Ochratoxins in Food and Feed: Detection and Management Strategies

Exposure to OTA can cause multiple toxicities such as hepatotoxicity, immunotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, genotoxicity, teratogenicity, mutagenicity, and carcinogenicity, which can lead to serious health risks in mammals. However, it should not be assumed that ochratoxin A is less toxic compared to aflatoxin; this shows that the evidence for supporting ochratoxin A-induced carcinogenicity in humans is insufficient compared to that for aflatoxin. Different mycotoxins are produced naturally in agricultural food and feed by several species of fungi, such as aflatoxin, fumonisin, ochratoxin, patulin, zearalenone, trichothecene, deoxynivalenol, and ergot. The high affinity of ochratoxin A to bind cell proteins, especially the albumin present in serum, promotes its accumulation in biological tissues such as animal organs and thus leads to carry-over of the contaminant. Bio-accumulation of OTA increases the chance of contamination in animal-derived products, including meat and meat by-products, milk, and the eggs.