Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a secondary metabolite produced by Penicillium and Aspergillus fungi species found in soil and organic matter, and is one of the most widely reported of the nearly 400 recognized mycotoxin contaminants of agricultural products. OTA can enter the human food chain through contaminated feed, primarily cereal-based, that is ingested by animals that are farmed for human consumption. OTA can also be found in wine owing to contamination of grapes by some species of Aspergillus, in particular, the strains of A. carbonarius and A. niger.
In this work, a rapid and sensitive analytical method for the determination of the extent to which OTA residues contaminate wine is presented. Utilizing a QSight 220 with both ESI and APCI ionization sources, OTA is detected and quantified in both red and white wine samples at two concentration levels - 0.5 and 2 µg/L.