Aflatoxins and Ochratoxin A in Tea Sold in Lebanon: Effects of Type, Packaging, and Origin

Hussein F. Hassan (), Hadeel Tashani, Farah Ballouk, Rouaa Daou, André El Khoury, Mohamad G. Abiad, Ali AlKhatib, Mahdi Hassan, Sami El Khatib and Hani Dimassi ()
Additional contact information
Hussein F. Hassan: Nutrition Program, Department of Natural Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut P.O. Box 13-5053, Lebanon
Hadeel Tashani: Nutrition Program, Department of Natural Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut P.O. Box 13-5053, Lebanon
Farah Ballouk: Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese International University, Beirut P.O. Box 146404, Lebanon
Rouaa Daou: Centre d’Analyses et de Recherche, Unité de Recherche Technologies et Valorisation Agro-Alimentaire, Faculty of Sciences, Campus of Sciences and Technologies, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Mar Roukoz P.O. Box 17-5208, Lebanon
André El Khoury: Centre d’Analyses et de Recherche, Unité de Recherche Technologies et Valorisation Agro-Alimentaire, Faculty of Sciences, Campus of Sciences and Technologies, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Mar Roukoz P.O. Box 17-5208, Lebanon
Mohamad G. Abiad: Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut P.O. Box 11-0236, Lebanon
Ali AlKhatib: Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese International University, Beirut P.O. Box 146404, Lebanon
Mahdi Hassan: Nutrition Program, Department of Natural Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut P.O. Box 13-5053, Lebanon
Sami El Khatib: Department of Food Sciences and Technology, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese International University, Bekaa P.O. Box 146404, Lebanon
Hani Dimassi: School of Pharmacy, Lebanese American University, Byblos P.O. Box 36, Lebanon

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 16, 1-10

Abstract: Tea is among the oldest and most-known beverages around the world, and it has many flavors and types. Tea can be easily contaminated in any of its production steps, especially with mycotoxins that are produced particularly in humid and warm environments. This study aims to examine the level of ochratoxin A (OTA) and total aflatoxin (AF) contamination in black and green tea sold in Lebanon, evaluate its safety compared to international standards, and assess the effect of different variables on the levels of OTA and AFs. For this, the Lebanese market was screened and all tea brands ( n = 37; 24 black and 13 green) were collected twice. The Enzyme-Linked Immunoassay (ELISA) method was used to determine OTA and AFs in the samples. AFs and OTA were detected in 28 (75.7%) and 31 (88.6%) samples, respectively. The average of AFs in the positive (above detection limit: 1.75 μg/kg) samples was 2.66 ± 0.15 μg/kg, while the average of OTA in the positive (above detection limit: 1.6 μg/kg) samples was 3.74 ± 0.72 μg/kg. The mean AFs in black and green tea were 2.65 ± 0.55 and 2.54 ± 0.40 μg/kg, respectively, while for OTA, the mean levels were 3.67 ± 0.96 and 3.46 ± 1.09 μg/kg in black and green tea samples, respectively. Four brands (10.8%) contained total aflatoxin levels above the EU limit (4 μg/kg). As for OTA, all samples had OTA levels below the Chinese limit (5 μg/kg). No significant association ( p > 0.05) was found between OTA and tea type, level of packaging, country of origin, country of packing, and country of distribution. However, AF contamination was significantly ( p < 0.05) higher in unpacked tea, and in brands where the country of origin, packing, and distributor was in Asia. The results showed that the tea brands in Lebanon are relatively safe in terms of AFs and OTA.

Keywords: tea; ochratoxin; total aflatoxins; ELISA; contamination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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