Occurrence of Ochratoxin A in Sangak flour and the effect of baking and fermentation on it

Ochratoxin A is a mycotoxin with determined human health hazards which can be transferred through contaminated wheat and wheat products. The aim of this study was to examine the flour samples specified for Sangak bread in terms of Ochratoxin contamination levels and to study the effect of baking practice on the toxin concentrations amongst the most contaminated products.
Thirty flour samples, specified for sangak flour were sampled and from bakeries and factories and examined for Ochratoxin A concentration by competitive ELISA. The most contaminated samples were then screened and subjected to bakery practices including fermentation with yeast / yeast plus lactobacillus plantarum A7 and then baking in a traditional oven.
Findings: Ochratoxin A was detected in all tested samples, however none of them exceeded the regulated limit (5ng/g) in flour. Contamination ranged from LOD to1.723 ng/g and averaged as 1.025 ng/g. Both fermentation and baking significantly decrease the amount of ochratoxin A (p>0.01) from primary levels. Fermentation process by using Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the mixture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and L. plantarum and baking reduce the ochratoxin A by about 7%, 15% and 24% respectively.
: Sangak flour samples that are currently distributed in bakeries are considered safe for human use with regard to Ochratoxin A contamination. Traditional bakery practices including oven baking, dough fermentation using baker yeast and baker yeast plus lactic culture significantly removes the Ochratoxin A from dough.