Abstract
Hazelnut samples of different origin were collected in stores in Northern Italy and analysed for aflatoxin (AF) contamination by a sensitive chromatographic method on the basis of a tandem mass spectrometer with electrospray ionisation. The effects of two extracting solvent mixtures (methanol/water and acetonitrile/water) and different extraction times were tested and compared in terms of recovery. Analysis showed that 35 out of 93 samples (37.6%) were contaminated by AFs. The incidence of positive samples was higher in Turkish (66.7%) than in Italian samples (35.9%). Mean AF contamination was higher (p = 0.045, Kruskal–Wallis test) in the Turkish samples (0.33 µg kg–1) compared to the Italian (0.14 µg kg–1) ones. In both cases, however, a low level of total AF contamination was found in the positive samples (0.64 µg kg–1), both being far below the maximum limit set in European legislation.
Acknowledgements
The current studies were realised within the framework of the project ‘ITACA – Technological Innovation, Automation and New Analytical Controls to Improve the Quality and Safety of the Piedmontese Food Products’ funded by the Piedmont Region (Italy).