Assessment of aflatoxins and ochratoxin a in chili sauce samples and estimation of dietary intake

The study was carried out to investigate the amount of aflatoxins (AFs) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in 252 samples of red chili sauce, green chili sauce, and garlic red chili sauce samples, collected from central cities of Pakistan. The investigation was performed using liquid chromatography with a fluorescence detector. The findings demonstrated that 190 (75.4%) samples were having levels of AFs > LOD, and the highest average amount of 11.70 +/- 3.60 mu g/kg of AFB1 was found in red chili sauce sample from local restaurants. A level of 26.6 +/- 5.60 mu g/kg of total AFs was found in red chili sauce samples from Dhaba restaurants. Samples 44.8% and 42.1% of AFB1 and total AFs were observed to have amounts elevated than the legal limits of 5, and 10 mu g/kg, respectively. Samples of 71% were found to have an amount of OTA in chili sauce samples > LOD, and 23% of samples were found to have levels higher than 15 mu g/kg. The highest dietary intake of AFB1, total AFs, and OTA 3.67 mu g/kg, 3.82 mu g/kg, and 3.629 mu g/kg, respectively, were found in chili sauce samples. The elevated frequency and existence of AFs and OTA in chili sauce samples could pose substantial health hazards for the local population.