Survey of Aflatoxins and Ochratoxin A in Spices from Brazilian Market

Abstract The incidence of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in spices purchased from São Paulo State, Brazil was investigated. A total of 180 black pepper (Piper nigrum L.), colorífico (mixture of cornmeal or cassava flour with powdered annatto, Bixa orellana) ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe), nutmeg (Myristica fragrans), paprika (Capsicum annuum L.), and turmeric (Curcuma longa) were analyzed with a modified methods by using immunoaffinity column for clean-up and liquid chromatography/fluorescence detector for separation and quantification. Analytical methods were optimized for each spice, focusing mainly on the extraction step. OTA recoveries ranged from 65-102%. AFs recoveries were >70% except for AFG2. The average levels of AFs and OTA in black pepper, colorífico and turmeric samples were less than 2 ng/g. Twenty-five ginger samples (100%) contained OTA 0.10 - 7.10 ng/g and 21 samples (84%) contained AFs 0.10 - 9.55 ng/g. Twenty-nine nutmeg samples (100%) contained OTA 0.92 - 65.49 ng/g and AFs 2.71 - 48.67 ng/g. Thirty paprika samples (100%) contained OTA, 0.75 - 147.18 ng/g and twenty-two samples (73%) contained AFs, 0.11 - 14.92 ng/g. AFs and OTA in nutmeg and paprika could represent a food safety issue in Brazil.