Co-occurrence of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in dried fruits in Iran: Dietary exposure risk assessment

- Co-occurrence and aflatoxins (AFs) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in dried fruits were evaluated.
- The mean AFB1 of mulberry, date, fig and apricot samples varied 2.09-3.03 μg/kg.
- The mean value of total AFs in 9.09-22.72% of samples were more than established legal limit (4 μg/kg).
- The OTA contamination in all samples were below the recommended limit (10 μg/kg).
- The intake of AFs through the dried fruits in Iran poses a potential risk to human health.

In this study, the contamination levels of aflatoxins (AFs) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in 88 collected samples from Iran's market including dried mulberry, date, fig, and apricot were evaluated. The margin of exposure (MOE) was estimated to assess the risk of dietary intake of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and OTA. The incidence of AFB1 in dried mulberry, date, fig and apricot samples was 45.5, 40.9, 59.1, and 81.8%, respectively. Although the mean total AFs content in contaminated samples of date (2.61 μg/kg), fig (3.43 μg/kg) and apricot (2.91 μg/kg) was lower than the maximum limit set in the European Union (EU) (4 μg/kg), dried mulberry samples showed a higher contamination level (4.12 μg/kg). The co-occurrence of OTA and AFs were noted in 4 (18.9%), 2 (9.1%), 4 (18.2%), and 10 (45.5%) in the dried mulberry, date, fig and apricot samples, respectively. Based on the calculated MOE, the dietary exposure to AFs through the consumption of dried fruit in Iran poses a potential risk to consumer health. OTA was detected in 45.45%, 22.72%, 45.45%, and 50% of mulberry, date, fig and apricot samples, respectively. However, OTA levels in all types of dried fruit were below recommended level in EU regulation (10 μg/kg) and MOE >10000, representing no toxicological concerns for consumers.

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