Ochratoxin A (OTA) is an important secondary metabolite of different Aspergillus and Penicillium species. OTA is immunosuppressive, teratogenic, mutagenic and carcinogenic in most animal species and as a result it is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a group 2Ba possibly carcinogen to humans. OTA was first discovered in South Africa but while this toxin is well known and documented in Europe and North America, resulting in the establishment of stringent regulations and measures to prevent it from reaching the food chain, there is a dearth of information on OTA in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). With the exception of North African countries and a few countries in SSA little or no information is available on the prevalence of OTA in other African countries. This review is not only to highlight the significance of OTA to SSA, where this toxin has been found as a natural contaminant in several indigenous foodstuffs but also to show evidence of the widespread ingestion of this toxin, as has been determined in body fluids of peoples in North Africa and even in young children in Sierra Leone. The attention of African Governments, NGOs and scientists is drawn to the issue of ochratoxin A in the food chain with some pertinent recommendations made.

Keywords: Ochratoxin A, Sub-Saharan Africa, Foodstuffs,Body fluids

• Full Text: PDF(204Kb)
• Full Text: HTML