Ochratoxin A in Spanish retail ground roasted coffee: Occurrence and assessment of the exposure in Catalonia

Occurrence of ochratoxin A (OTA) in ground roasted coffee from different brands and types available in Spain was assessed. Based on these data, exposure of the Catalan population to OTA through coffee consumption was estimated. Coffee samples were purchased in hypermarkets and supermarkets of twelve cities of Catalonia, Spain, and composite samples were prepared for analysis. OTA was extracted, cleaned-up by immunoaffinity columns, and detected by HPLC-fluorescence detection. Mean OTA content (n = 72) was 2.17 ± 0.79 ng/g (range 1.21–4.21 ng/g, 49% occurrence). An additional sampling was done by brands (n = 45), mean OTA contamination being 2.07 ± 0.61 ng/g (range 1.30–5.24 ng/g, 95% occurrence). Coffee consumption data were obtained by means of a food frequency questionnaire. Mean coffee consumption per capita was 11.58 ± 8.73 g/person/day. OTA daily intake (DI) was estimated by means of deterministic and probabilistic methods. In both cases, estimated DI (around 0.22 ng/kg bw/day) was below the latest PTDI value of 17 ng/kg bw/day suggested by EFSA.