A survey of ergosterol content of tomato products in Turkey during 2006-2010

Abstract

Ergosterol is an important constituent of fungal cell wall and measurement of it is a useful method to detect fungal activity, which correspond to mycotoxine production. Monitoring of ergosterol content in tomato products in Turkey has been carried out since 2006. The results of monitoring over the period 2006-2010 are presented. During this time 344 samples of six different tomato products (home-made tomato paste, commercial tomato paste, diced or crushed tomato, tomato juice, ketchup and tomato puree) were analysed for ergosterol using high-performance liquid chromatography. The detection limit of ergosterol was 0.1 mg/kg. Recovery experiments were carried out with spiked samples in the range 2-10 mg/kg of ergosterol. Average ergosterol contents were highest in home-made tomato paste (1,074 mg/kg), and lowest in tomato juice (4.5 mg/kg). Ergosterol exceeded the Turkish legal limit of 15 mg/kg in 65 of 88 commercial tomato paste samples; however all home-made tomato paste were >15 mg/kg. This paper reports data of the first survey for the presence of ergosterol in tomato products in Turkey.