Incidence of toxigenic fungi and ochratoxin A in dried fruits sold in Brazil B. T. IAMANAKA 1 , M. H. TANIWAKI 1 , H. C. MENEZES 2 , E. VICENTE 1 , & M. H. P. FUNGARO 3 1 Food Technology Institute — ITAL, Campinas-SP, Brazil, 2 Food Engineering Faculty (FEA) — UNICAMP, Campinas-SP, Brazil, and 3 Biology Faculty — UEL CP 6001 CEP 86051-970, Londrina-PR, Brazil (Received 17 March 2005; revised 28 June 2005; accepted 3 July 2005) Abstract A total of 117 dried fruit samples (black sultanas, white sultanas, dates, dried plums, dried figs and apricots) from different origins were analysed both for toxigenic fungi and for the presence of ochratoxin A. Amongst the fungi found, Aspergillus niger was predominant, with 406 isolates, of which 15% were ochratoxin A producers. They were followed by A. ochraceus, with 15 isolates and 87% ochratoxigenics, and A. carbonarius, with only five isolates of which 60% were ochratoxin A producers. The average infection rates for A. niger in black sultanas, plums, figs, dates and white sultanas were 22.0, 8.0, 4.0, 1.5 and 0.5%, respectively. The apricot samples were not contaminated by any fungi or ochratoxin A. Black sultana and dried figs contained the highest contamination with ochratoxin A, with 33 and 26.3% of the samples containing more than 5 mg kg 1 respectively, while all the white sultanas, dates and plums had no sample that exceeded this limit. Keywords: Dried fruits, toxigenic fungi, ochratoxin A Introduction Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a nephrotoxic toxin with carcinogenic potential in animal species (IARC 1993) and has been found most commonly in cereals, but also in a wide range of other commodi- ties and products such as beer, cocoa, coffee, grape products and wines (Guldborg 1997; Van der Stegen et al. 1997; MacDonald et al. 1999; Matissek and Raters 2000; Otteneder and Majerus 2000; Taniwaki et al. 2003). It was believed that OTA production was only related to Penicillium verrucosum and Aspergillus ochraceus species (Pitt 1987). However, more recently, the production of OTA by Aspergillus section Nigri has received considerable attention since the first description of OTA production by A. niger (Abarca et al. 1994) and from A. carbonarius (Horie 1995). Studies carried out in Europe reported the pres- ence of ochratoxigenic fungi such as A. ochraceus, A. niger and A. carbonarius in dried fruits as well as the presence of OTA (MacDonald et al. 1999; MAFF 2002). A. carbonarius and A. niger were described as sources of OTA in maturing and drying grapes in Spain (Abarca et al. 2003), Italy (Battilani et al. 2003), and in wine grapes from Brazil and Argentina (Da Rocha Rosa et al. 2002). Almost all dried fruits such as plums, sultanas, apricots, dried figs and dates consumed in Brazil are imported and little is known about their quality. Consequently, there are no legal parameters concerning the presence of mycotoxins that control the entry of such products into the country. With the view to study the quality of dried fruits consumed in Brazil, the objectives of this work were to investigate the presence of toxigenic fungi and OTA in these products. Materials and methods Sampling Samples from worldwide origin (Argentina, Chile, Iran, Turkey, Spain, the USA and Mexico) were purchased from different markets in Campinas and Sa ˜o Paulo between 2002 and 2003. Black sultanas Correspondence: B. T. Iamanaka. E-mail: beatriz@ital.sp.gov.br Food Additives and Contaminants, December 2005; 22(12): 1258–1263 ISSN 0265–203X print/ISSN 1464–5122 online ß 2005 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/02652030500260447