a b s t r a c t
Pork meat-derived products can contribute to the overall ochratoxin A intake, either by carry-over effect,
or by environmental mould population cross-contamination. In order to assess the role of these different
contamination routes, a study was carried out with pigs challenged orally with OTA contaminated feed at
subchronical level. After slaughtering, thighs and minced meat from control and treated groups were
transformed into dry-cured hams and salami, respectively, which were analysed for OTA determination
after ripening. From collected data, the carry-over in muscle was generally low, whereas a significant
contribution to the OTA contamination in dry-cured hams was due to toxinogenic mould population
growing on their surface during ripening. Finally, a survey of different types of dry-cured ham
(n = 110), from the Italian market, was performed, showing the occurrence of OTA on the surface portion
in 84 out of 110 samples with a median value of 0.53 lg/kg and in the inner core in 32 out of 110 samples
with a median value lower than 0.1 lg/kg.