Simultaneous Determination of Aflatoxin B1 and Ochratoxin A and Natural Occurrence in Mediterranean Virgin Olive Oil.

Olive oil is the most important dietary fat source of mediterranean diet, can be contaminated by mycotoxins. An efficient analytical method for simultaneous determination of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in olive oil is reported. Thirty commercial samples of virgin olive oil were purchased in olive-press plants and supermarket in the southern of Italy and northern Africa. A simple, rapid and economic method was set up and tested for both the extractive step and the clean-up procedures in simultaneous AFB1 and OTA determination in olive oil. Data obtained showed that OTA was detected with high frequence (73%) in samples from both geographical area (up to 9.5 ng/g) while AFB1 was found only from northern Africa samples (in 3 out of 4, up to 2.4 ng/g). In addition “not labelled” oil samples proved to be more contaminated by OTA then “labelled” samples (mean value of 2.5 and 0.7 ng/g, respectively). These findings indicate that olive oil can be highly contaminatead by mycotoxins and confirm that a scrupulous application of European Regulation number 1019/2002, that prohibits the sale of not labelled olive oil, is necessary.