Quantitative analysis of ochratoxin A in wine and beer using solid phase extraction and high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection.

A reliable and accurate method is described for the quantitative analysis of ochratoxin A (OTA) in wine and beer. The method involves the use of disposable non-polar polymeric and aminopropyl solid-phase extraction cartridges to isolate the mycotoxin from alcoholic beverages. Extracts were subsequently analysed using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection with post column ammoniation to improve the limit of detection. The precision of the method determined at three levels in both wine and beer was less than 5% (RSD). Standard addition studies in both wine and beer showed that the recovery of OTA varied between 90 and 106% over a concentration range of 0.016-1.284 microg l-1. The detection and quantification limits were shown to be better than 0.004 (S/N = 3) and 0.016 microg l-1 (S/N = 10) for both beer and wine.