MYCOTOXIN DETECTION IN INFANT FORMULA MILKS IN ITALY

International audienceAfter birth, infant formulas constitute an important or often sole food source for infants during the first life months. In this study, a survey on the presence of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) and ochratoxin A (OA) in the 14 leading brands of infant formulas marketed in Italy was conducted. Mycotoxins were determined by immunoaffinity column clean-up and HPLC with fluorescence detection. AFM1 was found in 2 out of 185 samples but at levels below the European legislation limit of 25 ng/L. OA was detected in 133 (72%) samples (range 35.1-689.5 ng/L). It has been observed that OA contamination was 80% in the ready-to-use preparations and 63% in the powdered samples. The Scientific Committee for Food (SCF) reviewed the toxicology on OA and concluded that it would be prudent to reduce exposure to OA ensuring that exposures are towards the lower end of the range of tolerable daily intakes of 1.2-14 ng/kg b.w. per day. OA was also evaluated by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and a provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of 100 ng/kg b.w. was established. The OA levels in pre-term ready-to-use infant formulas were sufficient to cause a higher OA intake than the suggested TDI. Our results point out the need to perform controls for prevention programs especially when attempting to identify risk markers of the infant feed quality