average 19 or 10 ng/day respectively. Four cups/day is above the
per caput consumption level in most European countries. Compared with
the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI) recently set by the Jo
int FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives at 100 ng/kg bodyweight
/week, consumption of 28 cups/week contributes up to 2% to the PTWI.