520
Views
3
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Effect of post-harvest treatments on the occurrence of ochratoxin A in raw cocoa beans

, , , , , & show all
Pages 157-166 | Received 05 Aug 2015, Accepted 17 Oct 2015, Published online: 16 Nov 2015
 

Abstract

Cocoa beans are the principal raw material for chocolate manufacture. Moulds have an important place in the change in the quality of cocoa beans due to their role in the production of free fatty acids and mycotoxins, namely ochratoxin A (OTA). This study investigated the impact of the key post-harvest treatments, namely the fermentation and drying methods on OTA contamination of raw cocoa beans. Analytical methods for OTA detection were based on solid–liquid extraction, clean-up using an immunoaffinity column, and identification by reversed-phase HPLC with fluorescence detection. Of a total of 104 randomly selected cocoa samples analysed, 32% had OTA contents above 2 µg kg–1. Cocoa sourced from pods in a bad state of health had a maximum OTA content of 39.2 µg kg1, while that obtained from healthy pods recorded 11.2 µg kg–1. The production of OTA in cocoa beans increased according to the pod-opening delay and reached 39.2 µg kg–1 after an opening delay of 7 days after harvest, while 6.1 and 11.2 µg kg–1 were observed when pods were opened after 0 and 4 days. OTA production also seemed to depend considerably to the cocoa fermentation materials. When using plastic boxes for bean fermentation, the OTA production was enhanced and reached an average OTA content of about 4.9 µg kg1, while the raw cocoa treated in banana leaves and wooden boxes recorded 1.6 and 2.2 µg kg–1 on average respectively. In parallel, the OTA production was not really influenced by either the mixing or the duration of the fermentation or the drying materials.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Food Safety Team, UMR Qualisud of Cirad, Montpellier, France, and by Research Group on Post-harvest Technology and Quality of Cocoa, Food Sciences and Technology Department, University Nangui ABROGOUA, Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The research of Kra Brou Didier KEDJEBO was supported by a grant for Ivorian PhD students awarded by SCAC of the Embassy of France at Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 61.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 799.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.