The objective of this study was to gain information about the toxigenic Aspergillus species present in
a wide survey of retail samples of paprika and chilli collected in Spain. Detection of these mycotoxigenic
species was performed with an optimized protocol for paprika and chilli which includes a set of speciesspecific
PCR assays. Occurrence of toxigenic Aspergillus species was higher in paprika than in chilli
samples (83.9% and 64.5%, respectively). Paprika showed also the highest percentage of co-occurrence of
two or more different species (43.6%) in comparison with chilli (35.5%). The most common aspergilli
were Aspergillus niger aggregate (67.7%), followed by Aspergillus flavus (49.5%). Aspergillus carbonarius,
Aspergillus parasiticus and Aspergillus steynii were detected at lower frequency (1.1%). The high cooccurrence
of Aspergillus species able to produce ochratoxin A and aflatoxins, particularly in paprika,
suggested the need of a more efficient control during processing and storage to reduce fungal
contamination, and additional legislation to consider the simultaneous presence of both toxins in these
matrices.