Wine safety: solutions to reduce Ochratoxin A contamination

After 1996, when ochratoxin A (OTA) was detected in wine, several studies started with the aim to define the true occurrence of this toxin throughout Europe and to identify the key elements for OTA presence in grape and wine. Good manufacture practices in winemaking can act as corrective action in order to eliminate or reduce the hazard under 2 g/L (EC Regulation 123/2005 limit). The goal of our work is to decontaminate must and wine using chemical and biological adjuvants which act as adsorbents. Trials were carried out on lab scale, in duplicate. Different amounts of each adjuvant were screened for their ability to reduce OTA in red must and wines naturally contaminated or spiked with the mycotoxin. The treatment efficiency depends on type and amount of adjuvant and chemical adjuvants reduce the OTA level with percentages from 30% to 90%, with different kinetics and contact time.