Abstract
Ochratoxin A (OTA) is the most toxic member of ochratoxins, a group of toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi. The most relevant species involved in OTA production in grapes is Aspergillus carbonarius. Berry infection by A. carbonarius is enhanced by damage to the skin caused by abiotic and biotic factors. Insect pests play a major role in European vineyards, and Lepidopteran species such as the European grapevine moth Lobesia botrana are undoubtedly crucial. New scenarios are also emerging due to the introduction and spread of allochthonous pests as well as climate change. Such pests may be involved in the dissemination of OTA producing fungi even if confirmation is still lacking and further studies are needed. An OTA predicting model is available, but it should be integrated with models aimed at forecasting L. botrana phenology and demography in order to improve model reliability.
Highlights
Ochratoxins are a group of toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi
Due to the risks for consumers associated with dietary exposure to Ochratoxin A (OTA), maximum permitted levels (MLs) have been established for this mycotoxin in the EU in different grape products (i.e., 2 μg/kg in wine and grape juice; 10 μg/kg in dried vine fruits) [9]
A model able to predict the risk of OTA contamination in grapes above the legal limit in force in Europe (OTA-grapes) is available and any effort to link its forecasting ability with models describing other aspects/parts of the system will certainly improve grape cultivation sustainability and production safety
Summary
Ochratoxins are a group of toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi. Ochratoxin A (OTA). Black aspergilli are often present in the soil and on grape berries during the entire crop production cycle, they have difficulty penetrating healthy berries at early grape growth stages; their entry into the fruit is enhanced by skin damage caused by insect pests or other factors that may cause splitting of the berries such as rainfall or fungal infections (i.e., powdery mildew) [17]. Among these factors, insect pests are confirmed to play a major role in the fungal invasion of berries and their OTA contamination.
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