Ochratoxin A and citrinin production and migration in Penicillium verrucosum molded strawberry jams
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Food losses have become a major worldwide challenge, partly due to mold spoilage at the consumer level. One possible way to reduce food waste due to moldy foods would be to avoid a too conservative approach where products are directly discarded if fungal growth is observed. However, a food safety risk exists as many fungal species produce potentially toxic mycotoxins that can migrate into foods, so this danger needs to be considered to establish consumer recommendations. This study quantified citrinin and ochratoxin A accumulation and migration in strawberry jams after artificial inoculation with Penicillium verrucosum UBOCC 109221 and incubation at 8 and 20°C. The mold failed to grow after 28 days incubation at 20°C on 59% sugar jam but exhibited a constant growth rate of about 1.15 mm/d on the other sugar concentrations. After 14 days incubation, citrinin concentration (10000 ng/g) for the jam containing 34% sugar was about twice the concentration observed for 39 and 44% sugar. Mycotoxin migration experiments were then carried out for 39% sugar content and showed that the maximum mycotoxin concentrations were obtained for the 5cm lesion diameter. At 20°C, citrinin concentration (30 000 ng/g) was about twice that obtained at 8°C, while the maximum ochratoxin A concentration was about 100 ng/g. For 1 and 2 cm lesions, citrinin was not detected at 3 cm depth, accordingly jam can be consumed after removing about 2 cm beyond the moldy area. For greater lesions, jam should be discarded because mycotoxins were detected at >4 cm depth. • P. verrucosum grew and produced mycotoxins on all strawberry jams except high sugar content jam • Citrinin and ochratoxin A concentration were most concentrated around P. verrucosum lesions • Mycotoxin migration was most intense for 3cm and 4cm mold lesions • Cold storage can act as a barrier to reduce mycotoxin production and diffusion • Food waste due to moldy jams can be reduced for small sized mold lesions
Source: Food Microbiology
Institution: Université de Bretagne Occidentale
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,210
OpenAlex ID: W4416400759