Exposure to Ochratoxin A from Rice Consumption in Lebanon and United Arab Emirates: A Comparative Study

Hussein F. Hassan, Alissar Abou Ghaida, Abeer Charara, Hani Dimassi, Hussein Faour, Rayan Nahouli, Layal Karam () and Nisreen Alwan ()
Additional contact information
Hussein F. Hassan: Nutrition Program, Natural Sciences Department, Lebanese American University, Beirut P.O. Box 13-5053, Lebanon
Alissar Abou Ghaida: Nutrition Program, Natural Sciences Department, Lebanese American University, Beirut P.O. Box 13-5053, Lebanon
Abeer Charara: Nutrition Program, Natural Sciences Department, Lebanese American University, Beirut P.O. Box 13-5053, Lebanon
Hani Dimassi: School of Pharmacy, Lebanese American University, Byblos P.O. Box 36, Lebanon
Hussein Faour: Biology Program, Natural Sciences Department, Lebanese American University, Beirut P.O. Box 13-5053, Lebanon
Rayan Nahouli: Biology Program, Natural Sciences Department, Lebanese American University, Beirut P.O. Box 13-5053, Lebanon
Layal Karam: Human Nutrition Department, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar
Nisreen Alwan: College of Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi 59911, United Arab Emirates

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 17, 1-9

Abstract: Our study aims to evaluate the ochratoxin A (OTA) in rice marketed in Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and to determine the exposure to OTA from rice consumption. All brands available in the market were collected twice (total number of collected samples: 105 and 127 in Lebanon and the UAE, respectively). Using ELISA, the OTA in 56 (53%) samples in Lebanon and 73 (58%) samples in the UAE were above the limit of quantification (0.8 μg/kg). The average concentrations of the positive samples ± standard deviations were 1.29 ± 0.32 and 1.40 ± 0.42 μg/kg in Lebanon and the UAE, respectively. Only one sample (1%) in Lebanon had a level at the borderline of the European Union (EU) limit, and two samples (1.6%) in the UAE had a level above the EU limit (5 μg/kg). The OTA in brown rice was higher than in white and parboiled rice for both countries, yet the difference was not significant. The packing season, packing country, and country of origin did not have any significant effects. The presence of a food safety certification resulted in lower OTA in the rice, but the difference was significant ( p = 0.04) in the UAE only. Long grains had higher OTA than short grains, yet the difference was only significant in Lebanon ( p = 0.046). The exposures were calculated as 1.27 ng/kg body weight/day in Lebanon and 1.42 ng/kg body weight/day in the UAE, and no health risk was observed for both the neoplastic and non-neoplastic effects.

Keywords: rice; ochratoxin A; ELISA; exposure; contamination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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