WHICH ONE MAY BE THE BEST QUALITY PARAMETER OF RISKY FOODS IN TERMS OF MOLD: AFLATOXINS, PATULIN, OCHRATOXIN A AND ERGOSTEROL

Agricultural products can be exposed to mycotoxins produced by several kinds of molds as seconder toxic compound, as a result of the development of various toxigenic molds during the stages of preharvest, harvest and storage. Therefore, it is important to determine the presence of mold in foods quickly because of the deterioration of aroma, flavor, appearance and textural structure as well as the mycotoxins. Due to infection of 25% of the agricultural products with mycotoxins in the world wide and global population rising increasingly, researchers indicate importance of safety and adequate food production in the future. Some important mycotoxins are aflatoxins (AFs), patulin and ochratoxin A (OTA). Aflatoxins, which are mycotoxins produced by molds, causes significant quality and economic loss and have unfavorable effects on human health. Patulin, often detected in apple and apple products, is a mycotoxin produced by several species of Aspergillus, Penicillium and Byssochlamys. OTA is a nephrotoxic and nephrocarcinogenic mycotoxin which is predominantly produced by the two ubiquitous fungal genera, Aspergillus and Penicillium. Additionally, the other chemical component for determination of mold growth is ergosterol, a constituent of cell membrane of molds, provides a quick assay for presence of molds. The aim of this study is to compare the aflatoxins, patulin, ochratoxin A and ergosterol in risk foods in terms of mold as a microbiological quality parameter and to state the most effective metabolite as quality parameter