Ochratoxin A in beverages from Morocco: a preliminary survey

In a preliminary study, samples of Moroccan wines (n = 30), beers (n = 5) a nd fruit juices (n = 14) were assayed for ochratoxin A (OTA) by HPLC with f luorimetric detection, followed by confirmation by cleavage of the OTA mole cule using carboxypeptidase with HPLC-fluorimetric determination of ochrato xin alpha (OT alpha). All the wine samples were contaminated, and the overa ll median OTA concentration was 0.65 mug/l (range 0.028-3.24 mug/l). One of the 14 samples of fruit juices was contaminated with a concentration of 1. 16 mug/l, whereas none of the five beer samples was contaminated. This is t he first report on the occurrence of OTA in various beverages from Morocco.