Esposizione all’Ocratossina A dei bambini in età prescolare e scolare

Ochratoxin A is a typical cereal contaminant mainly produced by Aspergillus and Penicillium. With the aim to estimate the quantity of ochratoxin A that can be taken in by a child, samples present in the diet of nursery school babies (age 12-36 months) and primary school children (age 6-10 years) were monitored in Milan. Cereal-based food (bread, pasta, pizza, cakes etc.) was daily collected and weekly pooled for 5 weeks in May and June 2004, for babies and children, respectively. Cereals were both from organic (nursery and primary schools) and conventional (primary schools) agriculture. The analysis of ochratoxin A was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detector, and detection limit was 0,020 µg/kg. Ochratoxin A was found in all samples (100%) and the average concentrations were 0,048 µg/kg for nursery school and 0,161 µg/kg for primary school samples. The calculated expositions were 0,0008 µg/kg b.w./day for babies and 0,0017 µg/kg b.w./day for children, and resulted 16 and 35%, respectively, of the UE-SCF TDI (0,005 µg/kg b.w./day).