Incidence of ochratoxin A in rice and dried fruits from Rabat and Salé area, Morocco

One hundred samples of dried fruits (20 dried raisins, 20 walnuts, 20 peanuts, 20 dried figs and 20 pistachios) and 20 samples of rice purchased from retail shops in the Rabat and Salé area in Morocco were analysed for ochratoxin A (OTA) by immunoaffinity clean-up (IAC) and liquid chromatography (LC) with fluorescence detection. The limit of quantification (LOQ) (S/N = 10:1) of OTA was 0.02 ng g(-1) in rice, 0.03 ng g(-1) in pistachio, peanut and walnut, and 0.03 ng g(-1) in dried raisins and dried figs. The incidences of occurrence of OTA in dried raisins, walnuts, peanuts, dried figs and rice were 30, 35, 25, 65 and 90%, respectively. Analytical results showed that pistachio samples contained no detectable OTA, but concentrations ranged from 0.02 +/- 0.01 to 32.4 +/- 2.10 ng g(-1) in rice, from 0.10 +/- 0.05 to 2.36 +/- 0.75 in peanut, from 0.03 +/- 0.01 to 1.42 +/- 0.45 in dried figs, from 0.05 +/- 0.02 to 4.95 +/- 0.02 in dried raisins, and from 0.04 +/- 0.01 to 0.23 +/- 0.05 in walnuts. The results also showed that 15% of the total number of rice samples analysed exceeded the 2002 regulatory limit set by European Union regulations for cereals. This is the first report on the occurrence of OTA in dried fruits and rice available in Morocco.