A Survey of Barley, Malt and Beer Contamination with Ochratoxin A in Turkey

Abstract

The presence of ochratoxin A (OTA) was investigated in barley, malt and beer samples using an ELISA method (RIDASCREEN). The lower detection limit of this OTA test was 0.08 μg/L for beer and 0.4 pg/kg for barley and malt. In 26 out of 29 barley samples the OTA content was between 0.53-12 pg/kg. OTA was between 0.5-6.6 pg/kg in 23 out of 24 malt samples. Only one malt sample had no detectable OTA using RIDASCREEN. The OTA content was between 0.1-8.10 pg/L in 42 out of 150 beer samples (28%) and in 108 beer samples OTA was not found at detectable levels (72%). Only one beer sample contained more than 5 pg/L OTA.