Residue of ochratoxin a in chicken tissues-risk assessment

Background: Toxicological investigations of tissues of normally slaughtered chickens were carried out to provide preliminary evaluation of the incidence of OTA in chicken tissues (n=90). Majority of tissue samples were not found to contain measurable amounts of OTA, while in general, the OTA levels found in the analyzed tissue were low. Methods: The presence of OTA in tissue samples was determined by HPLC-FL after liquid-liquid extraction procedure. Method validation was performed according to the Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. Results: Of the 90 liver, kidney and gizzard samples originating from chicken farms located in the different agricultural areas of Serbia, OTA was reported in 23 (38.33%), 17 (28.3%) and 16 (26.6%) samples, respectively, with levels ranging from 0.14 to 3.9 ng/g in liver, 0.1 to 7.02 ng/g in kidneys and 0.25 to 9.94 ng/g in gizzard. None of the tissue samples contained more than the maximum level (10 ng/g) recommended by the European Commission. Conclusion: Low OTA results also suggested that chicken meat available in the retail market is unlikely to pose an adverse health risk to the consumers in respect to OTA toxicity.