Survey of sulfites in wine and various Turkish food and food products intended for export, 2007-2010

Surveys were carried out between 2007 and 2010 to determine the total levels of sulfites in 1245 samples of wines, dried apricots, dried vegetables, nuts, juices and purees, frozen foods and cereals containing dried fruit supplied by food inspectors and by food producers for testing or for export certification. Sulfite analysis of wine was carried out using the Ripper method with an LOQ of 5 mg l(-1) and for dried and other foods the Monier-Williams distillation procedure was employed with an LOQ of 10 mg kg(-1). In the survey all wines contained measurable sulfites, but with the exception of one sample of white wine they were otherwise below Turkish Food Codex limits of 160 mg kg(-1) for red wine, 210 mg kg(-1) to white wine and 235 mg kg(-1) for sparkling wine. None of the cereal products, frozen foods, juices or purees contained sulfites above 10 mg kg(-1). However, all dried apricot samples contained significant levels of sulfite with around 40% having levels exceeding the Turkish limit of 2000 mg kg(-1). Significant levels of sulfite were found in other samples of dried fruit with even a fruit and nut bar containing 1395 mg kg(-1) of sulfite, suggesting the dried fruit ingredients contained levels above regulatory limits

Surveys of aflatoxin B1 contamination of retail Turkish foods and of products intended for export between 2007 and 2009

Surveys were carried out between 2007 and 2009 to determine the aflatoxin B1 content of 3345 commercial Turkish foodstuffs supplied by producers for testing for their own purposes or for export certification. To simplify the reporting of data, foods were categorized as: 1, high sugar products with nuts; 2, nuts and seeds; 3, spices; 4, grain; 5, cocoa products; 6, dried fruit and vegetables; 7, processed cereal products; 8, tea; and 9, baby food and infant formula. Aflatoxin analysis was carried out by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection after immunoaffinity column clean-up, with a recoveries ranging from 91% to 99%, depending on the matrix. Of the 3345 samples analysed, 94% contained aflatoxin B1 below the European Union limit of 2 mu g kg-1, which applies to nuts, dried fruit, and cereals products. The 6% of the 206 contaminated samples were mainly nuts and spices. For pistachios, 24%, 38%, and 42% of the totals of 207, 182, and 24 samples tested for 2007, 2008 and 2009, respectively, were above 2 mu g kg-1, with 50 samples containing aflatoxin B1 at levels ranging from 10 to 477 mu g kg-1