Content of ochratoxin A in paired kidney and meat samples from healthy Danish slaughter pigs

In 1999, paired samples of kidney and meat were taken from 300 healthy Danish pigs and analysed for ochratoxin A. The concentrations of ochratoxin A in kidney ranged from 0 to 15 µg kg-1 (mean 0.50 µg kg-1, median 0.18 µg kg-1) and in meat from 0 to 2.9 µg kg-1 (mean 0.12 µg kg-1, median 0.03 µg kg-1). The data together with the Danish control data show that today the pig industry in Denmark has no problem keeping the content of ochratoxin A in pig at very low levels even in years with wet harvest conditions. The mean ratio ‘content in meat/content in kidney’ for paired samples was 39%. For kidney samples >1.0 µg kg-1, the mean ratio was 22%. The Danish control system for ochratoxin A in pig kidney established in 1978 can be regarded as a success because the levels in pig have been reduced substantially, and hence for the consumer the contribution from pig products to the total intake of ochratoxin A is very small compared with other sources.