Influence of roasting levels on ochratoxin A content in coffee

Because of inconsistent and contradictory results from investigations concerning the influence of roasting process on the ochratoxin A content in coffee beans, a study was undertaken to assess the elimination of ochratoxin A during the roasting process. Four different green coffee samples, naturally contaminated with ochratoxin A, were submitted to different roasting conditions (light, medium, and dark) and analyzed for roasting parameters (weight loss, color change, density, and moisture content) and ochratoxin A content. The ochratoxin A content of green coffee was reduced by the roasting process; in particular, consistently high percentages of ochratoxin A reduction were found in the highest contaminated samples. This reduction was influenced by the severity of the thermal process and was generally related to the initial ochratoxin A content. Samples obtained with roasting parameters suitable for a typical Italian espresso coffee brew showed reductions of >90% in the ochratoxin A content, in both high and low contaminated samples. Moreover, the presence of offflavors and visual defects was not found to be directly related to the ochratoxin A content in the green coffee samples.