FUNGAL FLORA AND OCHRATOXIN A PRODUCTION IN VARIOUS FOOD AND FEED IN FRANCE

To investigate the occurrence of potential ochratoxin A (OTA) producin g moulds in foodstuffs, 11 food samples from the south-west part of Fr ance have been studied: 8 were contaminated with OTA (0.6 to 12.8 mu g /kg). 120 filamentous fungi and 10 yeasts were isolated from these foo dstuffs. Among the 30 genera isolated, the Mucedinaceae (44%) were the most frequent, followed by Dematiaceae (26%) and Ascomycetes (10%). 2 0 strains were potential producers of OTA: Penicillium aurantiogriseum (10 strains), P. chrysogenum (1 strain), P. variabile (6 strains) and Aspergillus ochraceus (3 strains). Only 8 of these strains produced O TA in vitro when cultured in liquid complex medium, indicating that th ey are rather adapted to solid phase. These findings are to be related to the OTA contamination of human blood in these areas and in other p arts of France.