Coffee is produced in tropical countries around the Equator where climatic conditions are favourable for fungal development and mycotoxin production; however, mycotoxins do not only occur in the tropical countries. The aim was to evaluate the mycoflora and possible incidence of ochratoxin A (OTA) in 60 samples of green coffee beans from Brazil. The mycological evaluation was carried out using a conventional method and the OTA was determined using sequential phenyl silane and immunoaffinity column cleanup followed by HPLC. The detection limit was 0.2 μg kg⁻¹. Practically all samples (91.7%) were contaminated with moulds. The dominant fungal genus was Aspergillus, including A. niger (83.3%), A. ochraceus (53.3%) and A. flavus (25.0%). The occurrence and the levels of the genus Cladosporium (16.6%) and Penicillium (10.0%) were substantially lower than Aspergilli. Twenty samples (33.3%) of 60 were contaminated with the toxin at levels ranging from 0.2 to 7.3μg kg⁻¹. The average concentration was 2.38 μg kg⁻¹. All positive samples showed OTA levels below the limit suggested by the European Union (8 μg kg⁻¹).

The safety characteristics of feed used in fish and crustacean aquaculture systems are an essential tool to assure the productivity of those animal exploitations. Safety of feed may be affected by different hazards, including biological and chemical groups. The aim of this preliminary study was to evaluate fungi contamination and the presence of aflatoxins in 87 samples of feed for sea bass, collected in Portugal. Molds were found in 35 samples (40.2%) in levels ranging from 1 to 3.3 log10 CFU∙g⁻¹. Six genera of molds were found. Aspergillus flavus was the most frequent, found in all positive samples, with a range from 2 to 3.2 log₁₀ CFU∙g⁻¹. Aspergillus niger was found in 34 samples (39.1%), ranging from 1 to 2.7 log₁₀ CFU∙g⁻¹. Aspergillus glaucus was found in 26 samples (29.9%) with levels between 1 and 2.4 log₁₀ CFU∙g⁻¹. Penicillium spp. and Cladosporium spp. were both found in 25 samples (28.7%). Fusarium spp. was found in 22 samples (25.3%), ranging from 1 to 2.3 log₁₀ CFU∙g⁻¹. All feed samples were screened for aflatoxins using a HPLC technique, with a detection limit of 1.0 μg∙kg⁻¹. All samples were aflatoxin negative.

A total of 307-samples of plant crops (both home-grown and imported) marketed in Portugal, including maize and maize-based products (132), wheat and wheat-based products (82), barley (25), soybean (53), sunflower (8) and alfalfa (7), were analyzed for the co-occurrence of the Fusarium toxins, zearalenone (ZEA) and deoxynivalenol (DON). Analysis for ZEA and DON was carried out by HPLC, with fluorescence and UV detection, respectively. Of the 307 samples, ZEA and DON co-occurred in 46 samples (co-occurrence of 15?); 84 samples were DON-positive and 171 were ZEA-positive. The mean ZEA and DON concentrations were 0.17 and 0.07 mg kg⁻¹, respectively. The highest levels found in the samples were 0.93 mg kg⁻¹ for ZEA and 17.9 mg kg⁻¹ for DON. One DON-positive and 13 ZEA-positive samples had contamination levels above the EU maximum legal limit.