Table 3.
Occurrence of AFs and OTA in dates marketed in various countries.
| Country | Mycotoxin | No. of Samples | Positive, n (%) | Range (μg/kg) | Mean (μg/kg) | Method | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | OTA | 10 | 2 (20) | 0.1–5 | NR a | HPLC-FLD b | [47] |
| China | OTA | 40 | 9 (23) | c LOD–61.4 | NR | LC-MS/MS d | [100] |
| Egypt | AFB1 | 28 | 1 (4) | 14.4 | 14.4 | LC-MS/MS | [32] |
| Egypt | OTA | 28 | 3 (11) | 1.48–6070 | NR | LC-MS/MS | [32] |
| Iran | OTA | 10 | 2 (20) | 1.4–3.6 | 2.5 | ELISA e | [58] |
| Iran | AFs | 22 | 9 (41) | 0.9–8.1 | 2.6 | HPLC-FLD | [92] |
| Iran | OTA | 22 | 5 (23) | 0.5–2.1 | 1.2 | HPLC-FLD | [92] |
| Pakistan | AFs | 17 | 5 (30) | LOD–15.50 | 3.90 | HPLC-FLD | [63] |
| Pakistan | AFs | 8 | 2 (25) | 2.1–2.9 | 2.5 | HPLC-FLD | [80] |
| Pakistan | AFs | 15 | 9 (60) | LOD–18.8 | 6.32 | HPLC-FLD | [81] |
| Pakistan | AFs | 96 | 38 (40) | LOD-26.6 | 4.11 | HPLC-FLD | [101] |
| Pakistan | AFs | 170 | 25 (15) | 0.24–5.87 | NR | HPLC-FLD | [102] |
| Tunisia | OTA | 48 | 18 (38) | 0.57–3.34 | 1.26 | LC-MS/MS | [32] |
| Yemen | AFs | 20 | 2 (10) | 110–180 | 145 | TLC f | [103] |
a NR: not reported. b HPLC: high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detection. c LOD: limit of detection. d LC-MS/MS: liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. e ELISA: enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. f TLC: thin-layer chromatography.